and Retirement Celebration Trip #2 Family Reunion
and Retirement Celebration Trip #2
Lots of gab here, folks. This was intended to inform and entertain my family. You may just want to scroll on down and check out the pics :-)
Plans for Trip #2:
Day #1: (Tuesday, 20 Aug) -
Left home about 3 AM. Had lots of trouble getting the GPS/StreetFinder to work. Suspect StreetFinder. What a POC this s/w is. Trip through Florida and into Mississippi was "normal" since the car practically knows the way. Daylight came about Tallahassee.
It was tough to pass up Biloxi, but I did.
New territory now….. Louisiana is rather unpopulated
compared to where the trip has taken me so far. Lots of
swamp…… On a series of very long bridges, I crossed
something that looked like a huge lake with trees and small
islands growing out of it. Kind of eerie. They call it
"Henderson Swamp". There was no one out there. Can't
blame them... The vastness and solitude of this swamp impressed
me. Like I said "eerie". I know that Florida is full of
swamps, but they are not in the Tampa area and I just don't see
them.
Baton Rouge - First time through here, I
think. I probably should have contacted Rod in advance for a
meet-and-greet, but I knew that I would be in a hurry to get to
Wichita Falls. A confusing maze of bridges. Federal $$$ at work
is my guess. It was along here that the GPS crapped out on me.
The damned thing just sticks on "locating satellites".
The comm light is winking. Gotta be the StreetFinder software.
Pfooey. I could have made Shreveport, but what the heck, I'm
waaaay ahead of schedule, so, I decided to stay in Alexandria La.
Alexandria - The AAA book points me toward a Best Western there, but on the way, I spotted something called the "Alexandria Inn". It looked inviting and I fell for it. This proved to be a mistake. It was a vaguely camouflaged old Holiday Inn. Barely adequate. No data port. The bathroom was so small that they had to carve out an area of the door's edge so that it would clear the toilet. LOL There is an Adams Rib Restaurant in the motel, but it is open for breakfast and lunch only (????) There was a lobby lounge, but it was sparsely stocked and the barmaid was pretty much stuck on herself. Not much to look at, but a huge set of casabas. I guess that is all it takes to make some people stuck up.
First day on-the-road observations:
Day #2: (Wednesday, 21 Aug) -
In the morning, I fooled around with the
StreetFinder and got it working. I had to disconnect the Nav Man
GPS and then run the program. It came up and told me that it
could not find a GPS, so I knew that the GPS/PC interface was
good. Then I connected it, re-configured the s/w for the Nav Man,
and viola!!! It worked. POC s/w. I fired up the trusty old
Garmin, just in case. It works beautifully. I have to get some PC
interface s/w for that unit. Need to call NavMan to see if there
are any other s/w packages available for their GPS. I like that
single cord USB interface, and the GPS hides neatly under my dash
mat.
Man, has Shreveport ever gotten big! (200,000+??) I wonder how many of them are retired old SAC troops??? Again, the area is a maze of bridges and access roads. Somewhere in Louisiana I heard a tune with a lyric that went something like "Whenever I get depressed and feeling down, I just look at my enormous *****, and then I know that life is wonderful again". Too funny….
I'm into Texas now. Things are starting to
look familiar from my two tours at Altus. Red, rocky, hilly
earth. How do they carve a living out of this?? I do like the
"10,000 acres per homestead" plan though LOL. I can
feel the climate change now. It is much drier. I arrived at the
Holiday Inn in WF at about 1:30 PM. $99 for a suite. I checked in
to rest up my weary bones. They say that they are still full, and
that I will have to check out for the 23rd and 24th. Bummer! Oh
well, I can scoot up to Altus for those two days. I decided not
to contact Sean until I get this all worked out. Besides, my
bones is really hurtin' and I don't want folks to worry about me.
The H.I. "suite" is pretty nice. Lots of room, but,
again, NO DATA PORT! They have a complimentary "Concierge
lounge" every night with drinks and snacks. Cool!!!
Day #3: (Thursday, 22 Aug) -
Still not looking good for me keeping this room. I could not wait any longer, so I gave Sean a call. Sean, Tom, Michelle, TJ, Jennifer, and Rebecca came to my room for a visit. Everyone is getting too big!!! TJ and Jennifer look great. What a kick it is to see them. We all went to lunch at a cool local WF spot Called "Matlock's". Sean recommended something called a "Carnivore" burrito. It was predominantly smoked brisket. Yuuuummm!!! This may have been the best burrito that I ever had. Sean and Tom had a bike show to go to, so they took off and Michelle and Rebecca went to get Ashley and Samantha from school. At about 5 PM, everyone except Tom showed up again. Tom went to Dallas to pick Emily up. They will RON there in Dallas tonight. Sean and Michelle are watching TJ and Jennifer. Pretty neat trick. Ashley is about to turn into a young lady. She has grown so much. She wears glasses now, and they really look good on her. Samantha has grown a lot too. She seems to have wound down a tad, but I'll bet that she is still a snicklefritz. What a thrill for this grandpa!!! Rebecca is warming up to me now. She actually sat on my lap while Tom took some pics. They brought their swim suits (Ashley forgot hers), so we all went to the pool area. Everyone was surprisingly outgoing, and we had a good time. My bones were bothering me so I took a pain bomb. It worked, but it also knocked me out. G'nite……
Below is a photo of me with 5 of my grandchildren in the hotel. This was before Brian showed up with his family, and, then a photo of me with all seven of them taken at Sean's house:
Left - Jennifer, Samantha, Ashley, me, Rebecca, TJ. ********* Right - Kylie and Kobe join the gang.
Day #4: (Friday, 23 Aug) -
At about 7 AM, my "pal" Mary called from the front desk to say that It was looking like I could stay in this room throughout my visit. She said that she would confirm this when the "boss" gets there. Hooooray!!! Mary is a MAJOR babe with an electric smile. Good thing that I am not 40 any more. I have a "history" of success with front-desk gals, ya know (ie, Fran). I found a shady bench outside where I can smoke a stogie and read my book. Things are looking up! Lots of bikes (For the 100 mile HHH bike race) showing up now. This is a surprisingly subdued group. I'm kinda surprised. There are folks of all ages, shapes and sizes. Good for them. Some of the bikers are idiots and they are riding their bikes along the balcony inside the motel. I hope no one steps out of his or her room in front of them…
Got to meet Emily today. Nice gal. Everyone came back after dinner and they all went swimming. Too much fun. The kids all had a great time. All of the kids behaved very well. After this workout they should all sleep well. I got to spend more time with Emily. I am very glad that she made the trip to be with us. I like her a lot.
I am really proud of the grandkids. No back talk or smart talk to their parents. No temper fits. What a treat for grandpa. The kids are all wonderful, but I am so VERY impressed with Ashley. She is so sharp and attentive. She told me that she likes school. That is important. She is growing up so well, but too fast. Sean and Michelle are doing a wonderful job with the girls. TJ and Jennifer are sweeties too. I was a little worried about them, but they are great kids too. Michelle brought me a carry-out dinner of spaghetti. It was fantastic! What a sweetie. Brian, April, Kylie, and Kobe are due here Sunday. I'm excited about having everyone together.
I found out that evening turn-down service and the concierge lounge are cancelled for the weekend because of the HHH crowd. That stinks!
Below is a photo of Michelle and Emily before they leave on a shopping trip and then a photo of "The Burns Guys", Brian, Sean, me, Tom: Note who the short one is now:-)
Day #5: (Saturday, 24 Aug) -
Good rest last night. My bones feel pretty good. I went out to my "stogie spot" to puff one and to people-watch this morning. Zillions of bikers. ! One gal is pulling a baby carriage with her bike. I had to ask if she was going to pull that thing for 100 miles. She said that she is "only" going to do 25 miles. I can't get over how nice it is out here without all of the humidity that Florida is famous for. It is a pleasure to sit outside in the morning. It is actually nice until the sun comes up, and then it is like an oven. Same as it was at Altus in 1962. I decided not to try to get near the starting point for the HHH race. There are just too many people, and I don't want to kill my back/hip and I don't want to get trapped into a long walk (Bummer!). Decided on a trip to Sean and Michelle's house. Had a little trouble finding it, of course. I am blaming it on all of the blocked off streets for the bike race. Also, I still say that the road signs out here are very poor. There is one turn off sign on I 45 for Sheppard AFB, and then nothing.….. Had to go to the main base Visitor Center to get directions to Capehart.
206B Pioneer is very nice. There is an overload of folks there right now (Tom, Emily, TJ, and Jennifer), but Michelle and Sean make everyone comfortable. I found out today that Tom and Emily are engaged!!!! What a wonderful surprise. I can't believe that I didn't notice the ring yesterday. Not very attentive of me. Now we have to find out when the wedding is. Tom said "February or March". I guess Emily will have to take charge of that:-)
Sean did 25 miles in the HHH and Tom did the whole 100. Tom set a new time record for himself. He rode the 100 miles in just six hours!!! Too bad that Sean's back problems are keeping him from riding the whole race. I wore down about 3PM and headed back to the motel. Wonderful day.
Day #6: (Sunday, 25 Aug) -
Brian, April, Kylie, and Kobe showed up today at the hotel. Again, everyone looks great. Kylie and Kobe are a little stand-offish with me, but I am used to that. After all, who can blame 'em??? We all invaded Sean and Michelle's house for dinner. Sean made up some yummy bratwursts on the grill. Gee, how did he know that I love those fat bombs? Great time… Brian loves to wrestle with the kids, so they really took to him. Kylie is warming up to me a little, but Kobe still gives me that suspicious look of his. TJ is a video game a-holic and Sean has a server set up where they can play against one another on the two PCs at Sean's house. Really cool! It's hard to get time on the PCs. Tom helped me get my new modem/ethernet card working. Very cool! That was $40 well spent.
Day #7: (Monday, 26 Aug) -
Had breakfast this morning in the hotel. Terrible service. It took Brian forever to get two fried eggs. I offered to help chase the chicken down. I don't think they saw the humor in my offer. I took my laundry over to Sean's house. Bad timing. So did April. We went to Matlock's again for lunch. I had another Carnivore burrito. That is just too much to eat, but I did. It is so obvious that Brian and April love Kylie and Kobe so. They are very, very attentive to them. By my old fashioned standards, they are a tad spoiled , but what the hell do I know??? Maybe that is the proper way to raise kids... More fun in the pools and then "crash".
Day #8: (Tuesday, 27 Aug) -
Breakfast burritos at Sean's (outstanding!), and then lunch at the Branding Iron; another great BBQ place. Too much beef!!! Tom and Sean worked in Sean's woodworking shop. Sean has some neat power tools. Planer, table-saw, router, etc. He just bought a dovetailing tool, which he is eager to try out. He is building an oak chest/vanity for Samantha's room. He still has to build all of the drawers.
Sean took us on a tour of Sheppard AFB. We got to see his shop area and class rooms on the flight line. Things sure have changed. They have dozens of aircraft to work on, including about 5 F-15s where the students get hands-on experience. I got some great family shots around one of the F-15s. Too bad that Tom did not come along. They would have made a great addition to these photos.
Both photos below are of Sean holding Rebecca, Brian holding Kobe, and April holding Kylie.
"D" model BUFF S/N 56-00589 is on display here. She looks great. No open doors, but awesome anyway. Choke time again. This aircraft really tugs at my heart, especially when I see the ECM antenna fields and recall what "11 Days" said about the antenna location during the PTT during LB2. Brain got a couple of really neat shots of me with her. There is a very nice plaque with it, which states: "DEDICATED TO THE AIRCREWS AND MEN AND WOMEN OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE. B-52D 56-0589 VIETNAM WAR VETERAN".
Brian and family are leaving tomorrow. I think that I will leave Thursday.
Day #9: (Wednesday, 28 Aug) -
Laid back day today. Made another trip to Walgreens. No "butt donut" (invalid ring for my tailbone). What is this world coming to????? Even tried a medical supply store. Still no butt donut…… Everyone came over for one more swim. . . . . . . . . Michelle found a ring for me at WalMart. Then they all left….. It hurts. Bittersweet???? Sux, but gotta be.
They all got together and made a new "T" for me. It has the hand prints of all 7 of my grandchildren on it!!! A new favorite shirt for this grandpa:-)
Here they all are, folks. The lights of my life:
- - - -Ashley - - - - - - - - Samantha - - - - - - Rebecca - - - - - - - - - TJ - - - - - - - - - - Jennifer - - - - - - - - - Kylie - - - - - - - - Kobe
Dontcha think Jennifer and Kylie look like they could be sisters rather than cousins?????
Day #10: (Thursday, 29 Aug) -
Got a 3am start West. I hit rain in Vernon
Texas. Cool!!! The rain lasted past Amarillo. Somewhere around
Amarillo, a trucker ran over a cow. The cow took him out of
business and the next two rigs behind him. The carcass was
trapped in the wheels of one of the trucks. All of the other
imbecilic truckers were talking it up that the cow was wrapped up
in his "landing gear". Landing gear, my ass. Trucks
have simple, stupid, wheels!! I'm really getting sick of these
arrogant, ignorant truck drivers. WOW!!!!!!
What a great driving experience this day was. I got to see some long-duration horizontal desert lightening for the first time in about 35 years. Awesome. Everyone should have an opportunity to experience the desert during a rainstorm. It is indescribable. The smell of the desert after a rain is intoxicating to me. I wonder what it is that causes that odor. (The sales lady at TheReserve told me later that sage is what smells so wonderful after a rain)
New Mexico is a gorgeous state. I love it. I stopped at the prettiest rest stop that I have ever seen just outside Tucumcari. Breathtaking views. I hope that my camera does it justice. I tried to get a room in Gallup, but it was "before check in time". This is baloney. I know those Gallup motels were not full last night. Some mental midget front desk clerk wielding her pathetic authority. Heck with 'em, It's on to Arizona. By the time you get to Arizona, the desert gets rather stark, much dryer and more foreboding. As it turns out, I crossed western Texas and New Mexico while it was either dark or cloudy, or both. I really lucked out. My timing was perfect. I actually did not use the AC the whole day. It seems that the further west I get, the more rude and crude that the truckers get. Lots of "MFs" over the radio now. I was labeled a "Floridian pr**k" because I didn't let some arrogant trucker hog the road. These guys are really getting bad!!!
Albuquerque was a little disappointing to me. I remember being thrilled by this town in 1963 when we rolled through on the way to Vandenberg AFB for missile crew training. I remember Albuquerque as an oasis. At that time, we drove Rt. 66 across the desert in route from Altus AFB to Vandenberg AFB. The old Rt. 66 now parallels I-40 in many areas. It's kinda cool: There is old RT. 66, the new I-40, and the old Union Pacific railroad running along together for miles out here. It is sad to see Rt. 66 drying up like it is. When I reached the Continental Divide, there was a road sign there, which said "Altitude 7275 feet". My GPS said 7274 feet. Not bad! I was tracking about 10 satellites at the time. At 7000+ feet, you have a pretty clear view of the sky.
I ended up in Holbrook Arizona and got a
room at a nice little Best Western. The motel is actually on the
old Rt. 66. Very cool!! I'm glad that those buttheads in Gallup
didn't cooperate. I was awakened from my nap at about 5PM by a
thunderstorm. It's raining!! Wonderful. The weather channel says
50 tonight and 90 tomorrow. Man, this is heaven. If Laughlin has
weather like this, I may never leave. Of course, it won't. This
place is at about 6000 feet high, Laughlin will be on the desert
floor..
Day #11: (Friday, 30 Aug) -
Holbrook Arizona in the morning - -
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!!!!!! (Do you get the feeling
that I like it here??) It is about 55 degrees outside, and the
air is crisp and clean after yesterday's rain. If there is
"perfect" weather, this must be it. I had breakfast at
the Denny's on the motel lot. I can highly recommend Denny's
Bumstead breakfast sandwich. It is yummy! It was actually too
much for me to finish. I guess Sean and Michelle filled me up
while I was in Texas. The Denny's manager is a young guy, but he
is like a throwback to the good old days of highway travel. He
asks everyone where they are headed, and he has mileage, drive
time, and highway safety advice for anyone who asks. I got a kick
out of that. One more time: I'm telling ya, this weather is
heavenly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gasoline in Holbrook was
$169.9!
Below are some along-the road pics that I took. It may seem stark and lonely out here to some folks, but, to me it is gorgeous!.!.!.!
Well, my luck with front desk people is holding. I just called the folks at the Edgewater and talked them into letting check me in today. I was kind of surprised since this is a holiday weekend. So, I packed up and headed west again. Arizona got pretty again as I got into the woods. Somehow trees survive and thrive up here. There is the Coconino National Forrest and then the Kaibab National Forrest. Dry, but beautiful. Not as nice as New Mexico, though. They have built little cages around some of the tiny trees. I guess that is to keep the critters from eating them. When I crossed the "Arizona divide", the road sign said that the altitude was 7335 feet. My GPS said 7332. Amazing. Smooth trip. Again, I did not need the AC until I got to Kingman. Mileage at the Edgewater was 53758. That's 2627 miles from home. Altitude is 300 feet.
The folks here seem OK. My bellman and the
front desk folks were very friendly. The room that they put me in
was on the ground floor, and it was pretty glum, but, It was me
who made the schedule changes, so……I'll just grin and
bear it. When I told the bellman, Melvyn, this, he got on the
phone and got me upgraded to a nice room on the 11th floor. Much
better!! Also, they say that I can keep this room for my entire
stay. Big tip for Melvyn! I drank a few Buds, played a little
slots (no luck), ate two hot dogs, and crashed in bed.
Observations:
Tried the slots some more and the craps table. The slots beat me up as usual. The craps table was pretty hot, but my numbers would not come out. I broke about even. If I had been alert and on my game, I could have made some bucks. There were two guys who threw a lot of numbers. I'm not too sure what I did wrong. G'nite.
Below are some Edgewater Casino shots:
Me and my new "grandpa" shirt:-) . . . . and then me watching the horses run after my bets were down:
Below are pics of my favorite spot to read the Form and watch the races. Note the individual TVs. Also a shot of part of the race book area:
Below are shots of me studying the Forms with my eyes closed:-) and a shot down the Colorado River from the deck in back of the hotel:
Day #12: (Saturday, 31 Aug) -
Laid back day. It is kind of overcast today. Maybe it will only be 100 or so. Went to the sports book and tried my old "2 - 7 guinella" trick, but since the books only take guinella bets when the track does, I had to change to all "2 - 7 exacta" bets at Calder. No winners. Then I bet a horse named Brian's Brother for $20 across, and he won, so I made a few $$ at the book, but then put it into the slots. The slots here are very tight. I don't really expect to win, but my $20 doesn't seem to last very long. That makes for very expensive "free" beers. I note that there is a very young crowd. I guess that is because it is so inexpensive to stay here. The Japanese have discovered Laughlin too.
Day #13: (Sunday, 1 Sep) -
Tried the Garden Room for breakfast. I had an omelet which had japalenos in it….. What can I say? I am crazy… Bright and sunny today. I did very well with the ponies again today. Because of the time change, we start betting on the Calder races at 9:25 am, and the Saratoga races at 10:00 am. I ended up picking too many Place finishers. That is no way to make money… The hotel is really crowded today. I guess everyone was travelling yesterday. The halls and elevators are clogged with (ugh) kids.
Tried the "deuces wild" version of video poker (Quarter machines). I doubled my money two times on two different machines. Hmmmm………..maybe I'm on to something here. Craps tables are still beating me up. I ran into one of those number-number-number-7 tables today. Costs me $45 each "cycle". Sure can lose a lot of money that way. Talked to the folks at The Reserve today and got directions to get there. I will take a trip over there tomorrow.
Day #14: (Monday, 2 Sep) -
It doesn't feel like a holiday. I guess that is the "cost" of being retired. LOL. I had breakfast at the Garden Room again. Great food, but marginal service. I had another "double your money" trip at a Deuces Wild video poker machine. Maybe I should look for a $1 video poker machine and try this game.
I made the trip over to "The Reserve at Fox Creek" in Bullhead City Arizona this morning. It is VERY nice. It is like an oasis in this desert. Before I saw it, I was convinced that the desert was no longer for me, but I really like the idea of starting all over in a brand new, trouble-free place. The models are beautifully done. I looked at the "Oxford" and the "Cambridge". They are both 2-bedroom places. The oxford has side-by-side parking, it sits cross-wise on the lot, and the interior looks a lot more "open" to me. The sales people could not decide whether the Oxford is built with 2x4s or 2x6s. I want 2x6s. I'm really confused about what to do now. Gotta mull it over. They want $5K to hold a lot and to freeze a price for me for one year. There are some unusual stipulations with this deal. I think that I would go for it if it weren't for this. It would be nice to be able to think about it for a year and still be able to get all of my money back. I may have to make another trip over there and schmooze them. Temp today = 112.
Below are front and back photos of the "Oxford". This is the home that I am interested in:
Below are a couple of inside shots of the "Cambridge":
Below is a street shot from The Reserve:
Day #15: (Tuesday, 3 Sep) - Just a lazy desert day. Thinking hard about the deal at Fox Creek. Just can't make up my mind. I would have gone for it when HON was at $69 (about $50,000 ago), but now, I'm just not sure. Even without a house payment, it would cost about $600 per month to have a place there. Of course, that would be great if I were to decide on just one "home". My concerns on the deal:
I tried my theory on a $1 Deuces Wild machine. It whooped me. So much for yet another get-rich-quick scheme. G'nite!
Day #16: (Wednesday, 4 Sep) -
Nothing planned. It's another bright sunny desert day. I think I'll try my luck at the ponies again today. I'm beginning to think about heading back east. I cashed another large WPS ticket today. This time the horse's name was "Is Kylie Good". This means that my only two 100% successful WPS tickets were picked with the very scientific method of "pick family names". The other good ticket was "Brian's Brother". So much for the scientific approach. I also cashed a good Exacta ticket. So far, the ponies are my only friends here. I ended up killing the book playing the ponies. It has taken me several days to re-train myself on reading the Racing Form, but I actually picked some doozies the "scientific"way.
Day #17: (Thursday, 5 Sep) -
I watched a guy fishing right next to the hotel this morning. His name is Willie, and he is a character. He fishes with doughballs, and he catches carp, trout, catfish, and stripers, all from the same spot. Willie has it made!!! I could see about a dozen carp swimming around right in front of him. There was one huge carp hanging around, and Willie had to keep his bait away from him on purpose. Willie said that he doesn't eat carp, so he doesn't want 'em. I'll bet the he weighed 25 pounds (The carp, not Willie)
Three days in a row, the ponies have been very, very, very good to me. Sometimes it was scientific (The Racing Forms), and sometimes it was pure luck (kids names, etc). I cashed two large WPS tickets today, and some very large Exacta tickets. I actually picked one huge Trifecta. Bottom line is that I beat the crap out of them. I went back to the craps tables and found one where lots of 5s and 9s were coming out. My favorite kind of craps table! I won another wad! I better get out of here while I have a pocket full of their money. I'm packing up and getting ready to head east tomorrow. It has been a great stay.
Lesson learned: ALL young Spanish women are HOT!!!!!
Day #18: (Friday, 6 Sep) -
I was checked out and on the road at 0330.
I was lucky enough to hit rain again between Kingman and
Flagstaff. Rain in the desert again = glorious!! Smooth sailing
all day. Got to Tumcumcari before I ran out of steam. Mileage =
54282. 680 miles. Not a bad day. Found a very nice room in a Best
Western. The place was beautifully kept, and spotless.
Day #19: (Saturday, 7 Sep) -
The Reserve is supposed to overnight a data package to me, and I have to give them a thumbs up or down on the "hold" deal by COB Tuesday. I want to be at home when the package comes. I ran all the way home from Tucumcari.
33 hours with a three hour nap in
Mississippi, and several cat-naps along the way. I'll NEVER do
that again.
Home at about 10am. 4753 total miles.
Turns out that it was double-dumb for me to drive that far to get home because the package from The Reserve did not come until the next day. Stooooooooooooopid move on my part.
So ends the most fantastic trip that I
have ever made. Everything was perfect!
EVERYONE should drive across this great nation. This trip
revitalized the pride that I have in the USA and reminded me of
just how lucky we are to live here. Even our deserts are
beautiful.....
Time to plan a trip along the northern
route :-)