Florida Escapades

Bonnie and Mike’s 2012 trip to Florida

Lonely Bachelor On The Beach with Loyal Dog Tyson:  Patrick AFB, FL

Bonnie and I are still basking in memories of our enjoyable, informative, and productive trip to Florida for one week near the end of March 2012.  Both our visit with my sister Barbara and her new husband Bob and my niece Debbie, and our journey across the state to visit my son Doug, worked out great.  We flew into Fort Myers on Tuesday evening, and flew out of Orlando on the following Monday afternoon. 

We started on the Gulf Coast to visit Barbara and Bob Andersen, and Debbie, all in Tower Pointe in Naples.     The Tuesday night we arrived, I was especially pleased that the three of them stayed up to welcome us to Florida.   The first evening, where we sat around talking for awhile, set the tone for our entire visit – which was capped by our dinner at Anthony’s Trattoria in Bonita Springs on our final night, Thursday.  Good choice!   Our waiter was right out of type-casting as an Italian waiter –  he felt he had to keep moving quickly, and only near the end of our meal could we talk with him a little.

Debbie allowed us the use of her condo – complete with breakfast sweetrolls, cookies, lake and orchids!  We have a photo of the orchid that was growing on a tree right outside Debbie’s patio area.  Quite a pleasant surprise for us desert dwellers!    

On Wednesday we had lunch in Naples at Brio’s with Mike’s elementary school and high school classmate, Tom and wife Carmen – similar restaurant to Bravo’s in ABQ Uptown.  Then that evening, we dined at The Colonnades at Arbor Trace as the guests of Barbara, Bob, and Debbie.  The following day, Barbara and Bonnie went to a Fashion Show at The Colonnades and Mike was allowed to use the Wi-Fi in the Library. 

The use of Bob Andersen’s trusty Florida map worked well for us, as it got us across Alligator Alley without a single alligator snipping at Bonnie’s ankles.  Continuing North got us to my son Doug’s new home on Merritt Island, FL.  That drive across the Sunshine State took a little less than five hours, and could probably be done in four.  Bonnie had us up and on the road by 6:30 am, and we stopped in Boca Raton for a fun breakfast, arriving at Doug's around 12:30 pm (Bonnie had actually planned for us to leave by 6 am and arrive by noon!  Pretty close!).

     Now that Doug is again living in the States, I’m hoping we will all see a great deal more of him.  We found his new home in Merritt Island (close to Patrick Air Force Base) to be quite inviting – especially after Bonnie did her magic for the 2 ½ days we were out there!  His salt water swimming pool is quite inviting, and Bonnie made sure we at least had one dip in it during our stay – see photo for proof.  Salt water pools are lower maintenance than the 'standard' chlorine-chemicalled pools, according to HGTV and Doug's Pool Boy "Oscar."  For the next couple of weeks, it will be quite filled with Doug's salty friends from Germany.

 Bonnie really ‘turned to’ at Doug’s house to prepare at least five of his rooms for his visitors who were expected to arrive shortly after we left.  Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) we did not take any 'before' photos of Doug's place, so you cannot determine the starting point, only the result of Bonnie's applying the lessons of HGTV to a bachelor pad.  You will just have to visit Florida to take a look at Debbie's orchids and Doug's digs!  We took several of the 'after' photos so you can get an idea of Doug’s house – you can see his ‘pool room’ through the window from his living room and kitchen area.  I always thought a ‘pool room’ was a billiards hall, but I have learned in Florida it is a screen-in outside area for the swimming pool – very nice.  One thing that surprised me during this trip to Doug’s newly adopted state is that there were no bugs around – I thought we would be attacked by bugs, but perhaps the geckos keep the population down.

 

   Doug’s dog Tyson turned out to be quite friendly as well – still a puppy at almost two years of age.  Doug has set up cameras throughout the house so while Doug is at work, he can keep some tabs on Tyson, make sure he is not destroying the furniture.

Doug's Powder Room (1/2 bath)

   Also shown here are some photos of the "after Bonnie" views of Doug's sitting room (aka "The African Room") and the small powder room off the kitchen.  Bonnie wanted us to show some photos of the kitchen itself, but those will have to wait.

Doug's African Room (aka sitting room)

   Thanks to all our family for all their assistance and hospitality – we really had a fun time and are looking forward to our next visit (whenever that might be!).

Adventure in Albuquerque

Adventure in Albuquerque

It is not everyday that kids from Pennsylvania travel to Albuquerque in the middle of the school fall semester.  Is there anything educational to do?

French Horn Lesson:   Marcey arranged for Mr. Heeter to provide a half-hour French Horn lesson for Maggie - and Mr. Heeter had even arranged for Maggie to borrow an instrument for the visit.  Maggie showed us a couple of things she had learned, like how to change from high notes to low notes, just with the way you blow into the mouthpiece. 

Auntie Beth and the Transport Unit:   It’s not every kid that has an Aunt working in the Police Department.   Beth’s office is great, however of more interest was a quick tour through the Prisoner Transport Unit.  (in a typical month, the PTU handles 1500 prisoners, most of which are soon transported to the Metro Detention Center - the Sgt explained, when the van fills up, it goes - no one stays over 2 hours here, as no eating/feeding facilities, medicine, etc.)  Prisoners were being brought in while we were there, and the kids saw the holding cells.  Since the stay time is expected to be less than two hours, these cells are minimal in their furnishings:  a wrap-around aluminum bench is about it.  The ICE people also share some of this facility.

BioPark:  Beautiful day for a walk in the park - and the aquarium.  The BioPark had a Creepy Crawly Critters special exhibit still set up, through Nov 7 - did you know that Madagascar roaches are good eating?  That the West African black scorpion is not that aggressive?  Did you want to know that?

PageOne:  This is perhaps the largest book store in New Mexico.  Everyone was allowed to pick out one book to take home.  Alan took an extra one for his Dad.

Animal Humane Society:  On Virginia SE, one can find clean facilities manned by caring volunteers for the Kittery and for the Doggie area.  This was a side trip requested by Maggie, who is thinking someday she may get into the Animal Rescue business.   Many of the cats seemed to like her, and one dog licked Alan.  All were requested to wash their hands after handling/petting the kitten in the separate "get acquainted" room.

Summary:  Yes, this was an educational trip, and one enjoyed by all. 

Shipmates Stand Together

Shipmates Stand Together

As long-time readers of this column know, after a long and not-so-arduous courtship, Mike and Bonnie  were finally united in marriage.  To validate the event, an Open House was held at Bonnie's, and all were delighted that Lou and Jo Ann drove down for the event.

Although the Open House announcement specifically stated, "No Gifts," apparently jarheads have difficulty either reading or following instructions.  Thus it was that Lou and Jo Ann graciously invited Mike and Bonnie up for a glorious 3-day weekend in God's (or perhaps Air Force's) country.  Excitement started on Thursday evening in Trinidad with dinner at Rino's Restaurant, where the food is not only the best Italian cooking around (except perhaps for Jo Ann's), but also the waiters and waitresses all sing opera or better.  On Friday, the foursome headed up to the Simpleman's mountain "cabin" (see photo above with flag) outside Aguilar and nestled within the Spanish Peaks, where we were treated to a great meal by Jo Ann, plus a tour of the wildlife nearby - turkeys and deer specifically.

Saturday was off to the Air Force - Navy game at Colorado Springs.  Not one of Navy's best football showings, however it was not for lack of proper attire and cheering by our group.  That evening our lodging was at the Distinguished Visitors quarters at Ft Carson, which Lou had wangled through a close working relationship with the Base Commander.  We went out to Outback that evening (see photo), and the next day ended the festivities at Patti's Restaurant in Pueblo (next photo).

A great time was had by all - even though we never saw all the elk copulating which apparently entertained Harry and Doris after the Mini-Reunion back in October 2005.   Thanks, Jo Ann and Lou!  True friends, shipmates, and companymates.  Our marriage is well launched.

Guide for Forwarding Political E-mail

Recently, a friend of mine was berated for forwarding an email criticizing the President for his apparently lack of respect to the flag. The berater cited TruthOrFiction.com to delineate the falsehood.

My friend was chagrined. He stated: "Sorry! I realize I'm often too gullible, and I'm not prone to check authenticity. Best I just stop forwarding anything derogatory about anyone, or even praising anyone, unless I know first hand it is true."

This a problem we all face: what to do with all the e-mail we receive, some of which resonates so strongly that we want to send it on RIGHT NOW!!!

Here's an easy guide that I try to follow re forwarding politically oriented e-mail:

If the message is about me, and it's laudatory, I forward it to everyone I know.

If it is about Joe Biden, and it seems ridiculous, I always forward to Sarah Palin so she will be cheered. E.g.: Did you hear that Iraq will be considered one of the great achievements of this Administration?

If it is about Nancy Pelosi, I forward it to Harry Reid and Joe Biden so they will feel better about themselves.

If it is about President Obama, I weep quietly for a few minutes, then check the calendar to gauge the time until the next national election cycle.

I find that I am beginning to understand the hard-over positions of the "Bush-haters" from just a year or two ago. Immediately following the election, I was hopeful for the country. Now when I hear Obama say, "I am not an Ideologue" it resonates in my head with Nixon saying "I am not a Crook."

Now I find myself grateful that the Democrats hold a strong majority in both Houses plus hold the Presidency to clarify the source of the actual achievements - i.e., the abject failures and deficits of this administration. I am so grateful that this President inherited Pelosi and Reid - I shudder to consider how much farther down this path we would be if Obama had competent leaders in the House and Senate, e.g., a Steny Hoyer and a Tom Daschle.

If not grateful for, I am at least amazed at the cold partisanship of Pelosi ("We won, we write the bill") and the divisiveness of someone elected to be President of all the people ("...waving their little teabags...").

Excuse me, I'm going to go check my calendar again. Every day it looks better.

The Sixth Candle Is Lit ....

The Sixth Candle Is Lit ....

David and Tricia invited Bonnie and Mike over to participate in the Family Chanukah celebration on Tuesday, 15 December 2009, which included the lighting of Candle #6 on the menorah. We found Tricia cooking the traditional fare of latkes, which are potato pancakes, eaten to symbolize the central theme of the holiday, the miracle of oil. Tricia told me that many of the foods are cooked with oil to carry on this theme - Tricia used Omega Light Oil made with Canola oil, soybean (vegetable) oil, and olive oil. There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil (preferably olive oil), as the original miracle of the Hanukkah menorah involved the discovery of a small flask of pure olive oil used by the Jewish High Priest, the Kohen Gadol. This small batch of olive oil was only supposed to last one day, and instead it lasted eight.

Accordingly, potato pancakes, known as latkes in Yiddish, are traditionally associated with Hanukkah, as they are prepared by frying in oil. Latkes are an incredibly versatile food because, depending on the recipe, they can be an appetizer, side dish, entree, vegetable, dessert or snack. Tricia served hers with applesauce, or alternatively, with horseradish.

Similarly, many Israeli families have the custom of eating all kinds of jam-filled doughnuts (Yiddish: פאנטשקעס pontshkes), (sufganiyot) which are deep-fried in oil. Ours were the quick-fry type of sufganiyot, and thus were more like donut holes. The kids are shown in the picture shaking the still hot sufganiyot in either powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar. Yummy!

Hanukkah is the Jewish Festival of Lights celebrated in countries all over the world. In 165 B.C. there was a great battle between the Maccabees and the Syrians. The Jews won the battle and when they went to their temple, they found that the Syrians had allowed their sacred light to go out. They only had oil for one day. The miracle of Hanukkah is that the oil lasted 8 days until a messenger could return with more. There are nine candles in the menorah. One of the candles is used to light the other candles and the other eight stand for the eight days that the oil kept burning. You put the candles in the menorah right to left, and light them left to right so the oldest candle is put in first, and the newest candle is lit first. The last night, nine candles, counting the server candle, will glow. Hanukkah lights should burn for at least one half hour after it gets dark.

David reminded me that there are many spellings of this Hebrew holiday, because the English is transliterated from Hebrew. You'll see H-a-n-u-k-k-a-h a lot because that is the Associated Press spelling.

Christmas is always on 25 December however Chanukah falls on a different date each year in relationship to the common calendar, because it's a lunar calendar that loses time yearly. To compensate, a leap year adds a 13th month every few years. That leap month is called Adar II. In truth, Chanukah falls on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, which was Dec. 12 this year and will be Dec. 2 in 2010.

Parents give their kids Chanukah gelt (gold-wrapped chocolate coins) and other trinkets for eight nights to enhance their enjoyment of the holiday. On this 6th night, Bonnie and Mike, and Ian and Charlene, were instructed to close our eyes, and when we opened them, we each found before us Hanukkah cookies and both gold and silver-wrapped coins. A miracle indeed! Bonnie and Mike fought over theirs. The kids were pretty good.

Texas and Nephews

Texas and Nephews

Bonnie and Mike traveled to Houston during 13-15 November 2009 for Mike’s 50th High School Reunion (see Lamar59.org for the details and photos on this gala gathering). During two events of the Reunion, we went by the old 2307 Gramercy homestead to ensure it was still in existence, and not looming as large in life as in memory.

Post-reunion we made two family related visits. On Sunday afternoon we went to the Nottingham area, Kellywood Lane in Houston, to visit with Eric and Kristen and 3-year old David. This is a beautiful residence in a beautiful residential area, and we enjoyed meeting David: he’s cute and bright-eyed, and actually behaved better in the restaurant than we did! (see photos). We went to Escalante’s for Mexican food – next time we may try Nirvana for Indian food… well, maybe not Bonnie!

Eric’s job with Decision Strategies Inc keeps him busy as he is ‘farmed out’ to Energy companies for his decision analysis skills – he is a methodologist in this area, as opposed to an oil and gas specialist, so his role is special. Kristen has begun working again, part time – not the job she wants or is challenged by, but conveniently located right across the street from David’s pre-school, and it gives her 20 hours a week.

On Monday morning, we checked out of our Hilton Garden Inn Galleria (Reunion hotel) and headed Southwest on 59 to Sugar Land. There we received a good/not so good surprise: Sarah Grace was there with Anne and Andy – great as we had expected that she would be in school/not so great as she was home because she was feeling punk. Sarah Grace was still gracious however, so we did get a few photos of her, before we took Andy out to lunch at Salt Grass Steakhouse (and send home a cheeseburger for Anne who had stayed home with her 3-year old patient.)

Andy commutes about 15-20 minutes each Tuesday and Thursday to teach his 15 hours (5 three-hour classes!) in biblical studies at the College of Biblical Studies. (Note: one of the reasons CBS was so eager to hire Andy was to strengthen their accreditation efforts - this has recently been successful! Yea, Andy!) Andy also travels to different locales for churches that want him to come talk at their venue. For several years, Andy and Anne have talked about creating a text book for Andy. We also talked about creating a web site for a non-profit that the team is building. So much to do!

Summary: much energy in Houston! Great visits! We need to return before our next 50th Reunion!

Ranch Roundup

Ranch Roundup

Every decade or so, the family gets together for a Reunion of sorts. This July we had a great visit to Alma New Mexico.

Billy loaned us his Polaris Ranger – plenty good for running around between ranches however not for long distance or high speeds. We made it down to Hugh B’s (about 2 miles) fairly easily on Friday night for the hot dogs and hamburger cook-out. Hugh B and the grandkids were already in swimming. What a place for a reunion for all ages: swimming, horse shoes, tennis court, horses, and they even had El Fuego for a photo op – who is willing to climb up on El Fuego?

At the end of the evening, there were fireworks – Bonnie kept saying, “We don’t want to ride home on the highway after dark, do we?” Well, there is a back route – don’t have to go on the highway, just follow the old County road around the back between the two Alma areas. So off we went – there was actually a little light when we started – Rusty had said “stay to the left” and apparently I took that way too seriously – I took the first left, ended up on the levee, and after about a mile we were thoroughly lost … no road, no way out, headlights tht showed about 10 feet ahead – and Bonnie worred about snakes. I had to get out and walk around looking for the road and while I was gone, Bonnie started looking for what we had to save us – all she found was two lollipops and a flashlight with no batteries. Bonnie was wondering if she could make it through to daylight by eating just one of the lollipops – but then was worried that one of the bears would smell the candy and we'd be goners ...

Well, Rusty saw our headlights in the wrong area - we weren't supposed to be along the levee - and came out and rescued us. Bonnie said, "I've got a new boyfriend!" However, she kept calling him "Dusty" so I think that won't last.

Then the next day was the Tractor Pull. If you haven't attended a Tractor Pull, you haven't lived! Well ... maybe you've lived, but you haven't seen it all. Now we have.

What a great Ranch Roundup! We need to do this more often!

More Photos

See my Facebook page here for more photos of the Ranch Roundup as selected from Suzanne's collection on Picasa.com