It has been about 18 days since last sat to say hello and update all with our travels.
This afternoon we arrived in Tyler, Texas.
We left Fayetteville Arkansas at 0700 this AM and arrived here about 3 PM.
We bid a tearful farewell to Peggy and Larry on the morning of 9 September. Our time with the Reinharts are always just perfect. This time we not only had remnants of the Hurricane but a week later...had flooding due to Hurricane Lee!! Their yard had a river running through it! We had spent the evening before the rain with Dan and kids as Amy was at the beach with her Aunt and the two youngest boys. Their home is a neat farmhouse that Dan has added onto with wood used from Larry's grandparents home...what a beautiful job he has done using the old wood. We found out the next AM that their basement had flooded. Tom even got involved in helping rescue two benches at Keith and Lisa's. The benches were near the creek on a wooden area that was flooded so Tom was able to go over and help Lisa move them to a safe place. Guess can say he helped out in the flood of 2011 in Lancaster!!! Larry, Peggy and Tom and I were able to spend the Labor day weekend just doing fun stuffs as Larry was off work. Tom could not believe had to mow the yard 2 times in 5 days!!! We had nearly 15 inches of rain in 2 days...more than Tucson gets in one year!!! We were also able to visit with their Aunt Doris and Uncle Jim which is becoming a tradition when we go to Lancaster...what special people they are too. Tom was a hit with the kids as he was happy to show them how to play Angry Birds and other games on the IPAD...another great reason to have an IPAD!!!! Once again we were blessed to spend these days with our Reinhart family....did I forget to mention the wonderful food that Peggy fixed for us....hmmmm...lots of fresh fruits and veggies and everything else wonderful...and Larry also had BITBURG Beer for Tom...what a friend!!! Peggy's grandson asked if we slept in the carrier on top of our car....how cute!
We had rain in Lancaster but by the time we got to Virginia, the sun was out. We stopped at Williamsburg and walked about and had lunch at the Cheese Shop(great little place to eat)and then headed to Langley AFB and walked around where we used to live and relived great memories
from 1975-76. We then headed to Virginia Beach where we spent 3 nights. We stayed at the Navy Lodge at Dam-Neck on Virginia Beach. The ocean was just across the Sand Dunes. We took the time daily to stroll on the beach and sit awhile...the water was warmer than in Plymouth!!! It is a private beach for the military so not a lot of people so very nice. We also walked the boardwalk at VA Beach...very crowded. We also checked out the Military Resort at Ft Henry. It was very nice but we felt the cottages and lodging at Dam-Neck (20 miles away) was a little nicer due to the location. We spent nearly a day at Yorktown Battlefield and walking around the town of Yorktown. The Va Beach area has so much to offer all ages so hope to someday go back with family and friends. One night we walked up to the beach to check out the full moon over the beach...amazing sight. One thing that never changes is the nice staff we always meet at the military billeting...they are just so willing to always help us.
We left Va Beach on a Monday morning ...late as we had slept in...no need to hurry!!
We drove thru Virginia and West Virginia and arrived in Ohio and drove on to Columbus where we stayed at a defense logistics base...also very nice...right downtown Columbus. We then met our friend Connie who lives in Lancaster, Ohio for a long breakfast to catch up. We were stationed together in Japan in 1971-75..what fun to catch up! Connie and Bob were "family" when we were in Japan and have continued to be. Bob died 3 years ago...but we were still able to talk about the good times we all had. We hope that Connie will come to Tucson and spend some time with us soon. Next stop....Dayton, Ohio!!
George and Pat came down and spent the evening and of course we had dinner...So good to give them a hug to celebrate George's news that his cancer is in remission! George took us the long route to dinner...even tho he had GPS...but it was OK as we are all retired so can take the LONG Way...huh George! We stayed in Billeting at Wright Patterson AFB so Maryann was able to just walk across the street to visit with Amy Kinnon. Maryann and Amy worked together in Tucson for several years. As always...lots to talk about! Tom took the opportunity to finally get a hair cut!!! We then went and surprised Greg Eberhart at his office ( he is a pediatrician near Dayton.) Greg worked with Maryann at Davis-Monthan. We had his office staff tell him that a patient had a complaint and insisted on talking to HIM....he was very surprised to see us! He had a very nice practice and staff. We arranged to meet for dinner and then went back to his home to spend some time with Angie as she had a meeting so could not join us for dinner. How blessed we are to know and have such wonderful friends!
Tom took the time to go to the Air Force Museum and will need to go back as was much bigger than he thought.
We then packed up and headed southwest to Cape Giradeau, Missouri on the Mississippi River.
Tom's roommate, Danny Conrad, now lives there. The last time they saw each other was in 1968. They had been roommates before Tom left for Vietnam ...Danny, Tom and Tony who we saw in Harrisburg were friends at Barksdale AFB "back in the day". We had dinner with him..his wife was not able to join us as had other commitments. It was like they had never been apart. It was so moving to see them give each other big hugs...just like when he met with Tony in Harrisburg. After all these years...still buddies!! Danny is now an RN. Definitely a REUNION with the 3 of them in the near future!!!
Well where should we go from there...we were heading for Arkansas...and thought that we had been thru Memphis but never really stopped there...so we found a Navy Lodge in Memphis and stayed for two nights. We spent a day in downtown Memphis walking around Mud Island ( a miniature replica of the Mississippi River on the island) and riding the trolley. We went to Beale Street and had THE BEST BBQ at BB King's Restaurant and listened to JAZZ. We also went
to the Peabody Hotel and watched the famous "Duck Walk". WHO KNEW that for decades these ducks have been trained to walk from the roof to the elevator on the top floor and then take the elevator down and walk to the fountain on the first floor and hundreds of people come to watch them daily.....NOW WE KNOW! We can now take that off our bucket list!!!! hmm..even tho not sure it was going to be on our bucket list.
Now it was time to head to Fayetteville Arkansas. We stayed in Fort Smith Arkansas at a reserve base...they gave us a 2 bedroom house!! We went up to Fayetteville and spent time with Uncle Herb and Aunt Marilyn on Saturday and then drove back to Fort Smith for the night. Sunday we visited with Uncle Herb and Aunt Marilyn and their daughter from Florida before we met with Aunt Lois and Stephen for dinner. We then went back to Aunt Lois and her kids came over and then the rain came and then the tornado warnings...Maryann was looking for a place to hide as the warnings were within less than a mile from Aunt Lois home...we all visited and the weather warning moved on. We stayed in Fayetteville that night at a hotel before moving into Uncle Herb and Aunt Marilyn home. Of course we were invited over the next night to Scott's for an Ardemagni BBQ with the family. Of course we went and had such a great time..lots of laughing and great food!!
Monday we moved in with Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Herb and were delighted to be able to help with house and yard chores for the next few days. We visited two of Tom's Aunts and saw Mike and family and Debbie and family. Once again Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Herb made us feel like we were right at home! We are so lucky to be able to "arrive on the doorstep" and greeted with open arms and hugs...and a place to stay.
This morning, we got up early and headed for Van, Texas. We just spent another wonderful evening with friends. Tom , Maryann and Darlene were stationed together 40 years ago...tonight we were able to meet Ronnie, Darlene's husband for the first time. Once again it was like we knew each other for years and had not been apart. They took us to a nice dinner and showed us around Tyler, Texas and we shared pictures of our families...What blessings we have to be able to meet up with our friends from the past!!
Tomorrow we will be heading to Spring, Texas to see Fred and Belinda who we met in Austin, Texas 37 years ago and have not seen since we left Texas 36 years ago. The anticipation is growing as we are so excited about spending the weekend with them.
We of course are talking with Kelly and girls and Carrie frequently. Buddi is still healthy!
Kelly called and asked her Dad to assist with the Samantha's 5 yr old soccer team that she volunteered to coach...Kelly is studying how to be a soccer coach..and Tom will have to study too, as he does not know anything about Scoccer. I think Pete, Bryan's Dad is going to help too. HMMMM...Maryann will be helping with watching the Molly and Kirsten...no need to study up on that!!! Also Carrie has asked if we can keep Buddi for a few days in October when we get home. So we were so thrilled to know that we will have "stuffs" to keep us busy on our return to Tucson!! What a relief!
Tom and I continue to enjoy our days together...in fact we feel that our relationship has grown since our adventure began 4 months ago..did not think that was possible but it has!!
God has blessed us not only with wonderful family and friends but with safe travels and blessings of all of those who have opened their homes and hearts to us during our adventure.
Maryann was reading and found this quote that would like to share with all:
"It does not take much strength to do things, but requires great strength to decide on what to do". We hope we can always have the strength to be able to know what is the best to do for our family and friends and those we meet ... and to always be here for them as you all have always been here for us at home and in our travels..no matter how long it has been since we have talked or been together...we are blessed to have you all in our family.
We appreciate you keeping us in your prayers and we continue our travels to Tucson.
God Bless
Love and hugs
Tom and Maryann
No comments:
Post a Comment