The girls out number the boy 2 to 1 in this family. As retirement has officially kicked in, we'll share some thoughts, memories, and life's lessons along the way. As we travel down Lifes Highway!
Dolphins anyone??
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Fun with Flipper and the gang off the coast of Sanibel Enjoy
Yesterday evening we had one on the lowest tide we were able to catch this week. I walked the surf at the shoreline to see if there were any shells. I was able to find a few but the shells have not been plentiful this week. We actually collected more at Barefoot Beach the other day than we have here all week. As I was walking along I began remembering some of the times on the beach with the Beach Angels. The younger one "Taylor" taught me a life's lesson that I would like to share with you. Taylor especially when she was smaller was always amazed with collecting rocks. It was nothing to dump out a pocketful of rocks that she had collected from around PaPa's Koi pond or in NaNa's garden. They were nothing special they were just rocks. Naturally when we began bringing Taylor to Captiva where the beach is full of shells as far as the eye can see. She did what most of us do down here she began collecting shells. Taylor's shells were crac...
If you read part 1 of American Icon, have you figured out who, or what, is the American Icon? I gave you some hints. I started off with a picture of my 66. There were other hints as well. Like the flag video when they passed by it on the highway. Maybe the comment about eight generations of Styling, Engineering, Technology and Muscle. I'm talking about the Corvette. Bowling Green is where Corvettes are born. We were fortunate enough to get to tour the Corvette Assembly plant. Stingray ZO6 The corvette is now in its eighth generation with the C8. This car is radically different from other corvettes because of the redesign placement of the engine and advancements in handling. GM closed the assembly plant to tours back in 2024, but recently have opened it back up for limited visits. I'm of course a car guy, so a trip like this is right up my alley. I wasn't too sure how much my co-pilot would enjoy it. The assembly plant wa...
Posting a little later today sitting out on the lania listening to the thunder roll and having a glass of Liquid Lubrication. Strawberry/Plum wine 2008. (It was a very good year). As you regulars on the forum know I enjoy making homemade wine. This one was actually made by a friend of mine. His name is Gil. He's the one that introduced me to the art of winemaking. Strawberry Plum 2008 Gil is best described as one of those country boys that can survive. He's does it all from making his own deer sausage to turning various fruits into liquid lubrication he makes some good stuff! The first time I saw him making deer sausage I was a bit perplexed he was using the camper on the back of his old Ford pickup as a smoker. I thought the darn truck was on fire when I first saw it. Some of the best deer sausage I ever ate. Before I get to todays agenda I should back up a bit to dinner last night....
It was a warm and sunny day when Joe and I jumped into his Dad's car. We weren't going far, just a couple of miles down the road. The car was a beauty. It was white with a Black vinyl top. Back in those days, the Mopars were as long as a limo and had plenty of horsepower. This was the perfect car for the day. But on this day, our limo had other plans. We pulled onto Telegraph Road and got as far as the 270 overpass when the Plymouth died. There we were, two guys in tuxedos on the overpass with our thumbs out, sweating and beating feet to our destination two miles down the road. She was already there. Back then, we didn't have cell phones. There were pay phones, but the closest one was probably more than a mile away. With less than one hour to go. What would happen if I didn’t show up on time? Would she think I changed my mind? Would this be the end of what was supposed to be the beginning? The looks we got! The horns that...
Waking up before alarm goes off at zero dark thirty a.k.a. 2:00 a. m.: check Hot shower and a shave: check Cooler iced and ready for action: check Last minute items loaded in truck: check iPod loaded with tunes and podcast for the trip: check Tall Tall cup of coffee which I will regret later: check Carry the sleeping beach angels to the truck try not to wake them or they'll turn into devils: check,check Say goodbye to the dogs, cats and other family members not fortunate enough to deploy on this mission: check, check, check Load the wife in the truck: no need to check she wouldn't miss it for the world even if it meant sleeping overnight in the truck! So we deploy this mission on time actually 1 hour earlier than we would mormally leave. Everything is going great until! We live in a rural area it's about a 40-50 mile drive over back roads to get to the interstate we need to get on. No problem, ac...
So I really didn't think I would write much in the blog during this trip. Normally, the Beach Angels and other guests supply the comic relief while they are here, and while Rachelle and Beach Angel "Skylar" are here for a few days, it has been realtively quiet, and we have just been chillin. You know, during my working career, I spent time as a line worker, A mechanic, a Supervisor, a Middle Manager, and a Packaging Engineer. I was also a Director f or Lean Manufacturing. During those years, I learned a lot about how the progression of things worked. We were always aware of the fact that SH**t rolls down hill and you had to always be ready to adapt and overcome the adversities of said Sh**t that were sometimes made by upper-level management that really had no idea what was happening on the shop floor. I learned today that sometimes Sh**T travels uphill; in fact, it sometimes backs up. Case in point, the house we are spending the lovely month of June here o...
While spending our day in Glacier, the rain came in during the afternoon. Not a lot but enough to muddy up the trails. We had considered staying an extra day, but with the rain and the fact that there were some ongoing issues back home because of storms while we were gone. We thought we should push on towards our next stop. We headed to Rapid City, SD. Our target areas here would be Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial and the Badlands. Mt. Rushmore Birth, Growth, Development, Preservation There is a secret room carved into the mountain behind one of the president's heads. The Hidden Hall of Records. Do you know which president? Who was known as the 5th face on Rushmore? As we're walking up the Avenue of flags at Mt. Rushmore, people were of course taking pictures and chatting. What I found interesting was once you reached the end of the flags and approached the main viewing spot for the monument, there was silence, almost like ...
The first step is being able to admit your addiction. "I'm RC and I'm addicted to paradise". While I'll be the first to admit paradise was not as good to me this year as she has been in years past. She is still of course paradise and who can resist her sweet temptation. I don't think we will make the trip again during a holiday weekend. The crowds were much larger than we are use to and well I guess I'm spoiled and I like having Paradise all to my self. I can now imagine what it must be like during peak season when paradise has many suitors. She can't please them all and hey she doesn't have to she's paradise. My addiction with her began many years ago and there is no 12 step program that can release you from the grips of paradise. You'll accept whatever she throws at you because you just want to be with her. It does't matter if her seas are rough or her sunsets are few as long as you can be with her its all you long for. ...
With all the "BS" going on this week, things really got away from me. So I'm going to have to lump some things together this year. I know for most of you, Hump Day is a good thing, but when you're on vacation it's pretty much "BS". It signifies that point in the week when vacation is on the downhill slide. It has been a good week, and the fact that it will be over soon is of course total "BS". B each S nacks On Wednesday, we ran into an old acquaintance on the beach. He's a shady character, has a long list of priors, and I believe he's even a jail bird. This dude can make off with personal items and snacks quicker than you can say "Nacho Cheese Doritos". He stalk s you from afar and when the timing is right swoops in to commit his crime. If you are ever down here, be on the lookout! Did someone say "Snacks!" B racelets from the S ea The shells have not been very plentiful this week. That's the price ...
Our time with paradise is almost over, but the journey continues. We will be leaving on Tuesday morning. We got a call from the condo owner on Sunday morning. We had rented the condo for 9 days. She was going to come down and spend some time after we left on Tuesday but her schedule would not allow it. She called to let us know we were welcome to stay till Friday if we wanted. How nice is that? I would have jumped on the opportunity but we have made plans to travel about 4 hours north to Fruitland Park FL to visit some old friend we have not seen in ages. We are then going to take a slower route home and stop along the way to bathe in the ocean breeze a few more times before heading back to Missouri. We have a stop planned at St. George Island FL and Gulf shores AL. We have not traveled through the pan handle of Florida before so we our planning routes along the coast. New hig...
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