Sunday, November 25
Happy Birthday to son Jimmy Clint Colwell in Lubbock and daughter-in-law Carol Colwell in San Antonio!
We had planned to get away from Lubbock by 6:00 this morning, but the weather forecasters conspired against us. All indications were that it would be bad weather and bad roads throughout the day between Lubbock and Abilene, no matter which route we tried to take.
By 8:30 the forecasts were looking more in our favor, so we decided we’d take a chance on going to Sweetwater via U.S. 87 (through Slaton, Post, and Snyder). After all, we had everything we needed in case we had to pull over somewhere.
Luckily, the roads were fairly clear with only light moisture until we got close to Roscoe. There, we hit blowing, wet snow, but nothing that was treacherous. We negotiated our way to Interstate 20 and on toward Abilene, running through intermittent light snow and mist.
After a short stop at a rest area between Sweetwater and Abilene (make sandwiches…check email…etc.), we continued our way east, just taking our time.
Somewhere on the east side of Abilene Barbara remember
ed that her sister Carol and some of her family members were returning from their Thanksgiving trip to Shreveport today. So, he called Carol to see where they were and to let them know that we were headed toward them. (While on the way to see Gary and his family, Carol got to meet up with younger sister, Nancy, and they graciously sent me a photo!)As luck would have it, we were about 60 miles apart, somewhere between Abilene and Weatherford. We made arrangements to blink our lights as we met…certain that they would see and recognize Big V before we would spot their little blue car. Sure enough, almost to the minute that we predicted, we met them out in the middle of nowhere on I-20. Carol called back to ask us if we had seen them and Barbara told her that we did…a bit of a silly little game, but it did keep us occupied for a while.
As we approached Fort Worth and Dallas, the traffic in both directions increased, but the westbound traffic was just unbelievable. We estimated that for 80 miles east of Fort Worth, there was a constant stream of two lane traffic coming toward us. I guess it’s true that there are more cars on the highway during Thanksgiving holidays than at any other time of the year…especially in Texas.
We stopped for about an hour at the outlet mall in Terrell. We weren’t particularly interested in shopping for anything, but we did some shop-looking while we heated up our supper. After looking through several stores, we returned to Big V for a delicious spaghetti dinner before hitting the highway again.
Our plan before we ever left Lubbock was to make it at east to Shreveport, Louisiana, before shutting down, but with the late start and the iffy road conditions, we were wrung out well before getting that far. We found a really nice rest area close to Lindale, Texas, pulled in to a spot where we could open the kitchen and bedroom slide-outs, and called it a night. For once, it didn’t even matter that we didn’t have internet service (I guess Murphy was in charge of the system today).
Monday, November 26
Happy Birthday to son Mike Little in Richmond, Virginia!
Today was a travel day, but we decided we weren’t going to knock ourselves out just getting from Point A to Point B. We had already called Aunt Glennis in Marianna to tell her that we wouldn’t be there until sometime Tuesday.
We both woke up early and were on the road by4:00 am, but not pushing it too hard. We took a short break at the Louisiana Welcome Center. What a nice surprise…they even had internet service available, so we did a quick check on our email and then I went outside to dump some household trash and check the tie-downs on the motorcycle and trailer.
Back on the road, we drove to Bossier City where we stopped for a couple of hours before driving across the state toward Vicksburg, where we decided to spend the night at a nice RV park. It was really nice to just kick back and relax for the evening without having any obligations.
Tuesday, November 27
With a long travel day ahead of us we planned to get away early this morning, but the sleepies trumped everything. When we finally got up and moving, we went out for a nice breakfast before returning to the park to fire up Big V and head toward Florida.
Thankfully, the day was without major incidents as we drove through Jackson and Hattiesburg, Mississippi, across U.S. 82 to Mobile, Alabama, and then across the Florida Panhandle on I-10 until we reached Marianna around 4:30 pm. We stopped to fill up Big V’s gas tank before going out to park and set up at Glennis’ place.
After a great meal with Glennis and Darren, we watched a little TV and then returned to Big V to call it a night.
Wednesday, November 28
Happy Birthday to Barbara Ann Colwell Little!!! I won’t mention her age or say anything about the previous 62 birthdays.
What a birthday celebration I had planned for her…unload the motorcycle and cargo trailer from the big trailer…wash the cycle and trailer…pack clothes and other necessaries for a 12-day motorcycle trip…go grocery shopping…etc., etc. Boy, do I know how to throw a party or what?!!!
Barbara: Actually, with the celebration we had in Lubbock, all the phone calls from (in order) John, Randi, Leah, Ryan, Mike, Nancy, Carol, and Jaycie plus the ecards from so many special people, and, last but certainly not least, Glennis washing the dishes from Big V that I took in and then promptly forgot while doing the above mentioned chores, I had a super, duper b-day! Thanks to all who made it special and for Jim who will join me in 63 birthdays soon!
Jim: The weather cooperated and we were able to accomplish all of the things listed and even a few extra. By evening, we had the cycle and trailer all shined up, packed, and ready to roll. All that was lacking was a good dinner (which Glennis provided) and a good night’s sleep (which we got after we returned to Big V.)
Thursday, November 29
This was a day that we had talked and dreamed about for a long time, even though we never knew the specifics…a time for us to get aboard the Voyager with the trailer attached and take off on a trip just for us. It’s something we talked about a little bit before our retirement and a lot since then, but have never had the opportunity to try it.
We hoped for a start around 8:00 am, and weren’t too far off the mark. Once again Murphy intervened, but didn’t do too much damage. When we had everything loaded, tires and shocks set, and were ready to go, the engine wouldn’t fire. We have had this problem before, particularly when trailering a cycle for a long time. It seems that all the road grime and moisture that gets kicked up by passing truckers causes the cycle to have some problems in starting.
After putting the charger on her for a few minutes, the cycle fired up just the way she should, and we said our final goodbyes to Glennis before pulling out of her driveway and heading toward Tallahassee on the first leg of the journey.
Barbara called Cousin Danny and wife Cindy last night to see if they wanted to meet us and have a cup of coffee this morning when we came through Tallahassee. It turns out that he was going to be on assignment down around Panama City today, but his wife, Cindy, said she’d be happy to meet us. We were going to meet at a McDonalds, but the plans got changed so that we met her at a Flying J Truck Stop at the intersection of Highway 90 (the route we took from Marianna) and Interstate 10.
We decided that on this trip we would not take the interstate or large highways unless necessary. This was a trip to see the countryside, not just get from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible. Highway 90 was slower because of all the little towns we had to go through, but speed wasn’t of the essence.
We pulled in at the Flying J and managed to park next to Cindy’s yellow VW and found her waiting for us inside. What a great reunion…we spent an hour having a wonderful breakfast and a great visit with her.
Getting back on the cycle, we headed through Tallahassee on U.S. 90, passing the FSU campus on our way to Highways 19 and 27 heading south toward the Tampa Bay area. We had lots of cloud cover and relatively cool weather, but were quite comfortable for the most part. Well-timed stops allowed us to fuel up the cycle and get the blood circulating again.
We arrived in the Clearwater area just at dark…finally ran into our first rain
showers of the day, but we survived them well enough. We got to the Best Western on Clearwater Beach around 5:30, got checked in, and carried all of our gear up to the room. They initially gave us a second-floor room on the harbor side, but we managed to get it changed to a sixth-floor room with a great balcony view of the harbor to the southeast (right) and the Gulf of Mexico to the north (left).
Needless to say, we were pretty well beat when we finally got everything in place. The 316 miles had tried our patience and our bodies, but the first day of the great adventure was behind us. After checking email and watching some TV, we were more than ready to give the bodies some rest. Being as high up as we are, we were even able to sleep with the balcony door open! Talk about fresh air…it was wonderful.
Friday, November 30
The internet weather forecast for today was lots of sunshine and 82 degrees, so we were a little disappointed when we awoke to cloudy, misty skies with more than light breezes. I was beginning to question the selection of clothing that I had brought for this trip.
We lounged around the room, working on the journal entries and catching up on the news, hoping that the skies would clear and we’d be able to go out for a ride. About 10:30 we decided to go downstairs and give the hotel restaurant a chance for breakfast. We found that the inside part of the restaurant was being renovated, but that didn’t matter, because we really wanted to sit outside and enjoy the view.
We ordered up a really great meal, and as we were chowing down, the sun suddenly broke through and the clouds disappeared…what an absolutely gorgeous morning!
Once back in the room, we started making preparations for the day’s adventures. We decided that we would cross the bridge right behind the hotel and ride down the Gulf Boulevard until we could cut back east and take the Gandy Bridge into Tampa. While Barbara straightened up the room a bit I went down to the cycle to take off the cover and do the trip check (tire and shock air pressures, electrical connections, etc.). Not sure whether the Voyager would act up on us, I turned on the ignition, hit the switch, and Hallelujah!!!, she fired right up…time to get out and see what we could see. (Nice to know Murphy wasn’t here in Clearwater!)
We were a bit disappointed, but not too surprised to find that, like the panhandle beaches, the developers have been allowed to cut off the great views of the Gulf Coast with condos and apartments. Still, as we rode south we were able to catch occasional glimpses of the beaches and admire some interesting architectural (and some really interesting pedestrians). In fact, we were so busy watching everything else that we missed the road that should take us east across Tampa Bay. When we reached the southern beaches of St. Petersburg, we decided that we had gone as far as we could go, so we turned around, joined the northbound traffic, and worked our way back north until we spotted the signs that sent us the right direction.
For the next couple of hours, I tried to balance the present against the past. In July of 1967 I was stationed at Amarillo Air Force Base. I was assigned to the 589th USAF Band and Barbara Jean was teaching elementary school in Amarillo.
At the time, we anticipated being in Amarillo for the long haul, but the Department of Defense, in it’s own brand of wisdom, decided to close Amarillo AFB and either disband or move the associated squadrons and programs to other bases. We got word that the band was going to be relocated; we just didn’t know where or when. Conventional wisdom had us going to one of the bases in San Antonio. However, conventional wisdom didn’t work out that way; we found out that the entire band would be relocated to MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida, in January, where we would be a support squadron for what was then known as the STRIKE Command, an inter-service command that was prepared to deploy to the Middle East on short notice.
The weekend following Thanksgiving Day of 1967, the married men from the band flew from Amarillo to Tampa to try to find housing. Because of the lack of adequate housing on base at MacDill, we would all have to find houses or apartments in Tampa or the surrounding area. None of us had ever been there, so it became a real educational experience to find a place to live on very short notice.
Working through a realtor, I found a one-bedroom apartment on MacDill Avenue at the Bay Ceia Apartments, just a few miles north of the base. It was pricier than where we were living in Amarillo – our new rent would be a whopping $120.00 per month! But, the apartments were well-kept and there was a swimming pool…we would really be living the good life.
I moved to the new place after Christmas while Barbara Jean and some of the other wives who were teachers had to stay behind in Amarillo to finish out the semester. Toward the end of January I flew back to Amarillo to help pack the last of our things and we drove down to Tampa to start a new chapter in our lives.
While the apartment was nice enough for a starter unit, it didn’t take long for us to fill it up with our stuff, and it seemed that we didn’t have room to turn around. Around September, Barbara Jean found a new (literally) apartment just a few blocks north and still on MacDill. It was in a brand new complex of about a dozen apartments. The manager was also the architect, and the apartment complex was a project he designed as a requirement to receive his certification. We continued to live there at 3232 S. MacDill until July of 1970 when I completed work for my Masters Degree at the University of South Florida and we moved to North Carolina to start my teaching career.
All that being said, today’s journey was to see how Tampa had changed since 1970 (and boy…how it has changed!), and to see if either of those apartments was still standing.
As we drove east over the Gandy Bridge and across Tampa Bay, the changes were immediately apparent. What used to be a string of bars and fishing shacks is now highly developed property.
We found MacDill Avenue easily enough and turned to the north to start looking for the first of the apartments. Imagine my surprise when I found that not only did the Bay Ceia Apartments still stand, they look even nicer than they did in 1968! The swimming pool has been filled in and is now a pretty garden area. We spoke with several of the residents and found them to be very friendly and helpful, especially when I explained that I had once lived there.
Jim: The weather cooperated and we were able to accomplish all of the things listed and even a few extra. By evening, we had the cycle and trailer all shined up, packed, and ready to roll. All that was lacking was a good dinner (which Glennis provided) and a good night’s sleep (which we got after we returned to Big V.)
Thursday, November 29
This was a day that we had talked and dreamed about for a long time, even though we never knew the specifics…a time for us to get aboard the Voyager with the trailer attached and take off on a trip just for us. It’s something we talked about a little bit before our retirement and a lot since then, but have never had the opportunity to try it.
We hoped for a start around 8:00 am, and weren’t too far off the mark. Once again Murphy intervened, but didn’t do too much damage. When we had everything loaded, tires and shocks set, and were ready to go, the engine wouldn’t fire. We have had this problem before, particularly when trailering a cycle for a long time. It seems that all the road grime and moisture that gets kicked up by passing truckers causes the cycle to have some problems in starting.
After putting the charger on her for a few minutes, the cycle fired up just the way she should, and we said our final goodbyes to Glennis before pulling out of her driveway and heading toward Tallahassee on the first leg of the journey.
Barbara called Cousin Danny and wife Cindy last night to see if they wanted to meet us and have a cup of coffee this morning when we came through Tallahassee. It turns out that he was going to be on assignment down around Panama City today, but his wife, Cindy, said she’d be happy to meet us. We were going to meet at a McDonalds, but the plans got changed so that we met her at a Flying J Truck Stop at the intersection of Highway 90 (the route we took from Marianna) and Interstate 10.
We decided that on this trip we would not take the interstate or large highways unless necessary. This was a trip to see the countryside, not just get from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible. Highway 90 was slower because of all the little towns we had to go through, but speed wasn’t of the essence.
We pulled in at the Flying J and managed to park next to Cindy’s yellow VW and found her waiting for us inside. What a great reunion…we spent an hour having a wonderful breakfast and a great visit with her.
Getting back on the cycle, we headed through Tallahassee on U.S. 90, passing the FSU campus on our way to Highways 19 and 27 heading south toward the Tampa Bay area. We had lots of cloud cover and relatively cool weather, but were quite comfortable for the most part. Well-timed stops allowed us to fuel up the cycle and get the blood circulating again.
We arrived in the Clearwater area just at dark…finally ran into our first rain
showers of the day, but we survived them well enough. We got to the Best Western on Clearwater Beach around 5:30, got checked in, and carried all of our gear up to the room. They initially gave us a second-floor room on the harbor side, but we managed to get it changed to a sixth-floor room with a great balcony view of the harbor to the southeast (right) and the Gulf of Mexico to the north (left).
Needless to say, we were pretty well beat when we finally got everything in place. The 316 miles had tried our patience and our bodies, but the first day of the great adventure was behind us. After checking email and watching some TV, we were more than ready to give the bodies some rest. Being as high up as we are, we were even able to sleep with the balcony door open! Talk about fresh air…it was wonderful.
Friday, November 30
The internet weather forecast for today was lots of sunshine and 82 degrees, so we were a little disappointed when we awoke to cloudy, misty skies with more than light breezes. I was beginning to question the selection of clothing that I had brought for this trip.
We lounged around the room, working on the journal entries and catching up on the news, hoping that the skies would clear and we’d be able to go out for a ride. About 10:30 we decided to go downstairs and give the hotel restaurant a chance for breakfast. We found that the inside part of the restaurant was being renovated, but that didn’t matter, because we really wanted to sit outside and enjoy the view.
We ordered up a really great meal, and as we were chowing down, the sun suddenly broke through and the clouds disappeared…what an absolutely gorgeous morning!
Once back in the room, we started making preparations for the day’s adventures. We decided that we would cross the bridge right behind the hotel and ride down the Gulf Boulevard until we could cut back east and take the Gandy Bridge into Tampa. While Barbara straightened up the room a bit I went down to the cycle to take off the cover and do the trip check (tire and shock air pressures, electrical connections, etc.). Not sure whether the Voyager would act up on us, I turned on the ignition, hit the switch, and Hallelujah!!!, she fired right up…time to get out and see what we could see. (Nice to know Murphy wasn’t here in Clearwater!)
We were a bit disappointed, but not too surprised to find that, like the panhandle beaches, the developers have been allowed to cut off the great views of the Gulf Coast with condos and apartments. Still, as we rode south we were able to catch occasional glimpses of the beaches and admire some interesting architectural (and some really interesting pedestrians). In fact, we were so busy watching everything else that we missed the road that should take us east across Tampa Bay. When we reached the southern beaches of St. Petersburg, we decided that we had gone as far as we could go, so we turned around, joined the northbound traffic, and worked our way back north until we spotted the signs that sent us the right direction.
For the next couple of hours, I tried to balance the present against the past. In July of 1967 I was stationed at Amarillo Air Force Base. I was assigned to the 589th USAF Band and Barbara Jean was teaching elementary school in Amarillo.
At the time, we anticipated being in Amarillo for the long haul, but the Department of Defense, in it’s own brand of wisdom, decided to close Amarillo AFB and either disband or move the associated squadrons and programs to other bases. We got word that the band was going to be relocated; we just didn’t know where or when. Conventional wisdom had us going to one of the bases in San Antonio. However, conventional wisdom didn’t work out that way; we found out that the entire band would be relocated to MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida, in January, where we would be a support squadron for what was then known as the STRIKE Command, an inter-service command that was prepared to deploy to the Middle East on short notice.
The weekend following Thanksgiving Day of 1967, the married men from the band flew from Amarillo to Tampa to try to find housing. Because of the lack of adequate housing on base at MacDill, we would all have to find houses or apartments in Tampa or the surrounding area. None of us had ever been there, so it became a real educational experience to find a place to live on very short notice.
Working through a realtor, I found a one-bedroom apartment on MacDill Avenue at the Bay Ceia Apartments, just a few miles north of the base. It was pricier than where we were living in Amarillo – our new rent would be a whopping $120.00 per month! But, the apartments were well-kept and there was a swimming pool…we would really be living the good life.
I moved to the new place after Christmas while Barbara Jean and some of the other wives who were teachers had to stay behind in Amarillo to finish out the semester. Toward the end of January I flew back to Amarillo to help pack the last of our things and we drove down to Tampa to start a new chapter in our lives.
While the apartment was nice enough for a starter unit, it didn’t take long for us to fill it up with our stuff, and it seemed that we didn’t have room to turn around. Around September, Barbara Jean found a new (literally) apartment just a few blocks north and still on MacDill. It was in a brand new complex of about a dozen apartments. The manager was also the architect, and the apartment complex was a project he designed as a requirement to receive his certification. We continued to live there at 3232 S. MacDill until July of 1970 when I completed work for my Masters Degree at the University of South Florida and we moved to North Carolina to start my teaching career.
All that being said, today’s journey was to see how Tampa had changed since 1970 (and boy…how it has changed!), and to see if either of those apartments was still standing.
As we drove east over the Gandy Bridge and across Tampa Bay, the changes were immediately apparent. What used to be a string of bars and fishing shacks is now highly developed property.
We found MacDill Avenue easily enough and turned to the north to start looking for the first of the apartments. Imagine my surprise when I found that not only did the Bay Ceia Apartments still stand, they look even nicer than they did in 1968! The swimming pool has been filled in and is now a pretty garden area. We spoke with several of the residents and found them to be very friendly and helpful, especially when I explained that I had once lived there.
After taking a few pictures of the place, we got back on the cycle and rode up the street to find the Grovewood Apartments, the second place Barbara Jean and I lived in Tampa. Again, I was pleasantly surprised to find the complex looking much as it had when we left in 1970. The only real change was that the open areas leading from the covered parking to the garden area is now all gated.
As we were taking pictures, one of the residents (he turned out to be the newest manager) drove up. I visited with him for a bit and found that the apartme
nts had been converted to condo units in 2003. He said that they had a couple of units for sale or rent if we were interested, but we told him we didn’t think that was going to happen.
Leaving the apartments, we rode a couple of blocks back to the east to get on Bayshore Boulevard, the main north/south route that runs along Hillsborough Bay from downtown Tampa to MacDill AFB. Some of the grand old homes are still standing, but, as with the rest of the city, there are a lot of new homes, apartments, and condos.
We were able to get within a half block of the main gate to MacDill, but had to pull off because of all the traffic coming out of the base. I got off the cycle to let Barbara take a quick picture of me with the gate in the background and then we turned around and waited for an opening in the traffic so we could start back toward Clearwater.
We made it back to Gandy Boulevard and then took West Shore up through town and near the airport…I did have to stop and ask a cab driver for directions to the Courtney Campbell Causeway; he was very helpful, and soon we were facing the afternoon sun as we joined the traffic headed west out of Tampa across the north end of Tampa Bay. By shortly after 4:00 we were back in place in our motel, pleased with our travel experiences of the day.
When we got to the room, Barbara checked her phone and found that she had a message from Aunt T.J., asking us to call her as soon as possible. It seems that Mother was taken to the hospital in Artesia yesterday. We think she may have had a back spasm of some kind, and not only was she unable to stand up, when Ernie and Billee came over to help her, they weren’t able to get her up, so they called for emergency assistance.
While I was talking to T.J., my phone rang…it was Billee returning a call Barbara had placed to her, calling to give us the latest information. Thankfully, it appears that nothing is broken…now we just have to wait it out to see what the doctors will order. Obviously, we would appreciate your thoughts and prayers for Mother and her comfort and healing.
Now, it was time to just kick back, relax, and enjoy the evening. We went out for a short walk and then returned to the beach area of the hotel to enjoy the view of the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. Evidently a lot of other folks had the same idea, as we saw more people down on the deck and out on the beach (all with cameras of some kind) than we had seen since we got here.
Tonight…go to the room, fix a sandwich and some chips, watch a little television, and sit down to try to get caught up on journals for last week and this week.
Saturday, December 1
We woke up around 6:00 this morning, but it didn’t take. It was still dark outside and the cool air coming in through the open balcony door just demanded that I crawl back under the covers for a while. The “while” lasted until nearly 8:30 when I decided it was time to have some coffee and start ginning around.
We didn’t get in a hurry about much of anything, so it was around 10:30 when we finally made it down to the outdoor dining area. This being a weekend, there seemed to be a few more guests in the hotel, and there were several couples and families enjoying the bright sunshine and the Gulf view. While more people around was not a problem (there were plenty of extra tables), the extra diners seemed to attract the gulls…lots of them.
One family sitting near us finished their meal and left quite a bit of food behind on the table. They hadn’t been gone more than a minute when I noticed something flying in. I looked up from my computer screen and watched as a gull snatched up an entire link sausage and took off with it. Within a couple more minutes, the gulls were swarming all over the table top, standing in the middle of the food and trying to grab anything within reach. Barbara was able to get a couple of
pictures of the mayhem before one of the wait staff came over and shooed the “sky rats” (her words, not ours) away. They didn’t tell us that entertainment came with the meals!
As we were taking pictures, one of the residents (he turned out to be the newest manager) drove up. I visited with him for a bit and found that the apartme
nts had been converted to condo units in 2003. He said that they had a couple of units for sale or rent if we were interested, but we told him we didn’t think that was going to happen.
Leaving the apartments, we rode a couple of blocks back to the east to get on Bayshore Boulevard, the main north/south route that runs along Hillsborough Bay from downtown Tampa to MacDill AFB. Some of the grand old homes are still standing, but, as with the rest of the city, there are a lot of new homes, apartments, and condos.
We were able to get within a half block of the main gate to MacDill, but had to pull off because of all the traffic coming out of the base. I got off the cycle to let Barbara take a quick picture of me with the gate in the background and then we turned around and waited for an opening in the traffic so we could start back toward Clearwater.
We made it back to Gandy Boulevard and then took West Shore up through town and near the airport…I did have to stop and ask a cab driver for directions to the Courtney Campbell Causeway; he was very helpful, and soon we were facing the afternoon sun as we joined the traffic headed west out of Tampa across the north end of Tampa Bay. By shortly after 4:00 we were back in place in our motel, pleased with our travel experiences of the day.
When we got to the room, Barbara checked her phone and found that she had a message from Aunt T.J., asking us to call her as soon as possible. It seems that Mother was taken to the hospital in Artesia yesterday. We think she may have had a back spasm of some kind, and not only was she unable to stand up, when Ernie and Billee came over to help her, they weren’t able to get her up, so they called for emergency assistance.
While I was talking to T.J., my phone rang…it was Billee returning a call Barbara had placed to her, calling to give us the latest information. Thankfully, it appears that nothing is broken…now we just have to wait it out to see what the doctors will order. Obviously, we would appreciate your thoughts and prayers for Mother and her comfort and healing.
Now, it was time to just kick back, relax, and enjoy the evening. We went out for a short walk and then returned to the beach area of the hotel to enjoy the view of the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. Evidently a lot of other folks had the same idea, as we saw more people down on the deck and out on the beach (all with cameras of some kind) than we had seen since we got here.
Tonight…go to the room, fix a sandwich and some chips, watch a little television, and sit down to try to get caught up on journals for last week and this week.
Saturday, December 1
We woke up around 6:00 this morning, but it didn’t take. It was still dark outside and the cool air coming in through the open balcony door just demanded that I crawl back under the covers for a while. The “while” lasted until nearly 8:30 when I decided it was time to have some coffee and start ginning around.
We didn’t get in a hurry about much of anything, so it was around 10:30 when we finally made it down to the outdoor dining area. This being a weekend, there seemed to be a few more guests in the hotel, and there were several couples and families enjoying the bright sunshine and the Gulf view. While more people around was not a problem (there were plenty of extra tables), the extra diners seemed to attract the gulls…lots of them.
One family sitting near us finished their meal and left quite a bit of food behind on the table. They hadn’t been gone more than a minute when I noticed something flying in. I looked up from my computer screen and watched as a gull snatched up an entire link sausage and took off with it. Within a couple more minutes, the gulls were swarming all over the table top, standing in the middle of the food and trying to grab anything within reach. Barbara was able to get a couple of
pictures of the mayhem before one of the wait staff came over and shooed the “sky rats” (her words, not ours) away. They didn’t tell us that entertainment came with the meals!
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Our waiter came over and took our order. Barbara asked for a couple of pancakes and some eggs, and I ordered an omelet. While we waited for our food to arrive, we turned back to our
computers and checked our mail, more than contented to just enjoy a lazy morning outside.I know we write quite a bit about dining experiences, and we’ve tried to back off on that a bit, but we just have to tell about the breakfast that was brought to us this morning. I honestly don’t know when I’ve ever seen so much food on one plate that was ordered from the menu. Barbara got three huge pancakes, each as wide as the plate, a huge pile of scrambled eggs, and a mound of bacon. My omelet was the biggest one I’ve ever seen, and it was chock full of onions, peppers, tomatoes, and mushrooms. In addition to that, I had a large pile of has browns and a couple of pieces of toast.
Needless to say, we ate until we could eat no more and then brought the rest back to the room in carryout boxes to enjoy for supper tonight. In many ways, this hotel is just a typical beachfront hotel, but the menu provides the absolute best bargain for the money; huge meals for great prices! If you ever find yourself in Clearwater Beach, Florida and are looking for a great breakfast, check out the restaurant at the Best Western Sea Wake Inn Resort…you’ll love it.
After breakfast we returned to the room for a bit and then headed out for a short cycle ride. We crossed the overpass behind the hotel and went looking for The Shoppes at Sand Key. As is often the case in tourist towns, the name was fancier than the shops. What we found was a
typical strip mall (with a great view of the harbor) and some rather pretentious shops and restaurants. We did manage to find a couple of things to buy, but for the most part we just wandered in and out of the places, giving most of the merchandise a cursory look.When we left the “The Shoppe,” we rode back toward the hotel, taking a few minutes to ride through Sand Key Park, a part of the Pinellas County Park system. It was a really pretty ride with lots of different vegetation along the road. We hoped to find a place to stop and take a picture of our hotel right across the strait, but the parking places were too far away and they charged for parking,
so Barbara decided to try a shot from the top of the overpass as we headed back to the hotel.We spent the afternoon just goofing off – working at the computers, reading, etc. I found the Artesia Bulldog football game on the internet and we listened to the first half of it until the internet service got too undependable. This was a semifinal game in the New Mexico Athletic Association playoffs, matching Artesia against Kirtland Central High School. The Bulldogs had to travel from the southeastern corner of the state to the northwestern corner, but the long ride didn’t seem to do any damage; Artesia sailed through the game and posted a 42 – 0 win to take them into the state championship game next Saturday.
About 4:00 pm we decided to ride up to Pier 60, the focal point of Clearwater’s public beaches. Barbara had read about arts and crafts exhibits and live music performances from two hours before until two hours after sunset, so we decided we’d go see what it was all about.
We were going to take the local trolley ride, but couldn’t get across the street in time to catch it, so we opted to fire up the Voyager and join all the other motorcyclists who seemed to be out in force today. With clear, sunny skies and the temperature hovering around 82 degrees, it was a wonderful afternoon to be out and about!
The exhibits were a little overrated…more like something one would see at a traveling carnival show, but it was great to be out and about. After walking around, looking, and taking some pictures of the beach area, we went to the pavilion and sat down to listen to the
musical entertainment, a guitar/vocal soloist who did a very nice job.With the sun heading down into the Gulf of Mexico, we decided we’d better leave the beach area before it got dark. We hit a couple of shops along the way…even made a purchase or two, and then pointed the cycle back toward the hotel. After stopping to fill up the gas tank for tomorrow’s journey, we returned to the Best Western, warmed up some supper, and spent the evening working on the journals and posting the latest information on the blogsite.
We did get to visit with Ernie over the phone. He said that Mother had a good day today…nothing was broken and she was working with a therapist. She’s still in the hospital tonight, but we’ll just have to wait to see what tomorrow brings. Please continue to pray for her healing.
“Exercise daily…Walk with God.” From a church sign along Highway 19 in Florida
Enjoying the sun, sand, and warm weather in Clearwater Beach, Florida,
Jim and Barbara
Once we were back inside, we went to the staging area where Randi and her team had just entered. After giving Randi a quick hello, we headed back to our seats by John and Carol. It’s just amazing to see what these girls can do athletically! It is not at all like watching the cheerleaders at a Friday night football game…instead their whole routine to music is round-offs, tucks, and a bunch of other maneuvers that the granddaughters have told me about, but that we still don’t understand…to us, gymnastics was tumbling and cartwheels…just shows our ages! Anyway, Randi’s team did super and Randi personally nailed all of her stunts.
It will be another month before we get to see Jimmy, but it's quite obvious that we're going to enjoy every moment of getting to be around him!
Since the kids had other plans after the competition, Jim and I did some shopping as we waited for my friend, Becky, to finish singing at a wedding. (as she quickly informed me, she was singing with a choir…not solo!)
