What a difference a half day makes

We put Florida in the rear view mirror today and weaved our way through a line of thunderstorms and sometimes heavy traffic through four states today.

The weather forecasts were dire, but except for two short sections we pretty much dodged the weather that was so much in the news today.

Not to say there wasn’t damage along the way. We saw the evidence of heavy rain and heard stories of tornadoes that swept through Tennessee and Kentucky just hours before we arrived there. But our prayers were answered and averted any major disruptions or trouble.

The wind was pretty stiff and my hands were numb by the time we pulled into our RV park this evening in Louisville, Kentucky.

It was 73 degrees when we left Pensacola this morning and rose to a high of 82 in Alabama before it plunged to 66 in a matter of minutes when a strong line of thunderstorms passed over Tennessee a little south of Nashville.

We had a little thunder and lightning, some heavy rain, but only for about 10 minutes and then it started to clear out.

At a point early in the day’s travels we passed a highway sign that said for weather information to tune to a certain FM Station. So we did and what we got was a local show called “Rick and Bubba.” Well, Rick and Bubba were taking calls on how and where to find pure gasoline, fuel without ethanol.

During the calls Rick and Bubba were marking certain bodily noises that are sometimes associated with human gas. I’m the first one who will stand up for Southerners and say that people mistake their slow speech style and mannerisms with a lack of intelligence, but Rick and Bubba aren’t helping with the stereotype.

It reminded us of a time we were driving through Arkansas and listening to a local radio show where people could call in and sell stuff. “Tradio” it was called. People were offering to sell five gallon buckets of “hog slop” and despite the repeated disclaimer that cars could not be sold over the show (the main advertiser was a car dealer) people kept calling in offering a used car for sell. A very exasperated host was losing it over that.

Perhaps our biggest amusement of the day, and this will leave you underwhelmed I’m sure, was when we crossed the time line between the Eastern and Central time zones and we watched our cell phones to see how quickly the time would adjust. It readjusted within a mile of the sign. We were pretty impressed. I guess this is what passes for fun when you get old.

We had to refuel three times today, but will only have to fuel one more time with the trailer before reaching Lapeer.

Unfortunately, it was only 39 degrees when we arrived at the Louisville South RV Park, so it is clear we are not in Florida anymore. It was also dark so that should explain the lousy photo. You'll also notice that the camp office was closed, but they were kind enough to leave us a map to our campsite and instructions on how to fire up the wireless.

Mileage out: 57399
Time out: 7:51 a.m. (Central time)

Mileage in: 57990
Time in: 7:20 p.m. (Eastern time)

Ready to hitch up and a prayer for safe travel

Where did seven weeks go? We are on the eve of our return to the frozen tundra of Michigan. It is our hope that we have missed the majority, but certainly not all, of the winter weather that we want to avoid.

Today we arose early, me earlier than Joan because I always struggle with sleep as the time to hitch up and drive gets closer, and got cleaned up for church.

We returned to The Mission Anglican Church in Pensacola because we enjoyed it so much last week. They were starting a new study series on married couples, but because we won’t be here for the final 11 weeks of the study we decided not to go early for that.

Like last week we were warmly greeted at the door and made to feel right at home. The priest, Rev. Browning, stopped by our pew to welcome us again and talked to us for a few minutes.

Last week Rev. Browning spoke on “Diversity” and this week his sermon was on “Service.” Both were very good and gave us a lot to think about. The sermon series was “UPWARDS,” which involved sermons on Unity – Prayer – Worship – Accessible – Relational – Diversity – Service. We missed the UPWAR, but enjoyed the DS.

After church I took a couple photos so we could share with our church family back home and Rev. Browning was happy to pose with Joan and I on the steps of the church. We told him our pastor required proof that we had been attending church while we were away. That, of course, is a joke.

Rev. Browning was also kind enough to offer us a prayer for safe travel tomorrow. We'll take all the help we can get.

When I was a kid, the priest at St. Luke’s of the Mountains always gave families an attendance card to be filled out by the priest of a church near where you were vacationing to show that you had visited a church while on vacation. “God doesn’t take a vacation from us, we shouldn’t take one from him,” Fr. Sadler always said.

After church we went shopping for some Florida oranges to bring home at an outdoor Farmer’s Market and then we did a little grocery shopping for our three nights on the road as we return to Michigan. Back at the trailer, I put the extension mirrors on the Tahoe, stowed the tire covers (protects them from UV rays of the sun) and installed the trailer hitch on the car. All I need to do in the morning is disconnect the power supply, sewer line and hose, back up about five inches and hitch up.

We’ve had a wonderful Florida visit, but we are both ready to sleep in our bed. We wouldn’t mind if some of this warm weather followed us home and we’re sure our friends in Michigan wouldn’t mind either.

Cruise over, time to cruise home

Reality is about to set in – again. Our seven-week trip south is rapidly drawing to a close. Today we arrived back from a five-day cruise to Mexico aboard the Mobile, Alabama-based Carnival Elation.

It was a great, restful cruise, one filled with new friends and just some time to sit and read a book.

Although the ship stopped twice on its itinerary, we actually were only off the ship for less than a half hour and that on the pier in Calico, Mexico where we spent exactly $18 on souvenirs.

The trip started with a bit of an annoyance after I left my camera in a public lounge while we were waiting for our room to be available on Monday afternoon.

By the time I noticed the camera was gone, it was no longer in the last place I knew I had it which was the ship’s library. Of course I went back and checked, but with 2,400 passengers aboard I was left to hope that whoever found it would be honest enough to turn it in.

Fortunately that happened. And with Joan’s picture already embedded in it, it was no problem proving that I was the owner. But I didn’t get it back until well after we had sailed from Mobile which meant no pretty pictures of us leaving. What we have are Just pictures of us in port and then way out in the Gulf.

I am grateful to the honest passengers who turned in the camera and only wished they had left a name or room number so I could have sent a token of my appreciation. As usual I took the disappearance of my camera and my lapse of good judgment with quiet patience. (Not!)

We met our dining companions at the late seating (we booked too late to get our preferred early seating) and they were all so nice that we decided not to push the issue of trying to get a table at the earlier seating.

It always seems that at a large table there is at least one couple, or family, that is not quite on center. I told Joan that since our six other companions seemed so normal and nice that the odd couple must be us. She was only slightly amused.

In recent cruises we had been with family, so this is the first time, since our first cruise, that we have dined with strangers. Two of our table companions were from Michigan and also travel in an RV south for the winter so we had lots to talk about. One of the couples was a husband and wife from Alabama, both now retired, she from teaching and he from a large manufacturing company. The other couple was a pastor and his wife from Georgia.

We laughed and talked and got to know new friends. Shipboard was pretty quiet for us. We don’t party much and we spent a lot of time sitting on deck reading. We both worked out every day in the ship’s gymnasium, which was packed when we were out to sea and pretty much all to ourselves in port.

During one dinner discussion our table mates from Alabama told us that there had been a murder aboard the Carnival Elation a couple years ago and for a fact I have found numerous news stories about that crime.

We also enjoyed several beautiful sunsets during our cruise.

We enjoyed the two shows they had and we were glad to be back with Carnival after our rather rude event last November when they suddenly cancelled our trip to put the Baltimore cruise ship in dry dock. There is just something that is more fun on Carnival than we experienced on Norwegian. The staff is friendlier and more accommodating and they are cleaning things all the time.

As I mentioned we stopped at a new port – Calico, Mexico – and felt we just had to get off the ship, even for a few minutes. The port seems to be under construction and clearly will only accommodate one ship at a time unlike Cozumel across the water which had 6-7 cruise ships, including four Carnival vessels – while we were there on Wednesday.

The port at Calico basically has a few little tent shops with souvenirs and so we looked at them and then climbed back on board.

One of the female waiters made me get up and dance during a dinner entertainment section and I made a complete fool out of myself, which for anyone who knows me is completely out of character. (Not the fool part, just the willingness to get up in public and do something silly, or fun). I’m know more as a serious kind of guy at least when it comes to that.

After leaving Calico, Mexico we sailed along the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula and saw the long line of Cancun time share buildings that we stayed in with my sister and brother-in-law back in October. We remembered that we saw cruise ships passing at night and here we were one of the cruise ships passing in the night.

There were the inevitable "towel animals" which caused me to once again take pictures of towels. No where else would I think of photographing animals, but these inventive little creatures of the housekeeping staff truly amuse me.

We had several meetings with the captain of the vessel and he seemed to enjoy walking among the passengers in a way that we hadn’t seen on other cruises.

Again, lots of children aboard this cruise, but better behaved that the rug rats that left with us from New York back in November. Not sure if it is a geographic difference, but by and large the children on this cruise were much better behaved and better supervised that the Norwegian trip. Not blaming that on Norwegian in any way.

On our arrival back in Mobile the ship was abuzz with talk of an early morning arrest on the ship by the U.S. Marshal’s office. Apparently a guy on the Empress deck was taken out of his stateroom, put on the floor, handcuffed and taken off the ship about 6:30 a.m. before anyone was allowed to depart.

Lots of speculation about drugs, etc., but the truth is we simply don’t know what happened.
I finished my second book of this trip “The Surgeon’s Mate” in the Master and Commander series and started Book 8, “The Ionian Mission,” which I may or may not finish before I get home.

The weather today in Pensacola is terrific, temperatures in the mid-70s and tomorrow looks good too. Monday is the day we start the trip home to Michigan.

Another day, another winery

Today we found a church to attend and were blessed by the worship. Fr. Ron Browning of The Mission Anglican Church welcomed us and we settled in for some great music, a wonderful message about diversity and communion with some new brothers and sisters in our life.

We hope to go back next week on our last day in Florida. Just a note: This will be the final posting until next Saturday. Joan and I are taking a cruise out of Mobile, Alabama and will be out of touch for five days.

But I’ll save some photos and let you know how our trip went as soon as we return.
Anyway, after church we headed down Highway 98 on the outer islands for Destin, Florida at the Emerald Coast Winery.

It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the 90-minute drive to the winery. Joan did a little wine tasting and we picked up some bottles for the Family Literacy Center Auction in April.

On our way out of Destin we stopped at a department store and picked up some things we needed for the cruise and then we went out to dinner at Logan’s Roadhouse because Joan was craving a steak.

I also learned last night that Joan doesn’t really care to be awakened at 4 a.m. in the morning and told another detail about Navy carrier operations that I forgot to explain to her at the Naval Aviation Museum. I was kind of restless about 4:20 a.m. and suddenly thought of a very important fact which I neglected to tell her on Friday. So when it sounded like she might be stirring I quickly told her what I had forgot to tell her at the Museum.

She was neither amused nor enlightened. “I’m not good at 4 a.m.,” she said later.

So, until Saturday, you are free to ignore Grandma’s Recess. Actually, you are free to ignore Grandma’s Recess anytime, but we appreciate your interest.

From one kind of bird to another today

Yesterday we visited the museum filled with manmade birds and today we went looking for the kind God made.

We hard about the Great Florida Birding Trail and we decided to check it out this afternoon.

The local trail is located inside the Blue Lagoon State Park in Pensacola. The day was perfect, temperatures in the mid to high 70s and only wispy clouds in the sky.

We arrived home about 3:30 p.m. spent some time reading outside and then finished our Maguire's dinners from last night.

Church is on tap for the morning and maybe a little drive to winery in the afternoon. We leave on a 5-day cruise on Monday to Mexico. Our time in the south is drawing quickly to a close.

For several weeks we have noticed a small pooling of water each morning by the sink. We have tried to find the source of the leak without success. It usually happens over night and we notice it first thing in the morning.

Well, last night Joan noticed a pool of water before we went to bed. Again, I looked for the leak source and could not find it and then spent half the night thinking about the problem, which cost me several hours of sleep.

So as soon as Joan was awake this morning I grabbed my tools from under the trailer and went to work. I had to take apart part of the dividers under the sink and then I finally found a small drip coming off a fitting on the water pump.

Using my hand I got another half turn on the fitting and it seems to have stemmed the problem, at least for now. It may be that the fittings loosen from the vibration of the road.

Also we have had WiFi issues in the park and it seems like after 5 p.m. until about 11 p.m. we get bumped off the Internet quite frequently. No big deal, but it gets frustrating when you are trying to upload photos.

Flying high, a day to remember at the Naval Aviation Museum

With history, the Navy and airplanes high on my list of favorite things, today was a gem.

Before we left for Florida I was already looking forward to visiting the Naval Aviation History Museum at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida.

Up and out early, we arrived at the Museum just minutes after they opened at 9 a.m. We immediately joined a museum tour led by one of the docents. The hour long tour gave us an overview of the museum and its layout.

The Navy is celebrating a centennial of aviation and the well appointed museum provided nearly 8 hours of enjoyment. All free, by the way. The museum is totally funded through private donations.

At 11 a.m. we joined a bus tour that took us onto the base airport and along a flight line of historic aircraft, many waiting to be restored for museum display. Our tour guide for that bus trip was a former Navy transport pilot who kept us focused for the next hour on his great stories about flying in Vietnam and the various aircraft on the flight line.

We were particularly interested in a couple raggedy looking aircraft parts that had been located at the bottom of Lake Michigan in the past few years. The planes had been lost on World War II training missions on the Lake as Navy pilots learned how to land on carriers.

With a major war on, the Navy didn’t spend time recovering those lost planes. The training planes were mostly worn out combat aircraft and were considered very expendable.

But as the years went on and the supply of World War II aircraft became scarce, those planes at the bottom of Lake Michigan became more attractive to collectors. The museum has several of those planes in process of being restored and at least two on the floor fully restored.

A superstructure from an old carrier and replica flight and hangar decks were also re-created in the Museum. As a former surface Navy man I loved seeing how they had fashioned a replica of a carrier on land.

Later I had my picture taken in a variety of cockpits of Navy aircraft, including a retired Blue Angels plane. My man card is reclaimed after yesterday’s beauty salon visit.

It’s a good thing I’ve trimmed off a few pounds or I wouldn’t have been able to squeeze into any of those cockpits.

One of the more exciting parts of the day for me – and hopefully for my sister – was a visit to the research center where I inquired from a researcher about finding out information about my stepfather a World War II Navy pilot.

The man warned me that the records aren’t perfect, but he pulled out a register book of Navy pilots and there it was, my stepfather’s name, the date he earned his “Wings of Gold” which was Dec. 31, 1941 and his Navy pilot sequence number. He was the 10,332 pilot in the history of the Navy.

I felt contented that in some small way his service to the country has not been forgotten. I got a chance to see several of the planes that he trained and flew in during World War II and a few of the planes he was involved with during his post war engineering career at Lockheed Aircraft Company in Burbank.

We spent some time looking over the Navy aviators who earned the Congressional Medal of Honor and those who have been honored in the Naval Aviation Hall of Fame.

There was also an interesting display on former President George Bush (the first one) about his highly publicized ditching and rescue in the South Pacific. The display included his flight training records, which included a trainer’s thoughts that “Lt. (junior grade) Bush is a good competent pilot, but is a bit eccentric.”

During the day we saw Navy pilots landing and taking off from the airfield behind the museum

Sitting in those cockpits I couldn't help but marvel and maybe envy, the men and women who get the privilege of flying these great airplanes and safeguarding our country.

It must be something that you really love to do.

It is hard to describe how beautiful and remarkable it is to see these old planes restored to like new condition.

At the end of our visit we went to the gift shop and I purchased a t-shirt, a coffee cup and one other souvenir, all with a Navy theme of course.

Then we headed to Maguire’s Irish Pub, a local landmark and a place that my old boss Roger and his wife, Jessica suggested to us. It was everything they told us and more. We had a great meal, with enough food left over for another meal tomorrow. Joan had crab cakes and I had prime rib.

One of the main features of the restaurant is the collection of more than 1 million, one-dollar bills tacked up on the walls, each signed by a customer who left it. We didn’t leave one but I did take a photo of just one small section of the money.

At one point we heard a woman scream and later discovered why. The bathrooms are marked Men and Women, but in small print under the names is an arrow pointing to the other bathroom. In other words, the bathrooms are deliberately mismarked so that if one doesn’t read carefully you will walk into the restaurant meant for the other sex.

Joan was tipped off before she went to the wrong restroom.

Tonight I asked Joan her favorite part of the museum and she said: “Dinner.”

Upon further reflection she said she enjoyed seeing the planes that my stepfather flew (probably because she has heard so much about them) and the flight line tour. She also said she liked seeing me enjoy the day so much. Heck, I enjoy every day sooo much.

As I have done the past few days, if you would like to see additional photos, scroll down. I’ve included a picture of a sign that shows the playful rivalry between the services and one that my father may, or may not, enjoy.

More photos from the Naval Aviation Museum

A jet from the USS Oriskany which I saw in Vietnam.

A view from inside a former Blue Angels cockpit.

Joan in the cockpit.
A spare Blue Angels aircraft.
The start of the World War II exhibit.

This is for my Dad an Army Air Corps veteran.
Joan with a replica of the Nagasaki atomic bomb. (Not the one they used).
The Navy version of the C-47 (DC-3) Also one of my Dad's favorite airplanes. He flew it once as well.
This plaque went with a plane (I can't find the picture right now but I have it somewhere) that was fished out of Lake Michigan.

I like airplane art.

From the second floor looking down on the main floor.

A PBY, like the one my stepfather flew in WWII. (Also called the Catalina Flying Boat)

A World War II Japanese plane.
Blue Angels.

One of the many floor aircraft.
An early Navy aircraft. It flew across the Atlantic very early with a 3-man (maybe it was a 4-man) crew. They had to stop in the Azores to refuel. If I remember correctly only four of these were ever built.

A "mani" and a "pedi' threaten my "man" card

My man card is in critical condition. Joan said she needed a manicure and a pedicure before we hit the cruise on Monday and I was in dire need of a haircut.

So I did a little research on local nail and hair salons here in Pensacola and ended up calling a couple establishments and finally making an appointment for a mani and a pedi (as the girls call them) and a hair appointment for myself.

We ended up at Visible Changes for our double appointments and mine took less than half the time Joan’s did. So I went and washed the car (a feeble attempt to reclaim my manhood after the hour long mani and pedi research).

We had an uneventful drive from Tallahassee to Pensacola and were actually in an hour earlier than we expected as Pensacola is in the Central Time Zone, which I didn’t know. The weather again was outstanding. Not a cloud in the sky and temperatures in the 70s.

It also means that Joan’s favorite shows come on an hour earlier than they do at home. Never understood why Central Time Zone folks get television shows at a different time than everyone else.

We had breakfast for dinner (eggs, pancakes and bacon) and I did the dishes to save Joan’s newly painted nails. So there goes my man card again.

The park we are staying in – Pensacola RV – is wide open which we like and the owners were very nice when we arrived here today.

In addition to the nails and hair business we did a little produce shopping for tangerines and oranges.

Look for lots of photos tomorrow as we are headed to the Naval Air Museum first thing in the morning.

Mileage out: 56782
Time out: 9:40 a.m.

Mileage in: 56977
Time in: 11:47 a.m. (12:47 a.m. Central Time)

The man who has everything lives in Tallahassee

Remember the old story about what you buy the man who has everything? Well, I still don't know the answer, but I believe I have seen the man who has everything. And I saw him today.

Our last day included a tour of the first thing I found online that I wanted to visit while we were in Tallahassee, Florida. The Tallahassee Automobile Museum includes more than 130 antique, rare, classic, muscle and new cars all owned by Devoe Moore, a Tallahassee entrepreneur and philanthropist who is known in these parts as "The Titan of Tallahassee."

Actually I should say "Dr. Devoe Moore" as he also earned an honorary doctorate for his philanthropy.

According to news stories I found about him, Mr. Moore has donated more than $30 million to his Alma mater, Florida State University. In appreciation they have named a very large campus building after him.

His story is an inspiring one, he financed his own college education in the 1960s by shoeing horses, something he apparently learned on the Tennessee farm where he grew up. After college he obviously made a killing in real estate and spent the rest of his life, which is not over, collecting stuff. Cars, motorcycles, knives, guns, boat motors, dolls, Batman memorabilia, train stuff, golf equipment, oil cans, baseball cards and posters, juke boxes, baby bottles, spark plugs, metal toys, wooden boats, boat motors, airplane models, typewriters, calculators, brass fans and lately expensive pianos. Oh, he doesn't play the piano just collects them.

Did I mention an antique vampire killing kit? Yes, he even owns one of those.

Some of the coolest cars I have ever seen in one place are located in the two-story museum at the intersection of I-10 and Mahan Drive.

Also on display is the hearse that reportedly carried President Lincoln's body to his final resting place. He owns several classic Corvettes, Thunderbirds, a Rolls Royce, a Duesenberg, a Cord, several Cadillacs, classic Chevrolets and Fords, but what does he drive? A Smart car. Yes, one of those miniature vehicles. We saw him drive up in it as we left.

According to staff he still tinkers in his garage and is still collecting more stuff. The Steinway piano collection was very impressive and includes one that plays electronically.

My only regret was that my father was not here to enjoy this with us. He would have loved this place and could have filled in some questions I had about many of the car exhibits. To give you an idea of how fascinated I was with this place I took 221 photos in just two hours. It took me more than an hour to edit them all tonight. I'll share them with Dad the next time we are together.

I love chrome, it's as simple as that. But if you are ever in the Tallahassee area, it's worth a stop. The museum costs $13.50 a person to visit, but you'll be amazed at the amount of stuff accumulated by one person.

Back at the trailer Joan made really fine hamburgers for dinner and I spent much of the rest of the evening editing photos. Tomorrow we break camp and head for Pensacola. At least I got to watch hockey tonight (Blackhawks versus Minnesota Wild on Versus).

If you'd like to see more photos, scroll down below the ad and drool.

More photos from Tallahassee Antique Car Museum

The hearse that "reportedly" took President Lincoln to his final resting place.

A Florida Highway Patrol car.

Studebaker Avanti
An amphibious car.

A Cord

My father will recognize this.
My family loved Packards.

My Dad had an earlier model than this one.
My first car, thanks to Dad. (It was his before).

The famous Tucker.