28 JUNE MASHPEE

HI ALL.. I had problems with my blog so my last blog was posted incomplete...I will compete and send on part 2 as soon as I can. I had completed but somehow lost half of it...so will re do in the days to come. Just wanted to let you know why ended so abruptly!! Maryann

27 June 2012 MASHPEE, CAPE COD

Good Morning from Mashpee on Cape Cod, Massachuttes We arrived here last Thursday night about 1030 at night...traffic coming through Conn. was terrible. We went 12 miles in one hour..and not sure why, the traffic signs just said "traffic delays". There were no accidents or road construction. We traveled through Virginia to Maryland where we drove the back roads to Snow Hill, Maryland where we surprised Laurel Anderson (Laurel is a retired AF nurse and our friend we were stationed with in Cheyenne, Wyoming in early 1980 and had not seen since 1984) in her front yard in this rural community. She thought we were lost and was going to give us direction. Boy, was she surprised when we told her we were looking for her. She had not recognized us but as soon as we told her who we were, it was like old times. Then we headed to Annapolis, Maryland area through the back country roads. Saw some great farm land and back woods. Stopped and bought some seasonal fruit and nuts at the roadside markets. We arrived in Annapolis late afternoon. We stayed at the Annapolis Navy Lodge and had time to relax before we headed over to Jim and Cindy Roudebush's for a lovely evening. We were were stationed with Jim and Cindy in Cheyenne too. Had not seen them since 1982. Once again we were welcomed with hugs into their lovely home. They made us a wonderful dinner and introduced us to some different taste of oils and vinegars from Cloe's in Annapolis. We had dark chocolate aged balsamic vinegarette on strawberries and ice cream...very good. Of course we had to stop and buy some on our way out of town. It was so great catching up with Jim and Cindy and hearing about them and their 3 sons and their families and of course their new grandaughter and of course lets not forget the beautiful cats! We had lots to laugh at as we remembered some of the antics that Jim and Tom pulled all those years ago. Tom and Jim had worked together in Cheyenne as Tom had flown with the flight medicine section on rescue missions. Maryann and Cindy had worked together in the GYN clinic at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base and sounds like they are both the same caring nurses that brought them together so many years ago. We also had spent time "partying" together especially during the famed "Cheyenne Frontier Days". Jim had been the Surgeon General of the Air Force before he retired and he surprised Tom by giving him one of his coveted Surgeon General Coin's that Tom will treasure forever!!! Once again, we were welcomed with hugs and made to feel right at home. The next morning we met Sharon Lettner for breakfast. We were stationed with Jim and Sharon in Germany. Sharon works at Ft. Meade, MD and Jim at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, MD. Jim had meetings so he was not able to join us. Jim and Sharon had visited us in the early 1980's in Wyoming but had not seen them since. They are both retired Air Force. Sharon has not changed one bit and was so good to give her a hug after all these years. Jim and Sharon have 2 children 15 year olds!! So was so good to hear all about them and their lives over the years. Sounds like they are neat kids and why not with parents like Jim and Sharon. We of course talked about old times and fun times and laughed..some laughs were at Jim's expense...but would have done that even if he were with us. Jim and Sharon both work for the government now. Sharon told us to make sure to tell all our friends in Germany that they also know, Hello for them too. We hope to see them ALL on future trips and not wait so many years or they are all always welcome in Tucson. It is always bitter sweet saying farewell to such good friends but we know that the next time we meet, it will be like moments that we have seen each other not years! How Blessed are we to have you all in our lives! Now we head north. We were going to stop in Philadelphia to see our friend Ellen but were not able to reach her so we headed to Mashpee, Cape Cod. It was to take us 7 hours but 10 hours later we arrived at Pete and Linda's. Traffic, Traffic, Traffic!!! We were greeted at the door by Pete and were shown our room and washed and brushed and went right to bed!!! Pete and Linda bought a lovely townhome here in Mashpee on Cape Cod. The area is surrounded by trees and very nice. Out the back patio is trees and birds and squirrels. Pete and Linda just arrived 3 weeks ago so are still getting settled in. On Friday, of course we went to our favorite resturant...Lindsey's in Buzzard Bay about 20 minutes from here and once again were not disappointed! We had wonderful Strawberry Shortcake...of course, we do have a story about Linda not sharing her's with Pete...she did say before we ordered that she WAS NOT GOING TO SHARE!!! We have been to Providencetown and all the little towns on the way. Providencetown is the town at the tip of the Cape. We also wanted to help with some projects with their new home so were able to help paint on Monday when it rained. We were able to paint the living room wall and the wall that leads to the kitchen and part of the kitchen wall. We all had our jobs so were able to get the job done

19 June 2012

Hello all, I just got a new ZAGG case and keyboard for my Apple so it is so much easier to use the computer as we drive down the roads on our adventures. Since last we posted we have been in Cocoa, Florida with Tom's sister Charlotte and Bill. We arrived on Saturday 9 June in the evening and of course were welcomed with hugs. We just relaxed on Sunday and hung out. They have a lovely screened in porch and Bill feeds the birds and squirrels so there is always entertainment beyond the screen. We unpacked and settled into their lovely home. All week long Charlotte and Bill fixed us great food starting with wonderful spaghetti on Sunday. We were introduced to Eddy's all natural juice bars and now will need to find to continue our addiction. Tuesday we all drove down to Vero Beach. We had a nice breakfast at Disney Resort. Tom had planned to meet with Dr. Sheldon Kushner who he was stationed with at Vinh Long City in the MeKong Delta(South of Saigon) in 1968-69. Dr. Kushner had contacted Tom a few months ago after 43 years. Tom brought his slides and pictures and his memories and he and Dr. Kushner spent the day going over their year of memories together. Dr. Kushner's soon to be wife, Lynn ensured that they had lunch etc. There is an author at the local university that is writing a book about life experiences and she had met with Dr. Kushner and interviewed him and asked if he could ask Tom if he would be willing to tell his story about working and taking care of the Vietnamese people. So he and Tom also met with her on their day together. Tom said the day brought back so many memories of all his friends and co-workers and patients that he spent time with during that year at the Vinh Long City Hospital. It was a special duty assignment with the Army Advisory Unit living and working with the locals in an out of the way area. They had to defend their own position when needed. As a young Airmen, Tom acutally did surgeries ...major and minor! NO, his technical school did not teach him how to do this. Per Dr. Kushner, the doctors taught the airmen how to do everything from amputations to trauma chest surgery. He told one story of needing to remove a bullet from a woman's brain and Tom was reading the text book telling him how to do! The woman lived and did not have disabilites when she left their care. WOW. Dr. Kushner and Lynn were planning their wedding for 23 June. Chalotte, Bill and Maryann had taken their car so did some shopping etc. and left Tom to spend the day in Vero Beach. He had a wonderful day and arrived home at 8:30 P.M.! Oh, Maryann, Bill and Charlotte did manage to stop on their way home for the best ice cream twist cones!!! They did mean to take Tom back one day but time ran out....so will have to plan for another trip to Florida. Charlotte and Bill took us to some great seafood places...had catfish, shrimp etc. Even ate at BOSTON'S where they fly the fish in fresh daily from Boston...hmmm. The shrimp were the best..they were right up there with Lindsey's near Cape Cod. We went on an Air Boat ride down the St. Johns river. Now that was fun! Even thought we took off our BUCKET LIST...would do that again. We saw three large alligators and lots of birds AND...cows and horses in the water way. After the Airboat trip, we had a snack at the little resturant there and had frog legs, catfish and YES...GATOR. Maryann even tried the Gator. She said with surprise "It taste like chicken"! That is off the Bucket list too. We also went to the best italian resturant... It is so fun to visit with friends and family who take you to their favorite places...just like when we were in Niceville with Sandy and Joe. We were able to visit with Bill's mom who is 93 and in an assisted living near their home. Of course the Lexus was washed...Tom even let Bill help him!!! We did have a mystery in Charlotte and Bill's garage...the windows in the Lexus including the sunroof would be down in the morning. You can only put down if start the car and have the key. Tom thought Maryann was doing and Maryann thought Tom was doing ..but when discussed and both did not, of course we checked with Bill and Charlotte and they did not..so we spent the next evening checking the garage every chance we got to just see. Bill seemed to be the prime suspect for a time as he had cause we will not discuss! But now not really sure if can say it was him! We spent time in their neighbor, Dee and Mark's pool..while they were not home! The pools in Florida have to be gated or completely fenced in with a screened in area. So very nice as no bugs etc. It was more humid than we are used to, but Bill and Charlotte knew the right times to go out and do things etc. so did not notice. We went to a fun car show in Daytona and then came back Highway One by the space center. We also went to Kissimmee as they have a memorial to the soldiers of Corregidor Island where Tom's dad was a prisioner of war for 3 1/2 years. They were working on the park so we were not able to go in...another reason to head to Florida again. It was just so comfortable spending the days with Charlotte and Bill. We had not been able to go and spend time with them in several years. Also, Maryann's back was still hurting her so Charlotte's shared her heating pad with her...really Maryann just used it the entire week. Thank you Charlotte. If you could gage our visit with a laugh meter...it would have been off the chart as we did laugh ALOT...yes at times ....of course at Tom and Bill's expense! We woke on the morning of the 18th of June and bid a farewell to our gracious family...hope to see them in October in Albuqurque at the Balloon Festival. We must tell you that gas prices have gone down. We are now paying $3.17. We also SKYPED with Kelly' Family and so neat to see them. The girls are so fun to share their stories. Buddi was spending the weekend as Auntie Carrie was in Phoenix for the weekend. Kirsten was so happy that Buddi chose to sleep with her!! We stopped in St. Augustine, Florida on our way to South Carolina and walked about for awhile and discovered we would like to go back there sometime to explore. As we got nearer to Charleston, we say a sign for a monument to the Tuskegee Airmen so we stopped and remembered. We were headed to Charleston Air Force Base to see Jeanet Carey, an active duty nurse that Maryann worked with at DM. How fun to see her after about 4 years. With good friends, time just fades away when you give that "hello hug". We ate at a nice Thai resturant in Charleston and caught up. Another forever friend. Today, we left our room at the Charleston Air Force Base Inn and headed to Virginia Beach where we will stay at Dam Neck Naval Station. We stayed there last year and really enjoyed. We noticed we were on this really rural back road for a LONG time as we drove north. BUT that is the route our GPS had sent us on..we had seen some blue signs so thought was the scenic route. When we finally looked at the sign, it read "EVACUATION ROUTE". So even though we were enjoying the corn fields and back woods etc...were figuring would be midnight before we got to Va. Beach if we stayed on this road so we finally figured that had doubled back somehow. But it was OK as we are retired!! I am still trying to figure out how to add pictures...not doing so well. Sandy gave me a couple of books to read on the road. I am nearly finished with one of them.. "Iris, Trophy of Grace" which is a miraculous story of Iris Urrey Blue, (who is actually a friend of Sandy's) the "incorrigible" who encountered the irresistible force of God's transforming power. What an inspiring story and perfect to read as we travel. I look forward to sharing these books with you all. Tom and I are blessed everyday to have safe travels and be able to spend these days just spending time together as we travel to our next destination. I saw this quote and thought perfect for today.. "A Journey is best measured in friends and family, rather than miles" -Tim Cahill Sending hugs and thoughts to each of you. Keep us in your prayers. Tom and Maryann

On the Road Again Summer 2012

11 June 2012 Hello Tom and I went to San Diego with Carrie, Bryan,Kelly,Molly, Samantha,Kirsten, Pete and Linda and Danielle the last week of May for a week. We stayed at the Navy Lodge and Cottages on the beach at Coronado Island for a week. What fun we had watching the kids play in the sand and water. We went to the Zoo and Balboa Park. We played games...Pit is Molly's favorite game...gets roudy of course. Danielle was the only one who had the experience of getting stung by a sting ray at the beach! We even were able to see Pat and George Cannode and their son David when we arrived in San Diego. How nice to see David as had not seen him for years. What fun family days. Maryann could not see an animal at the zoo so asked Tom to lift her up and when he did, heard a crack in her back. When arrived back in Tucson, Maryann's chiropractor was kind enough to see her and helped the pain...but before left Tucson was seen at Urgent care as the pain increased. Tom washed the Lexus and we repacked, visited with Hilda, Carol, and Teresa and Gerry and were ready to leave for our adventures East on Sunday afternoon. We spent our first night at El Paso, Texas at the base billeting. Maryann using Icy-hots on her back. We traveled to San Antonio, Texas the next day, checked into Lackland AFB Gateway Inn and Frank Palmisano joined us for dinner at Rudy's BBQ. Frank was stationed with us at DM. It was so good to see him and catch up. The next day we had breakfast with Tom and Vicki Bader who we were stationed with in Germany and had not seen since 1980, but again it was just like we had not been apart! We traveled to Keesler AFB in Lousianna and spent the night before we arrived in Montgomery, Alabama to visit with Doug and Luke Watkins and their dog Manny. Sybilla and Taryn were in Holland. We are so blessed to have such friends that we can just pop in on and made to feel so welcome. By the way, we had the best spring water right out of the mountain spring in Prattville, Alabama. We bid farewell to them and headed to Crestview, Florida and had a delightful lunch with Ann O'Conner and her friend Jim. We had never met Jim but seemed like we had known him forever too. We then surprised John O'Conner at his garage in Crestview and met his wife, Teresa and his son Mikey (who we had not seen since he was 4 years old). We were stationed with Ann and John in Germany and had not seen them since 1979! Words cannot explain the feelings when we get to give our friends a hug and the years just disapear from the last time we were together. We then drove less than an hour and arrived at Sandy and Joe Causby's home in Niceville, Florida. We were stationed with Sandy in Cheyenne, Wyoming at F.E. Warren in the 1980's. Sandy and Joe had visited us in Tucson several years ago. We spent 2 wonderful nights with them and their two dogs Hope and Lizzi-Grace at their beautiful home. They showed us around the area of Destin, Fort Walton Beach. The area has beautiful white sand beaches. Also took us to some great local resturants...The Front Porch, The Back Porch, Maquires etc. We even got to join in on a walk with Hope and Lizzi-Grace! We left them and headed to Cocoa, Florida to spend time with Tom's sister, Charlotte and her husband, Bill. We arrived in Cocoa about 7:30 PM and once again received a warm welcome. We have been here for 2 days now and have been treated to great food and good family time. Maryann went back to Urgent Care today and had an X-Ray and no fractures but lots of tightness so given a course of prednisone and robaxin. So hopefully is on the way to less back pain. We left Sandy and Joe just in time as they had some really bad rain and flooding in the panhandle of Florida. We have had hot and humid weather. Tomorrow Tom is going to meet with a doctor he was stationed with in Viet Nam who had contacted him a few months ago and lives about an hour from here. He is looking forward to catching up with him. We are keeping in contact with Kelly and family and Carrie as we travel, of course. We send you all our thoughts and think of all of you that are keeping watch over our home etc. as we take this journey again this year. What blessings we have had on the road and having the best of moments spent with family and friends. Until our next blog. God Bless each of you and we will keep you in our prayers as we travel. Sending special hugs. Love Tom and Maryann