Back in Florida again ...

I left Boyd in Plano, Texas with his brother Eldon on the 17th and headed for Houston. The weather was foul! The rain and wind made driving difficult for everyone and impossible for others.
I made it as far as Huntsville before I had to stop for shelter at an RV Park where I spent the night.
The morning of the 18th was calm and slightly overcast and I made it to he prison to visit my nephew at 8 am. During the four hour visit the sky turned almost black and the wind kicked back up. I left there at about 1 pm heading for Florida and only made it 16 miles before I had to leave the highway for safety. The sky was so dark it felt like 8 pm.

I waited for two hours and caught another break and made another 50 miles or so before I had to pull off again. I was just outside of Beaumont, Texas when Boyd called and said that he and Eldon where there taking shelter from the storm so I joined them at the motel they were staying in. The morning of the 19th was just slightly overcast with very little wind and it stayed like that all the way to Florida. I drove straight through from Beaumont to Tavares where my sister-in-law lives (that's DeJ's mom). I got in just before midnight which was 16+ hours. When my head hit the pillow I was out like a light and slept 10 hours straight. We spent today, Monday, just catching up and sharing. Tomorrow we might go out on her husband's boat and try to catch a fish or just cruise the water ways.

Texas - miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles

We left the Los Angeles area at 5 am on Monday and headed for Phoenix to visit with Boyd's sister. We spent the afternoon there and then pushed on toward Texas via Las Cruses, NM. We passed through El Paso at about midnight and around 2 am stopped for a cat nap at a rest stop. We arrived in Plano, TX to visit Boyd's brother yesterday (Wednesday) at about 6 pm. Along the way we stopped in Sweetwater, TX where I was stationed in 1966 and 1967 when I was in the Air Force. Like most places it has really changed in the last 40+ years and there was no sign of the old Air Force Station. The town has a brand new City Hall, a community college and much more. It was a quick stop (about one hour) so it was not much more than a walk down memory lane but I'm glad I did stop.
Tomorrow Boyd and his brother will take off on thier own road trip and I will meander down the road toward Rosharon, TX where my nephew is in prison, just south of Houston. I get a four hour visit with him on Saturday morning and then will head directly for the Orlando area to visit with his mom and stepdad.
More later.

Road Trip 2009 - part 1 - day 1

Boyd and I hit the road from Oregon City yesterday about 4:30 pm heading for SoCal to visit his son Don. We made it through Grant's Pass just as it was getting dark and stopped for a bite to eat in Redding about 10 pm. We stopped for two and a half hours for a nap in Stockton and then pushed through to Burbank/North Hollywood just in time to have a quick lunch with Don before he left for work at noon. I had a short nap and now feel quite refreshed. Boyd and I will go shopping for something for dinner to have ready when Don gets off work. Happy Easter everyone.

Changes ... many, many changes.

Yesterday I bought a new road vehicle - it is a 2000 Chevy Astrovan. It rides well and only has 93k miles on it. It is clean, quiet and comfortable. I am happy.

Today at 4:00 I will pick up the keys to the house in Oregon City that I will be calling home for a while.

Jaimee and Kris have moved into their new apartment and it will do for them until Kris finishes school this year.

And that's just the beginning - more to follow.

The Rose

Also, Happy Birthday Oregon

150 years and still going strong.

February (Friday) the 13th

An ordinary day. I had promised my daughter that I would go to Costco to get some stuff that we needed. No big deal. I wasn't focused on the date - Friday the 13th - which most people view as unlucky but to me it's just another day. So, I'm standing in line at checkout and every check stand has at least 4 people waiting with huge Costco orders. I'm in no hurry so I'm just patiently waiting. All of a sudden, to my right, a very lovely lady steped into the end of the line and she had just one item, a large bouquet of roses. She looked up and down the row of check stands and resigned herself to having to wait her turn. Then my line stared to move, quickly, so I gave a little "pssst" to get her attention and waved her into the line ahead of me. She moved over with a beautiful smile and looked into my cart. "No flowers for your someone special?" she asked. "No one special." I said with a shrug. She put her flowers on the conveyor and then turned to help me put my stuff on the belt. The cashier finished ringing her up and as she picked up the flowers she dropped her card. I reached down to pick it up and as I handed it to her she had pulled one rose out of the bouquet and handed it to me and gave me a hug. I said in her ear " I hope someone does something really special for you too." I was so taken by surprise that it took me a moment to recover and to finish with my order. Then, as I passed by the line at the food concession, there she was, smiling at me and she held out her hand. I made my way over to her and took her hand and told her that she had not just made my day but that she had made my whole year. She gave me another hug and then our lines forced us to move in opposite directions.

As I made my way to the exit I kept asking myself why I didn't go back to give her my number or ask for hers but I felt that it would be wrong. After all, she was buying roses for her "someone special" and she was just a sweet lady who decided to share one with me. At the door, the lady who checks receipts pointed at the rose with a question in her eyes and I told her quickly what had happened and she said "That's sweet. I would much rather have a single rose than the stuff I usually get". She put a smiley face on my receipt and I was on my way to the car. Half of me wanting to go back and the other half wanting to get away as fast as I could with the understanding that they both had a "someone special" who might not be perfect, but they did have someone.

A fun day out and about ...

Yesterday was a fun day. I hopped on the C-Tran bus at Fishers Landing (just a short walk from the apartment) and changed to the MAX in Parkrose. The ride into Old Town Portland was relaxing and I enjoyed the sights while listening to the tunes on my MP3 player. I walked along the waterfront and then strolled up and down Front Street then headed west to 5th and back down Oak Street to Front. The air was cool but the sun was out and it was quite refreshing.





Just after noon I hopped the bus for Washington Square to celebrate a birthday for our friend Noak. I got there early and just wandered the mall for a while, enjoying the sights and sounds. We all met at the Newport Bay restaurant at 3:00 for an early dinner with lots of laughs and giggles. After dinner we went to see the movie He's Just Not That Into You which was not only funny but very insightful. There was a little something in it for everyone. Then Noak was kind enough to give me a ride home as the busses had stopped running from Parkrose to Vancouver by that time.

Special thanks to Suzanne for organizing the event and to everyone there who made it a special occasion.

Also:
There is some hopeful news on the situation with my nephew, DeJ. His mother is trying to buy a house in Oregon City for when he is released which might be in June. If she gets the house I will be moving in to get things set for DeJ when he arrives and to be there for him during his adjustment phase. Then I should be able to move on with my own life sometime in September.