While walking the puppies at a local recreation center, I came upon this advert for a mobile coffee canteen. It was reminiscent of the paintings that went on US bombers in World War II… Hey, great legs!
Go Take a Hike! Okay, I did. My Lovely Daughter Elisabeth and I are taking a week in December to hike and rock climb (Ty, are you losing your marbles?) out in Joshua Tree National Park, east of Palm Springs, California. I figured I’d better put on my backpack and hiking boots and get in some training miles… so if you happened to see some guy in a South Carolina ball cap tramping around Lake Sumter, it was probably me. It was warm and humid, which it won’t be in the high desert in December, but what the heck, Suzanne was out of town, and what else did I have to do?
The hike also gave me some time to myself for personal reflection. (No, I didn’t look down into the lake. I could see that question coming from several of my readers; I know who you are!) Other more spiritually advanced folks meditate while listening to Gregorian chants. I meditate to Kelly Clarkson and Pink. But occasionally I shift to Enya and Dido when the mood calls for it. I also like to stop and smell the roses while I hike/walk/wander. There were no roses on this hike, but (speaking of Pink) these pretty grasses caught my eye. I think they are grasses, but remember, I am a sailor, not a horticulturist.
As you may know, Suzanne is in Crete. I am joining her for week two of her adventure, assuming that transportation has not been disrupted by the earthquake that struck Greece yesterday. Here is the only photo that MLB managed to send before the wireless equipment at her hotel went on the fritz. I am sure she will have lots more to share later, but I think that the Greeks need some help getting their technology caught up with the times…
Yesterday I had to go up into the attic above the garage to retrieve luggage for my trip. After backing up Suzanne’s red Corvette, I hadn’t even gotten the ladder set up when My Good Friend Bob came over and asked, “Ty, is that as far as Suzanne will allow you to drive her ‘Vette?” Bob is such a smarty pants.
I arose from blissful slumber this morning at 0300 to Christina Aguilera belting out “But I Am A Good Girl”. I had a momentary dream that she was right there singing to me, but lest My Lovely Bride get jealous, I quickly tossed that vision aside, along with the comforter. Christina was only in my iPhone, and I was sleeping alone…
Not only was Suzanne on another continent, but my ever-faithful Rudy and Gretchen were no longer snuggled up to me under the covers. They had packed up and moved to My Good Friend Bob’s house yesterday at dinnertime. I had offered to bring them over at 0400 when I left for the Orlando airport, but Jan and Bob politely declined my gracious offer.
It was a lonely household when I got up, turned on the coffee, showered, and did final packing. There also aren’t many cars on the streets of The Villages at that hour. My driving companion, Jill, gave me excellent directions to MCO, and as I drove down US Hwy 27, I glanced at the GPS and thought I had been beamed up north to Minnesnowta! Look at those lakes, Terri…
But I was still in Florida, and an hour and a few minutes later, I was standing at the economy parking lot shuttle shelter. Another traveler heading to Kentucky asked if I knew which terminal Allegiant Air flew from. I said no, and a few minutes later the shuttle bus arrived, whereupon the poor guy found out that he was at the wrong airport… Allegiant only flies from Orlando Sanford airport, 30 minutes from MCO. Bummer. Fortunately, I was at the correct airport, and I did make my flight. The only glitch came when I was pulled aside by the friendly TSA agent (unfortunately they are not affected by the government slim-down) and told that my shaving cream container was too large. (See, size does matter.) Darn, and it was only a week old!
JFK. Not the president, but the airport… that’s where Your Faithful Correspondent is sitting right now, watching planes take off for myriad destinations around the globe while munching on a bagel with peanut butter. Foreign carriers like El Al, South African Airways, Swissair, Air India, KLM, Air France and Aeroflot (God help anyone who flies that airline…) are lined up outside. I have a seven hour layover here at JFK. Then a 10 hour red eye flight to Athens. Ah, the delights of international air travel. Maybe I’ll get lucky and not suffer the jet lag that My Lovely Bride has been enduring for the past week. And maybe pigs will fly. (I had better be more careful; what if Miss Piggy reads this and is assigned the seat next to me… SMACK!)
1 Comment
Jaxson
When I was stationed at 29 Palms, a small group of us decided to go hike into Joshua Tree and go camping. In July. That quickly turned into the camping trip that lasted all of 8 hours! It was so hot, our water tasted horrible after baking in plastic containers, that half the group rebelled. We hiked back out and ate some nice burgers at a little restaurant called the 50's Cafe, which is no longer there. We had a lot of laughs at our brilliant plan! I'm sure hiking in December will be much more pleasant, and last more than 8 hours. 🙂