DECATUR, FT. LAUDERDALE, HOUSTON & RETURN
May 13, 2000, Saturday- we tried for an early start, but with coming home late yesterday, and not getting back to the coach in the afternoon, there were a few extra things to do. We didn't start on I-70 until 8:20, and with a one hour time zone crossing, we rolled into Des Moines, 650 miles down the road along I-80, at 8:30. The Flying J truck stop provided a nice level spot in the RV section of the parking lot, along with a dozen other coaches. Susan and I shared the driving, and it was a breeze. With sunny skies, no t-storms, and no wind, what more could we want?
We spoke to Steve on his way back from England- his 24 hours on British soil was a whirlwind jaunt across the pond. Uncle David, Aunt Paula, Sharon and Mike met him at Newark Airport, during his layover, and took him out for a nice meal. He wasn't exactly sure if it was lunch or dinner, or what, with his internal clock in limbo.
May 14, 2000- Sunday- continued our cruise eastward to Decatur, arriving at 5 PM, and got one of the last "good" spaces in the lot. Saw some old friends that were neighbors in the Tarpon Springs, FL area the winter before, about 15 months ago. Again, they didn't remember us, but did remember Hobbes.
May 15, 2000- Monday- met the American Coach folks, and went through the couple of punch list items, and as always, it was "what can we do to get things to your satisfaction". A great attitude! By noon, we were packed in the car and heading towards Florida. An easy 400 miles to Knoxville, TN for today's ride. As we drove through the bluegrass horse areas of Kentucky, we marveled at the peach and tranquility of these wonderful plantations, reminiscent of a bygone era.
May 16, 2000, Tuesday- heading south was an easy ride today, down to Ocala, FL. Very civilized with a 9:15 departure and parked at 6:15 in the evening. On this trip there are no 1200-mile days or driving 36 hours straight through from Vail to Ft. Lauderdale. Since we picked up I-75 20 miles from Decatur and haven't left it yet, no chance of getting lost or missing a turn. Stopping for real meals and avoiding all fast foods also makes this a relaxing day. Pop in a few talking books and the day goes by fast.
May 17, 2000, Wednesday- for the first time since we went cruising 7 plus weeks ago, we went to the gym. For the first time I tried to use my right leg/foot without a brace, immobilizer or cast. Would it do the rotation of a stationary bike, or would it pain? The jury came in after the first few rotations….it felt good. After 15 minutes, it still felt good, but I felt that it would be pushing it too much to continue further. Afterwards we did the shower and late breakfast. Finally got on the road after 10, and arrived at Mom's in mid afternoon. Very civilized way to travel. This evening we went to a new restaurant to Susan and myself, called Murials, on the intercoastal waterway. The gambling casino cruised by our window seat. Everyone's fish was done to perfection, even Mom's salmon. My tuna was about 2.5 inches thick, and sushi quality.
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A call was received this evening from Debi. Upon arriving home after work, she found that 3 of the 6 apartments in her complex had been broken into and robed. Unfortunately, hers was one of the three. The thieves broke in though some bedroom windows with a crowbar, and dumped all the bedroom draws onto the floors, searching for jewelry and other valuables. She lost some jewelry and her camera. She sounded okay, and we hope that the creeps get caught.
We were in for another shock today as we observed the price of gas in southern Florida. In Denver, last week, we paid $1.21 per gallon for regular. In Decatur it was $1.27. Here it is $1.57 to $1.65, higher then even Vail, and approaching what Rob & Deb pay in California.
May 18, 2000, Thursday- at 7:30 I was waiting for the Goodyear place to open to do our 7000 free rotation and balancing on the Jeep. All went according to plan, and we were having breakfast at 9 when the day went downhill fast.
The creeps from yesterday turned into scum overnight. They broke the glass in the 6 garages that serve Debi's complex, and in the last one, hers, they found what they were looking for. With the stolen car keys from yesterday, they drove off with her new Audi A4. She had moved the car into the garage last night, and lock everything up tight. The garage door was wide open, and the car gone. Fortunately her bike and other items were not touched, but the big damage was done. The Porsche was still at the south end of town getting the targa top recovered, and her next concern was to get the locks changed on the car before she could bring it home tomorrow. Poor Debi had so many things to do, and we felt so badly for her. The cops, the insurance company on the Audi and on the Porsche locks, the dealership and locksmith regarding rekeying, work, and a zillion other things. It was not the best of days. Becky did bring flowers to her house to try to cheer her up.
Here in Florida we dragged Mom around and got a few projects moving forward….a new lampshade, and a new reading lamp for the bedroom…projects that she had been procrastinating over.
May 19, 2000, Friday….as yesterday drew to a close, I realized that my right foot, the injured one, was hurting in the heal. I hadn't had the brace on since last Friday, a week or two in advance of Doctor instructions. Since most of the time I was either driving or walking on level pavement, it shouldn't have affected my heal. Susan thinks that my 15 minutes on the stationary bike may have been too much for the first time….and she may be right. So today, I'm back into the immobilizer for comfort's sake. But, it did feel good to be able to get my right foot into a real shoe or sneaker for the first time in almost seven weeks.
More dragging around, between food stores, beauty and nail emporiums, lamp store again, etc. One stop, about 20 miles north, was to make a copy of our Porsche key since we had to send our original to Debi. Very few locksmiths have the blanks, and the nearest one was in Pompano Beach. Dinner was with Mom and Elaine, followed by a game of Euchre. They were good students.
Steve got home from a quick trip to NYC, and his big boss, Rob, invited him to the Avalanche hockey playoff game….in his private sky box. With the Avs winning the game 2 to 0, I'm sure that they enjoyed the show!
May 20, 2000, Saturday- the big day…..Mom's birthday party at the country club! Perfect weather for a party with temps in the 70's and a light breeze. The party was at Gracie's Woodmont Country Club, where we had a private section in the dinning room…with three large tables to hold the 28 invited guests. All of the ladies dressed elegantly, and couldn't have been in a more festive move. With Shirley and Gracie whose friendships with Mom date back to 1950, there were lots of long term vibrations alive in the room. As seen in the photos, Mom's outfit was perfect for the occasion, and by the end of the afternoon, relieved that all she had planned came off so perfectly.
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY |
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small tape recorder, and Mom spoke for an hour and a half. We covered a lot of ground on the taping, but one thing that stands out, at this, close to her 80th birthday… that in 1952, at the age of 32, she had a ruptured appendix and ileitis. After a resection of the intestine, the doctor told Mom that, with luck, she may have another 5 years of life. Well, are we glad he was wrong!
May 21, 2000, Sunday- we spoke to Debi this morning and the police had called that her car had been found. Apparently it was used in a series of robberies, but the officer or clerk relaying the information just said she knew it had four wheels, but knew nothing about it's condition. She did indicate that the police would keep the car to dust for prints, and that the "dust" had to be properly removed afterwards, or it would turn bright orange or red if it came in contact with water. The detective on the case wouldn't be in until Monday, so she would not have any further info until then. "And the beat goes on!"
We went to the cemetery to visit Dad's gravesite, and it's amazing how the time has sped by since July 1986. But, it's a peaceful site, and brought back wonderful memories.
With Mom receiving some great gifts and gift certificates from Lord and Taylor, and from Macy's we headed for the Fashion Mall, about 10 blocks away, and found her lots of great outfits that she needed for the upcoming trips. Susan was a doll picking out the outfits, and helping Mom decide which to keep and which to discard.
Lucky Steve and Becky got to go to today's Avalanche and Dallas Stars with the big boss. With 300 other employees in the company, he has been fortunate to be taken under the big guys wing. The game was, for Colorado fans, a disaster, with a 4-1 loss.
May 22, 2000, Monday- after a few calls from Debi, we shared her frustration with both the insurance company and the Denver police department. The insurance company didn't want to know from the cost of rekeying her car. With the bad guys still having her set of keys, anything that she keeps in the car is subject to being taken. Adding an alarm or fuel flow interrupt will stop the car from being taken, but not the contents. The police detective was as helpful as a dozen nails under the tires…when asked about the condition of the car, he said, "it's in running condition", and you have to get it out of the impound lot. When asked if the impound lot would describe the condition, he fell back to the municipal stonewall…..they're too busy to do anything but give you back the car. So, tonight she has to find a ride to the pound, get the car, drive it to the Audi dealer and have, at the minimum, interior detailed and some alarm or fuel flow interlock added.
We dragged Mom around for our final day in Florida, and finished all of her projects in the house. The phone has been ringing off the hook with Mom's friends telling her what a great party she had on Saturday.
This morning I went for a ten-minute easy bike ride around the neighborhood, and everything felt fine. About 2 hours later,( well, is it good news or bad news?), my left foot started to hurt. (The right one is the one recovering from the bone breaks). The good news is that in the 8 weeks since I've had my injury, my foot problems haven't come to the surface. Indeed that was good because using my left foot and crutches would have been a challenge. If the problem materialized in my right foot, with the long cast on, it would have been a major problem. The bad news is that it's come back….so a few more prednisone were popped, and hopefully by tomorrow morning, we'll be back to normal.
We had to get our fix of deli, so dinner was at the Rascal House…and it lived up to its reputation at par excellence.
May 23, 2000, Tuesday- so long Mom..as we pulled out at 8:30 and drove 650 miles to the western Florida panhandle town of Crestview. Worked out a deal with the Holiday Inn with two full buffet breakfasts, $47.50 for a king no smoking with the dog. Not too bad! Throughout the Florida highway travels, it's bug season. As one drives along the highways and byways of life, the windshield gets splattered with these big inch long white steaks. It's so prevalent, that each rest area and turnpike gas station, has garden hoses set up for windshield washing.
Debi finally got to her car today…and there was no painted surface body damage. The interior will need a good detailing with food and cigarettes everywhere, and the bottom has some plastic panels that were damaged by flying over some speed bumps. But the big surprise at the impound lot was that when she opened the trunk, it was full of stolen goods and a shotgun. Denver's finest, and I use the term more then loosely, told her to put it all in her house, and they would pick it up in a few weeks. Since they were looking for prints, you would think that getting their rap CDs out of the stereo, and the shotgun, would at least have prints. Poor, poor police work! In terms of getting the car re-keyed, it may cost more then the Porsche. The electronic tumbler on the driver's side alone cost $900 for the parts. Prestige Audi was looking into the cost of switching the electronics and tumblers with their '97 demo car, or with Stephen's car. Hopefully the labor only will be reasonable. We find out tomorrow.
May 24, 2000, Wednesday- with a short drive planned for today, 150 miles, we did the pool and exercise room, and a full breakfast before leaving. Then, we got off the interstate in the Pensacola area, and headed for the shoreline. We did some beach and nature walking at Johnson Beach, and continued into Alabama along the shore. Wonderful houses on the ocean and baysides, along with lots of new condo construction. Stopped at a Delchamps supermarket for lunch, and saw some interesting human signs in the parking lot. Alongside the handicapped parking signs were add a few "senior citizens" and a few "mothers to be". Both nice pluses!
On to Biloxi where we did the tour of the Jefferson Davis library and mansion called "Beauvior". The home was a raised ranch with 14.5 ft ceilings. It was gracious bay front living. Our hotel, another Holiday Inn, had the A/C on, and after we brought the suitcases into the room, all of the mirrors fogged up. The reverse was also true, where our sunglasses, outside, also fogged up. Love that humidity.
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For dinner we stopped at the Beau Rivage hotel. This new operation was on a par with all of the high-end Vegas operations, as well it should be, as a Steve Winn property. The flowers, throughout, were gorgeous. For dinner we did the seafood buffet….with all of the fresh shrimp, mussels, clams, callimari, crabs, plus the standard dozens of carving stations, salads, etc. We even found the same machines that treated us well in Blackhawk, Colorado, and again made a few bucks.
May 25, 2000, Thursday- Fran and Allan were able to get the Omni Hotel in Houston for tonight at the weekend discounted rate of $89 per week. So, we started early, 7:30 on the road to arrive by mid afternoon. The hotel and Hobbes' kennel are on the southwest side of town, so we hoped to avoid the heavy traffic with our schedule. For the first time in our travels from Colorado, we hit lots of construction delays and heavy traffic along I-10, but we still arrived at 3 PM, and beat the local traffic. With temperatures in the upper 90's, and humidity to match, we were glad that the 200 animal kennel is indoors and air-conditioned. It was the cleanest, most modern place we've parked Hobbes during our travels.
Arriving at the Omni, we got, as expected five star treatment. Every so often it's nice to sample the higher end of public accommodations, and with five nights in this location, it certainly fits the bill. We met Fran and Allan, our hosts for the weekend, and had dinner with David and Aimee, and Aimee's mom Eileen. Lovely people, and the soon to be newlyweds, were alive and well, and fortunately, in love. Back to the room at night with Fran and Allan for a few hands of Euchre. (Had to keep the brain engaged).
May 26, 2000, Friday- Susan finally got to go to the driver's license folks in Texas to get the picture added to her driver's license, replacing the photoless replacement from the fall. Then, on to the Galleria shopping center where the anchor tenants are Neimans, Lord & Taylor, Saks, etc. Fortunately we escaped without needing a UPS truck to deliver the goods.
Fran and Allan have set up a hospitality suite on the top floor overlooking the pool. From the outside of the 11 story building, only one set of windows has a balcony…and it's this Riverway Suite. It turns out that when Barbara Streisand came to Houston for a performance, it was her room, this presidential suite. She hates air-conditioning, fearing it will affect her voice. So, they had to build a small balcony so she could stay in the moist warm air, and avoid the a/c.
Fifteen family and friends that had arrived by today all went out to the Canyon Restaurant for a pre-rehearsal dinner. Good time and okay food with an added plus of catching up with Don and Myrna for the evening.
May 27, 2000, Saturday- time for a professional haircut…Aimee set it up with her friends Karen. At the shop I learned that Karen's Mom also grew up in Jersey City…tomorrow night, at the wedding, we play Jewish Geography and she what common facts we can remember. In the afternoon Jerry and Lois arrived, and we caught up on what's happening with lunch at a New York equivalent deli. One of the owners is Ziggy, a third generation deli owner, and his pride showed. We returned to the hospitality suite, and finished with a round of Euchre. At 6:30 the buses picked up the hotel crowd for the short ride to the catering hall for the rehearsal dinner. The Mexican theme evening was started in grand style as servers greeted the arrivals with trays of beverages ranging from margaritas to wie. An 8 piece marriachi band filled the hall and the good times continued.
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May 28, 2000, Sunday- the wedding day finally arrived. A quick trip back to the deli saved Fran and Allan a trip to refill the bagels for the hospitality suite. Howard and Rose, and Lois and Jerry joined us for a walk around the neighborhood, where we toured some high end custom cluster homes nestled in between the commercial office complexes. At four Susan and Lois had a stop at Neiman Marcus for a free face makeup. By six the festivities were underway, and at the ceremony, the rabbi showed a sense of humor. As David, the groom, started sweating under the chuppa, the rabbi said, if this is causing you to get so tense, maybe I should fly American. (David is a Continental pilot). Seeing all of our friends, and sharing the nachas of the newlyweds, was priceless.
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On a personal level I was able to get my injured foot into my black leather dance dress shoes. We were dressed to the nines, Susan in her great white and black outfit, and me in my tuxedo, and danced the night away. From just about first to last dance, my foot felt good enough to trip the light fantastic.
May 29, 2000- Monday- after a final group brunch at the hotel, we took Don and Myrna to the Galleria, and did some errands for Allan and Fran. Latter, Allan and Fran wound down with us over a game of Euchre in the Omni lobby. Later Ernie and Roberta came over and we learned that one of their many pigment plants is located in Decatur, IN, where we are heading tomorrow, back to our coach. Hopefully we can find the time for a plant tour. It should be interesting…they run 7 days, 24 hours per day. Dinner was at the Cheesecake Factory where we love their big salads.
May 30, 2000, Tuesday- up at 6, get Hobbes at 8 and hit the road. Fortunately the way we went avoided the downtown bound traffic, so we flew home. Did I say home…to a place we've never been before? Yes…90 miles out we stopped at Livingston, Texas to see our home and pick up our mail. It was quite the operation. Our pendaflex file was well maintained and resided in a long movable tray with hundreds of our neighbors. After saying goodbye to our neighbor's house, Bob and Elaine's, we continued into Arkansas and stopped for the night just west of Memphis.
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May 31, 2000, Wednesday- on the road before 7 to avoid rush hours in Memphis and Indianapolis. Again, easy travels for 650 miles. We started a 12-hour audio book yesterday, and still arrived 2 tapes short from finishing. Since our coach is still in the paint shop prep area, Fleetwood is putting us up in the new AmeriHost Inn hotel…. still first class. We stopped at the service area and caught up with lots of friends…and did drinks and dinner with them. It felt like getting home again, but having to stay in a guest house.
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