Catching Up

Sunday evening and Monday morning we attended Bill's viewing and service. He would have been uncomfortable as so many people showed up to pay their respects. He always said he wasn't the popular one. There were over a hundred people each time. In addition to civilians, on Monday everyone in his son Michael's precinct showed up in uniform. More than 50 officers. His son Billy, his oldest granddaughter Emily, his daughter-in-law Amy, and I all spoke. After the service Nancy and I had to skip the luncheon as she had a doctor's appointment.

The good news is Nancy does not have a retinal tear. The floater should absorb on its own and we'll go back for another check in a month.

Tuesday we shopped for a few essentials, Wednesday Jim and I went shooting while Nancy started making pirates costumes for Chukk's wedding next month(it's prayer themed on the Mosholu schooner docked on the Delaware River in Philly.

A Sad Day

Received a phone call today from our great friend Betty Boyes. Her husband Bill passed away this morning. Bill had been in hospitals and rehab many times this year for various problems related to his liver and kidneys, probably a result of exposure to agent orange during the Vietnam crisis.

I have known Bill since 1989. We enjoyed many of the same things, computers, camping, our kids, etc. Bill and I joined the Masonic Lodge at the same time and we worked together as Secretary and Treasurer of the Lodge for seven years.

He was there during my troubled marriage, my divorce, my engagement, and was the best man at my marriage to Nancy. He did not enjoy country dancing at first, but learned his first dance so he could dance with Nancy at our wedding. He provided counsel to my children and celebrated the births of my grandchildren. All while doing the same for his own children and grandchildren.

When my RV had problems, he would drive to Alabama with me and we'd share stories of... everything. Nancy and I shared vacations with Betty and Bill in our RV, (the picture above was taken at Churchill Downs and the chapeau he is holding was not for him) and their generosity extended to inviting us several times on their vacations to Florida and St. Maarten.

Bill was my brother, a great man with a large, generous and compassionate heart, and I will miss him dearly. 

Red Bay Before The Storm

We left North Little Rock this morning at 9:45 and although we had 14-20 mph winds we had no problems. Until we got near Red Bay that is. But more on that in a minute.

We stopped for food and fuel in West Memphis, AR, and while there, right next to the station was a Blue Beacon. So we pulled in and had no wait. We had the RV and the car washed and waxed, and boy did it look good!

So we were on route 23 North in Mississippi about 5 miles south of Red Bay when our GPS tells us to make a turn. Since we were heading to a new RV park that has only been opened since September, we followed the GPS. WELL... Apparently there are two places with the same address, but miles apart. We went down a two lane backwoods road and when it said we were at the correct place all that was there was a tiny house and a barn. It seems that one of the addresses is in Franklin county and the other in the city of Red Bay, which is also in Franklin county. Go figure!

So there we were in East Jabip with only two lanes, not enough to turn around. But on the right side of the road was a small incline the owner uses to get his truck up to the barn with an exit ramp back to the road, although it would be tight.

So we started up the incline and small (but strong) tree branches were overhanging the incline. We pulled to the right to avoid them and the RV and car got stuck in the shop. They had a lot of rain here last week and the ground was very soft. We were able to back up somewhat (something you can't normally do when towing a car, but the soft ground acted as a track for the wheels) and got back on the incline, but those sttong branches we mentioned earlier scratched the paint all the way down the length of the driver's side of the RV. 

So after a few unprintable words we disconnected the car and with Nancy driving it, and against her wishes, I took the RV down the exit ramp, made the hard left turn back onto the road, and retraced our route back to 23N and kept going north. In minutes we were at the new campground.

All the sites are paved and have a paved picnic area with table...

the park is enclosed, they pick up the trash every day from your site, they have free WiFi, etc. They have a restaurant here and a beautiful fishing pond...

and this is our view at night...

We were hungry so we went to Cardinals, much like Sonic, only better. Them did some food shopping and came home.

So tomorrow afternoon we go to get our satellite cables worked on ( the first of three days) and it will be raining thru Thursday. Floods warnings are out as we are expecting 5 inches of rain.

A Day in Little Rock

Back in January on the way to Texas our windshield was hit by a thrown stone. This morning we had Safelite come out and fix it. There was no evidence of a crack on the outside but we could see a crack inside the glass. They did their repair and then we got ready to go to the"RV" show.

We got the trolley and crossed the river. The first stop was across the street from the state convention center where the show was. This was the Arkansas RV show. It consisted of 15 side vendors and RVs ranging from teardrops to pull-behinds, about 3 class C's and only one class A. Maybe 30 rigs in all.  We got through it in less than a 1/2 hour. What a disappointment!

On the bright side, at another corner from the trolley stop we went into a pizza place, Irianna's. It's been in business for 35 years and my gosh what great pizza!

We had a hamburger and mushroom 🍕. It was chock full of both, not like most pizzerias. The dough was light and crunchy to the teeth. Absolutely wonderful! By the time we were done it was 4:30, and most of the places, except for most of the eateries, close at 5:00.

So we got back on the trolley and took the full route around the city, which left us both saying we need to come back for at least a week next time, so we can visit all those places. 

Our trolley driver had non-stop patter, full of interesting tidbits along with a wonderful sense of humor. Did you know that there is a 4000 square foot glass-enclosed building on top of the Clinton Presidential Library? It is actually the home of the Clintons when they are in town.

They spent $30 million on renovating an old building, and now it's the US Bankruptcy Court. Across the street is the federal court and the statehouse. He said it's the only place you can get married, go bankrupt and get divorced without ever needing to get in your car.

Near the RV show was a Pagoda, in memory of H.U.Lee, the founder of American tai-chi.

 It was made entirely without nails, pregs, or glue, but in pieces like a puzzle. There is a large center where each year 1000s of Tai-chi followers come to a festival to honor Lee.

The city used to have 35 trolleys.

 There used to be 87.4 miles of track, but in the '40s the bus company shut it all down and paved over the tracks. In 2004 the business district wanted the trolleys back, so now there are 5, on 3.3 miles of track. They are made in Ohio of Red Maple and Oak, and each cost $850,000.

The only thing original in each is the speed control and the brake. It cost $3.3 million for each mile of track.

There is enough here to make us want to come back and spend some time.

We caught the trolley back and saw the USS Razorback, a submarine that spent some time in Tokyo at the end of WWII. 

Contrary to common belief, it is not named after the Razorback, a feral domestic pig, but the Razorback whale. We were told the submarine is still mostly functional, and can still submerge --- once! 😂

We also found out North Little Rock is not part of Little Rock, but is a separate city.

We came back, took care of the dogs, and watched streaming TV, finally getting to the end of McLeod's Daughters. It's a good show, all of you should watch it.

Tomorrow we leave for Red Bay. It is supposed to rain there non-stop from Monday thru Thursday, meaning we will be setting up the RV and closing it every day in the rain to get it to service. That's it for now. Have a good day tomorrow.

Downtown Little Rock, AR

We left Sulphur Springs this morning at 10:05. So we slept a little later this morning, but isn't that what retirement is for?

The RV park was bare basics, and it could be nice except for the potholes in the entry/exit drive. No way to avoid them and it threw the RV and it's contents violently from side to side as we left. They should really fix it.

We drove a little under 4 hours to the Downtown Little Rock RV Park, run by the city. It is a big open area right on the bank of the Arkansas River. It is gated and all 50 amp.  We will be staying here for two nights. Our front window gives us this view:

After setting up and settling the dogs we drove a few blocks to a free parking lot to catch the trolley across the river to River Market, where we ate dinner. The trolley is a free service from the businesses in the district. The driver pointed out all kinds of interesting facts about the city and buildings in town.

We met an interesting couple on the trolley. He was a disabled vet, a former tour driver on the trolley, and now a real estate agent. He pointed out many interesting things for us, the most interesting of which was Arkansas' civil war. It occurred during the tenure of President Grant. The story goes that the outgoing governor refused to vacate his office to the newly elected governor. He and his armed friends barricaded the building and shot anyone who tried to enter. About 200 citizens were killed in the stand-off.

We caught the trolley back and completed the trolley tour of both sides of the river. The city lights up all the bridges at night with changing colors and a light show at the top of every hour.

Tomorrow we may catch the RV show at the convention center and go to the comedy club, The Joint. Sunday we will leave for Red Bay.

Sulphur Springs, TX

Temperatures were going to drop last night so we covered the orange and lime saplings. Started sleeting and snowing (lightly), before we finished, then we went inside to warm up.

Couldn't sleep well last night so got up at 4:30am. Sat in the living room till 6, showered, then woke Nancy up at 6:15. Temperature outside was 28°.While she showered, I moved all of our gear into the RV. At 8am, we went to Garcia's for a Mexican breakfast, then went back to the RV to stow everything away.

We left at 9:56am after hugs and kisses with Marjorie and Mom, and 330 miles later we stopped at Shady Lake RV Park. They actually have 4, count em 4, spots for overnight RVs.

After setting up, we drove around and about Sulphur Springs, looking for a place to eat. A very nice, small town, with a church on the town square.

We found a very nice place on one corner of the town square called, naturally, The Corner Grubhouse. Very good food! Afterwards we went back to the RV and watched some streaming TV.

Tomorrow we will be heading to Downtown RV Park in Little Rock, Arkansas, right on the Arkansas River. Our plan is to spend two nights there and see some of the sights, like the Clinton Presidential Library.

Storm Delay

After prepping to leave tomorrow, Wednesday, for our trip to Alabama, we decided to delay by one day. That major winter storm will be crossing Dallas tomorrow with heavy rain, snow, and sleet. I'm just not interested in driving thru that. So we will leave now on Thursday morning, travel for three days, and get to our final stop in Red Bay, AL, sometime on Sunday.

Shoot

I forgot to mention that Marjorie's fish pond has had a major algae bloom. We've been raking out algae every day since we've been here. On Wednesday a company came out, transferred all the fish to a holding tank and started pulling out the algae by hand, then spraying the remaining with chemicals. They fixed a leak in the liner, and the next day refilled the tank, to mostly the same water they pumped out the day before, replaced the fish, and added a UV treatment to the water to help limit another algae bloom. It was interesting to watch and to learn how they maintain ponds.

For retirement dinner on Friday we drove a little north to New Braunfels to a place called BJ's Saloon and Grill. The place was packed with long waiting lines, and justifiably so. The food was excellent. They had a deal that if you purchased a meal worth $11, you could pick up to three take-home meals (from a choice of 5) for only $6 each. We wound up bringing six of them home.

On Saturday Ron, Marjorie and I drove to the Bracken gun range for some pistol and rifle shooting. We started on the rifle range and they enjoyed shooting my rifle so much we spent all afternoon shooting it, never making it to the pistol range.

Ron was good, but it was surprising how good Marjorie is. We were shooting at 50 yards, the shortest course, and once she got the hang of it and some pointers, she was always hitting the target's inner circle. She even scored a dead-center bullseye! The two of them did most of the shooting and then we left. On the way back we stopped at the Bracken Gun Ship and Ron signed up for the Texas Concealed Carry course. We came home, and ate some of the meals we brought home Friday night, then spent the evening with McLeod's Daughters.

Today we spent the entire day working our way thru another season and a half of the show, and then had a dinner of macaroni salad and filet mignon we brought down from New Jersey.

Tomorrow we will begin planning our exodus from here. We are leaving on Wednesday.

Retired!

Well, today was the last day of my contract with Aramark. Remember, they shortened my contract by one month due to financial restraints. So I passed all my work to a co-worker, submitted my timesheet and logged off. I will hand in my equipment when I return to New Jersey in March.

Sooo, rather than look for another position, I am going to join Nancy, Richard and Joanne in the retirement world. Nancy and I are now free to dance, travel, and whatever, whenever! As long as the money holds out, at least. Sleep as late as I want in the mornings, without having to get up early to get online.

I'm looking forward to it.

Back in the USA

We woke up yesterday, had breakfast with Phyllis and George, said our goodbyes, and grabbed a taxi to the airport. Because it was an international flight we had to arrive 3 hours early. So we arrived at 11am for our 2:20pm flight.

Two hours and forty minutes later we arrived at Denver International Airport. We collected our bags and breezed thru customs and immigration, then had to recheck our bags (since we had to get them thru customs), go thru TSA, and waited for our flight to San Antonio. We had just enough time for a bagel and a potty break.

After another two-and-a-half hour flight, we arrived to a rainy night in SA. Ron was there to pick us up and bring us to Marjorie's home, where we arrived a little after 10 pm. Parker, Cuddles, and Cinder were excited to welcome us home. We were tired, but not enough to keep us from watching three episodes of McLeod's Daughters, after which we dragged ourselves to bed.

Today we will go out to breakfast, then pick up Tiffin and Cocoa from the sitter's, and relax. Tomorrow I start my final well of work, and then retirement! 

Casa Kimberly

Today we relaxed, although Marjorie and Phyllis went to aerobics at the pool. Mom and Nancy's back swere hurting from all the walking at the flea market last night. We had a light lunch, then headed out for Casa Kimberly.

Liz Taylor lived here for years and Richard Burton bought a smaller house across the street. He then built a small walkway over the street so they could easily get to each other and avoid the public.

Of course they modified the interior. It is now a boutique hotel with nine rooms and a large restaurant area on the veranda, and in front of where their pool used to be. It now has a fountain in the center with iguanas on its base (think: Night of the Iguana).

Her home is huge, four or five levels, his not so, only two. His is now a private residence. As you walk into the foyer off the street, you see this sculpture.

And closer up's

From there you go up one level of steps (or take the elevator up to the restaurant) 

where the concierge sits and the entrance to the hotel, and as you walk up the next set of steps, Liz greets you.

From there you are on the main level, where the restaurant and access to the rest of the house is.

We had excellent meals: salads, sweet corn soup for appetizers, and entrees included filet mignon, salmon, sorry ribs, and Caribbean lobster tail.

We took a few photos of the city on the surrounding hills

and some pictures of ourselves...

then walked around a little...

thanked our hosts George and Phyllis...

for inviting us down and showing us around, then took a taxi back to the Villa to start packing for our return trip tomorrow. Because it is international, we must be there three hours before flight time to go thru inspection, passport control, etc.

Catching Up - Part Deux

Tuesday we lazed around the Villa, had lunch from Carl's, Jr., then at 5:45pm took a taxi van to the marina. We took a very bumpy one hour boat ride across the bay. The crew told us about a show they were doing for the passengers on the return ride. When we arrived at our destination, we trekked from the pier up a mountain to an amphitheatre where we watched a show called Rhythms of the Night, which was a nightly show similar to Cirque du Solei.

After the show we walked back down to a buffet meal set up for us along the beach and then waited for our boat ride home. On the way home the crew put on their show on the bow of the ship, a review of Village People, Michael Jackson,  and Magic Mike. Needless to say, it was an enjoyable trip back to port. Another van ride back to the hotel had us arriving at 1am.

Wednesday we went downtown for brunch at Freddie's Tucan, a restaurant in the romantic (read gay) part of town, did some shopping at the street-side vendors, and walked along the beach. When we were tired, another van ride took us to Sonora Grill Prime, a fancy steak house in town. Most cuts of meat start at 1 kilo (2.2 pounds). Naturally we all shared our plates.

Tonight we went to a flea market at the marina.

 The booths were set up all alongside the water. We purchased a new wind spinner as the ones we have are rusted from so much use. Afterwards we saw the Ballét Folklórico,a group of young kids doing traditional Mexican dances. They have been all over the world, including China.

Bien viaje to Richard and Joanne who start their first retirement voyage tomorrow, traveling the east coast all the way to Key West. Safe journey!

Relaxing

This is one of our neighbors. There are several on the grounds here. There are also iguanas

And a trained hawk named Dur that they fly around to keep the iguanas at bay. 

All the fish ponds here have large koi and carp that keep a lookout for people and beg for food. It is a riot to see them come across their ponds as fast as they can sticking their mouths out of the water and behind. Only approved fish pellets bought at the store are allowed and the fish almost eat it out of your hands.

Yesterday we went to the marina and walked around a little. Some nice yachts here but nowhere the size or class of Saint Maarten. We are at a little seafood restaurant named PezLimón. Most of us had Coconut shrimp. Each platter had a dozen large shrimp. We will be going back again soon. I after some before I took a picture.

We followed that up with coconut ice cream.  We spent today down at the pool. Electricity was off for 7 hours as the hotel had a repair to be made so it was the best place to be, especially with temps being in the mid-eighties. 

Tomorrow morning we will be going to a Spanish class, the in late afternoon we are boarding a ship and cruising to a small island, having dinner on the beach, a show in the island's amphitheatre then back. It'll be late so no update on Tuesday night.

Arrived in Puerto Vallarta

We got up this morning at 5:45 to get ready for our flight, which first took us to Houston, then on to Puerto Vallarta.

 We arrived here at 1:30 PM, and it took us over an hour to get thru immigration, baggage claim, and customs. Because we had some wheelchairs the airline took us from the arrival gate thru the terminal, expedited us thru immigration, then to baggage claim, thru customs and to our transportation, where we met Phyllis and George. We gave each of the assistants a $10 tip which we understand is over one half a week's pay!

We got a van to the hotel, Vela's Vallarta. The place is beautiful!  We are all in a the room lockout with a shared living room.

After we all caught a short nap we came down to dinner. This is the view from our balcony

And this is the view as we went to dinner

We sat on the edge of the veranda on the edge of the beach where a Mexican wedding was taking place.

Later tonight we are going to see a mariachi band and tomorrow spend the day at the pool. We don't envy you folks with your snow. It's 84 degrees here with cool Pacific Ocean breezes.