It's time for some warm fuzzies. I know turtles aren't half as cute as bunnies, puppies and kittens but when there is a whole pool full of them you just can't help but say "AWWWWWWWW".
One of the side effects of hurricane Irene has been all the baby sea turtles washed out of their nests on the beach. We lost our dear turtle Andre early this week. He was found dead, washed up on a beach just north of here this past Monday. He was the giant sea turtle that we adopted for Smith for his birthday. Andre had been in the Loggerhead Marine Center here in Juno Beach for over a year while they nursed him back to health. He was released 3 weeks ago but for what ever reason he just couldn't make it back out in the ocean. I was feeling very sad about Andre so today when Ger wanted to get out for a while we took a ride to the beach and walked along the side walk above the ocean. The waves are quite large for Florida but nothing like the ones we used to see on Long Island. The beach had some people on it and there was a really good breeze blowing to help cool everyone off. It was delightful for walking but not good at all for all the turtle nests.
This is nesting season for a couple of different species of turtles here in Florida. They have laid their eggs a while ago and this is the time for the baby turtles to hatch. With the surf washing up higher than usual on the beach the nests are being washed away before they babies are ready to make their journey. People are picking the babies up off the beach and out of the rolling surf. The poor little things are exhausted from the pounding surf and the hot sun and would become bird food if not helped by kind humans.
After our walk Ger and I went out on the Juno Beach Pier to see what was going on out there. Only a couple of fishermen and not many fish. The water is just too stirred up. We then decided to check out the turtle park as it is known to the locals. As we arrived at Loggerhead there was a family arriving with a bucket with a dozen baby turtles in it. Following them was a woman with a turtle in her hands. They took the babies to a shallow pool where there were 3 volunteers introducing the baby turtles to water. The volunteers had 2 kiddie pools filled with wet sand and a hundred or more turtles. It seems that when the baby turtles first hatch they may not be ready to swim so the volunteers have to put each turtle into the water, one at a time, to see if the little guy will sink or swim! For the little ones who hatched too soon they are introduced to the water on a float that keeps them wet but on the surface. It is quite a thing to see. (Guess who didn't have their camera's with them!) There was one volunteer who's job it was to keep circling the tank to look for turtles who were too exhausted to stay above water to breathe. And you think the life guards on the beach have a tough job! 500 little baby turtles all climbing and swimming on top of each other and you have to keep track of those that are drowning. Sounds like a bad day at the community pool to me.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
THANK YOU IRENE
Since my return to Florida I have had Husband following me like white on rice. It is to the point of "stalker" status. I open the door to the bathroom and there he is! He has even gone so far as to offer to help me in the kitchen! I know H missed me while I was on my hiatus with the girls but this has gone too far. Bringing me a balloon at the airport was so out of character for him that I should have know what I was in for.
But then Irene arrived. . . it took another woman to get the attention off me and I DO appreciate it so very much. Irene has been around for about 3 weeks now. We first heard of her when the weather man saw her forming off the coast of Africa. She wasn't even a tropical depression yet but the weather man knew she would be something to watch. Irene has not disappointed anyone and has in fact become a hurricane and H is in love with her. While I was away I got daily up dates on Irene each time I called home. (There is no panic in Ohio about hurricanes.) I heard how Irene was growing, moving, changing and most important of all, (please read this with awe and amazement in your voice!) WHERE THE CONE OF PROBABILITY WAS ! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO . . . . THE ALL POWERFUL AND WISE CONE OF PROBABILITY ! (Think Wizard of Oz)
Anyway Irene has taken the heat off me and has captured H's attention totally. The TV is on ALL day and H is glued to it.
BUT THEN . . . WHAT . . . . COULD IT BE ? AN EARTHQUAKE ? That was the best thing that could have happened just when Irene was heading out to sea and avoiding Florida, AN EARTHQUAKE hits Virginia and the TV news is all over it in a matter of seconds. That was worth a good 24 hours of non stop coverage that kept H busy for all of yesterday and much of today.
I am very sorry to take advantage of natural disasters that are plaguing the nation but if it keeps H in front of the TV and not breathing down my neck (literally) I say "GOOD LUCK FOLKS, MY PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU" but bring it on! (God will probably punish me for this, no doubt, but I will take my chances) I am laughing with my Gal Pals that if you hear of a sudden out break of "disasters" it could be me calling in bomb threats or such. (JUST KIDDING FBI, CIA . . . JUST KIDDING) The gals and I decided I would never be charged by a female judge. She would probably wonder why she never thought of it!
And so the last few days have been fairly quiet in my world. I went to the dentist ALONE yesterday. Went for a wonderful massage ALONE today and plan on a trip to the chiropractor tomorrow but that one may include H. He likes to drive me there and wait and then go to dinner. I can deal with that. I do need my alone time these next couple of weeks in order to be ready for our month in England. That is really living together 24/7 so I will hope for a little more news coverage on the hurricane heading north and await the next BREAKING NEWS to give me a few hours to myself.
As for the rest of you . . . you are on your own to find ways to escape the beloved husbands. I figure most of you up north will have it made with Irene heading your way but just in case you need some help I am up for making anonymous phone calls to the local TV stations in your area. Just say the word and I'll see what I can do.
But then Irene arrived. . . it took another woman to get the attention off me and I DO appreciate it so very much. Irene has been around for about 3 weeks now. We first heard of her when the weather man saw her forming off the coast of Africa. She wasn't even a tropical depression yet but the weather man knew she would be something to watch. Irene has not disappointed anyone and has in fact become a hurricane and H is in love with her. While I was away I got daily up dates on Irene each time I called home. (There is no panic in Ohio about hurricanes.) I heard how Irene was growing, moving, changing and most important of all, (please read this with awe and amazement in your voice!) WHERE THE CONE OF PROBABILITY WAS ! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO . . . . THE ALL POWERFUL AND WISE CONE OF PROBABILITY ! (Think Wizard of Oz)
Anyway Irene has taken the heat off me and has captured H's attention totally. The TV is on ALL day and H is glued to it.
BUT THEN . . . WHAT . . . . COULD IT BE ? AN EARTHQUAKE ? That was the best thing that could have happened just when Irene was heading out to sea and avoiding Florida, AN EARTHQUAKE hits Virginia and the TV news is all over it in a matter of seconds. That was worth a good 24 hours of non stop coverage that kept H busy for all of yesterday and much of today.
I am very sorry to take advantage of natural disasters that are plaguing the nation but if it keeps H in front of the TV and not breathing down my neck (literally) I say "GOOD LUCK FOLKS, MY PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU" but bring it on! (God will probably punish me for this, no doubt, but I will take my chances) I am laughing with my Gal Pals that if you hear of a sudden out break of "disasters" it could be me calling in bomb threats or such. (JUST KIDDING FBI, CIA . . . JUST KIDDING) The gals and I decided I would never be charged by a female judge. She would probably wonder why she never thought of it!
And so the last few days have been fairly quiet in my world. I went to the dentist ALONE yesterday. Went for a wonderful massage ALONE today and plan on a trip to the chiropractor tomorrow but that one may include H. He likes to drive me there and wait and then go to dinner. I can deal with that. I do need my alone time these next couple of weeks in order to be ready for our month in England. That is really living together 24/7 so I will hope for a little more news coverage on the hurricane heading north and await the next BREAKING NEWS to give me a few hours to myself.
As for the rest of you . . . you are on your own to find ways to escape the beloved husbands. I figure most of you up north will have it made with Irene heading your way but just in case you need some help I am up for making anonymous phone calls to the local TV stations in your area. Just say the word and I'll see what I can do.
Monday, August 22, 2011
YOGURT FINGER PAINT ?
I just read Kristen's blog for today and am rolling on the floor laughing. Check out "K.Law:Inspired@blogspot.com". Kristen is too funny when talking about Smith. I will get the whole story and let you know more about this adventure in finger painting. I never thought to try painting with yogurt but WHY NOT?
As for me, today is the beginning of the preparations for England. We will be leaving in just under a month so the suitcase (ONE) came out today to start packing. Since we are taking my sister-in-lawAnn Marie and her daughter with us we are limiting ourselves to one suitcase and one suitcase only. The Queen of fashion (Ann Marie) usually packs two HUGE suitcase when she comes to visit us for 2 weeks. This will be 4 weeks away and she can only bring one suitcase. This should get interesting! Ann has been packing and unpacking for the past 4 months. Her suitcase has taken up permanent residency on the guest room bed and she tells us daily what she has packed and what she has returned to the closet. Ann Marie is an absolutely stunning woman with a fab figure, great hair, makeup, nails and clothes. In other words, she is every thing I am not! And the fact that she is 10 years older than me just twists the knife of envy. But I love her like a sister and we really have a great time when we travel together. One of my friends was asking if a month with Ann will be too much. IMPOSSIBLE! If anything Ann Marie will get sick of me long before I tire of her company. She is a fantastic travel partner and she and I get to exchange looks when her brother, my darling husband, does stupid things.
I just got off the phone with Ann Marie and she is so excited about this trip. Her daughter is a seasoned traveler so we don't have to worry about her packing too much. Today's question from Ann was what she could bring for Abby and Roman. Good question! I'll forward that right to Kyle and Bridget. I have already picked up a little something for the kids. It has to be something small, light weight and non breakable. A make your own chocolate bar from Hershey Park should just hit the spot.
As for other preparations, Ger and I had doctor visits today. Ger went for his yearly physical and got the thumbs up once again. For an old guy he is doing great. The man continues to only take one medication for his thyroid. His BP is that of a 20 year old and his lab tests usually come out perfect. I went to the cardiologist for my 6 month check and I too got a thumbs up. Actually lost a pound since my last visit, the EKG was the same as always and the old ticker is ticking away just fine. Tomorrow I go to the dentist for my annual check up and cleaning and next week H and I will go to the dermatologist for our 6 month check.
The count down has begun, we are checking all the small stuff, dotting the "i's" and crossing the "t's" and waiting for a hurricane to hit on Friday. My plants need watering so that is a good thing.
As for me, today is the beginning of the preparations for England. We will be leaving in just under a month so the suitcase (ONE) came out today to start packing. Since we are taking my sister-in-lawAnn Marie and her daughter with us we are limiting ourselves to one suitcase and one suitcase only. The Queen of fashion (Ann Marie) usually packs two HUGE suitcase when she comes to visit us for 2 weeks. This will be 4 weeks away and she can only bring one suitcase. This should get interesting! Ann has been packing and unpacking for the past 4 months. Her suitcase has taken up permanent residency on the guest room bed and she tells us daily what she has packed and what she has returned to the closet. Ann Marie is an absolutely stunning woman with a fab figure, great hair, makeup, nails and clothes. In other words, she is every thing I am not! And the fact that she is 10 years older than me just twists the knife of envy. But I love her like a sister and we really have a great time when we travel together. One of my friends was asking if a month with Ann will be too much. IMPOSSIBLE! If anything Ann Marie will get sick of me long before I tire of her company. She is a fantastic travel partner and she and I get to exchange looks when her brother, my darling husband, does stupid things.
I just got off the phone with Ann Marie and she is so excited about this trip. Her daughter is a seasoned traveler so we don't have to worry about her packing too much. Today's question from Ann was what she could bring for Abby and Roman. Good question! I'll forward that right to Kyle and Bridget. I have already picked up a little something for the kids. It has to be something small, light weight and non breakable. A make your own chocolate bar from Hershey Park should just hit the spot.
As for other preparations, Ger and I had doctor visits today. Ger went for his yearly physical and got the thumbs up once again. For an old guy he is doing great. The man continues to only take one medication for his thyroid. His BP is that of a 20 year old and his lab tests usually come out perfect. I went to the cardiologist for my 6 month check and I too got a thumbs up. Actually lost a pound since my last visit, the EKG was the same as always and the old ticker is ticking away just fine. Tomorrow I go to the dentist for my annual check up and cleaning and next week H and I will go to the dermatologist for our 6 month check.
The count down has begun, we are checking all the small stuff, dotting the "i's" and crossing the "t's" and waiting for a hurricane to hit on Friday. My plants need watering so that is a good thing.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
HOME AGAIN
The road trip is over, we have spent 2 days with Smith while his mom and dad were at work and now it is back to the old routine which is anything but dull.
As you can see from the smiling faces we had a great time on our road trip to Ohio and a great time while in Ohio. We had great weather, interesting conversations and lots and lots of laughs. There was the stop at Hershey and the resulting 5 pound weight gain. There was the trip to Falling Water, (the house in the back ground of this picture) and a great time spent with Lynne in Columbus. Lynne is very New York but she has found her niche in Columbus. We met a few of her new friends and thoroughly enjoyed our stay with her in her new home. She wined us and dined us and showed us the sights, (both of them) until it was time for us to head for home.
I hated leaving Sharon and Jeanne but I think Jeanne was ready for me to go so she could catch up on her sleep. Remember, she is the one who likes to wander around at 3 in the morning. I was ready to come home to Florida to catch up on some sleep but that had to wait till after Friday. I never like leaving Sharon because our friendship is so easy and relaxed. Now that I am home I have to watch what I say. No chance of that happening when I am with Sharon. We just open our mouths and say what we are thinking and no one ever gets insulted, hurt or pissed. We just yack and yack and yack and laugh and laugh and laugh. How wonderful !
But leaving wasn't too bad this trip because I knew I was returning to spending 2 days with Smith while his parent's were working. Seems that his day care decided to close for "vacation" the week that teachers had to return to school. Seems pretty dumb to me but there were K&K with no one to watch Smith. Kristen took the last 3 of her vacation days to stay home with the little man but then Grandma and Grandpa came to the rescue for Thursday and Friday. Ger picked me up at the airport with a "Welcome Home" balloon and a big cup of ice cold crystal light. I think he must have missed me! We drove right from the airport to Ft. Lauderdale where we had a hotel room for 2 nights so we could be at Smith's at 7:30 in the morning. In spite of the fact that I did not get my normal 10-12 hours sleep for the past 10 days I did great getting up for my little guy. But you know that when he napped, Grandma napped too.
We had some great fun with the dish washer. Never mind the 200 toys the boy has to play with, the dish washer was the best fun. We spent about a half hour taking things out and putting things in. I can only hope that he learned this skill from his daddy but I fear his dad is more like grandpa who still doesn't know what a dish washer is for.
And all that work sure does make a little guy thirsty. The first afternoon we went over to the lovely out door pool at our hotel where we swam for about an hour. We stopped and got lunch for Gma and Gpa and Smith helped us eat most of it. I had brought his baby food with us but he preferred the burger, fries and milk shake.
On Friday we took a trip to Home Depot where Smith practiced his driving in the HUGE shopping cart shaped like a car. The little guy just sat up there like he was king of the road and drove his way through the store. When he got tired of that he got down and pushed the cart around the store. He did make quite a hit with all the shoppers and employees. Even those hard hat construction workers had to stop and smile.
And now we are home! Yesterday I slept late and napped about 3 times during the day. I still had trouble staying awake at mass. Today was a lazy day with lunch out and Skype calls with Kyle and family, who had a fantastic time on their Disney cruise. Before we talked to Kyle Keri, Kaelin and Finley called to see how we were doing. Finn is sitting up in his special little chair and smiling all the time, especially when he sees his sister. Finley and Kaelin will be hosting cousin Abby this week for 3 days while Bridget takes Roman to Penn to visit a friend of his from the orphanage in the Ukraine. Bridget, in a moment of temporary insanity, decided to fly from London to DC with the 2 kids. She will then go to Richmond to her parents house, take one of their cars, drop Abby at Aunt Keri's house and continue on to Pittsburgh with Roman for a 2 day visit with his friend and his adopted family. Kyle will remain in Windsor clapping his hands that he is not on this insane trip. As I said to Bridget tonight, THE THINGS WE DO FOR OUR KIDS!
I hated leaving Sharon and Jeanne but I think Jeanne was ready for me to go so she could catch up on her sleep. Remember, she is the one who likes to wander around at 3 in the morning. I was ready to come home to Florida to catch up on some sleep but that had to wait till after Friday. I never like leaving Sharon because our friendship is so easy and relaxed. Now that I am home I have to watch what I say. No chance of that happening when I am with Sharon. We just open our mouths and say what we are thinking and no one ever gets insulted, hurt or pissed. We just yack and yack and yack and laugh and laugh and laugh. How wonderful !
But leaving wasn't too bad this trip because I knew I was returning to spending 2 days with Smith while his parent's were working. Seems that his day care decided to close for "vacation" the week that teachers had to return to school. Seems pretty dumb to me but there were K&K with no one to watch Smith. Kristen took the last 3 of her vacation days to stay home with the little man but then Grandma and Grandpa came to the rescue for Thursday and Friday. Ger picked me up at the airport with a "Welcome Home" balloon and a big cup of ice cold crystal light. I think he must have missed me! We drove right from the airport to Ft. Lauderdale where we had a hotel room for 2 nights so we could be at Smith's at 7:30 in the morning. In spite of the fact that I did not get my normal 10-12 hours sleep for the past 10 days I did great getting up for my little guy. But you know that when he napped, Grandma napped too.
And all that work sure does make a little guy thirsty. The first afternoon we went over to the lovely out door pool at our hotel where we swam for about an hour. We stopped and got lunch for Gma and Gpa and Smith helped us eat most of it. I had brought his baby food with us but he preferred the burger, fries and milk shake.
And now we are home! Yesterday I slept late and napped about 3 times during the day. I still had trouble staying awake at mass. Today was a lazy day with lunch out and Skype calls with Kyle and family, who had a fantastic time on their Disney cruise. Before we talked to Kyle Keri, Kaelin and Finley called to see how we were doing. Finn is sitting up in his special little chair and smiling all the time, especially when he sees his sister. Finley and Kaelin will be hosting cousin Abby this week for 3 days while Bridget takes Roman to Penn to visit a friend of his from the orphanage in the Ukraine. Bridget, in a moment of temporary insanity, decided to fly from London to DC with the 2 kids. She will then go to Richmond to her parents house, take one of their cars, drop Abby at Aunt Keri's house and continue on to Pittsburgh with Roman for a 2 day visit with his friend and his adopted family. Kyle will remain in Windsor clapping his hands that he is not on this insane trip. As I said to Bridget tonight, THE THINGS WE DO FOR OUR KIDS!
Monday, August 15, 2011
HEADING HOME
The road trip is winding down, whether we like it or not. We left Columbus this morning after being awakened by Jeanne singing "Rise And Shine" at 8 AM. If we didn't kill her then she will live forever. And she better not give up her second job to become a singer! Sharon and I were NOT ready to get up but we had no choice, the slave master was packed and ready to go and since it is Jeanne's car we had to get our butts moving or figure out a different way of getting back to NY. We got on the road around 10 and drove in and out of torrential rain until about 4:30 when we stopped for the night. Once again we chose a hotel from the coupon book but this time we chose a Holiday Inn figuring it would be a better choice than the nasty Days Inn we had stayed in on the way to Ohio. This hotel was a little more expensive and had an indoor pool so we could take a dip and stretch our weary bones. NOT ! We checked in, put every thing into the room and put on our bathing suits. When we opened the door to the pool we all just froze and gagged. The pool was a scummy green color with some sort of nasty scum floating on the top. IT WAS GROSS ! We went up to the desk to complain and that got us no where. The girl told us the liner of the pool is green so that was supposed to explain the color. HA! As for the nasty stuff on the surface ? Bubbles . . . again, HA! We returned to our room and Jeanne channel surfed on the TV, Sharon played computer games and I read. So much for our stretching in the pool.
We had dinner at a little country inn across the street and they served Jeanne a tuna sandwich that looked like cat food. She sent it back and had a burger. It is just not our night. But at least we are safe and sound, the heavy rain has stopped and we are only about 4 hours from home so tomorrow's drive should be short and hopefully quick.
Sharon is ready to get home because her back is killing her from all the sitting. Jeanne is ready to get home because I think we have over loaded her with crazy and she is ready to be free from us. As for me, I'm on the road and could keep going for as long as the road keeps going. I have been talking to H every day and he is doing well on his own. I think we are actually missing each other but it has been a great trip and I just love spending time with these 2 wonderful women. Sharon and I are already planning our next trip. Vegas is looking like a good destination but we can't mention it to Jeanne yet. She needs to recover from this trip first and forget how annoying Sharon and I can be when we get together and get the giggles.
We had dinner at a little country inn across the street and they served Jeanne a tuna sandwich that looked like cat food. She sent it back and had a burger. It is just not our night. But at least we are safe and sound, the heavy rain has stopped and we are only about 4 hours from home so tomorrow's drive should be short and hopefully quick.
Sharon is ready to get home because her back is killing her from all the sitting. Jeanne is ready to get home because I think we have over loaded her with crazy and she is ready to be free from us. As for me, I'm on the road and could keep going for as long as the road keeps going. I have been talking to H every day and he is doing well on his own. I think we are actually missing each other but it has been a great trip and I just love spending time with these 2 wonderful women. Sharon and I are already planning our next trip. Vegas is looking like a good destination but we can't mention it to Jeanne yet. She needs to recover from this trip first and forget how annoying Sharon and I can be when we get together and get the giggles.
IT'S 1 AM . . . . DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR FRIENDS ARE?
Once again it is almost 1 AM and we are still awake. S&J did take another nap today but Lynne and I stayed up chatting. Then we all went out to the movies and came home at 10PM to have "dinner" and dessert. Maybe the chocolate eclair is why I am still awake. Lynne is out like a light, Jeanne is watching TV in her room and Sharon is reading.
It was another very nice day today that started with mass at L's beautiful church. From there we went to a "junk" store and found all sorts of good stuff to buy. I had to keep reminding myself that I was flying home so I could not buy that service for 12 set of dishes. After our shopping expedition we went to pick up Jeanne's car that only had a bad clamp and did not cost her anything. PHEW! Sharon was starting to panic that we would be stuck in Ohio for the week and Jeanne was ready to fly home today. I think Jeanne is DONE with our road trip experience. I guess we won't be trying this again any time too soon. We did have a lovely lunch at a place that L knew about right on some river. The food was excellent and the view just beautiful. We unfortunately decided to have some wine with lunch which then led to the napping once again in the middle of the afternoon. This crowd is really wild and crazy! I just don't know if I can keep up with them for much longer. Mean while you will be amazed to know that I am averaging a mere 8 hours sleep a night. I am having too much fun to sleep any longer and if you sleep they talk about you so I don't want to miss a thing.
Speaking of talking about you, these women "Get Me". There are very few people on this earth that really really know me. I don't even know myself as well as my good friends do. Jeanne says it like it is and if I am being stupid, she tells me. Sharon is a little kinder but does not let me get away with stupid either. And yet we laugh all the time and take no offense when one of us speaks up. It is very refreshing to just relax and not be on guard every moment for fear of saying something that will offend someone. It is unfortunate that we cannot be this way with our husbands but sadly that is how it is. Husbands are always on the defensive, (I wonder why?) where as girl friends just listen and either tell you that you are full of shit or agree with you. We have gotten into the best discussions on this trip and haven't gotten mad at each other at all. I love these women for their honesty and love and am so happy to have had this opportunity to share this time with them. Ready as we are to head home I know we will still find a thousand more things to talk about on the ride home and will still be BFF's when we arrive home. Jeanne may not want to see Sharon and I for a few months but Sharon and I could just keep going and going. The giggling just gets better and better and works so much better than Valium.
It was another very nice day today that started with mass at L's beautiful church. From there we went to a "junk" store and found all sorts of good stuff to buy. I had to keep reminding myself that I was flying home so I could not buy that service for 12 set of dishes. After our shopping expedition we went to pick up Jeanne's car that only had a bad clamp and did not cost her anything. PHEW! Sharon was starting to panic that we would be stuck in Ohio for the week and Jeanne was ready to fly home today. I think Jeanne is DONE with our road trip experience. I guess we won't be trying this again any time too soon. We did have a lovely lunch at a place that L knew about right on some river. The food was excellent and the view just beautiful. We unfortunately decided to have some wine with lunch which then led to the napping once again in the middle of the afternoon. This crowd is really wild and crazy! I just don't know if I can keep up with them for much longer. Mean while you will be amazed to know that I am averaging a mere 8 hours sleep a night. I am having too much fun to sleep any longer and if you sleep they talk about you so I don't want to miss a thing.
Speaking of talking about you, these women "Get Me". There are very few people on this earth that really really know me. I don't even know myself as well as my good friends do. Jeanne says it like it is and if I am being stupid, she tells me. Sharon is a little kinder but does not let me get away with stupid either. And yet we laugh all the time and take no offense when one of us speaks up. It is very refreshing to just relax and not be on guard every moment for fear of saying something that will offend someone. It is unfortunate that we cannot be this way with our husbands but sadly that is how it is. Husbands are always on the defensive, (I wonder why?) where as girl friends just listen and either tell you that you are full of shit or agree with you. We have gotten into the best discussions on this trip and haven't gotten mad at each other at all. I love these women for their honesty and love and am so happy to have had this opportunity to share this time with them. Ready as we are to head home I know we will still find a thousand more things to talk about on the ride home and will still be BFF's when we arrive home. Jeanne may not want to see Sharon and I for a few months but Sharon and I could just keep going and going. The giggling just gets better and better and works so much better than Valium.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
A WILD TIME IN COLUMBUS OHIO
We have arrived in Columbus and we are having a good time. When plans were being made for this trip to visit friend L we told our friend, who happens to be 10+ years younger than us, that we were coming to visit and relax and "catch up". We didn't want to go out bar hopping or clubbing. Friend "L" heard us loud and clear and we are just having a nice, quiet time.
We arrived yesterday afternoon after an early start to get out of the seedy Days Inn we had stayed in. We hit the road and an hour later were at "Falling Waters" where we did a self guided tour because all the guided tours were already booked. It was amazing ! How this spot was ever found is pretty amazing in itself but the fact that this incredible piece of architecture is built way out in the wood is even more amazing. We took our time and spent about 2 hours wandering around "Ooing and Ahhing". Then it was back on the road for the final push to where "L" lives. We arrived mid afternoon and had a very quiet evening because we were all tired.
Today everyone slept in and then took Ollie the dog for a walk where we encountered 2 deer crossing a meadow. We're not quite in the midst of down town NYC here but it is very pretty country. After our exciting walk we packed ourselves up for a sight seeing tour in the Beamer. "L" is doing very well for herself as an assistant VP with Nation Wide Insurance Co. and she is enjoying her new life in Ohio. There have to be some perks to make up for leaving NY to move to Ohio and her little white BMW is just one. It was pretty funny cramming the 4 of us into this little car but anything is possible when we are promised a stop at the #1 rated ice cream parlor in the entire US. Off we went to see the sights . . . we were warned not to blink at any point for fear of missing something but it turns out Columbus is a decent sized town with some interesting and quaint areas. We toured the HUGE campus of Ohio State University and then stopped at "The Market" for a very delicious and unusual ice cream. Sharon got ROASTED CORN RASPBERRY ice cream and it was really good. The rest of us stayed with pretty normal flavors and they were all yummy. Best ice cream in the country? Not sure about that but it was good and it gave us a chance to stretch our legs and see the market.
Once we got back to "L's" things got interesting. We opened the garage door to get out Jeanne's car and the place stunk of gasoline. There on the floor, running out from under the car, was a puddle of gas. We had a leak! It is now 2:30 in the afternoon and we are leaving day after tomorrow. We quickly looked up a repair shop and took the car 15 miles away to get it looked at. Jeanne had just had a new gas tank put in the car about 2 weeks before we left on this trip. Now there is a leak and we are in Ohio. Repair place called to say they will work on it tomorrow but can't order any parts till Monday. Will we or won't we get to leave Monday? Who knows ! I've got a late afternoon flight back to Florida on Wednesday so we do have a little time to spare but it won't be the leisurely trip home like the trip out here.
After all that we returned to "L's" and had a drink! That's when it got really wild and crazy. We all fell asleep for an hour and then couldn't get Jeanne back up. She just wanted to keep sleeping but we dragged her up so we could have dinner. It's now 12:30 AM, and none of us are tired. I'm sitting here blogging and the rest of "The girls" are watching a movie that I have already seen. It just doesn't get any wilder than this.
Tomorrow we will all go to mass and then lunch out some place. I just don't know if I can stand all this excitement. I don't think I had to worry about keeping "What happens in Columbus" staying in Columbus because if it gets and wilder than this I may go into a coma. Suddenly the excitement of doing a load of wash sounds pretty good. but no matter what . . . WE ARE HAVING FUN !
We arrived yesterday afternoon after an early start to get out of the seedy Days Inn we had stayed in. We hit the road and an hour later were at "Falling Waters" where we did a self guided tour because all the guided tours were already booked. It was amazing ! How this spot was ever found is pretty amazing in itself but the fact that this incredible piece of architecture is built way out in the wood is even more amazing. We took our time and spent about 2 hours wandering around "Ooing and Ahhing". Then it was back on the road for the final push to where "L" lives. We arrived mid afternoon and had a very quiet evening because we were all tired.
Today everyone slept in and then took Ollie the dog for a walk where we encountered 2 deer crossing a meadow. We're not quite in the midst of down town NYC here but it is very pretty country. After our exciting walk we packed ourselves up for a sight seeing tour in the Beamer. "L" is doing very well for herself as an assistant VP with Nation Wide Insurance Co. and she is enjoying her new life in Ohio. There have to be some perks to make up for leaving NY to move to Ohio and her little white BMW is just one. It was pretty funny cramming the 4 of us into this little car but anything is possible when we are promised a stop at the #1 rated ice cream parlor in the entire US. Off we went to see the sights . . . we were warned not to blink at any point for fear of missing something but it turns out Columbus is a decent sized town with some interesting and quaint areas. We toured the HUGE campus of Ohio State University and then stopped at "The Market" for a very delicious and unusual ice cream. Sharon got ROASTED CORN RASPBERRY ice cream and it was really good. The rest of us stayed with pretty normal flavors and they were all yummy. Best ice cream in the country? Not sure about that but it was good and it gave us a chance to stretch our legs and see the market.
Once we got back to "L's" things got interesting. We opened the garage door to get out Jeanne's car and the place stunk of gasoline. There on the floor, running out from under the car, was a puddle of gas. We had a leak! It is now 2:30 in the afternoon and we are leaving day after tomorrow. We quickly looked up a repair shop and took the car 15 miles away to get it looked at. Jeanne had just had a new gas tank put in the car about 2 weeks before we left on this trip. Now there is a leak and we are in Ohio. Repair place called to say they will work on it tomorrow but can't order any parts till Monday. Will we or won't we get to leave Monday? Who knows ! I've got a late afternoon flight back to Florida on Wednesday so we do have a little time to spare but it won't be the leisurely trip home like the trip out here.
After all that we returned to "L's" and had a drink! That's when it got really wild and crazy. We all fell asleep for an hour and then couldn't get Jeanne back up. She just wanted to keep sleeping but we dragged her up so we could have dinner. It's now 12:30 AM, and none of us are tired. I'm sitting here blogging and the rest of "The girls" are watching a movie that I have already seen. It just doesn't get any wilder than this.
Tomorrow we will all go to mass and then lunch out some place. I just don't know if I can stand all this excitement. I don't think I had to worry about keeping "What happens in Columbus" staying in Columbus because if it gets and wilder than this I may go into a coma. Suddenly the excitement of doing a load of wash sounds pretty good. but no matter what . . . WE ARE HAVING FUN !
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