Despite an extremely comfortable bed I awoke early and after luxuriating for a while got up at a gentle pace ready for my last leg. The breakfast was great with many delicious choices, in which I indulged a lot. I was on my way in good time but well into daylight. Portia got me on to the Interstate system in short order & guided me well, especially the tricky bit around Louisville until I shut her down on approaching Seymour. Much of the trip was relatively scenic, the high hills of Tennessee and Kentucky eventually giving way to horse farm country. The run was relatively short, just 320 miles from hotel to home.
My timing was good. Just as The Brick had fed me as I was leaving nearly three weeks ago I decided they could feed me on my arrival back, and they did! I came on into town via Rte 11 and picked up a big bag of mail from the Post Office. Then it was on to CVS to get new Rx refills, which they filled while I was next door in Marsh getting all the perishables I will immediately need and also two bunches of carnations in Maria's memory as yesterday would have been her 68th birthday.
The van is emptied, the bird feeders have been refilled, and a picture of part of my forsythia hedge has been taken, as it is in full bloom all around my back garden. A few daffodils are blooming but most of them, and my tulips, still have a long way to go. Now I am ready to start sorting myself out indoors, and there is a lot to be done.
From pulling out of my driveway to returning to it I accumulated a grand total of two thousand, five hundred and sixty (2560) miles and much as I love my van, apart from a quick trip to get the oil changed and the tires rotated, I will be happy not to be in it again for a while. End of story!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 19
This was my "Holiday Day" of the return trip. Yesterday was making miles and tomorrow is the final dash for home, but this was a day to enjoy, and it was full of highs and lows, or ups and downs, puns intended! Without undue haste but not wasting time I left my "adequate" hotel, good for a quick crash but once again reminding me that I like things a little more upscale when there is a choice.
The first two hours were dull, in all respects. The sky was a solid dark gray and the landscape was boring, but almost simultaneously thereafter the clouds diminished and then departed and the scenery became interesting and largely remained so for the rest of the day. Throughout the day I couldn't help thinking of a contrast - Maria would have had an ear-to-ear smile the whole day while enthroned behind the wheel weaving her big van left and right and up and down, while Rita (with Bob driving the RV) would have been so white-knuckled that her fingers would have fallen off. It was that sort of driving, interesting and spectacular. I had the smarts to fill up at SC Exit #1 and noticed that at the next exit the price was up over 20 cents/gallon, which is real money with a tank of my size!
As Portia was guiding me to the center of Gatlinburg I made an emergency stop at a Mc D's and by a lucky quirk, after a bit of a wait (which got me a free apple pie) got a fresh-off-the-grill Angus burger & also fresh-from-the-basket fries to eat in the van at my leisure with my iced coffee. Gatlinburg 20-30 years ago was pretty ghastly & now it is 20-30 times even more ghastly! After crawling through and trying not to throw up my lunch at the people & tackiness I stumbled on a Smokey Mountains National Park Visitors Center, with parking! I got a good recommendation to drive w-a-a-y up to Newfound Gap for the views and bought a CD of whatever peaceful and melodic "mountain music" was being played in the background. I'll enjoy that en route home tomorrow.
I spent rather more time up hill (mountain?) and down dale than I intended as after being at the gap with many, many others I attempted to go to Clingman's Dome but the road was still winter-closed so I went a long way with a frustrated Portia who could not find any connected roads to use to turn me around. (It's a pity she doesn't have an "find a way to turn round & go back" expression!) As a result I did rather more climbing and descending than I had intended, but with so many streams and waterfall and vistas and cliffs along the way I really didn't care!
Eventually I was on the last leg of this day and discovered that if Gatlinburg was ghastly then the now-much bigger Pidgeon Forge should really be blasted off the face of the earth!!!!! Hideous and overcrowded barely scratches the surface of the horror that it is. I think a week in gaol would be better than a week there! Anyway I eventually was guided to a Hampton Inn in Knoxville, which had my reservation for a very nice room and the desk clerk gave me a recommendation to a nearby restaurant for a delicious dinner, further enhanced by using his name/recommendation in order to get a free dessert!
One way and another I covered 418 miles today and am now at 2240 since leaving home. It has been a good day, but I will be glad to be finally sleeping in my own bed tomorrow night.
The first two hours were dull, in all respects. The sky was a solid dark gray and the landscape was boring, but almost simultaneously thereafter the clouds diminished and then departed and the scenery became interesting and largely remained so for the rest of the day. Throughout the day I couldn't help thinking of a contrast - Maria would have had an ear-to-ear smile the whole day while enthroned behind the wheel weaving her big van left and right and up and down, while Rita (with Bob driving the RV) would have been so white-knuckled that her fingers would have fallen off. It was that sort of driving, interesting and spectacular. I had the smarts to fill up at SC Exit #1 and noticed that at the next exit the price was up over 20 cents/gallon, which is real money with a tank of my size!
As Portia was guiding me to the center of Gatlinburg I made an emergency stop at a Mc D's and by a lucky quirk, after a bit of a wait (which got me a free apple pie) got a fresh-off-the-grill Angus burger & also fresh-from-the-basket fries to eat in the van at my leisure with my iced coffee. Gatlinburg 20-30 years ago was pretty ghastly & now it is 20-30 times even more ghastly! After crawling through and trying not to throw up my lunch at the people & tackiness I stumbled on a Smokey Mountains National Park Visitors Center, with parking! I got a good recommendation to drive w-a-a-y up to Newfound Gap for the views and bought a CD of whatever peaceful and melodic "mountain music" was being played in the background. I'll enjoy that en route home tomorrow.
I spent rather more time up hill (mountain?) and down dale than I intended as after being at the gap with many, many others I attempted to go to Clingman's Dome but the road was still winter-closed so I went a long way with a frustrated Portia who could not find any connected roads to use to turn me around. (It's a pity she doesn't have an "find a way to turn round & go back" expression!) As a result I did rather more climbing and descending than I had intended, but with so many streams and waterfall and vistas and cliffs along the way I really didn't care!
Eventually I was on the last leg of this day and discovered that if Gatlinburg was ghastly then the now-much bigger Pidgeon Forge should really be blasted off the face of the earth!!!!! Hideous and overcrowded barely scratches the surface of the horror that it is. I think a week in gaol would be better than a week there! Anyway I eventually was guided to a Hampton Inn in Knoxville, which had my reservation for a very nice room and the desk clerk gave me a recommendation to a nearby restaurant for a delicious dinner, further enhanced by using his name/recommendation in order to get a free dessert!
One way and another I covered 418 miles today and am now at 2240 since leaving home. It has been a good day, but I will be glad to be finally sleeping in my own bed tomorrow night.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 18
The day started sunny and went through partly cloudy to partly sunny, to cloudy, to showers and eventually back to partly sunny, not such a bad thing for driving. After a typical start to the day and a nice substantial breakfast I loaded the rest of my stuff in the van along with a very substantial picnic lunch that Jean prepared for me. The goodbyes were said & hugs taken all around and lots of thanks in both directions & I finally pulled away right around ten o'clock in the morning, much as I had expected.
The journey was smooth and I didn't once have to say "shut up, Portia"! Much of it was Interstate, but a big chunk of it wasn't, which slowed me down a bit. The whole drive, though, was flat and boring, with a surprising (to me) amount of traffic for a Sunday. I made three stops, one at a rest area for coffee in and out (lousy machine coffee); once at a McDonald's where I used the purchase of an iced coffee the excuse for a long respite in their parking lot eating my picnic and reading while sitting in a middle row seat for a change of position; and finally at a gas station where I stayed just beneath the $75 limit.
The hotel (and once again I had been tricked into reserving through AND paying a third party) is not one I would choose for a multi-day stay but is adequate for crashing for a night and playing with the laptop. "My share" of our driving in the Tampa area had added about 140 miles, so I figure today's run was right around 430 miles, as the overall trip odometer reading stands at1822 miles.
I figure it must be a southern redneck macho thing that on three lane highways the outer two lanes are very busy & the inner lane virtually empty. I frequently passed long lines of center lane traffic on the inside. Weird!
The journey was smooth and I didn't once have to say "shut up, Portia"! Much of it was Interstate, but a big chunk of it wasn't, which slowed me down a bit. The whole drive, though, was flat and boring, with a surprising (to me) amount of traffic for a Sunday. I made three stops, one at a rest area for coffee in and out (lousy machine coffee); once at a McDonald's where I used the purchase of an iced coffee the excuse for a long respite in their parking lot eating my picnic and reading while sitting in a middle row seat for a change of position; and finally at a gas station where I stayed just beneath the $75 limit.
The hotel (and once again I had been tricked into reserving through AND paying a third party) is not one I would choose for a multi-day stay but is adequate for crashing for a night and playing with the laptop. "My share" of our driving in the Tampa area had added about 140 miles, so I figure today's run was right around 430 miles, as the overall trip odometer reading stands at1822 miles.
I figure it must be a southern redneck macho thing that on three lane highways the outer two lanes are very busy & the inner lane virtually empty. I frequently passed long lines of center lane traffic on the inside. Weird!
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 17
This nice but warm day was a day of tidying, in many senses. First it was "loose ends" indoors with me installing the newly painted coat/hat racks where Jean wanted them & Pete in the workshop. Then it was outside for some tidying of hoses and the like. At Jean's insistence we eschewed any seriously heavy work like major pruning/uprooting of shrubs since I would start traveling the next day and they take off a couple of days later. However, sessions with the gas-powered blower were not deemed to be heavy so while Jean was at the hairdresser and other places a very significant session of leaf-blowing took place, the end result making an enormous improvement to the appearance of the most-used area of the yard, driveway, etc.
After a late and leisurely lunch I seriously reorganized my "stuff" and put as much of it as I would no longer need in the van, to make the final packing for departure easy the next day. After that I plotted the first part of my route northwards and made a reservation for the night based on the assumption of a mid-morning departure.
This was a day of a "super moon", a full moon closer to earth than it has been any time in the last seventeen years, so in the latter part of the evening we went out for a look. It was brilliantly bright, completely overwhelming the capabilities of Jean's and my little pocket cameras, despite our trying a variety of settings.
After a late and leisurely lunch I seriously reorganized my "stuff" and put as much of it as I would no longer need in the van, to make the final packing for departure easy the next day. After that I plotted the first part of my route northwards and made a reservation for the night based on the assumption of a mid-morning departure.
This was a day of a "super moon", a full moon closer to earth than it has been any time in the last seventeen years, so in the latter part of the evening we went out for a look. It was brilliantly bright, completely overwhelming the capabilities of Jean's and my little pocket cameras, despite our trying a variety of settings.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 16
This was a multi-part day. The weather continues to be great, but we are all noticing a gradual day-by-day increase in temperatures, so my departure tomorrow seems well-timed. While Jean prepared breakfast I chivvied Peter into joining me to prepare some coat racks for painting. After we had eaten, Peter set up to spray paint them in a series of light coats while I took a step ladder and a chainsaw and cut down a number of significantly large branches that all hung downwards and made access to the big shed very annoying and inconvenient, subsequently dragging the debris to the now-enormous brush pile.
The next portion of the day made contrast in the meaning of words, depending on circumstances. To me, going to picnic in "a nearby park" means somewhere 5 - 15 minutes away. To P&J the phrase means 45-60 minutes away, but another 45 minutes closer than any other! As a result we were more than ready to eat when we had found a nice shady spot in Lettuce Lake Park (so named for a water plant that resembles lettuce leaves above water level). After eating we all relaxed, read, and in my case napped, twice I think, but not for too long at a time. Eventually we left Pete, whose legs were bothering him a bit, and Jean and I walked both sides of the figure of eight-shaped extensive boardwalk weaving along the lake shore through the swamp and mangrove trees. The lake is a temporary enlargement of the very sluggish Hillsborough river.
We made our way back, through some heavy Friday afternoon traffic and dropped Peter off for his last long therapy session before heading for the house. I found myself in the strange position of room furniture arrangement consultant, as their small family room needs serious work and they have a lovely, but largely unused main sitting room. Later we returned to pick up Peter and then I treated to a soup and salad-or-sandwich supper at the nearby very large Panera Bread store/restaurant. Back home much of the remaining evening was spent with Jean's and my computers side by side, sharing things and testing out things.
The park was not a particularly photographable subject, but I have posted a few shots on Flickr that may be seen here.
The next portion of the day made contrast in the meaning of words, depending on circumstances. To me, going to picnic in "a nearby park" means somewhere 5 - 15 minutes away. To P&J the phrase means 45-60 minutes away, but another 45 minutes closer than any other! As a result we were more than ready to eat when we had found a nice shady spot in Lettuce Lake Park (so named for a water plant that resembles lettuce leaves above water level). After eating we all relaxed, read, and in my case napped, twice I think, but not for too long at a time. Eventually we left Pete, whose legs were bothering him a bit, and Jean and I walked both sides of the figure of eight-shaped extensive boardwalk weaving along the lake shore through the swamp and mangrove trees. The lake is a temporary enlargement of the very sluggish Hillsborough river.
We made our way back, through some heavy Friday afternoon traffic and dropped Peter off for his last long therapy session before heading for the house. I found myself in the strange position of room furniture arrangement consultant, as their small family room needs serious work and they have a lovely, but largely unused main sitting room. Later we returned to pick up Peter and then I treated to a soup and salad-or-sandwich supper at the nearby very large Panera Bread store/restaurant. Back home much of the remaining evening was spent with Jean's and my computers side by side, sharing things and testing out things.
The park was not a particularly photographable subject, but I have posted a few shots on Flickr that may be seen here.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 15
It could be said that this was the day I "sang for my supper", repaying hospitality with a hard day's work. The evening before we had agreed that as Jean needed to make lots of phone calls, arrange a trip to Boston to her sister, and take on a variety of domestic chores we would make this an undiluted work day.
After our efforts the day before the big outdoor priority was to get the "outer" of two hedges that were severely cutting into their pathway to the front door under control. We briefly tried just a heavy pruning, but it was so old and ugly that we decided to eliminate it completely.
The day was again beautiful, if a little warm (mid-80's). The heavy arm-protecting shirt was abandoned in favor of a T-shirt at our lunch break. The work was hard, but we paced ourselves, periodically gathering wagon loads of debris and transferring it to the brush pile at the bottom of the garden and also sitting in the shade and consuming plenty of cold liquids. We also took a significant break for lunch, but did not nap.
By the end of the day we had the satisfaction of everything in that area looking many times better than it had before and that the top priority "major job" outdoors was now completed. The task would have required, had Pete tried to do it alone with his gimpy legs, many days that he currently does not have available.
Needless to say we all had an early night. It is hardly a subject for photographic art but a few before and after pictures were taken and loaded on Flickr and may be found here.
After our efforts the day before the big outdoor priority was to get the "outer" of two hedges that were severely cutting into their pathway to the front door under control. We briefly tried just a heavy pruning, but it was so old and ugly that we decided to eliminate it completely.
The day was again beautiful, if a little warm (mid-80's). The heavy arm-protecting shirt was abandoned in favor of a T-shirt at our lunch break. The work was hard, but we paced ourselves, periodically gathering wagon loads of debris and transferring it to the brush pile at the bottom of the garden and also sitting in the shade and consuming plenty of cold liquids. We also took a significant break for lunch, but did not nap.
By the end of the day we had the satisfaction of everything in that area looking many times better than it had before and that the top priority "major job" outdoors was now completed. The task would have required, had Pete tried to do it alone with his gimpy legs, many days that he currently does not have available.
Needless to say we all had an early night. It is hardly a subject for photographic art but a few before and after pictures were taken and loaded on Flickr and may be found here.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 14
Unusually for me I woke soon after four AM and having solved the immediate nose/mouth/bladder problems found myself totally unable to fall back to sleep, aggravated by the fact that we had agreed on an early start. Before eight o'clock we were heading to Tampa and the Aquarium's dock. In "payment" for docking facilities the Aquarium gives a Port of Tampa water tour once (and sometimes twice) a week, free but reservations needed.
After a somewhat disorganized start we embarked on the tour. The actual port (handling the greatest tonnage of any Florida port by a wide margin) is actually 23 miles from the mouth of Tampa Bay and its big bridge. In addition to its docking/unloading facilities it has a very large ship repair operation with a variety of dry-docks. They also pointed out, on an island man-made over decades from dredged debris (and large enough for a private plane/helicopter airport) a dog park with an unusual feature, a beach! Zoe would have loved it!
The tour lasted over 1 1/2 hours and was surprisingly interesting. After disembarking next to a restored Liberty Ship (whose only voyage in decades, after restoration was a sentimental crossing of the Atlantic, and up the Thames to London & back) we went to Ybor City, formerly a major center for cigar making, still very Cuban-flavored, and after major decline is largely restored for tourism. We had a very nice lunch outdoors under an awning (fried oyster sandwich for me) before heading home.
We then all napped! After awakening I was feeling energetic & volunteered my "legs" for any jobs/yard work. First Jean came & helped/directed with the movement way down the yard of trash for pick-up & brush for the pile, and then Peter substituted bringing a chain saw & hedge clippers. We made an impressive amount of improvement, working together until almost dark and burning off our excess energy.
As usual, we took photos, mostly rather distant for pocket cameras, and a selection have been posted on Flickr, found here.
After a somewhat disorganized start we embarked on the tour. The actual port (handling the greatest tonnage of any Florida port by a wide margin) is actually 23 miles from the mouth of Tampa Bay and its big bridge. In addition to its docking/unloading facilities it has a very large ship repair operation with a variety of dry-docks. They also pointed out, on an island man-made over decades from dredged debris (and large enough for a private plane/helicopter airport) a dog park with an unusual feature, a beach! Zoe would have loved it!
The tour lasted over 1 1/2 hours and was surprisingly interesting. After disembarking next to a restored Liberty Ship (whose only voyage in decades, after restoration was a sentimental crossing of the Atlantic, and up the Thames to London & back) we went to Ybor City, formerly a major center for cigar making, still very Cuban-flavored, and after major decline is largely restored for tourism. We had a very nice lunch outdoors under an awning (fried oyster sandwich for me) before heading home.
We then all napped! After awakening I was feeling energetic & volunteered my "legs" for any jobs/yard work. First Jean came & helped/directed with the movement way down the yard of trash for pick-up & brush for the pile, and then Peter substituted bringing a chain saw & hedge clippers. We made an impressive amount of improvement, working together until almost dark and burning off our excess energy.
As usual, we took photos, mostly rather distant for pocket cameras, and a selection have been posted on Flickr, found here.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 13
This day was slightly more "partly cloudy" (which was a good thing) and also slightly warmer, but still very pleasant. The day's objective was Myakka River Sate Park which is also in the Sarasota area. Jean & Peter were a bit disappointed as their decade-old memories of earlier visits were of lots of water/large lakes, huge numbers of alligators, and few people and today's realities were exactly opposite on all counts. The shorelines have retreated at least 100 yards all around, alligators are few and far between and there are vast numbers of people!
We managed to park (slightly illegally, like many others) near the lake and enjoyed another leisurely picnic. Later we moved into the shade for a relaxing afternoon, somewhat apart from the crowds, relaxing and reading. We visited one of the huge new concession buildings, three times in my case, once to buy a memento mug, once to buy three cups of ice cream for our dessert, and once to buy a Christmas tree ornament, all apart from the obvious reason for going there!
We drove through much of the properly paved portion, largely along one edge and eventually headed home for a late dinner. As we were finishing Jean got the feared phone call to confirm that a cancer-wracked sister has been given but 2 to 4 months, which led to somber discussions of cancers in general, and of the sad deaths that eventuate. In the short term they are making no changes to plans, but a definite pall was cast on the day.
Not a lot of pictures were taken, but a few have been uploaded to Flickr & may be found here.
We managed to park (slightly illegally, like many others) near the lake and enjoyed another leisurely picnic. Later we moved into the shade for a relaxing afternoon, somewhat apart from the crowds, relaxing and reading. We visited one of the huge new concession buildings, three times in my case, once to buy a memento mug, once to buy three cups of ice cream for our dessert, and once to buy a Christmas tree ornament, all apart from the obvious reason for going there!
We drove through much of the properly paved portion, largely along one edge and eventually headed home for a late dinner. As we were finishing Jean got the feared phone call to confirm that a cancer-wracked sister has been given but 2 to 4 months, which led to somber discussions of cancers in general, and of the sad deaths that eventuate. In the short term they are making no changes to plans, but a definite pall was cast on the day.
Not a lot of pictures were taken, but a few have been uploaded to Flickr & may be found here.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 12
Although this was again a beautiful day weatherwise we chose to make it a "domestic day". While Jean went to be frustrated by endless waiting at the License Branch Peter and I replaced both a deadbolt and a full lockset on their primary outside door, then investigated the inoperative one on their front door, concluding that it was not fixable & would eventually have to be replaced. We also worked on the lawn tractor/mower, including running cable out to the shed to put the battery on charge. Later in the day I mounted their kitchen fire extinguisher in a strategic place and also mounted a hangar on a stucco pillar on their enclosed patio.
In the afternoon Peter went for his extensive physical therapy session and after dropping him we filled the van, or almost filled it as I was again cut off at the $75 mark! Jean & I then went for our brisk two laps around the same large pond as before before going to pick Pete up. I raised the subject of length of stay and was firmly told (later reiterated by Peter) that I would be welcome to continue staying in the house after they leave for Cincinnati sometime next week - I won't of course, but I am going to stay on for a while.
Peter is capable of many things but is much too easily distracted, not only by something that catches his eye, but equally by something that catches his ear which may result in him wondering why, two hours later, he has a tool in his hand! Jean is very appreciative of my ability to keep him focused on the task at hand and the both of them are enjoying revisiting places in this area that they enjoy but without a forcing excuse somehow never get around to seeing
In the evening I acted as a second pair of eyes and supplier of encouragement (having done similarly myself) while Jean fought her way through renewing the van, camper, and trailer license plates, making them legal again. This was not a day for photo opportunities, so there is no link to this edition.
In the afternoon Peter went for his extensive physical therapy session and after dropping him we filled the van, or almost filled it as I was again cut off at the $75 mark! Jean & I then went for our brisk two laps around the same large pond as before before going to pick Pete up. I raised the subject of length of stay and was firmly told (later reiterated by Peter) that I would be welcome to continue staying in the house after they leave for Cincinnati sometime next week - I won't of course, but I am going to stay on for a while.
Peter is capable of many things but is much too easily distracted, not only by something that catches his eye, but equally by something that catches his ear which may result in him wondering why, two hours later, he has a tool in his hand! Jean is very appreciative of my ability to keep him focused on the task at hand and the both of them are enjoying revisiting places in this area that they enjoy but without a forcing excuse somehow never get around to seeing
In the evening I acted as a second pair of eyes and supplier of encouragement (having done similarly myself) while Jean fought her way through renewing the van, camper, and trailer license plates, making them legal again. This was not a day for photo opportunities, so there is no link to this edition.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 11
This was yet another beautiful day and tempted us to a third straight "day out". I had noticed yesterday that the Emery's Honda Odyssey minivan was wearing license plates that expired two weeks ago, so this was a good opportunity for me to be the driver and show off my van!
We went down to Sarasota and to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. MS had been a wealthy wife with a deep love for gardens and exotic trees and plants and bequeathed the estate on her passing 35 years ago. We basically spent the whole day there, seeing all that was there at a gentle pace. After doing the conservatory with a variety of less-common orchids on display we bought salads and sandwiches for lunch and ate outside in the shade of a huge banyan tree. We then made a leisurely tour of the gardens, which are like a peninsula with water on three sides. Near the end, in one of the old buildings (a converted home) was an exhibition of very colorful wall decorations (called masks, but not meant for covering the face) all carved from solid balsa wood logs by talented Central Americans and brightly painted. All had been for sale and the vast majority had sold for prices from around $300 up to nearly $700. We did not buy!
We cruised the gift and the flower shop which had many beautiful exotics, largely but not only orchids, but all I bought was a cactus for my kitchen window cactus planter. It is lovely to have opportunities for trips out like this but the travel time does consume quite a bit of the day. Once we were back Jean made dinner and afterward we continued sharing our daily pictures and then moved on to showing each other our older photos. My taking of my Qoop "albums" has proven to be an excellent idea. A small selection of today's pictures have been posted on Flickr, and may be found here.
We went down to Sarasota and to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. MS had been a wealthy wife with a deep love for gardens and exotic trees and plants and bequeathed the estate on her passing 35 years ago. We basically spent the whole day there, seeing all that was there at a gentle pace. After doing the conservatory with a variety of less-common orchids on display we bought salads and sandwiches for lunch and ate outside in the shade of a huge banyan tree. We then made a leisurely tour of the gardens, which are like a peninsula with water on three sides. Near the end, in one of the old buildings (a converted home) was an exhibition of very colorful wall decorations (called masks, but not meant for covering the face) all carved from solid balsa wood logs by talented Central Americans and brightly painted. All had been for sale and the vast majority had sold for prices from around $300 up to nearly $700. We did not buy!
We cruised the gift and the flower shop which had many beautiful exotics, largely but not only orchids, but all I bought was a cactus for my kitchen window cactus planter. It is lovely to have opportunities for trips out like this but the travel time does consume quite a bit of the day. Once we were back Jean made dinner and afterward we continued sharing our daily pictures and then moved on to showing each other our older photos. My taking of my Qoop "albums" has proven to be an excellent idea. A small selection of today's pictures have been posted on Flickr, and may be found here.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 10
This was the day we went to the Fort De Soto park on a barrier island (but reachable by road and bridge). To J&P's disappointment its definition as the #1 beach in the country in 2005 immensely increased its popularity & instead of just a day or two camping reservations are now up to 6 months out. There are also vastly more day trippers, such as we were this day. The old fort itself is undergoing massive restorations and is closed to the public, but we went primarily for the beach.
It is a fair drive, but not a difficult one. Being a Saturday the beach was busy/crowded but nothing like it is going to be in the upcoming spring break weeks. The sun shone brightly all day, but when staying still the cool breeze made the addition of a coat or fleece wise. We set up and picnicked in the grassy part close to the huge parking area, then we packed up, grabbed some portable seating and headed for the beach, settling in fairly close to the edge to absorb some rays as the saying goes. A full stomach & relaxation had it's inevitable effect and it didn't take me long to doze off for a nice nap.
After I woke we left Pete behind a pile of chairs (acting as a windbreak) with his newspaper and Jean and I took a nice long walk all around the beach perimeter as far as the protected area (for ground nesting birds) one end and a minor bay entrance the other end ending at the back by the facilities where we bought cups of ice cream for dessert for the three of us.
Eventually we took our leave, making short stops at a fishing pier, the (closed) fort, and the tip of the island with a good view a long way across the water to the bridge, easily seen with the eye but not so much by our cameras. By the time we were getting close to home it was after seven so we went to a local family-owned authentic Spanish restaurant and all had a delicious meal, each of us walking out with at least 45% of our serving in a doggie box as they were way more than any of us could eat all at one time.
It was a very nice day, enjoyed by us all. I have weaned the pictures we took down to a reasonable number and posted them on Flickr, findable here.
It is a fair drive, but not a difficult one. Being a Saturday the beach was busy/crowded but nothing like it is going to be in the upcoming spring break weeks. The sun shone brightly all day, but when staying still the cool breeze made the addition of a coat or fleece wise. We set up and picnicked in the grassy part close to the huge parking area, then we packed up, grabbed some portable seating and headed for the beach, settling in fairly close to the edge to absorb some rays as the saying goes. A full stomach & relaxation had it's inevitable effect and it didn't take me long to doze off for a nice nap.
After I woke we left Pete behind a pile of chairs (acting as a windbreak) with his newspaper and Jean and I took a nice long walk all around the beach perimeter as far as the protected area (for ground nesting birds) one end and a minor bay entrance the other end ending at the back by the facilities where we bought cups of ice cream for dessert for the three of us.
Eventually we took our leave, making short stops at a fishing pier, the (closed) fort, and the tip of the island with a good view a long way across the water to the bridge, easily seen with the eye but not so much by our cameras. By the time we were getting close to home it was after seven so we went to a local family-owned authentic Spanish restaurant and all had a delicious meal, each of us walking out with at least 45% of our serving in a doggie box as they were way more than any of us could eat all at one time.
It was a very nice day, enjoyed by us all. I have weaned the pictures we took down to a reasonable number and posted them on Flickr, findable here.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 9
The major event of this day was a trip to the other side of Tampa Bay and over to the coast to the town of Tarpon Springs. We finally got going in the latter part of the morning and didn't return until the evening. The day was bright and sunny, but breezy, and once at the coast cool enough to make wearing a jacket or fleece wise.
The old city of Tarpon Springs is centered around the sponge fishing industry, and similar to the U.P. which was largely populated by Cornishmen & other north European miners, was started by Greek sponge fishermen. It is now a tourist haven (trap?) with two dominant themes, sponges and Greeks. It is still a center for sponge fishing as most of the shops can attest, and it is also hugely into Greek food of all kinds.
With strategic pacing and resting Peter was able to walk further this day than he apparently has been able to do for months. We absorbed sponge knowledge and history (I had never realized how ignorant I was on the subject) and wandered about the touristy/marina part of town. We had lunch at a restaurant that claims it is scheduled to be part of a Food Network show in a couple of months, and it was good. We took a look at, and into, a number of the shops (which didn't seem to be quite as tacky, by and large, as one might expect) but beyond a bakery to get a dessert treat (Kok or baclava) and a couple of sponges for P&J temptation was largely resisted, except for a couple of different specialty soap shops (sorry, Carol!).
We eventually left and managed, with some judicial map reading, to fake out their Garmin enough to route us back across the causeway dividing inner Tampa Bay instead of the inland route we were guided to use on our outbound journey. All in all it was a very nice and interesting day, enjoyed equally by P&J who until having the excuse of a visitor to make the effort to go there hadn't actually been back for some 10 years!
A large number of pictures were taken between us, and shared in the evening, and some of them have been uploaded to Flickr and may be found here.
The old city of Tarpon Springs is centered around the sponge fishing industry, and similar to the U.P. which was largely populated by Cornishmen & other north European miners, was started by Greek sponge fishermen. It is now a tourist haven (trap?) with two dominant themes, sponges and Greeks. It is still a center for sponge fishing as most of the shops can attest, and it is also hugely into Greek food of all kinds.
With strategic pacing and resting Peter was able to walk further this day than he apparently has been able to do for months. We absorbed sponge knowledge and history (I had never realized how ignorant I was on the subject) and wandered about the touristy/marina part of town. We had lunch at a restaurant that claims it is scheduled to be part of a Food Network show in a couple of months, and it was good. We took a look at, and into, a number of the shops (which didn't seem to be quite as tacky, by and large, as one might expect) but beyond a bakery to get a dessert treat (Kok or baclava) and a couple of sponges for P&J temptation was largely resisted, except for a couple of different specialty soap shops (sorry, Carol!).
We eventually left and managed, with some judicial map reading, to fake out their Garmin enough to route us back across the causeway dividing inner Tampa Bay instead of the inland route we were guided to use on our outbound journey. All in all it was a very nice and interesting day, enjoyed equally by P&J who until having the excuse of a visitor to make the effort to go there hadn't actually been back for some 10 years!
A large number of pictures were taken between us, and shared in the evening, and some of them have been uploaded to Flickr and may be found here.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 8
The day started with a bang - literally - as a very loud thunderclap directly overhead woke me betimes, although being accustomed to such things both Jean & Peter slept on through the storm. The day was pleasant and relatively quiet. I am beginning to understand why projects take a long time here. The plan to replace a doorlock & a deadbolt never actually got beyond opening the package & reading the instructions, a combination of mutual AAADD and conversations, and meals quietly overtaking our good intentions.
In the afternoon Pete had to go for some extensive physical therapy and after dropping him off Jean & I returned to a local large pond/small lake and proceeded to walk all around it twice, at 20 minutes/lap. It contained a lot of lillypads all very close to blooming and a wide variety of water birds, herons, egrets, spoonbill, cranes, ibis, coots and anhinga, a bird I had never seen before.
After dinner I introduced Jean to Facebook, which consumed us in setting her up to such an extent that Pete retired to bed and left us to it! It has been a pleasant and relaxing day.
In the afternoon Pete had to go for some extensive physical therapy and after dropping him off Jean & I returned to a local large pond/small lake and proceeded to walk all around it twice, at 20 minutes/lap. It contained a lot of lillypads all very close to blooming and a wide variety of water birds, herons, egrets, spoonbill, cranes, ibis, coots and anhinga, a bird I had never seen before.
After dinner I introduced Jean to Facebook, which consumed us in setting her up to such an extent that Pete retired to bed and left us to it! It has been a pleasant and relaxing day.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 7
After a good night I had the usual excellent juice, yogurt, eggs biscuits and gravy, and waffles breakfast. I/they had a hard time getting "club" credit for my stay & they were unable to tell me what the night cost as it turned out I had unknowingly booked through Travelocity - to my mind almost a scam - when I thought I was calling Country Inns - no wonder there only appeared to be 4 rooms! I'll know better next time.
Portia did a great job of getting me to my destination the quickest way, but it was still a long run again. Three observations - trucks eschew the right hand lane whenever there are more than two; on three-lane sections universal speeds, right to left, are 74.9, 75, 75.1; and I-10 has almost 100 miles of not being near enough to any towns for there to be either food or refreshment actually at the exits. By the time I could actually see the Golden Arches & Gas signs from the highway I was running on fumes - it took $90 to refill the van! By the time I wanted to stop again I was headed south and things were more normal. I forced myself to take a "leisurely" McD's lunch to stretch the legs and have a change of position.
Finally, after 1249.1 miles from home and at 3:20 in the afternoon Portia got me to the end of the unmarked lane. Bouncing down the unmarked lane I had no trouble finding the house:
Of course, at the time it was just the flag! We took pictures later!
It is warm, but not unbearable here. Jean & Pete seem to be delighted to see me. Apart from when we were eating the large & delicious meal Jean had cooked constant talking was the order of the day, apart from Pete showing me his well-equipped but cluttered workshop (actually a garage but who needs more than a car-port down here). After dinner we continued talking until bedtime and 99% of the conversation covered our mutual reminiscences of the period 1939-1950. With a 9-year advantage over me Pete held the lion's share of the conversation, but then he always was more loquacious than I am.
Portia did a great job of getting me to my destination the quickest way, but it was still a long run again. Three observations - trucks eschew the right hand lane whenever there are more than two; on three-lane sections universal speeds, right to left, are 74.9, 75, 75.1; and I-10 has almost 100 miles of not being near enough to any towns for there to be either food or refreshment actually at the exits. By the time I could actually see the Golden Arches & Gas signs from the highway I was running on fumes - it took $90 to refill the van! By the time I wanted to stop again I was headed south and things were more normal. I forced myself to take a "leisurely" McD's lunch to stretch the legs and have a change of position.
Finally, after 1249.1 miles from home and at 3:20 in the afternoon Portia got me to the end of the unmarked lane. Bouncing down the unmarked lane I had no trouble finding the house:
It is warm, but not unbearable here. Jean & Pete seem to be delighted to see me. Apart from when we were eating the large & delicious meal Jean had cooked constant talking was the order of the day, apart from Pete showing me his well-equipped but cluttered workshop (actually a garage but who needs more than a car-port down here). After dinner we continued talking until bedtime and 99% of the conversation covered our mutual reminiscences of the period 1939-1950. With a 9-year advantage over me Pete held the lion's share of the conversation, but then he always was more loquacious than I am.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Days 5 & 6
These two days represented the end of one phase and the start of the next. On Monday morning Marissa went to the library and John played "househusband" and generally got things ready for the Tuesday departure. We went to lunch at Tequila's Mexican restaurant and had a surprisingly good meal, stopping on the way back to fill up the van and get a bake-it-yourself pizza for the evening. The pump snapped off at exactly $75, either a coincidental good sign or a maximum setting per card swiping, but the van was full.
The afternoon was lazy, mostly watching DVDs with a break to take Zoe for her first "outing" in several days, which she clearly enjoyed. Marissa went back for the second part of her split shift and the evening thereafter was calm and pleasant.
I woke early Tuesday, to Marissa's displeasure as little "ears-like-a-bat" hears every minuscule sound, but the bottom line was that I was pulling out of her driveway at 7:00 AM (8:00 EST) with 292.1 miles on the odometer. The morning was dull, but dry and not too cold. "Portia" was confused by the changes to the Lloyd Expressway & had to "recalculate" to find the bridge without taking me along the waterfront. The Ohio is in serious flood already, edge of water to edge of water being an immense distance, but not affecting bridge or roadway. More road construction also had Portia confused later on but the situation was self-correcting, but I must remember to see if I can update the GPS when I get home.
At 10:30 (EST) I stopped for a stretch and a fancy McCoffee prior to weaving my way through the Nashville interstate system. I slogged on until almost 1:00 when I fortuitously stumbled on a Love's with both a Subway for a sandwich and a McD's for a coffee, both of which were consumed in the back of the van, semi-recumbent, while I read and forced myself to take a decent break. It started to sprinkle as I subsequently filled up with gas and no sooner had I returned to the highway than it rained at varying intensities, but mostly very hard, for all 90 miles remaining to Birmingham, where it stopped just before a mess of road construction was encountered. Luckily it was not bad going south, but the northbound traffic looked to be in real trouble. Subsequently the day improved both in temperature and in sunshine.
In Montgomery I switched from hot lattes to iced, but still McD's. Thereafter it was just a steady slog on to Dothan, to my easily-found hotel and comfortable room. My travel time, stops included, had been 9 hours and fifty minutes covering 561 miles. The van has made longer trips, but always with two or more drivers. This was the longest run it has made with a single, companion-less driver, kept alert by an eclectic mix of CD's all the way from grand operatic arias to Patsy Cline & everything (not modern) in between.
Dothan, apparently, has the highest per-capita rate of both motels and restaurants in the land, very largely catering to transients, such as myself. Reluctant to enter the van again today I was pleased to find several restaurants within 150 yards, and chose Ruby Tuesday's to which to take my "date", Ms. Kindle. I indulged in a leisurely fashion over a really excellent meal, blue cheese flavored cole slaw, tilapia topped with many large shrimp and covered with a spicy parmesan sauce and a baked potato, and a fruit and yogurt based parfait for desert. I'm on holiday, I've driven a long way, and who was to stop me?
I kept wondering why "Portia" always seemed to be an hour off with her ETA until I entered the hotel and found that yea, verily, it is CST here - who knew? Now all that remains is a nice soak in the hot-tub/whirlpool & some peaceful reading. All in all a good day.
The afternoon was lazy, mostly watching DVDs with a break to take Zoe for her first "outing" in several days, which she clearly enjoyed. Marissa went back for the second part of her split shift and the evening thereafter was calm and pleasant.
I woke early Tuesday, to Marissa's displeasure as little "ears-like-a-bat" hears every minuscule sound, but the bottom line was that I was pulling out of her driveway at 7:00 AM (8:00 EST) with 292.1 miles on the odometer. The morning was dull, but dry and not too cold. "Portia" was confused by the changes to the Lloyd Expressway & had to "recalculate" to find the bridge without taking me along the waterfront. The Ohio is in serious flood already, edge of water to edge of water being an immense distance, but not affecting bridge or roadway. More road construction also had Portia confused later on but the situation was self-correcting, but I must remember to see if I can update the GPS when I get home.
At 10:30 (EST) I stopped for a stretch and a fancy McCoffee prior to weaving my way through the Nashville interstate system. I slogged on until almost 1:00 when I fortuitously stumbled on a Love's with both a Subway for a sandwich and a McD's for a coffee, both of which were consumed in the back of the van, semi-recumbent, while I read and forced myself to take a decent break. It started to sprinkle as I subsequently filled up with gas and no sooner had I returned to the highway than it rained at varying intensities, but mostly very hard, for all 90 miles remaining to Birmingham, where it stopped just before a mess of road construction was encountered. Luckily it was not bad going south, but the northbound traffic looked to be in real trouble. Subsequently the day improved both in temperature and in sunshine.
In Montgomery I switched from hot lattes to iced, but still McD's. Thereafter it was just a steady slog on to Dothan, to my easily-found hotel and comfortable room. My travel time, stops included, had been 9 hours and fifty minutes covering 561 miles. The van has made longer trips, but always with two or more drivers. This was the longest run it has made with a single, companion-less driver, kept alert by an eclectic mix of CD's all the way from grand operatic arias to Patsy Cline & everything (not modern) in between.
Dothan, apparently, has the highest per-capita rate of both motels and restaurants in the land, very largely catering to transients, such as myself. Reluctant to enter the van again today I was pleased to find several restaurants within 150 yards, and chose Ruby Tuesday's to which to take my "date", Ms. Kindle. I indulged in a leisurely fashion over a really excellent meal, blue cheese flavored cole slaw, tilapia topped with many large shrimp and covered with a spicy parmesan sauce and a baked potato, and a fruit and yogurt based parfait for desert. I'm on holiday, I've driven a long way, and who was to stop me?
I kept wondering why "Portia" always seemed to be an hour off with her ETA until I entered the hotel and found that yea, verily, it is CST here - who knew? Now all that remains is a nice soak in the hot-tub/whirlpool & some peaceful reading. All in all a good day.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Days 3 & 4
The weather eliminated any guilt from making these two very quiet & relaxing days. It rained, at varying intensities all day Saturday and although Sunday was dry it was still unpleasant as it remained in the mid-30's all day and the wind blew strongly, discouraging any outside activity that was not essential. Both days were spent in reading, watching TV series on DVD, some PC activity, and eating - pleasant, but hardly stirring stuff.
Saturday evening was spent at the Country Club as guests of the Library Board President in attending a "roast" of a much-loved local figure (& former library board president himself) who was about to retire after a lifetime in education, much of it as the Junior High School principal & through whose school the vast majority of the attendees had passed. It was a successful charity fund-raiser and actually both amusing and enjoyable even to an out-of-towner and a city "newcomer" (eight years down here doesn't qualify as anything else!).
Sunday's "out-of-house" experience was to make two laps of the proposed upcoming 5K circuit, the first to check the route and make a couple of off-setting changes, and the second to "proof" the 3.1 mile distance. That was followed by a supermarket run to get the ingredients for the delicious pot-roast we enjoyed in the evening.
Saturday evening was spent at the Country Club as guests of the Library Board President in attending a "roast" of a much-loved local figure (& former library board president himself) who was about to retire after a lifetime in education, much of it as the Junior High School principal & through whose school the vast majority of the attendees had passed. It was a successful charity fund-raiser and actually both amusing and enjoyable even to an out-of-towner and a city "newcomer" (eight years down here doesn't qualify as anything else!).
Sunday's "out-of-house" experience was to make two laps of the proposed upcoming 5K circuit, the first to check the route and make a couple of off-setting changes, and the second to "proof" the 3.1 mile distance. That was followed by a supermarket run to get the ingredients for the delicious pot-roast we enjoyed in the evening.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Days 1 & 2
The first day was mostly good. The early morning routine, rise, mall-walk, coffee & newspaper, and breakfast was quite normal, the morning weather was decent and the final stages of preparing to leave the house for a while went smoothly (and 95% correctly!) Mid-morning sunshine suggested taking the riverside "scenic route" & accelerated the time of departure. However, a late weather alert warned of floods bringing the realization that the Ohio River may well be in flood & closing sections of the river road, plus the clouds moved in completely obliterating any further sunshine. Pulling out of the driveway with the odometer at zero the decision was made to simply go for the speedy route.
First stop was The Brick in Jonesville for their excellent bean soup and even better (if messy) hamburger deluxe. Thereafter it was just a speedy dash all the way to Marissa's in Mount Vernon. There was a great deal of water everywhere & all rivers and creeks were very high. The drive was 217 miles.
Zoe was my welcoming hostess and seemed to be very pleased to see me. I settled in and waited to see Marissa who could only stay a little while as she had three meetings back-to-back taking much of the late afternoon and evening, justifying my arrival today to "dog-sit".
After she had left I went to set up my laptop and ran into the first trip crisis which quite spoiled my evening. Briefly distracted while packing away the laptop in Columbus I had forgotten to pack the computer battery charger! Wild ideas of a round trip to get it, or a return home for a night between here & heading south did not appeal. However, knowing Marissa wanted to install a new router & test it I chose to save what battery capacity I had. After Marissa returned & we discussed it after making our plans we decided to see if I couldn't obtain a generic replacement in Evansville.
Saturday's morning weather was iffy at best, but all forecasts indicated that it would deteriorate later and be really nasty for the next 72 hours. We made a decently early start towards Evansville, grabbed some breakfast when we got there and started shopping. In Michael's Marissa bought my choice of a tapestry that will eventually grace my house, in the going-out-of-business Border's I bought a number of CD's for my listening pleasure while driving south and back while she bought a DVD or three, and then in Best Buy we got her router and my universal PC charger.
We then moved on to the zoo, virtually deserted on a cool, wet school day. We made a pass through their fully enclosed and warm Amazonia and enjoyed all the orchids that had been temporarily integrated therein. We then proceeded to give ourselves a good work-out by walking the entire zoo, which while not large as zoo's go is built in a very hilly area. As the old joke goes, it felt like it was "uphill, both ways"! Out timing was good as for 98% of our walking it was merely damp & we were close enough to dive back into Amazonia while a short, sharp shower inundated the area. After it stopped we made our way out, headed back through Evansville, stopped for a fast-food lunch and then a quick shop for food supplies (mostly for breakfasts) and then back home, through the now-steady rain, swinging down by the waterfront to see that the Ohio River is already well above flood stage.
The router is set up and works, the laptop is on charge/mains power, and after a successful day we settled down to watch some of the episodes of our last set of DVD's of NCIS, the 7th season.
A few pictures have been posted on Flickr & may be seen here.
First stop was The Brick in Jonesville for their excellent bean soup and even better (if messy) hamburger deluxe. Thereafter it was just a speedy dash all the way to Marissa's in Mount Vernon. There was a great deal of water everywhere & all rivers and creeks were very high. The drive was 217 miles.
Zoe was my welcoming hostess and seemed to be very pleased to see me. I settled in and waited to see Marissa who could only stay a little while as she had three meetings back-to-back taking much of the late afternoon and evening, justifying my arrival today to "dog-sit".
After she had left I went to set up my laptop and ran into the first trip crisis which quite spoiled my evening. Briefly distracted while packing away the laptop in Columbus I had forgotten to pack the computer battery charger! Wild ideas of a round trip to get it, or a return home for a night between here & heading south did not appeal. However, knowing Marissa wanted to install a new router & test it I chose to save what battery capacity I had. After Marissa returned & we discussed it after making our plans we decided to see if I couldn't obtain a generic replacement in Evansville.
Saturday's morning weather was iffy at best, but all forecasts indicated that it would deteriorate later and be really nasty for the next 72 hours. We made a decently early start towards Evansville, grabbed some breakfast when we got there and started shopping. In Michael's Marissa bought my choice of a tapestry that will eventually grace my house, in the going-out-of-business Border's I bought a number of CD's for my listening pleasure while driving south and back while she bought a DVD or three, and then in Best Buy we got her router and my universal PC charger.
We then moved on to the zoo, virtually deserted on a cool, wet school day. We made a pass through their fully enclosed and warm Amazonia and enjoyed all the orchids that had been temporarily integrated therein. We then proceeded to give ourselves a good work-out by walking the entire zoo, which while not large as zoo's go is built in a very hilly area. As the old joke goes, it felt like it was "uphill, both ways"! Out timing was good as for 98% of our walking it was merely damp & we were close enough to dive back into Amazonia while a short, sharp shower inundated the area. After it stopped we made our way out, headed back through Evansville, stopped for a fast-food lunch and then a quick shop for food supplies (mostly for breakfasts) and then back home, through the now-steady rain, swinging down by the waterfront to see that the Ohio River is already well above flood stage.
The router is set up and works, the laptop is on charge/mains power, and after a successful day we settled down to watch some of the episodes of our last set of DVD's of NCIS, the 7th season.
A few pictures have been posted on Flickr & may be seen here.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Preamble
Following a welcome if unexpected phone call from long time friends, during which an invitation was extended, the idea of Spring Fling trip, during the doldrum days of late winter, began to take root and rapidly moved towards becoming a reality.
Two portions quickly became certainties, a very long weekend (Thursday evening thru Tuesday early morning) with Marissa for one of her 3-day weekends combined with a "split shift" Monday, then two long days of driving and a stay with Jean & Peter Emery in central Florida. The third objective, a visit with Rita & Bob Stevens near Mobile, Alabama rapidly became iffy as it rained in Nevada towards the end of February.
With luck, entries about the highlights of the period away from Columbus will appear in this forum.
Two portions quickly became certainties, a very long weekend (Thursday evening thru Tuesday early morning) with Marissa for one of her 3-day weekends combined with a "split shift" Monday, then two long days of driving and a stay with Jean & Peter Emery in central Florida. The third objective, a visit with Rita & Bob Stevens near Mobile, Alabama rapidly became iffy as it rained in Nevada towards the end of February.
With luck, entries about the highlights of the period away from Columbus will appear in this forum.
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