Plans to leave Bristol and head westward towards maybe Colorado or Wyoming for a week or so changed when my sister called with news of my mother being put into the hospital. We learned she was admitted with pneumonia and other complications from that and it's causes. Within hours of that first call she calls back and we have to make a decision according to the doctor weather to DNR or start a feeding tube, since at this point she hadn't ate in 5 days. Shocking phone call to say the least, with me and Bev on the road in Tennessee, brother Dave in Texas with literally no way to get back to Iowa and Russ and Nancy in Davenport. Bev and I decide we need to do something about Dave so we arrange to head the motor home to Texas, pick up Dave and bring him to Davenport long with us. Where in Bristol, Tennessee on Sunday and ready to head out, about noon or so we decide to head to Jefferson, Texas to pick up Dave. Mine you I usually only drive between 300 and 400 miles a day and stop for the night, now I'm under the gun thinking we need to get to Mom ASAP. We're assuming her condition according to the doctor is dire and if we want to see her again we need to move out. From Tennessee to Texas and on to Iowa two days (stopping once at an RV park to sleep for about 7 hours), it was like 39 hours of driving in 48 hours and my ass was kicked!
As we're heading north we get news that the doctor is dumb founded, why...........Mom had a 180 degree turn-around and now was breathing on her own but still fighting the Pneumonia. We had folks and friends praying from all over the country and by God's will it helped and we got there in time to visit and are still visiting as she still fights to improve. Far from out of the woods yet, but eating a bit and talking even though she still has a very hard time knowing who we all are.
So..........we had no plans to revisit Davenport, Iowa on this years journey but here we are and as of now will be here at least through Tuesday the 30th when we fly Dave back home. Yes, we're flying him home because we don't want to make that trip in that direction when we do leave and he has stuff to take care of in Texas.
Up's and Down's..............one day you're on the phone with your siblings deciding your Mothers fate and the next day there is a little hope! We find out this morning she still needs some breathing assistance during the night, and her lungs are still not clear but we have hope this too will improve. At 92 years old it's hard because the body and all it's parts are not working as they once did, but those decisions we had to make I really don't want to have to revisit. We hope she goes back to the home soon and when that happens we'll probably start heading west once again.
Facebook has been a real comfort to Bev and I and the family, so many prayers and best wishes that it's just so nice to have so many friends and family respond in the ways they have. I do know I have some folks that most likely have me blocked on FB because they might not agree with my views on a lot of things, you can see who most of them are at times like this when they might be absent with well wishes etc.............but we know they still care and I for one appreciate all my friends and family and their well wishes in times like this.
It's nice to be camping again at West Lake here in Davenport, good to be off the road after the past few days of hard driving, but we also can't wait to continue our journey and hope Mom gets better soon. This journey is coming to an end very soon, we hope to be back in Phoenix by mid September but are playing it by ear now. Thanks again for all the prayers and well wishes for Mom and hopefully the next blog will be lighter and full of travel tidbits.
Friday, August 26, 2016
Friday, August 19, 2016
Jam packed two weeks..................
I know........I can't believe it's been two weeks since my last blog posting, but it has been a jam packed two weeks! We have now been in the Abingdon, Bristol area of Virginia and Tennessee for long enough to start paying taxes. This area call the Tri-Cities on the border of these two states has been home since the 8th of August in two different camp/park grounds. Hell let's add the 3 days in Fayetteville, NC visiting family on a surprise visit and we're coming close to becoming "Red Necks."
It was good to surprise my sister Nancy and her grandson and his family in Fayetteville, we were in the area and with help from Teresa we pulled it off. Teresa's son and my sisters grandson is stationed at Fort Bragg with the Army, it was a nice reunion for all of us.
Carlisle and Sherri Cox were are neighbors while living on Tanya road in north Phoenix for like 8 years, where we became very good friends. There was no way we were going to be in or around Abingdon, Va. where they call home now and not visit. We spent 6 days in the Abingdon area and had some great memories recalled and new adventures started. From dinners to a day of pontoon boating on the lake and throw in some golf with Carlisle and one of his school mates, it was much fun and reminiscing. I must add at this point, we dodged a lot of rain while visiting these folks, down pour here but dry as a bone at camp on and off for those days. We could play golf in the mornings and have the rain hold off until we finished it seems, all was good.
Then we have Bristol..............Yes "Bristol Baby" as in NASCAR racing and Bristol Motor Speedway! My cousin Darilyn and Ed Smith are joined by cousin Robin and Johnny each year (at least for the past 10 years or so from what I can gather) for a week of camping and taking in all the BMS racing and festivities for the week. Ever since we've been taking these journey's Darilyn has been after us to join them for one of these festive weeks.............and so with Abingdon being just 10-20 miles away we made the commitment to join Ed, Darilyn and their group of friends for this happening! They have been camping at a place called "Farmer Bob's" for the past 10 years or so and we made arrangements to join and their group camping at Farmer Bob's. This would be dry camping, yes, dry camping with no hook-ups, all self contained camping in the motor home! Up until now we have only "dry camped" for maybe a day no more that two, we like our rolling hotel to be hooked to power and water and sewer! Question was............can we live with 60 gallons of fresh water, 42 gallon tank of solid waste and 42 gallons of grey water waste and generator electric for a week or 8 days? Let me add right here that it's now the 6th day and we are doing great, still 30 gallons of water and only used up about half of our waste tanks...........I think we'll make it, and believe it or now we don't stink! Conserve, conserve, conserve has been the word of the day each day. The group is 16 strong and we all eat meals together and party together and drink apple pie together.........seems like a lot of apple pie (shine.......moon shine........home made stuff)! One cook, Ed and you better stay out of his kitchen, and what a great job he does with breakfast and dinner, lunches we're on our own, feeding a group of 16 of us can be a real job.
Now the bad, the rain has not stopped at least part of each day. It got so bad the other night there was a flash flood that washed out the sight the rest were camping in, Bev and I were across a lane and on a hill side 20-30 yards from their setup. Farmer Bob's is a cow pasture for all but 2-3 weeks a year, the Bristol races and Drags I guess. After the rains stopped that evening the group moved their entire camp behind us on the hill in just 2 hours...........a major feat to be sure!
Beverly and I didn't have tickets to the races, Truck racing on Wednesday night, Xfinity racing on Friday night and Cup racing on Saturday night, and just planned on hanging around camp and watching on TV. That was fine with us, we were a late committing pair for this week at Bristol. As it turned out another couple couldn't make it and we were offered the tickets to buy, so now we're going to the races. Wednesdays truck racing did take place after long delays of rain and drying the track but the evening became very long and they got the race completed. Now we're all praying the rain comes during the day and stops come evening time, especially the Saturday night event, the big guys.
Today is Friday the 19th and we are looking forward to tonight's racing, we hope they run without delay and finish at a decent hour, if not oh well...................the past two weeks have been full of fun with friends and family and we're so glad we made these stops. Along with paying taxes in this area I think we might be picking up bit of that southern drawl, not all bad folks because we have so enjoyed all the southern hospitality shown us and appreciate all that has been shared with us. Love all these folks and will miss them when we finally head farther west and homeward.
P.S. Yes we bought NASCAR shirts with drivers and Bristol Baby logo's and #'s!!!! Red Necken!
It was good to surprise my sister Nancy and her grandson and his family in Fayetteville, we were in the area and with help from Teresa we pulled it off. Teresa's son and my sisters grandson is stationed at Fort Bragg with the Army, it was a nice reunion for all of us.
Carlisle and Sherri Cox were are neighbors while living on Tanya road in north Phoenix for like 8 years, where we became very good friends. There was no way we were going to be in or around Abingdon, Va. where they call home now and not visit. We spent 6 days in the Abingdon area and had some great memories recalled and new adventures started. From dinners to a day of pontoon boating on the lake and throw in some golf with Carlisle and one of his school mates, it was much fun and reminiscing. I must add at this point, we dodged a lot of rain while visiting these folks, down pour here but dry as a bone at camp on and off for those days. We could play golf in the mornings and have the rain hold off until we finished it seems, all was good.
Then we have Bristol..............Yes "Bristol Baby" as in NASCAR racing and Bristol Motor Speedway! My cousin Darilyn and Ed Smith are joined by cousin Robin and Johnny each year (at least for the past 10 years or so from what I can gather) for a week of camping and taking in all the BMS racing and festivities for the week. Ever since we've been taking these journey's Darilyn has been after us to join them for one of these festive weeks.............and so with Abingdon being just 10-20 miles away we made the commitment to join Ed, Darilyn and their group of friends for this happening! They have been camping at a place called "Farmer Bob's" for the past 10 years or so and we made arrangements to join and their group camping at Farmer Bob's. This would be dry camping, yes, dry camping with no hook-ups, all self contained camping in the motor home! Up until now we have only "dry camped" for maybe a day no more that two, we like our rolling hotel to be hooked to power and water and sewer! Question was............can we live with 60 gallons of fresh water, 42 gallon tank of solid waste and 42 gallons of grey water waste and generator electric for a week or 8 days? Let me add right here that it's now the 6th day and we are doing great, still 30 gallons of water and only used up about half of our waste tanks...........I think we'll make it, and believe it or now we don't stink! Conserve, conserve, conserve has been the word of the day each day. The group is 16 strong and we all eat meals together and party together and drink apple pie together.........seems like a lot of apple pie (shine.......moon shine........home made stuff)! One cook, Ed and you better stay out of his kitchen, and what a great job he does with breakfast and dinner, lunches we're on our own, feeding a group of 16 of us can be a real job.
Now the bad, the rain has not stopped at least part of each day. It got so bad the other night there was a flash flood that washed out the sight the rest were camping in, Bev and I were across a lane and on a hill side 20-30 yards from their setup. Farmer Bob's is a cow pasture for all but 2-3 weeks a year, the Bristol races and Drags I guess. After the rains stopped that evening the group moved their entire camp behind us on the hill in just 2 hours...........a major feat to be sure!
Beverly and I didn't have tickets to the races, Truck racing on Wednesday night, Xfinity racing on Friday night and Cup racing on Saturday night, and just planned on hanging around camp and watching on TV. That was fine with us, we were a late committing pair for this week at Bristol. As it turned out another couple couldn't make it and we were offered the tickets to buy, so now we're going to the races. Wednesdays truck racing did take place after long delays of rain and drying the track but the evening became very long and they got the race completed. Now we're all praying the rain comes during the day and stops come evening time, especially the Saturday night event, the big guys.
Today is Friday the 19th and we are looking forward to tonight's racing, we hope they run without delay and finish at a decent hour, if not oh well...................the past two weeks have been full of fun with friends and family and we're so glad we made these stops. Along with paying taxes in this area I think we might be picking up bit of that southern drawl, not all bad folks because we have so enjoyed all the southern hospitality shown us and appreciate all that has been shared with us. Love all these folks and will miss them when we finally head farther west and homeward.
P.S. Yes we bought NASCAR shirts with drivers and Bristol Baby logo's and #'s!!!! Red Necken!
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Places we've like so far
It came to me this morning, the question of where have been that we really liked being on this journey of 2016. There have been many roads which have been new roads traveled for us since starting these treks back in 2008. The routes from Phoenix to Iowa pretty much have been the same over these years, but after Iowa it has been like spider webbing across this great country. Beverly has answered the question for me quite a few times on this trip, we've like them all! If I've heard this once I've heard it quite a few times after a day or so in each of our stops.......Beverly: "if it wasn't so far from Phoenix I could live here." I must say from all our stops along the Gulf Coast to the West coast of Florida to the East coast of Florida all the way down to the Keys, we've enjoyed each place very much. Have you ever heard the term "Southern Hospitality" well we have witnessed it first hand so many times on this journey. Oh it hasn't stopped, leaving Florida, Georgia and on into South Carolina we have met nothing but friendly and helpful folks. No matter whether it's a camp site or grocery store or the many golf courses we've played to Camping World for minor repairs each has been pleasant. If you've ever been in a Camping World you know for service there's always a long wait, they are always busy. We needed two this trip, one for routine oil change and generator service and two days ago to fix the connection between the coach and the car so we would have lights on the car. In both cases after hearing we were passing through and from Arizona they bent over backwards to get us in and back on the road. I'm talking to the service manager and getting the paper work done for the wiring problem and believe this, by the time we finished the paper work and I went back to the coach they already had a guy working on the 7-way (which was the problem and then replaced it with a new one) and we were back on the road in about an hour. Mind you we are ready for long waits or even overnights but that hasn't been the case on this trip, we are so blessed to have these types of folks taking care of us.
I'm writing this from Summerton, South Carolina at the Palmetto Shores RV Resort, got here yesterday and leaving in the morning heading in North Carolina then onto Bristol, Tennessee. After a few years of being invited were going to join a couple of cousins and friends for a few days for the NASCAR races there the weekend of the 13th. In between we'll be squeezing in a little R&R around Abingdon, Virginia while visiting some old neighbors of ours who moved from Phoenix back home to Virginia a few years back, it will be good to see all these folks again.
The time has been creeping up on us and before we know it we will heading home for a while, yes a while since we plan on a couple of winter trips this year yet. Bottom line Beverly just said the other day that she hadn't warmed up to the idea of this southern loop on a summer journey, but she is now glad I pushed for these roads we've been traveling. Beautiful country, much history, and friendly folks makes for a wonderful journey so far! On the road again and loving it.............
I'm writing this from Summerton, South Carolina at the Palmetto Shores RV Resort, got here yesterday and leaving in the morning heading in North Carolina then onto Bristol, Tennessee. After a few years of being invited were going to join a couple of cousins and friends for a few days for the NASCAR races there the weekend of the 13th. In between we'll be squeezing in a little R&R around Abingdon, Virginia while visiting some old neighbors of ours who moved from Phoenix back home to Virginia a few years back, it will be good to see all these folks again.
The time has been creeping up on us and before we know it we will heading home for a while, yes a while since we plan on a couple of winter trips this year yet. Bottom line Beverly just said the other day that she hadn't warmed up to the idea of this southern loop on a summer journey, but she is now glad I pushed for these roads we've been traveling. Beautiful country, much history, and friendly folks makes for a wonderful journey so far! On the road again and loving it.............
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Catching up a bit.............
How fast 10 days has went by, so much has happen and so much has been enjoyed and I need to catch up on the blog a bit.
St. Augustine, Florida, what can I say but that we are so glad we stopped and stayed for a few days. Very beautiful, quaint in an old school way with it's European type sections of town, narrow streets, old buildings and pubs and eateries! The Atlantic ocean was nice here and we even took in a few hours of beach time which made Beverly very happy. The ocean even knocked this old boys body around once it took me off my feet! Took some good pictures of the small surf and out waited some sand crabs for a few pics too! We would highly recommend spending a few days there if you're ever in the area. By the way we missed going to the "fountain of youth" but like I said on FB we drove by the place at least 6 or 7 times and I felt that was as good as a $12.50 shot glass of water! We did not get any golf in while staying at St. Augustine but did visit the World Golf Hall of Fame. What an awesome place this was even if you're not a golf enthusiast, there was so much to see and so much history of the game and it's players to learn about. Another must see if ever nearby especially if you love the game of golf. We could have and would have stayed another day or so but the RV resort was booked solid for the weekend so we hit the road towards Savannah, Georgia.
Mind you the trip from Port St. Lucie to Savannah, Ga. is only 373 miles (5 hours 45 minutes roughly by car) we arrived in PSL on July 15th and we're scheduled to leave Savannah for South Carolina on the 3rd or 4th of August........that will be right at 3 weeks to travel 373 miles. A jam packed 3 weeks it has been but a lot of relaxing in between too! I would say if you would have told us we'd be spending right at 30 days in Florida on this journey we would have said you were nuts. Remember that is what it will be, by the time we left the state, from Panama City to Spring Hill and then to Tampa and Port St. Lucie via Key West on into St. Augustine until we land in Savannah, Ga. via Jekyll Island. Now Jekyll Island, we stopped there for what turned out to be quite a different experience. We had heard about a cruise ship that went out to sea for 5 hour cruises on a 4 deck ship designed for a little casino gaming while and only when you reach international waters. For $5 (only on $5 Fridays, any other day it's $10) you got dinner, roughly 4 1/2 hours of gaming and breakfast from 7:00 pm until 1:00 am the next morning. We parked the motor home in their lot and decided to give it a go..................bad idea! Not that we lost a lot of cash, just the opposite, we came out pretty good it was the rest of the trip that sucked. Let me just say the $5 was way too much for the dinner and breakfast! While heading out to sea we had Spaghetti and meat balls with a can of Hunts diced tomatoes for the sauce, and luke warm to boot! The gaming was some old machines but did play some craps and blackjack. On the way back to port breakfast was served, a silver dollar pancake, one 4" pancake with a sausage patty on top of which you had the option of putting syrup over this dynamic duo, these too luke warm! NO shit, that was it..............................I cashed out $150 before departing which pretty much squared us for the evening, never again will be take something like that. We ended up staying the night in the parking lot (thank God for the generator because it was hot) and heading into Savannah the next morning, so here we are in Georgia.
Our first night we went down town Savannah just to check it out and what a zoo..........in a good way! The old town was rocking, bars, dinning places, pubs, taverns all open and it's 11:00 pm and everyone is still eating dinner with lines everywhere. The streets are packed with folks, dancing to DJ's, snacking on this or that and just plain having a great time. The line dancing we've been seeing here in the south is nothing like the gals back at the home (Friendly Village of Orangewood) these folks are getting down baby! Oh yes and the music is Hip Hop and not your old folks traditional line dancing music. We first witnessed this on the cruise ship on the way back to port, you might have seen that brief video on FB I posted. Anyway we plan on doing it again tonight after a evening meal with Paula Deen at here place of business down town, "The Lady and her Boys" dinner and buffet, The reviews for her place are great and most recommend the buffet for a variety of her dishes. Always like watching her on the Food Network and still feel she was given a raw deal over a little bit of bullshit.
Hope to get back on the links while here in Savannah, but we plan on 4 days here at least so we'll see what happens from here...........last night before hitting down town it was another movie night, Jason Bourne, it was very good as usual.
I must add that the next visit to Florida will take place during the winter months if and when we make this trek again!
St. Augustine, Florida, what can I say but that we are so glad we stopped and stayed for a few days. Very beautiful, quaint in an old school way with it's European type sections of town, narrow streets, old buildings and pubs and eateries! The Atlantic ocean was nice here and we even took in a few hours of beach time which made Beverly very happy. The ocean even knocked this old boys body around once it took me off my feet! Took some good pictures of the small surf and out waited some sand crabs for a few pics too! We would highly recommend spending a few days there if you're ever in the area. By the way we missed going to the "fountain of youth" but like I said on FB we drove by the place at least 6 or 7 times and I felt that was as good as a $12.50 shot glass of water! We did not get any golf in while staying at St. Augustine but did visit the World Golf Hall of Fame. What an awesome place this was even if you're not a golf enthusiast, there was so much to see and so much history of the game and it's players to learn about. Another must see if ever nearby especially if you love the game of golf. We could have and would have stayed another day or so but the RV resort was booked solid for the weekend so we hit the road towards Savannah, Georgia.
Mind you the trip from Port St. Lucie to Savannah, Ga. is only 373 miles (5 hours 45 minutes roughly by car) we arrived in PSL on July 15th and we're scheduled to leave Savannah for South Carolina on the 3rd or 4th of August........that will be right at 3 weeks to travel 373 miles. A jam packed 3 weeks it has been but a lot of relaxing in between too! I would say if you would have told us we'd be spending right at 30 days in Florida on this journey we would have said you were nuts. Remember that is what it will be, by the time we left the state, from Panama City to Spring Hill and then to Tampa and Port St. Lucie via Key West on into St. Augustine until we land in Savannah, Ga. via Jekyll Island. Now Jekyll Island, we stopped there for what turned out to be quite a different experience. We had heard about a cruise ship that went out to sea for 5 hour cruises on a 4 deck ship designed for a little casino gaming while and only when you reach international waters. For $5 (only on $5 Fridays, any other day it's $10) you got dinner, roughly 4 1/2 hours of gaming and breakfast from 7:00 pm until 1:00 am the next morning. We parked the motor home in their lot and decided to give it a go..................bad idea! Not that we lost a lot of cash, just the opposite, we came out pretty good it was the rest of the trip that sucked. Let me just say the $5 was way too much for the dinner and breakfast! While heading out to sea we had Spaghetti and meat balls with a can of Hunts diced tomatoes for the sauce, and luke warm to boot! The gaming was some old machines but did play some craps and blackjack. On the way back to port breakfast was served, a silver dollar pancake, one 4" pancake with a sausage patty on top of which you had the option of putting syrup over this dynamic duo, these too luke warm! NO shit, that was it..............................I cashed out $150 before departing which pretty much squared us for the evening, never again will be take something like that. We ended up staying the night in the parking lot (thank God for the generator because it was hot) and heading into Savannah the next morning, so here we are in Georgia.
Our first night we went down town Savannah just to check it out and what a zoo..........in a good way! The old town was rocking, bars, dinning places, pubs, taverns all open and it's 11:00 pm and everyone is still eating dinner with lines everywhere. The streets are packed with folks, dancing to DJ's, snacking on this or that and just plain having a great time. The line dancing we've been seeing here in the south is nothing like the gals back at the home (Friendly Village of Orangewood) these folks are getting down baby! Oh yes and the music is Hip Hop and not your old folks traditional line dancing music. We first witnessed this on the cruise ship on the way back to port, you might have seen that brief video on FB I posted. Anyway we plan on doing it again tonight after a evening meal with Paula Deen at here place of business down town, "The Lady and her Boys" dinner and buffet, The reviews for her place are great and most recommend the buffet for a variety of her dishes. Always like watching her on the Food Network and still feel she was given a raw deal over a little bit of bullshit.
Hope to get back on the links while here in Savannah, but we plan on 4 days here at least so we'll see what happens from here...........last night before hitting down town it was another movie night, Jason Bourne, it was very good as usual.
I must add that the next visit to Florida will take place during the winter months if and when we make this trek again!
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Port Saint Lucie, Florida
We left the Tampa area and arrived here in Port St. Lucie on the on the 14th of July and set up in the P.S.L. RV Resort and paid for a week. After hooking up with Mike and Patty Thornton and playing some golf today I paid for an additional 4 nights here.
Mike Thornton was hired the same day I was hired along with our good friend Dave Naab, we all were hired by Trausch Baking Co. one the same day and became very good friends. I remained very close to Dave even with all the miles between us (from Arizona to Illinois) via e-mail, text, and phone calls, but except for a few visits here and there lost some contact with Mike. When he moved to Bagley, Wisconsin we visited Mike and Patty up there a few years back and then again when they were in the Quad Cities visiting family a couple of years ago. The three of us and our wives got together for a nice dinner and drinks at that time and had a great time reminiscing days gone by. Now Mike and Patty live here in P.S.L. Florida and as soon as we new we were heading this direction this year we knew we had to pay them a visit and reunite old friends. (they actually had a lot to do with us even heading this direction along with our Tampa family). It's been a great few days so far and we look forward to another 4 days with them. Our friend Dave passed away a year ago last January and he is missed dearly, we've done a lot of talking about him this week and I'm sure there will be more "Daveism's" quoted before we leave!
We've played golf twice already and I will be playing again tomorrow with Mike and some of his buddies and then Bev and I again with Mike on Friday. We bought Bev a new set of golf clubs last night and she used them today, will take some getting used to but she needed them and deserved them!
Port Saint Lucie is a very nice place, with inland waters and the Atlantic very near we have seen some beautiful homes and some beautiful beaches, the humidity is the down side to visiting this time of the year. This being the off season for Florida has been good and bad in many ways, the golf courses are pretty much wide open, the RV parks need no reservations, the roads are not congested very much.........but the humidity and heat make the air heavy and it's not very good on the joints and the arthritis in those joints!
We have more plans this week and weekend with Mike and Patty Thornton and look forward to this time with them, as when leaving Tampa and family there it will be hard to say good-bye to Mike and Patty also, not sure when we'll get back here. Mike and Patty are not "social media" types and
e-mail is hit and miss but I will try get Mike to keep in touch a bit more than in the past so we can continue to keep on top of each others lives.
I miss these friends and have since moving to Arizona, that was my choice, and now I relish these times together. I still miss and always will miss Dave and our talks, I miss when Dave and Mr. K would call, those conversations were the best!
We pretty much have decided to head to the Keys after leaving here, all the way down to Key West, most folks tell us not to miss it as long as we/re this close........will let you know!
Mike Thornton was hired the same day I was hired along with our good friend Dave Naab, we all were hired by Trausch Baking Co. one the same day and became very good friends. I remained very close to Dave even with all the miles between us (from Arizona to Illinois) via e-mail, text, and phone calls, but except for a few visits here and there lost some contact with Mike. When he moved to Bagley, Wisconsin we visited Mike and Patty up there a few years back and then again when they were in the Quad Cities visiting family a couple of years ago. The three of us and our wives got together for a nice dinner and drinks at that time and had a great time reminiscing days gone by. Now Mike and Patty live here in P.S.L. Florida and as soon as we new we were heading this direction this year we knew we had to pay them a visit and reunite old friends. (they actually had a lot to do with us even heading this direction along with our Tampa family). It's been a great few days so far and we look forward to another 4 days with them. Our friend Dave passed away a year ago last January and he is missed dearly, we've done a lot of talking about him this week and I'm sure there will be more "Daveism's" quoted before we leave!
We've played golf twice already and I will be playing again tomorrow with Mike and some of his buddies and then Bev and I again with Mike on Friday. We bought Bev a new set of golf clubs last night and she used them today, will take some getting used to but she needed them and deserved them!
Port Saint Lucie is a very nice place, with inland waters and the Atlantic very near we have seen some beautiful homes and some beautiful beaches, the humidity is the down side to visiting this time of the year. This being the off season for Florida has been good and bad in many ways, the golf courses are pretty much wide open, the RV parks need no reservations, the roads are not congested very much.........but the humidity and heat make the air heavy and it's not very good on the joints and the arthritis in those joints!
We have more plans this week and weekend with Mike and Patty Thornton and look forward to this time with them, as when leaving Tampa and family there it will be hard to say good-bye to Mike and Patty also, not sure when we'll get back here. Mike and Patty are not "social media" types and
e-mail is hit and miss but I will try get Mike to keep in touch a bit more than in the past so we can continue to keep on top of each others lives.
I miss these friends and have since moving to Arizona, that was my choice, and now I relish these times together. I still miss and always will miss Dave and our talks, I miss when Dave and Mr. K would call, those conversations were the best!
We pretty much have decided to head to the Keys after leaving here, all the way down to Key West, most folks tell us not to miss it as long as we/re this close........will let you know!
Friday, July 15, 2016
Appreciate all the hospitality
It shouldn't but it always does amaze me the amount of hospitality shown Beverly and I when we visit friends and family all across these United States each year on these journey's we embark on. For the most part friends and family have their schedules, their jobs in many cases, and prearranged plans, but somehow always find the time to accommodate us and our visits. We so much enjoy catching up with old friends and family we don't get to see all year (or in some cases many, many years) and renewing these relationships. We take what we can get and make the most of all the places and folks we visit along the way, while at the same time having our time together doing what we love to do..........see new places, golf different course across the country, and just plain enjoy each other as much as we can. This past week in the Tampa, Homosassa Florida area we were able to reconnect with some cousins and one of our favorite aunts and meet some of their children which we haven't seen since they were very small and some cases not at all. The week we spent in this area and on this stop in our journey flew by and as mentioned we greatly appreciated all the hospitality and time shown us!
This next leg of the trip we look forward to visiting an old friend and his wife for a few days and playing some golf in the Port Saint Lucie area of Florida on the Atlantic side of the state. At this time we're also thinking about throwing in the Florida Keys on this journey, this was not even thought about in our planning but now that we're so close we're giving it some thought and thinking why not.
Even though this is the wrong time of the year to visit Florida for the most part, there are some advantages if you can bear the couple of hours of rain everyday and the humidity. First and foremost for us would be he ease of securing great RV parks and spaces available in these resorts, their not ghost towns, but seem to always have space available where I'm sure that wouldn't be the case in the winter months! Another big item would be the cost of staying at these places, summer rates just like the golf in Phoenix are much lower this time of year and so is the golf here. You couple that with gas prices all along the south being from $185 - $2.05 and that makes for happy campers!
I won't miss driving in the Tampa area none too soon, what a mess and what a joke. It seems there is not a straight street to and from anywhere and the streets change names up to three times in a matter of a few miles.........what's with that? Even our GPS and the GPS in our phones got confused many times, no like in most cases I get familiar with an area rather quickly and I have a great sense of direction, but not in and around Tampa.
We're now at 4100 miles traveled and haven't got to the point of turning and heading back towards Arizona........looks like over 8000 miles could be reached on this trip. Most of our previous journeys have amassed right at or near the 6000 mile range, all records will be shattered this year of 2016 as it looks!
This next leg of the trip we look forward to visiting an old friend and his wife for a few days and playing some golf in the Port Saint Lucie area of Florida on the Atlantic side of the state. At this time we're also thinking about throwing in the Florida Keys on this journey, this was not even thought about in our planning but now that we're so close we're giving it some thought and thinking why not.
Even though this is the wrong time of the year to visit Florida for the most part, there are some advantages if you can bear the couple of hours of rain everyday and the humidity. First and foremost for us would be he ease of securing great RV parks and spaces available in these resorts, their not ghost towns, but seem to always have space available where I'm sure that wouldn't be the case in the winter months! Another big item would be the cost of staying at these places, summer rates just like the golf in Phoenix are much lower this time of year and so is the golf here. You couple that with gas prices all along the south being from $185 - $2.05 and that makes for happy campers!
I won't miss driving in the Tampa area none too soon, what a mess and what a joke. It seems there is not a straight street to and from anywhere and the streets change names up to three times in a matter of a few miles.........what's with that? Even our GPS and the GPS in our phones got confused many times, no like in most cases I get familiar with an area rather quickly and I have a great sense of direction, but not in and around Tampa.
We're now at 4100 miles traveled and haven't got to the point of turning and heading back towards Arizona........looks like over 8000 miles could be reached on this trip. Most of our previous journeys have amassed right at or near the 6000 mile range, all records will be shattered this year of 2016 as it looks!
Sunday, July 10, 2016
$15/Hour.....for what?
Just a quick rant on this subject if I may give an example of "what for"? We were in a Steak n' Shake the other day here in Tampa (could have been anywhere USA) and had possibly the worst experience getting seated and our order taken. Upon walking in we seen the sign please wait to be seated, so we did and we waited and we waited and now a couple of more folks were in line behind us. As we waited we counted 12...yes 12 employees 4 on the grille area and 8 in the dinning area and of the 8 in the dinning there are 6 just standing behind a drink counter doing nothing! Of the roughly 15 tables from 2 to 6 tops 8 sets were empty but dirty with the remains of previous customers. We were looked at by all but those in the grille area more than a few times and not once did anyone even say "we'll be right with you" but would walk past looking busy and doing nothing! I know it makes no difference but all but two of the employees of which we now have seen 3 more that came from an office area for a total of 15 employees were minorities except the two guys in shirt and ties. Now we were determined to wait them out rather than leave, so after 5-10 minutes we were seated at the ONE table of the eight this young lad cleaned for us. Looking over the menu for an eternity a young gal approaches and ask if we new what we wanted to drink to which we replied yes and we're also ready to order (to save another 5 minutes) so we did. By the way the two couple behind us in line now totals 3 groups and still our table had been the only one cleared (and it was a 6 top for just the two of us). I then notice the couple next to us still had menus in front of them! We strike up a conversation an apologize for us having had our order taken before them, whom had been seated actually before we even entered the place! They finally get noticed and are apologized to by another waitress who we find out in talking with her and this couple was 63 years old and disgusted with the entire crew working in this establishment.
These are the folks demanding $15/hour for their wonderful service, these are the folks that will be out of a job if and when you see $15/hour, and these are the folks that will cause you and I to stop eating in these fast food places because we will not pay the prices needed by ownership to keep their doors open! These have always been jobs for teens and young people entering the business world, the world of employment, not a job meant to raise a family of 6 or 8 on! Get real, if you owned the business you two would have to (1) lay folks off (2) take away benefits (3) raise your prices and (4) eventually close your doors because of the outrages liberal ideas that they think will work. By the way the two in shirts and ties, they too had bad attitudes and acted as if they had no control over these folks........no guidance, no acting like a boss, no demanding get to work or go home, just afraid to say shit to their employees! You can imagine why.................
These are the folks demanding $15/hour for their wonderful service, these are the folks that will be out of a job if and when you see $15/hour, and these are the folks that will cause you and I to stop eating in these fast food places because we will not pay the prices needed by ownership to keep their doors open! These have always been jobs for teens and young people entering the business world, the world of employment, not a job meant to raise a family of 6 or 8 on! Get real, if you owned the business you two would have to (1) lay folks off (2) take away benefits (3) raise your prices and (4) eventually close your doors because of the outrages liberal ideas that they think will work. By the way the two in shirts and ties, they too had bad attitudes and acted as if they had no control over these folks........no guidance, no acting like a boss, no demanding get to work or go home, just afraid to say shit to their employees! You can imagine why.................
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