Wonderful Day

Yesterday was absolutely one of the most perfect days I have ever experienced. Mama and I got to spend the whole day together!  We left her house around 8 am and didn't return until 5:30 pm. We both had doctor appointments to start out, Yuck!, however, they were both just wellness checks and soon over so that we could really start our girl's day out. We left the last doctor appointment and headed to the mall. I haven't been to the mall in quite some time. I usually avoid it like the plaque but it was the day to resume the visits. Amidst all the dread of going to the mall I have forgotten what a pleasure it could actually be occasionally. I think we'll have to return. Of course it helped that we could go on a weekday morning and that certainly kept the hustle and bustle out. First to JC Penny where Mama was able to find some of the items she was searching for and then on to the shoe store where I was able to find what I was searching for and then on to Sears where we both found items on our list. Mama won the bargain of the day award - she found a blouse at Sears regularly priced at $38, beautiful and just her style (one of those items that just looks like Mama), on clearance for $14.99 and when the clerk rang up the purchase an additional discount brought the price to $4.99. You go girl! We were fortunate that almost all the items were discounted in some fashion, the shoes I bought for Jim were Buy one get one 1/2 price!

When Mama and I go out we try to choose restaurants and foods that Mama likes but Daddy doesn't. Daddy happens to be a very "man" eater and doesn't care for too many or too much spice. So the girl's day out is the perfect time for Mama to indulge her taste.  This day she chose Olive Garden and oh such a good choice.  We were able to sit down, be waited on, and enjoy great food. We chose salad, breadsticks and shared an eggplant parmesean. Perfect portion size to share. The food was great and the time spent talking and visiting was super. From there it was to the book store and then of course no shopping trip is complete without a trip to Wal Mart. After all that heavy shopping we had to stop for a soda and more great talking and did we ever giggle. We had some real serious conversation which was good and stuff that needed to be discussed and at the same time we talked some funny stuff and laughed and laughed and laughed. I hope you slept good last night Mama, I know I did.

On the way home I was reminded I had agreed to help Sarah with Micah at basketball practice and if I didn't get a move on I would be late. I jumped on the motorcycle and about half way to  Bushnell the rain that had been threatening all day finally arrived. It wasn't too bad as long as I was moving but when I started having to stop for traffic lights, I got wetter. All during practice it rained and rained and I knew I had to take Micah from the Youth Center into town to meet his mother and we were going to get wet. He was excited when he found out I had actually come on the motorcycle but a little anxious about getting in the rain. We were both real troopers and the rain cooperated a bit by slowing down long enough for us to get back to town. Micah loved the ride and I can't say I didn't agree. A new experience. When I left Bushnell and got closer to home the rain came harder and harder. I got home safely and in the house where I could dry out. Totally exhilarating ride. I know you all think I am crazy for enjoying a ride in the rain but it's one of those things you have to experience to appreciate  or be a motorcycle junkie.  It really was the crown on a perfect day.

Birthday

 

Last week was Jim's birthday and I had several surprises ready for him. I started the day out with a sort of gag gift. Earlier in the month I had gone to Cracker Barrel restaurant with Marge for lunch and they were serving diet coke with black cherry syrup (actually all flavors this just happens to be my favorite) in a 40 year anniversary commemorative glass. When I got home with my glass Jim was disappointed that I had not purchased him one as well (long standing joke that we get too many commemorative coffee cups and glasses built up in the cupboard). Then the day before Jim's birthday Tiffany and I met Jamie and Susie (Tiffany's cousing and aunt on the Brown side) at Cracker Barrel for lunch and I just had to have another diet coke with black cherry syrup in a commemorative glass and told the girls why. Later in the conversation it came up that the next day was Jim's birthday and Susie who had ordered the same thing gave her glass as a gift as well. So as we checked out I realized I now have three and one more trip should complete a set. I guess I'll just be forced to go back.

So thanks Susie, Jim loved the glasses. Then throughout the day I left presents on his chair consisting mainly of clothes. Now, clothes are nice but are they really presents?? He liked them all but was really exicted when he unwrapped the denim jacket. Sarah, CJ, and Micah came over for cupcakes, lemonade, and fireworks. Then just before midnight I gave him the final gift, which was a gift certificate to Forever Florida for the Zipline Safari and today (11/4) we went on the zipline. What in the world is a Zipline Safari? Well, in this case the setting is Florida pasture land and woods way down past St. Cloud outside Holopaw. On 4700 acres deep in the Florida woods Forever Florida has established eco tours by swamp buggy, horses and zipline. A zipline is a heavy duty cable strung between platforms mounted high up in the air on very large telephone poles. You then strap on a harness that makes a "seat" like in rappelling from rock faces, climb the towers, hook to these cables by carabineers, step off the platforms and zip through the tree tops to the next tower landing. Kind of like parachuting just without the plane and the parachute is the cable. I can't remember how high the first tower was but the guy said we were up to speeds of 17 mph. If you have any phobia about heights just climbing the first tower is almost overwhelming...the feet tingle, the nerves jangle, don't look down! and then you are there.  That first step off that platform was a bit scary and exhilarting at the same time! And totally fun sailing through the tree tops.

The second set of ziplines started with climbing a tower five stories high and zipping down the lines at speeds up to 25 mph and having to cross two "rope" bridges! We almost lost our courage at the bridges but we persevered, faced our phobias and made it across.

There was another couple on the same tour celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary, Ray and Elma from outside Seattle, Washington. Elma has been on a zipline in Juno, Alaska but for Ray, Jim and myself this was a first. We can hardly wait to go again. During the trip on this property we saw turkey, deer, alligators, horses, hawks, turtles, and the ever present buzzard. There is also a small zoo like exhibit with a Florida Panther, Macaw, Parrots, alligators, porcupine, and several other type animals.

If you are interested in seeing the "True" Florida check out Florida Forever.

Check out additional photos

Camping etc...

Jim and his best bud Michael have been camping at Juniper Springs in the Ocala National Forest for at least eight years. They enjoy a "Two Guys" weekend and some of the stories they come up with about their adventures are worthy of a book. I would like for them to write a book but so far it hasn't happened. So with the turn of seasons (although it is hard to tell that in Florida) and a little bit of cool in the air a camping trip was planned. See the guys only camp in the cooler months because Florida heat is so oppressive. The difference? Last week I got to go for the first time. No, I didn't horn in on the guy time, Jim and I went up a day early, set up camp and enjoyed the balance of that day and night and part of the next day then I left and later Michael came to camp. I spent the balance of the day shopping my way home. Then Michael stayed two nights and days and I came back to camp. Then Jim and I spent the night and came home the next day. Sounds complicated but it really wasn't. Juniper is absolutely beautiful. I had not been to Juniper since I was a kid and then I only remember going to swim for the day. Swimming is still allowed at the springs and there is also canoe rental available. There is a nice board walk for a short hike and springs, springs, springs. The water bubbling up leaves the bottom sand perfectly white and then the water contrast is perfectly blue. Hard to describe I just recommend you all take the time to visit. I took several pictures of the tree's reflections in the water. The time of day, weather and water conditions were perfect for reflection pictures.  I saw a fern just beginning to unfurl it's leaves and had never seen that early stage before, a cobweb glowing in the sunlight, and the sunlight filtering through the trees in the early morning was just spectacular.  I did get off the path (even though instructions said not to do that) and I have paid the price with red bug bites. Jim had a few because he picked up pine cones and straw for fire starter but I got the worst. We had a fabulous fire each night and I caught some good photos of the fire, however I will not post them because they are hard to see. Jim talks about the fire flames licking up as words and the sparks as after thoughts. There was lots of talking going on in that fire ring.

Now you all know the Ocala National Forest is home to lots of wildlife. There are signs all around not to feed the racoons and to be aware of bears. The rangers hand out flyers about keeping food locked away, out of your camp, how to dispose of garbage, and other ways to keep bears out of camp. So you can only imagine I was on hyper alert. The first night we were very peacefully sitting around the fire when I heard the big central camp garbage can being rattled. I assumed it was a human putting garbage in the bin but it just kept on rattling and rattling until I had spooked myself into thinking it was a bear and said so to Jim. He assured me it was not a bear because the garbage bins are secured with chains and slide doors and are virtually bear proof. Apparently, the human was having difficulty as well because he sure made a lot of noise but as it turned out Jim was right, it was only a human. We had just settled back into the peacefulness of the fire when the bushes to my left started to rustle pretty violently. I screamed and very loudly said, bear, go away bear (as though that were any protection). Jim calmed me down and said it was only racoons, although how he knew that without seeing them is beyond me, and said the bears would not come around our fire and since we had no food out they had no reason to approach. OK, whatever...I still was on bear alert. In the past Jim and Michael have seen and photographed bear and bear cubs out in the forest. Fortunately or unfortunately (the nature lover in me would love to see one, just not in my camp), on this trip we made it the whole time without seeing any bear. The racoons came back to visit a couple of times but never showed themselves.

We really did have a great time and I look forward to our next trip to Juniper. Click for additional photos

Weather in Florida

An absolutely glorious morning for Florida - 64 degrees, light wind, looooooooooooow humidity, no dew. Sat out this morning had coffee on the deck, watched the purple martins and the wrens fight over the bird bath. It will most likely be 100 degrees by noon but we sure enjoyed what was offered for the morning. It was nice to be able to relax on the deck, drink coffee, watch the birds, and everyone else having to rush around to work and school. Yep, just had to rub that one in.

Forgetfulness

Have you ever left some of your groceries at the check out counter in Wal Mart? Well I did and didn't discover it for three days. The four items were non perishable and not items I needed right after the shopping spree but when I did need them I couldn't find them. Double checked the pantry, the car, and all points in between, no items. The whole time I am searching I am telling myself I remember taking the items off the shelf, didn't I? Or did I just think I did? Then dig out the receipt to discover I did indeed purchase them but somehow they didn't make it home. So on my next trip to Wal Mart I asked the cashier if there was anything I could do about my forgetfulness since I had no way to prove I left them in the store. She informed me that cashiers are supposed to take any bags left at the check out to customer service. Customer service then records the date, the items and their UPC codes in a little notebook. They then place the items back on the shelf. Then when you discover your forgetfulness simply go back to Wal Mart, re-collect the items off the shelves, take them to customer service along with your receipt, admit how forgetful you are, and when they have verified all the information they bag your items and you are on your way. This works for perishable items as well but since my items weren't perishable and I didn't need them right away I didn't discover them missing in action for a few days. Hopefully you would discover perishable items missing a lot sooner and if not I truly hope they were left at the store and not in the car. I heard about one lady who left some meat in the car and a few days later couldn't understand why the buzzards were flying around her garage and when she went to investigate discovered her forgetfulness. Thought some of you might be interested to know you haven't lost your money and your product. I now have one of each of the items in stock because I didn't find out the process until I had repurchased the goods. Oh well, live and learn! Happy shopping.    

Another Milestone

My father has always loved motorcycles about as much as I do and like me (at least until a few months ago) he never owned one either. Not that he didn't dream and look (because I've looked with him) but it just didn't happen for whatever reason. Daddy served in the army during WWII. He first drove a DUKW. The DUKW was developed quickly during World War II to meet the need for amphibious cargo transfer from ship to shore. The nomenclature DUKW was assigned by the manufacturer, General Motors Corporation, from:

D= First year of manufacture, 1942

U = Utility vehicle (amphibious)

K = All wheel drive

W = Rear tandem axle

Someone quickly noticed that DUKW could be pronounced "duck" and the "Army Duck" was born. The DUKW was based on the GMC “deuce and a half” CCKW, fitted with a watertight hull and propeller. Following the war, many of the versatile DUKWs were transferred for Coast Guard duty, river patrols or later Civil Defense work.

OK, back to the story. Daddy said that the army trained additional DUKW drivers very quickly and he found himself taken off the DUKW detail and assigned to the motor pool. The Sergeant of the motor pool came in one day and told Daddy he was going to send him to motorcycle school and the next day came in and said he couldn't go to the school because the Lieutenant wanted Daddy to drive jeep for him. So as he says he came that close to being trained and then missed out and if he had gone to the training would most likely be riding today. But alas, it wasn't to be.

When I was approaching retirement I told Daddy I wanted to get a three wheel motorcycle and he started looking for deals and he found a few but as you know now I waited on the Harley. I thought I would take delivery of the bike, immediately ride over to my father's house, surprise him with the bike, pick him up and ride off into the sunset. Well, when I got to my training class it suddenly dawned on me I had a lot to learn before I could just hop on and ride, much less have a passenger. So after taking delivery of the bike I set about the training process (oh such a difficult task :-) ). Jim took Daddy for a short ride shortly after we got the bike and while I was thrilled to have Daddy ride, it wasn't me with him on that bike. But finally today (10/18/2009) I was able to ride up to my father's house, pick him up and ride off into the sunset. Well, not exactly the sunset but into a most glorious afternoon. Today was one of the first "cold" days of Florida's fall. It was 43 degrees when I got up this morning and it didn't get much over 65 degrees all day. So Daddy and I both bundled up and he said I blocked enough wind off of him so that he didn't get uncomfortably cold and off we went on a ride of about 40 miles round trip. No where in particular just some pretty side roads.

I can't tell you what a thrill this ride was for me. To be giving my Daddy a ride on my bike is just too much for words. I think Daddy had a good time too. I wish we could ride everyday. I love you Daddy and hope we have many more rides.

We Are Home

Arrived home safely although early. Things didn't totally work out as we had planned for our Kentucky trip and we decided home was the best place to be. We drove straight through and of course wound up in Atlanta at 5:00 pm. Fortunately we never got tied up in stopped traffic but it was very slow moving in several places.

Becasue of observance days and rain on the other days we only got in a short amount of motorcycle ride time in the mountains. On our first mountain ride (Jim drove!) we took our favorite route from Becknerville (which is where we stay) back down the mountain to the main highway and back up and on a side road we had never traveled. The road from Becknerville follows the Kentucky river and is super rural. Beautiful farms, trees, river ... The side road was much the same just without the river. It was fun, scarry, and exhilirating all at the same time. No Tiffany, we did not ride on Log Lick Road.

The weather was sensational (we could have done without the rain but oh well)! Temperatures during the day in the low to mid 70's and at night into the low to mid 40's. Some of the days were windy and felt colder but we bundled up or found places to get out of the wind and enjoyed the day. One night we went to bed it was 65 degrees and when we woke up it was 45 degrees. Quite a drop. A couple of nights Jim got chilled and we had trouble warming him up - I told him that is a side effect of the weight loss. Nights he could sit by the campfire and drosh with the guys were really good for him. The guys would sit by the campfire almost all night (and they say women talk a lot).

We got to reconnect with old friends and catch up on their families and of course made new friends.  Since we were the first to arrive in camp we got to witness everyone else arriving. It was fun to listen to the little girls scream with glee when they realized their friends had arrived. The boys were excited in their own ways but the girls were the cutest.  The kids played endlessly. I heard one little girl just crying her heart out one night when daddy said it was time to go on to bed. Through her tears she kept saying "it's not fair, it's not fair" and I'm sure daddy's heart was breaking but he knew she was already exhausted and needed a bit more rest. And, we were asked to use the electric hand blowers to dry our hands to save on paper towels. One afternoon while I was in the bathroom and washing my hands I turned to the electric dryer to dry and a little girl (she's probably 6) said to me I should be using the paper towels. I reminded her we needed to use the electric dryer to save the paper and she said "but don't you realize how many CO2s you release in the air when you use electricity?" Her daddy said she didn't think of those when she gets the spray cans of deodrant and air freshner going!  The little ones are learning and even though they may get the words wrong they are at least listening. Kite flying, unicycles, skateboards, scooters, volleyball and the playground were all favorites.

It was still too early for leaf change. The reds were very prominent and the yellows were coming on. Surprisingly enough there was more color in Tennessee than in Kentucky. As we drove south the temperatures rose considerably. By the time we were in Atlanta the temperature was up to 85 and stayed that way all the way home. Then of course the temperatures back in the high 90's here at home. We're liking the fall cast to the shadows here at home but we are looking for some of the cooler temperatures to go along with that.
 
It's always good to get away and always good to get home.