Every now and then a web site makes me laugh… or cry… I was on a technical support web site for a piece of equipment on The Bus, and went to the “Contact Us” page to send an email with a question. The title for the “fill-in-the-blank” section was “Type Comment Hear”…
Corvette Chick donned her bike jersey and joined me for our final Spring trip to the Santos Trails near Ocala. We only passed a couple of other riders during our two hour ride through this beautiful pine and oak forest; the trails were dry and fast, and we had a great time. It’s also a nice place to hike or just walk and get away from the busy streets and golf cart paths of The Villages, and it’s only 20 minutes away. 
Now, for our periodic Parking Hall of Shame… While having a nice window-front Thai (not Ty) dinner the other night with Ruthie and our neighbors the Blythes, we enjoyed free entertainment just outside. A woman was trying to park her car in the spot just out front, but the front part of the spot was taken up by a golf cart, and the spot behind by a Hyundai owned by a diner at the next table who looked remarkably like Jack LaLanne. After about ten minutes of backing and filling, she had just about squeezed the car into the spot with maybe 18 inches of clearance front and back. Then she backed a bit too far and bumped the car behind her; our fellow diner got up shaking his head and went outside. We expected him to chew her out, but he actually backed his car 3 feet, giving her part of his spot and what was left of the one in front. (We thought this remarkably gracious of him after the lady backed into his bumper…) As we were leaving, I commented that some blondes must be “parking challenged”; Jan remarked, “Well, she was only an 80 per cent blonde… she needs to see her stylist more often.” Oooohhhhhhh….. I’m glad that I didn’t say that! (I took a photo of her car, but thought that my life might be in jeopardy if I showed the blonde herself in this blog…) 
Speaking of our Parking Hall of Shame, I received an email today from my old (actually younger than I) Navy shipmate, Master Chief Dale Hilliard, USN (Ret), who is an unabashed American auto industry booster. (Dale works for Ford… oh, sorry Dale, it’s that other big US carmaker, General Motors, isn’t it??? HA!). He suggested that the red Corvette shown a week or so ago with its front tires on the parking spot marker was actually trying to keep the stripe from being moved (perhaps by Japanese auto makers representatives seeking to embarrass US-built autos?) I’d better not be too critical of Dale; he and his wife Becky hosted us at their hunting campground in Indiana, and Dale sends me fabulously delicious venison sausage… gives me advice and marksmanship training on every type of small arms known to man, including the crossbow… and he makes a terrific venison stew (Chef Dale shown here at left). Our summer tour is officially underway; we departed The Villages Wednesday morning at 10:20 AM, and are now at the Moody Air Force Base Family Campground near Valdosta, Georgia. We haven’t seen any of the 23rd Wing’s airmen, nor its aircraft, which include some Air Force Reserve A-10 attack aircraft and helicopters, since the campground is about 15 miles from the actual base. But it’s a quiet campground right next to Grassy Pond, which is supposed to be good for bass fishing. (And no, Bob, I’m not getting a Georgia fishing license for an hour’s fishing, since our stay here is pretty short. This afternoon our RV repairman/sous chef/Blogmeister repaired two drawer latches and a cabinet hinge that had come unhinged (thankfully, before the cabinet door fell on My Lovely Bride’s noggin!)
Before dinner, our two dachshunds got to chase squirrels, their favorite pastime other than eating; after dinner My Lovely Bride and I went for a hike through the woods. I brought back an example of local fauna… as I was writing the last paragraph, I felt something crawling on my leg… a reddish-brown tick! Yikes! I have the little bugger in a clear sandwich bag for further study. It seems that there are three common ticks here in southern Georgia; one can carry the bacteria that causes human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME) and southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI); a second species can carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease and human granulocytic anaplasmosis; the third can carry the bacteria that causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Maybe I’ll leave the bag on Corvette Chick’s pillow and surprise her when she goes to bed… Smack, smack!
1 Comment
Jennifer
The "Bugs" are following you Ty!
Good luck to you and Suzanne..