Bikers!

Okay -- just a few snaps to share with y'all... We rode with 6 other couples up to Zephyrhills on Saturday. They had a small-town parade to honor veterans (and their families). It was about a 20-mile ride (more or less) each way.

Some of these folks were also pictured in the pool party pix a few days ago. So without further ado...




<< Him









>> Me








<< The gang's bikes!



Lutz bikers >>

M - N - J - R - B (white cap) - M (pink shirt) - me - W - J






<< L's friend, F








>> Another pic

> adds F on the far right

Pool party.. wait! No pool!

Here are a few photos from the pool party on Saturday. Some of us still have a sense of humor about the situation - that is that we do NOT have a working pool, since like many roads across the nation, it is "under construction"...

In this first photo, standing: N (married to R - from Michigan); seated: L (yes, that's him) and J (married to W, from Alabama).

J (or JR) (married to W - Michigan- ders), S and B (married to each other - New Yorkers), B and his wife (?), origin unknown.

M (married to F, L's long-time friend), N (see her in 1st photo, also), R (her husband, Michigan residents), and F (spouse of M, on the far left of this photo). M and F were originally from Minnesota, have been Florida residents now for several years.

F (see in previous photo), B and wife (a pair of Canad- ians), and W (from Michigan - see her spouse JR in 2nd photo).

Still kickin'

Yup -- I am still alive and kickin'! Sorry that I (we) have been so busy that I haven't set aside time for blogging. We have been looking at places to (potentially) buy, meeting all the "old timers" who return to this park year after year, etc., etc. This first photo shows our humble abode, a class-C motor home. Tiny little thing that is almost big enough to accomodate L and me, and not much else. Plus it is NOT ours, so that is something that we are very careful about. This is courtesy of L's friend F and his wife, M. They own the the little home and have put it on a lot for us to use, gratis. We ARE paying for the lot rental, however. Didja notice my "Don't mess with Texas" bumpersticker on the wheelcover? For those non-Texans who might be reading: this is not a macho statement - it IS, however, the anti-littering slogan for Texas. I like it!

We are lovin' the 1990 Honda Goldwing that we purchased from L's friend, F, and some of the new friends are other "bikers". Yup, we are among the graying of America's bikers. We all ride safe -- almost all are helmet-wearers, and no one drinks (alcohol) and drives. So it's a good, sober group. You can't see the Goldwing in this second photo - it is at the front of the Rav, under that deep blue cover. Gotta protect our li'l baby from Florida's sun! I did not realize that L had captured me behind the bike, in that photo.

L likes golf and admits that he is really NOT good at it. But he golfs with the Wednesday group of guys and hopes that I will join the ranks of the female golfers. I have gone out to a coupla driving ranges with him and did notice some improvement from session # 1 to session #3. I actually hit some of the balls around 100 yards during the third go-round.

This place is like a small town, complete with gossip mill, etc. But the majority are friendly. It is interesting to find out others' backgrounds. There are some like us - living-together couples - but the majority are long-married couples, with histories of kids and grandkids. Because I feel like such an outsider, I have "reached out" to J, a gal who feels like even MORE of an outsider than I do. She has health challenges with her back, so that rules out golf for her. She is doing a "trial" winter time with her guy, T. He is a widow, she a divorcee - the opposite of L and myself. I love her accent - she is originally from West "by God" Virginia, although she and T now live in Ohio.

Saturday we had a pool party. Naw -- no pool, folks. Actually, this was an attempt to make the best of a situation that has many rankled. The pool has been ripped out and is in the process of being rebuilt. Actually, the process seems to be at a halt. The contractor does not seem very motivated, and a LOT of the folks here count on that pool. I mean, they are here from cold climes and WANT to enjoy all aspects of Florida during winter. And folks -- that DOES mean access to a pool. So our "pool party" was at a vacant lot across the street from where we are staying. We all brought our own lawn chairs, some snacks, and whatever beverages we wanted. One of the guys, B, videotaped some of the events. L took some photos (I hope to post some soon). A tongue-in-cheek get-together, done in fun.

We (the bikers) drove west to Hudson, on the Gulf coast - about a 20-mile ride or so - to a neat restaurant for dinner on Friday. This place had a great seafood menu - of course - and I defaulted to fish-n-chips when I found out that the fish was fresh grouper. It was so, SO good. If we get back to this place, I do want to try their scallops. The restaurant was PACKED. I think our party was either 9 or 11 in size.

There is a hurricane brewing in the Gulf - yeah, I KNOW that this is November and that hurricane season is OVER. Will someone tell Mother Nature?

That's my quickie, catch-up post, folks. Hope to be better about this, next time - not SO far down the road. Maybe have someone take our photos on the Goldwing?

On the road again...

Just a quickie update...

We hit the road (to FL) on Thursday. I was fortunate enough to see my cousin (her blog -- The Retired One) and her hubby for a bit, and she even graciously enough fed us lunch). I felt like I had been by her home previously, having seen photos of it on her blog!.

We traveled on to L's son's girlfriend's home on Friday (overnighted in Gaylord, MI) and I got a chance to meet his son S and girlfriend (another S). Nice couple and their relationship hasn't been much longer than L's and mine. It was good to see them together -- they seem to mesh pretty well.

Last night we stayed in Florence, KY (just barely over the border, into that state). Got a kick out of the water tower for the city, which proclaimed "FLORENCE Y'ALL". Gotta love it!

So tonight we are in Cordele, GA, south of Macon and about a 5-hour-plus drive from our destination of Lutz (pronounced LOOTZ), FL. And another chapter of my life will unfold then. I am looking forward to it! Updates to come...

Potato chips

Had a sorta lazy start to today (Sunday). Made some coffee, then L turned off the water and began the work to replace some kind of filter on the water pump (which provides the water supply for the house). I started on breakfast -- not a REAL challenge, since it was mostly recycling leftovers: large pieces of prime rib, from the meal we had at the Elks Lodge on Friday evening, slicing up and then sauteeing some leftover new potatoes as well as part of a baked potato, and finally scrambling up the two eggs left in the fridge. Not too tough. I cannot seem to do a straight-up fried egg, even tho' I do like mine over easy. Gotta work on that, I guess.

He took a break to eat breakfast then returned to the pump challenge.

Eventually, we took turns showering and got ready to go to a local bar to catch the last half of the Vikings game (they won -- and Brett Favre IS worth it... so far). Visited with some of his friends there, then went to a local pizza place for a way-too-large pizza (yes, Virginia -- we ARE bringing home leftovers).

Next stop was the grocery store. I am constantly reminded that I am NOT in Texas anymore, and this was one of those reminders. For I spotted this product, which I am wondering about: is it offered anywhere else but in Minnesota?

Ketchup-flavored potato chips, folks. Yes, you read that correctly. And catsup/ketchup is the Minnesota equivalent of salsa, I do believe. This version was an Old Dutch product, I think.

I am getting somewhat used to hearing some words or phrases that I have not heard (very frequently) for YEARS: pop (instead of soda or soft drink); spendy (instead of expensive); and that famous one: ISH. Kinda/sorta means disgusting, but in a lesser show of revulsion. I don't mean to laugh -- but that particular one amuses me, and I don't know why.

Well, gotta run. We will leave the shop soon and continue on our way home. See ya down the country roads...

Under Constructon / Destruction

Oh. My. God. So much, SO-O-O-O much I have forgotten about this neck-of-the-woods. Such as... as soon as the ground thaws around the region (which, thankfully, I did NOT witness in person), they immediately start ripping up many, many highways and streets, in a vain attempt to repair and keep ahead of the next winter's destruction of said roadways.

Now, I know, I really DO, that the greater Houston area was constantly bombarded with similar road repairs. But because of its size, it did not necessarily impact ME with every bit of it. So why does it seem, in this much-smaller metro area, that we are constantly travelling over or being stopped by this rebuilding? In fairness, I must say that my entire first year of living and working in Houston, I had the inglorious route of travelling I-10 (aka the Katy Fwy) to and from work. The first six months or so, it was totally rebuilt in the eastbound direction, followed by (of course) the westbound route, when the first part was completed.

I am amused at how much press (television and print, both) is given to crimes that would never, NEVER have been mentioned in Houston. Houston is NOT a low-crime area, folks, and I never thought it was. And after a three-month stint on a grand jury panel for Harris County back in the late 80's or early 90's, I was more certain of that fact than ever. A grand jury's job is just to assess whether there is enough evidence to bring charges against a potential defendant. But the county attorneys have to funnel these cases through the grand jury process. Most of the cases are pretty much cut-and-dried. And we heard about 70 a day -- yes, you read that right. Seventy cases were trotted out, read to us, and mostly they were rubber-stamped by we grand jurors. Meaning the defendant was charged. Like I said, big city, lots of crimes. Several million folks living in the greater-metro area. And to put this into further prospective: each day, TWO grand jury panels served - and each panel served TWO days a week. So, fourteen panels a week, each hearing about the same number of cases. Mind-boggling, eh? To balance out how crime is handle here: I saw a minimum of THREE squad cars in a parking lot -- apparently all officers were involved in what (from my car, at least) appeared to be an apprehension of several young gals who may have tried shoplifting. On the grass near a strip shopping center, was spread out the contents of several bags and/or handbags. I mean, I am happy with this approach to crime, but puzzled by what seems (at times) to be overkill. Perhaps I have been away too long (or maybe not long enough?). Just a comment -- not a criticism. Citizens expect that around here -- and just the opposite in the metro Houston area, where we had to adjust to way too FEW officers for the large population.

Well... gotta run. Have many tasks that need to get done and I am procrastinating. Sigh...

Scattered thoughts

So... ummm... just bits and pieces and none of it very special or noteworthy.

Finally connected with my sis on Monday on the phone, re: Mom's birthday. Mom had a request for where she wanted to "celebrate". So that's where we went on Tuesday, when Mom marked her 82nd birthday. Yup -- we went to the local watering hole in my li'l old "hometown". (An aside -- I only spent 9 years in this town, from ages 9 to 18, and graduated high school there. Made some good friends there, had some good times, and then moved to the Twin Cities -- aka the Cities, aka Minneapolis/St. Paul and lived there until age 36. From there, it was the greater Houston area for my homes and employment.) But, as they say, I digress...

The local bar used to be a "muni", which meant that it was run by the city/village and the revenues went to said government. That meant both off-sale (entire bottles or cans sold, to be consumed off-premises) and on-sale (consumed by the drink, on the premises). I have no idea when, but this was eventually sold to a private party and has since been run as a bar which also serves bar (aka snack-style) food. The frozen kinds of food that can be cooked either (1) in a deep-fryer or (2) in a pizza oven -- in other words, health food as the drinking population knows it. Free popcorn, specials on some beers, etc. And this is where Mom wanted to go. I think her curiousity was piqued by the fact that sis (and more recently, me, too) has mentioned being in there, and Mom has not been in the place since its rebirth. And it just happened that a fellow who used to work with Mom (she was working well into her late 70's) was in there, so she chatted with him a bit. I think she had a good time, although it is not always easy to tell. She's never been a very emotional person, for the most part.

Wednesday is L's golf day - he sees about 5 or 6 friends from high school, and they golf a 9-hole course during warmer months. Then they go to the local pizza establishment (has several locations in Duluth, but is locally owned and operated) that so many love up here -- Sammy's Pizza. Sis's guy also golfs in a Wednesday group, so she and I made plans to do something together this past Wednesday. And I waited and waited for her to call... and apparently we had our wires crossed, for she waited and waited for ME to call her. And when I DID call her - on Thursday - we discovered that each of us had "heard" the other one saying, "I'll call you tomorrow." Senior moments... And we both thought it was odd, not receiving the expected phone call!

Thursday morning, L took his on-the-bike test (borrowed a friend's very large, very weighty Harley) -- and passed. Which now leaves us in good shape for Florida, where a friend of his will sell us his 1990 Honda Goldwing. More on this later. L had not expected to pass, actually, since this BIG bike weighs about 900 pounds and that makes it very unwieldy when trying to weave around the smallish cones that are part of this test. But... we were both glad that he DID pass.

I had my hair color touched-up on Thursday. Now most women will agree that this is of primary importance, when you relocate -- GOTTA find someone who can/will do your haircolor -- and do it WELL -- and also the cutting and styling. So important, in fact, that I have always found a hairstylist first, then eventually doctors and dentists. True story with me, whenever I have moved into a new area. The new stylist has lots of years of experience and I was very pleased with her, both professionally and personality-wise.

And now it is Friday. We are in the shop a bit later -- L is working on putting his videos on YouTube -- how-to ones that promote the products he makes -- and I am obviously posting on the blog. Had some wonderful (for northern MN) weather the past few days -- upper 70's and maybe the 80's and sunny blue skies.

I am still hearing the loons in the early morning and late in the evenings. I will miss their calls when we go to Florida, and maybe they will migrate before we leave later in October, anyhow. I saw a hummingbird at the feeder last week - I think he/she is the only one around now -- but have not noticed that li'l feathered flier this week. Either this bird has flown, or it is being shy now.

L and I are getting more used to each other -- we had some testy moments over these 11-plus weeks, and I do attribute that to a speeded-up "relationship" setup. Went from Skype-ing to living together, and I had doubts at times, which are easing. I think about women, back in the 1800's, who may have been married to a man who was a near-stranger, and cannot imagine what that was like for them. Probably moved away from their family (and thus no support from their mother or other family femmes) and maybe into a hardscrabble type of life. And I am fortunate to have moved TO an area where my mother and sister (as well as some cousins) live. So... I am happier and more at-ease with my guy and my life and... just happier, that's all.

Ready to enjoy the weekend! 'Bye for now.