Monday, January 24, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Florida!! January 23, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
We had a nice visit at Laura and Derek's. The boys, Brody, 3, and Rylan, almost 6, are
such fun to be around. They're busy with their own pursuits, but take time to give Grandma
Gena a needed hug once in a while. Brody asked me, "Is that YOUR Mr. Dan?" "Yes, he is!",
I answered. Dan fit in well with the group at the birthday party yesterday, especially
with the guys...stories, guns, dogs...you get the idea.
Today, we took our leave and are headed to Panama City in our quest for warmer weather. We
stopped for lunch in a charming town, Colquitt, Georgia. There are murals all over town,
funded by the Nat'l Endowment for the Arts a few years ago. One, a 'ginormous' one
(grandson Declan's word) is being painted right now, by a man on a cherry picker. It's on
the side of 4 huge silos joined together, several stories high.
There were several restaurants on the town square, but every one of them was closed. Our
last resort was an old hotel that had a few cars parked out front. Sure enough, we walked
in and smelled good food. But, the lady at the desk said they had just closed at 2:00 (it
was about 10 minutes after 2). But, seeing our dismayed faces, and being asked questions
like "Is there ANYwhere else in town to get some dinner?", she kindly relented, took our
money, and allowed us access to their beautiful buffet lunch. Collard greens, creamed
corn, mashed potatoes, fried chicken, blackberry AND peach cobbler, pecan pie - oh my! So
much for my desire to lose weight on this trip. Tomorrow is another day.
The weather today is lovely, sunny, clear, and now about 52 degrees. We still haven't
stowed all our winter clothes, but the coats are definitely not in evidence this afternoon.
Had a great visit and dinner with one of Dan's Navy buddies in Panama City this evening. Tomorrow, Pensacola Naval Base where we have reservations for the next 5 days.
We had a nice visit at Laura and Derek's. The boys, Brody, 3, and Rylan, almost 6, are
such fun to be around. They're busy with their own pursuits, but take time to give Grandma
Gena a needed hug once in a while. Brody asked me, "Is that YOUR Mr. Dan?" "Yes, he is!",
I answered. Dan fit in well with the group at the birthday party yesterday, especially
with the guys...stories, guns, dogs...you get the idea.
Today, we took our leave and are headed to Panama City in our quest for warmer weather. We
stopped for lunch in a charming town, Colquitt, Georgia. There are murals all over town,
funded by the Nat'l Endowment for the Arts a few years ago. One, a 'ginormous' one
(grandson Declan's word) is being painted right now, by a man on a cherry picker. It's on
the side of 4 huge silos joined together, several stories high.
There were several restaurants on the town square, but every one of them was closed. Our
last resort was an old hotel that had a few cars parked out front. Sure enough, we walked
in and smelled good food. But, the lady at the desk said they had just closed at 2:00 (it
was about 10 minutes after 2). But, seeing our dismayed faces, and being asked questions
like "Is there ANYwhere else in town to get some dinner?", she kindly relented, took our
money, and allowed us access to their beautiful buffet lunch. Collard greens, creamed
corn, mashed potatoes, fried chicken, blackberry AND peach cobbler, pecan pie - oh my! So
much for my desire to lose weight on this trip. Tomorrow is another day.
The weather today is lovely, sunny, clear, and now about 52 degrees. We still haven't
stowed all our winter clothes, but the coats are definitely not in evidence this afternoon.
Had a great visit and dinner with one of Dan's Navy buddies in Panama City this evening. Tomorrow, Pensacola Naval Base where we have reservations for the next 5 days.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Grandmotherville - Leesburg, Ga.
Arrived yesterday, loved on my two grandsons, Rylan almost 6, and Brody just turned 3. Oh, and I got hugs from my daughter and her husband as well. Loved watching the boys play - at one point Rylan and 3 other big boys took a long rope and hooked all 4 of their scooters together in a train. Kind of looks like an accident waiting to happen - but, what fun! No major tragedies. Dinner at a local bar-be-que place, Shug's. We'll be here until Sunday, long enough to have a big birthday party for Brody with 'thousands' of kids jumping on a big air-filled thing in the back yard. Weather is certainly warmer (in the 50's yesterday), but rainy today.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
From Tennessee into Georgia, Jan. 18-19
Arrived yesterday evening at Mark and Susie's lovely home in Roswell, Georgia. Had a great evening involving great food, lots of fresh grapefruit juice and judicious amounts of vodka. Today we've done a little thrift store shopping and had lunch at a restaurant that had good mideastern food. Tonight, a low country boil for dinner (shrimp, sausage, potatoes, corn, spices) and more of that wonderful grapefruit juice!
Tomorrow, arriving at Laura and Derek's home in Leesburg - with two of the five most adorable children in the world await!
It's really cool here, high in the mid-forties, and overcast. Warmer than home in Michigan, but we're hoping for really warm weather soon. Moving, moving south!
Tomorrow, arriving at Laura and Derek's home in Leesburg - with two of the five most adorable children in the world await!
It's really cool here, high in the mid-forties, and overcast. Warmer than home in Michigan, but we're hoping for really warm weather soon. Moving, moving south!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
From Ohio to Tennessee (1/17)
Monday, January 17, 2011
Leaving Waverly, Ohio, and heading for friends Marian and Ray Ericson in Crossville, Tennessee. We are driving through terrain that we Michiganders never think of when we think about Ohio: beautiful rolling heavily forested hills, covered in patchy snow at the moment. My vision of Ohio, prior to my mom and dad moving to Waverly, consisted of either I-80 or I-75, and on those roads, Ohio is almost entirely flat flat farmland! Dan is treating me to some of his favorite country songs. One classy example is "Dead Skunk in the middle of the road..." You've gotta love a guy that picks songs like that for you. :D
Our habit is to avoid the interstate when we have the time. So, we drove on state roads, and, just for grins, drove through Lexington. Pretty homes, U of Ky campus, several hospitals, then all the fast food, chain restaurants, shopping that is ubiquitous (Love that word!) in our cities all over the States. Lexington is so clean, obviously not suffering too much from the recession.
Then, back to rolling hills, twisty roads. Drove past Lake Cumberland, huge TVA lake - lovely. The weather is still pretty cold, in the 30's, and overcast.
We stopped for the night at Marian and Ray's beautiful home on a lake. Good times - Mexican train dominoes, stories, wine. Wonderful breakfast this morning. Next: Mark and Susie's near Atlanta.
Leaving Waverly, Ohio, and heading for friends Marian and Ray Ericson in Crossville, Tennessee. We are driving through terrain that we Michiganders never think of when we think about Ohio: beautiful rolling heavily forested hills, covered in patchy snow at the moment. My vision of Ohio, prior to my mom and dad moving to Waverly, consisted of either I-80 or I-75, and on those roads, Ohio is almost entirely flat flat farmland! Dan is treating me to some of his favorite country songs. One classy example is "Dead Skunk in the middle of the road..." You've gotta love a guy that picks songs like that for you. :D
Our habit is to avoid the interstate when we have the time. So, we drove on state roads, and, just for grins, drove through Lexington. Pretty homes, U of Ky campus, several hospitals, then all the fast food, chain restaurants, shopping that is ubiquitous (Love that word!) in our cities all over the States. Lexington is so clean, obviously not suffering too much from the recession.
Then, back to rolling hills, twisty roads. Drove past Lake Cumberland, huge TVA lake - lovely. The weather is still pretty cold, in the 30's, and overcast.
We stopped for the night at Marian and Ray's beautiful home on a lake. Good times - Mexican train dominoes, stories, wine. Wonderful breakfast this morning. Next: Mark and Susie's near Atlanta.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
First stop on our trip, January 2011
We left Michigan on January 15, and have stopped at my dad's house in Waverly, Ohio. We have had a nice visit with Dad and Ida Jo. On Sunday, we visited a National Park called Hopewell National Monument, where there are walls and mounds from a prehistoric people. Very interesting. (I didn't get any pictures!) But, these people built walls in geometric shapes, with mounds of various sizes and for various purposes. Facinating to think of the generations it took to build some of these structures. Then we were thinking, ok, so the first guy that thought of this brought the idea to the clan/group/family? "I want to build this high earthen wall that empasses many acres, and then build mounds in which we can put ashes of our honored deceased members.....It will take many many years, and our decendants will be building here for their lives, and for their decendants' lives...." And, the rest of the people said...."WHAT???"
Anyway, nice to have a visit, tell and listen to tales from years ago. Next, we'll be driving on Monday to friends in Crossville, Tennessee.
Happy trails!
Anyway, nice to have a visit, tell and listen to tales from years ago. Next, we'll be driving on Monday to friends in Crossville, Tennessee.
Happy trails!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Finish up!
Dan's sister, Miriam, reminded me that I never really finished this blog. I left off when we were at my Dad's in Ohio. OK, so here it is!
We drove back to Michigan on November 17..and immediately got into preparations for Thanksgiving and now Christmas. The closer we got to 'rounding the corner' in our trip, in Florida, the more we realized that we didn't especially look forward to giving up our small, cozy home in the camper on wheels! Somewhere, pretty early in the trip, Dan and I realized that what we have together is truly special and that both our lives are forever enhanced by the joining of the two. Both of us are naturally happy people, and both have so many reasons to be grateful and happy. But now, we're both happier, more content, completed by the other! As we got closer to returning to Michigan and to our lives, we were a bit sad to think about less time together. So, we've decided NOT to spend less time together! Gena was wondering: "When was the specific time when we fell in love during this trip?" Dan's analogy, and I think a good one, is this: When does a cucumber become a pickle? At what point in time is it no longer just a cucumber, but a pickle - never to be just a cucumber again?? Well, Dan and I are forever to be 'pickles' and are so much richer for it!
We're planning our next road adventure, and this time, we hope we can limit the distance and the number of places so that we can just meander and linger when we want. We're leaving in mid-January, around the 14th to the 16th, (still deciding) and returning mid to late March. We'll reverse our trip down I-75, first to my Dad's, then to Mark and Susie's near Atlanta, next to Laura and Derek's in southern Georgia. After that, we have reservations on the beach (PLEASE, warm weather) in Pensacola Beach for a few days. After that, we'll likely travel down the Gulf coast to Key West. There are people we will visit along the way....At some point, we'll head west for a bit: New Orleans, at least. Beyond that, we'll decide if we want to go further west. The main requirement is warm weather.
So, goodbye for now, blog fans. More to come in January! Watch for it. I pray you all have loved ones around you for Christmas, and that you have a blessed new year.
We drove back to Michigan on November 17..and immediately got into preparations for Thanksgiving and now Christmas. The closer we got to 'rounding the corner' in our trip, in Florida, the more we realized that we didn't especially look forward to giving up our small, cozy home in the camper on wheels! Somewhere, pretty early in the trip, Dan and I realized that what we have together is truly special and that both our lives are forever enhanced by the joining of the two. Both of us are naturally happy people, and both have so many reasons to be grateful and happy. But now, we're both happier, more content, completed by the other! As we got closer to returning to Michigan and to our lives, we were a bit sad to think about less time together. So, we've decided NOT to spend less time together! Gena was wondering: "When was the specific time when we fell in love during this trip?" Dan's analogy, and I think a good one, is this: When does a cucumber become a pickle? At what point in time is it no longer just a cucumber, but a pickle - never to be just a cucumber again?? Well, Dan and I are forever to be 'pickles' and are so much richer for it!
We're planning our next road adventure, and this time, we hope we can limit the distance and the number of places so that we can just meander and linger when we want. We're leaving in mid-January, around the 14th to the 16th, (still deciding) and returning mid to late March. We'll reverse our trip down I-75, first to my Dad's, then to Mark and Susie's near Atlanta, next to Laura and Derek's in southern Georgia. After that, we have reservations on the beach (PLEASE, warm weather) in Pensacola Beach for a few days. After that, we'll likely travel down the Gulf coast to Key West. There are people we will visit along the way....At some point, we'll head west for a bit: New Orleans, at least. Beyond that, we'll decide if we want to go further west. The main requirement is warm weather.
So, goodbye for now, blog fans. More to come in January! Watch for it. I pray you all have loved ones around you for Christmas, and that you have a blessed new year.
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