Florida

Brooksville, Florida is a quiet town where my friends George and Janet Williams live. George is now retired also and is very active with his church, habitat for humanity and disaster recovery from storms like Katrina. It looks like he will be pretty busy if Gustav hits New Orleans. I arrived here at about 6:30 pm on the 28th and we had a very nice dinner together. On Saturday we went to the Homosassa Nature Park to view the manatees and other wild life. The park is a rescue, recovery and rehabilitation park for wounded animals and they are doing wonderful work. The displays are all clean and you wouldn't know that most of the animals had been hurt. It was a warm day and while we walked through the park it began to shower and we were all soaked but it was refreshing. We had lunch at Crystal River and then back home for a nice evening of conversation with lots of memories and laughs. Today, Sunday we are going to the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Tampa for a robotic Dinosaur display. The robotic giants were created by Kokoro of Japan and Los Angeles...and that should be fun, especially with George and Janet's sense of humor.

Happy Birthday Auntie Ivy (89 years young)

When I was just a young boy my mother's older sister would come to visit with her husband Al. He was always Uncle Al but she was always my "Auntie Ivy" spoken with a little kids sing-song accent which I will not try to duplicate here in written form. I met my cousin John White at his home in Atlanta, GA and we then met Ivy and her friend/care-giver Margie for dinner at Longhorns Steakhouse. We had a wonderful dinner topped off by a huge dessert that all four of us shared and then went to Ivy's apartment to dig through her old albums for family photos. Tomorrow John has to work so it will be just Ivy, Margie and I working on family photos and genealogy. This was quite a surprise for Ivy and she was so very happy that I could be there. She said it was "The best birthday ever" and that made my trip all the more meaningful.

Virginia Beach 8:30 pm - thoughts

As I drove through the cradle of the Civil War I was constantly reminded of the history that was all around me. There was Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown. That was not what was calling me. I finally realized that it wasn't the history of the past that was calling me, but the history of the future; my future was calling me. The open road has been calling me for a long time but again, I didn't know why, I just knew that I had to answer it. So, now, I begin to understand that it's not just about going somewhere, it's about doing something. It's about forging my own history ... so here I go, headlong into the future.

P.S. No animals were harmed in the making of this blog. Only the mosquitos who deserve it because they just won't leave me ALONE !!!!!!

Washington D.C.

This trip to D.C. has been a very good one. I took a campsite at a National Park just north of D.C. for two nights. Saturday morning I walked the two miles to the Metro and caught the rail to downtown just 3 blocks east of the White House. I walked the mall from one end to the other and back. I took in the Smithsonian, American Indian Museum, Space and Aero Museum and the National Gallery of Art plus lots of other misc stuff. It was warm and humid but as you know I do well in that climate.

Now I am on my way to Virginia Beach. I've never been there but something is calling me and I need to answer.

BTW - would you believe that the Starbucks in D.C. don't have WiFi???? I was stunned. Luckily most of the Panera's do so I can still get connected.

Elkton, Maryland

Why Elkton, Maryland ? That question has bothered me for many years now and here is the story.

Sometime in 1944 a young girl of just 18 years was working at the USO in Washington D.C. where her parents were stationed in the service of the Salvation Army. This sweet young girl was to become my mother. She met a very handsome Army Sargent who was an MP stationed in D.C. This man was to become my father. When he met her it was love at first sight for them both (He had brought in a young man who was down on his luck and needed help getting to his next duty assignment and this he did several times just so he could be with her). Since she was too young to marry they ran off to Elkton, MD where there was no waiting, no blood test and no questions. I have just learned by my visit today that Elkton's history goes back into the 20's and 30's when people from New Jersey would run down to Elkton to get married or divorced quickly and there were many celebrities (movie stars to gangsters) who used Elkton. It was, for me, another very serendipitous moment because I almost left without finding what I was looking for. You see, I have their marriage license with the address of the court house on it. However, sometime after 1944, they re-numbered the streets and I was looking in the wrong place. But one thing led to another and by a happy coincidence I found a man who had lived there all his life(about 75 years) and was able to help me. Sometimes it pays to ask a total stranger a question even if it comes from out in left field somewhere.
So, the mystery of why my mom and dad were married in Elkton has been answered.

Looking back on my retirement party

I was both pleased and surprised at the turnout and the honors at my retirement party. Thanks to everyone for a great sendoff. I'm sorry that several people were not able to attend but I know that they would have been there if they could.

The friends I have made while at Tektronix/Xerox will travel with me as progress toward the future.

The Keystone State

I have been zigging and zagging my way across PA and enjoying the scenery along the way. I went to Bushkill Falls and enjoyd a short hike. The area is a bit of a tourist trap and there is now a casino nearby so all the amenities that come with that are sprouting up.

Today I decided to skip Philly and head for Elkton, MD then down to DC for the Smithsonian and anything else that strikes my fancy.

State College, PA

"If God isn't a Penn State fan, why is the sky blue and white?"

I have had a very nice visit with Brett Michaud while here in State College, PA. It is a beautiful town surrounded by the rolling hills covered with oak and pine trees. Brett was kind enough to play tour guide and I got to see much of the campus and town that I would have missed otherwise. It was also good to get out from behind the wheel for a couple of days and just "hang".

Now I am on my way east to see Bushkill Falls, then on to Philly.

Ontario to Pennsylvania in 7 easy steps ...

I left Frank and Mollie after dinner and headed south, making my way past Toronto and into Niagara Falls, NY at about 1 am on Tuesday morning. I found a quiet side street and slept for about 5 hours then had a good breakfast at Denney's before going to the Niagara Falls State Park. There were very few people there at 7 am and that was a good thing for me. I will post photos tomorrow. I left there at about 9 am and headed for State College in Pennsylvania to visit my friend Brett Michaud. We had a nice chat then went to dinner and over a couple of beers did some "catch up". Brett says "Hi" to everyone and sends his bet wishes. I will stay the night in his guest room and then head for Washington DC tomorrow.

Cooper's Falls, Ontario, Canada

I finallymade it to Cooper's Falls today. It is about 30 miles north of Orillia and is still quite rural. I met my cousin Frank Cooper who is the oldest Cooper still living in CF. We spent a few minutes getting aquainted but he had work to do to get ready for the reunion tomorrow. Every one here has been very helpful and very kind. Now that I have reached it here and in time, I feel that I can relax a bit and enjoy. Golf anyone?

Made it to Orillia, Ontario, Canada

It was a long haul from Davenport Iowa. When I crossed the boarder at Flint, MI, I stopped at the Visitor Information Center and the advise was that I go directly into Toronto and then north to Orillia which is very close to Cooper's Falls. Unfortunately that put me smack in the midst of rush hour traffic, on a Friday to boot. It was a nightmare!!! Toronto is HUGE. At one point I counted 16 lanes of traffic ... all at a crawl. I thought Portland traffic was bad until I went to Seattle. I thoough Seattle traffic was bad until I went to LA. Now ... nothing beats Toronto as the worst of the worst.
So I am now at my campsite in the Hammock Harbour RV park. Lots of campers and lots of skeeters. Tomorrow I go looking around.

Excitement

I had just crossed into Nebraska and I could see ahead that a storm was brewing ... a big storm. I tuned my XM radio to the weather station and they said to expect hail and strong winds. As I got to the top of the hill there was a rest stop with a perfect view point ... windmill, moon and storm ... Wow!

After getting this shot I continued on I-80 heading right toward the heart of the storm. However the storm was moving away almost as fast as I approached. As the sun went down behind me the lightning show began and it was a duzy. I pulled off at the next exit and drove up a dirt road lined by corn fields and finally found a good vantage point. I grabbed my camera and tripod and climbed up the ladder and onto the platform I had put there for just such an occasion. I took about 30 shots but the lightning was mostly elusive. I did get this one shot before heading back to the highway. Welcome to Nebraska!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN ...

I left Vancouver later than I had planned (about 5 pm) on Monday Aug 11th. My plan is to make 600 miles per day on my way to Ontario, Canada for the Cooper Family Reunion. It is being held in the town of Cooper's Falls which my great-grandfather Thomas Cooper settled back in the 1860's. My grandfather Frederick Francis Fox was born in the nearby berg of Lewisham in 1889. I want to walk where he walked and see what he saw (over 100 years later).

Today I crossed the continental divide and am now in Rawlins, WY and strill have 400 miles to go to reach my goal for the day. I'll start again right after lunch.

The photo is of my traveling companions; Ms Taguet, Lion, and Frog. I also had Ball but Ball broke loose and fell into the dash vent, never to be seen again but always to be heard.