Paula and Bethany Visit Raleigh's Attractions

Beautiful Raleigh, NC 2009

During the last days of February 2009, Paula and Bethany, Max's sister-in-law and niece, visited with family in the Raleigh area.

They were in town to visit with Paula's parents, her sister Roberta, brothers Bob and Tom, several nephews and nieces. One brother Bob was down visiting from far away New Hampshire.

They were quickly acquainted with sights of Raleigh by Max's grandson Paxton who happily kept them hopping through the fabulous North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. This four story museum is full of bones and replicas of giant fish, mammals and dinosaurs. It has a small butterfly garden with its own sloth to keep a watchful eye.

Not far from this museum, three year old Paxton's favorite museum, called Marbles, can be seen. Today the visit from cousin Bethany took priority to the museum choice.

Given the mix of warm and cold, Paula and Bethany took in numerous movies in the city's wonderful selection of theaters. They watched several movies over their days in Raleigh.

They looked forward to the forecast of snow which didn't come the first time it was forecast, to some disappointment. When they heard that snow was forecast for Sunday night, they delayed their return trip to Florida for one more day.

Wouldn't you know, it snowed in Raleigh and the surrounding area! They got to see Fiona, Max's wife's dog, snowplowing through the snow as she pushed her nose through the cold fluffy snow. They got to see snow that was perfect for snowballs.

During their visit, when they were not trying to improve the economy of the region in Raleigh's numerous malls, they spent time sitting before the fireplace eating popcorn as the wood crackled.

They ate out at several of the local restaurants, such as Toreros and Macaroni Grill.

In their home environment, Paula and Bethany spend their working time at Mease Countryside Hospital in Safety Harbor, Florida.

They both have a lot of wonderful things to say about the hospital. Paula heard about the hospital when she was working at a veterinary clinic as the office manager. She had thought about nursing but thought that for a working mother this was a pipe dream.

A helpful person at the hospital told her about a program the hospital puts on that would allow her to continue working while earning her nursing degree. It took some time and sacrifice but she is now an RN and a Charge Nurse on the Telemetry unit of the hospital. She also has hopes of earning her Masters Degree in the nursing program.

Bethany, her daughter, started in the hospital right out of high school. She took the Certified Nurse's Aid program and has now advanced further to become a Personal Care Technician in a post operations area. She is hoping to enter the nursing program in the coming year. Like her mother, she enjoys working at the hospital.

They are back in their Florida home with many fond memories of family, food, shopping and Raleigh.

The hospital is located at:

Mease Countryside Hospital Outpatient Imaging
3231 McMullen Booth Road, Shaffer Tower
Safety Harbor, FL 34695-1098
Office: (727) 725-6111

Max writes about greenways, rare diseases, timely topics, places to eat, travel and other issues of interest. He encourages you to add your comments.

Link one leads to Mease Countryside Hospital.

Link two is to Toreros Mexican Restaurant.

Link three is to Macaroni Grill Raleigh.