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

16 November 2011

Wanted to update our 6 weeks back in Tucson.  We have been delighted to spend time with family and friends over the past weeks....playing cards and games,meeting friends for lunch and  of course our family meals, volunteering and just waking up each morning to see what the day has in store.  Tom has been busy helping Kelly and Pete coach the 3-5 year old soccer team.  They practice 2 times per week and then have their games on Saturday.  It is so fun to go to the games...it is just fun to watch the interactions.  We know 4 of the team members as they are part of the  "Tucson Graue Family". 
Tom, Maryann  and Pete and Linda (Bryan's parents) took a quick trip to Sedona, Flagstaff and Greer for a week the 24 th October. We  walked around Tlaquepaque in Sedona and had a wonderful lunch at the brewery in the shopping area and then headed north through Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff. As we drove toward Flagstaff, the temperature got cooler and we had some rain. We did take a nice drive and saw some beautiful areas of Aspen.  We stayed in Flagstaff for two nights.  We were able to walk about downtown and of course had some good food in local resturants.   We then drove to Pinetop and had a nice dinner in town before we headed to Greer which is on the "road to nowhere". We had a lovely cabin at Greer. We woke up the next morning to a couple of inches of snow.  It was gone by noon and we were able to take a nice walk around the small town and along the stream.  OF course, Linda and Maryann were very cold so dressed in layers.  We ate at all of all of the resturants in Greer....that would be 3 of them!  We then headed home on Friday by way of some very steep winding roads and went through Marinci which has a huge Copper Mine.   We  played cards and games and just had a relaxing great time together. 
Tom and I have been spending some great impromptu time with Molly, Samantha and Kirsten...it is great.   Maryann has started our  memory picture book about our our retirement adventures.  Kelly has a computer program so Maryann goes down and works on for several hours...once a week or so...she hopes to have done just before we "hit the road" again in June 2012!!!
Maryann's mom will be having hip replacement surgery on 19 December so we will leave nice warm Tucson and head to Pennsylvania to be there in time for the surgery and then will stay until the end of January 2012...oh my, it is nearly 2012!  We hope that Maryann's sister, Joan and her Tom will be traveling back with us the beginning of Feburary.  They will come to Tucson and spend a couple months with us..to get away from the winter in Linesville, Pennsylvania.
We will have Thanksgiving at Bryan and Kelly's with 30+ friends and family.   We will be giving thanks for our many blessings to include each of you.
We want to wish each of you a very blessed day with those you love.
God Bless,  Tom and Maryann

18 October 2011...We are back in Tucson!

Another great day just being together!!

We arrived home safely on September 27 at 1030 PM.. what a beautiful sunset we saw as we headed to Tucson...one of many we saw on our fantastic 4 month adventure.  As we drove down Interstate 10..we talked about the many blessings we had on our travels seeing the most amazing country and
 re-connecting with our amazing family and friends....but also how lucky we were to be looking forward to seeing our Tucson Family!  AND We realize how blessed we are to have each of you in our life.  Thank you all again for opening your home and hearts to us as we were able to spend prescious moments with you and make wonder-filled memories.
We arrived in Spring, Texas on Friday and checked out the shops etc in Old Town, Spring, TX.  We found a place called Rudy's BBQ and had a great dinner before we checked into our hotel.  We woke the next morning so excited to be going to Fred and Belinda's to spend the weekend with them and we were not disappointed.  We showed up on their door step at their beautiful home and were greeted by Fred, Belinda and Chelsea (their dog) it was like we just saw them the week before...not 36 years ago!  Fred cooked us a delicious brunch and we spent the afternoon getting caught up and then Michael ( their son) joined us and helped his dad with BBQ of the best Salmon....we talked into the night.  We awoke Sunday and attended Mass and then went to The Cheesecake Factory for breakfast...Tom and I had never been to the Cheesecake Factory....of course we also had to have cheesecake!!!  After spending the afternoon just being together, Fred and Belinda took us to the Aquarium Resturant in Houston for dinner.   Amazing to eat dinner in the middle of massive fish tanks and scenery!   We left on Monday early morning...with plans to have them come to Tucson for a visit soon.
We deceided to drive to Altus, Oklahoma to see our friend Bob Carnes before we headed for Tucson.  As we drove thru Texas, we were so sad to see the trees and the farmlands and ranch fields dry and brown with miles and miles of dead trees and fields.  They are still having a draught.  We did see a sign for a Rudy's BBQ and deceided to stop to eat ....once again we had a great meal of BBQ.   We deceided we would look for Rudy's again!!!
We arrived at Altus and checked into another very nice billet on Altus Air Force Base.  It had been 40 years since we had seen  Bob Carnes, our friend, from our days at Francis E. Warren AFB in Cheyenne Wyoming...but when he walked in, seemed like only weeks.  He took us to a great Mexican Resturant in Altus and showed us around the town.  Altus is STILL a very small town.   Tom got up early and went and met Bob at work and had coffee....while Maryann slept in abit.  What fun we had catching up...and have plans for Bob to come to Arizona for a visit.  I think we have helped the economy of Tucson, as we have plans for several friends to come to Tucson now that they have a room at our home.
We left Altus and were soon back in Arizona...and we did find another Rudy's  and stopped to have lunch....the service and food were just like our first visit in Spring, Texas!  We highly recommend if you see one on your travels.
What fun it was to surprise Molly, Samantha and Kirsten..and give lots of hugs....nothing like hearing all their stories and holding them in our arms!!!  Yes, they all did change in the 4 months...we don't realize they are changing day to day as we see them at least once or twice each week when we are home...  Molly has gotten taller and more grown...Samantha did not grow but her speach is more like a 5 year old....and so percise!  Kirsten was talking in short sentences when we left...now she talks in paragraphs and is taller.  It was also good to see Kelly and Bryan and Carrie and Buddi....Buddi looked great...hard to believe that he had been sick.  And Pete and Linda , had a great dinner the Sunday we arrived home and we were able to catch up with them and Phil and Loly too.
As Tom was unloading the car on Wednesday, Gerry stopped by...as he and Teresa were taking care of our yard while we were gone....he was just in time to help Tom unload and take down the carrier down from the car...what a great friend.   Since then we have seen Hilda and girls and Carol.
It took us a couple days to get unpacked and do laundry....we now know we can travel with half the "stuff " we took on this trip!  We then started right in and did our fall home cleaning which we finished last week. We kept Buddi and Gizmo (Ali and Paul's dog) for a long weekend while Carrie, Paul and Ali and Rocco ( 2 months old and what a cutie) went to Las Vegas to a friend's wedding.  We are also back into volunteering at church and helping out neighbors...so are back to normal.  OH and Maryann has commented several times , "wow , it is so nice to be retired and not have a schedule".  Tom is happy to have her home too.  We are both back to daily exercise...and Tom already back on his diet and lost 7 pounds!!!
We have traveled over 17,000 miles and spent time with about 170 friends and family during this adventure. Each day we began our day with the Lord's Prayer and prayer of St. Francis of Assisi and to Blessed Martyr Basyl ( Canada's Second Martyr who's shrine we visited in Winnipeg, Manatoba and heard his history and were given a part of his relic to carry with us) and our Gardian Angel to please protect us and those who rode with us and all who passed us by with  careful hands and watchful eyes....and WE WERE BLESSED on the road and made to feel like we were at home as we visited with each of you...SO WHAT WAS THE BEST PART OF OUR TRIP?......each day we spent together and with family and friends across Canada and the many states we traveled!  And now we are blessed to be home with our Tucson Family.
We are looking forward to family time and the holidays in Tucson. We then will take some trips with Maryann's sister and Tom who are to come for a visit for a few months in January.
We ask you all to keep us all in your prayers as we remember Maryann's Sister Carol who was taken from us so suddenly.. during the 1st Anniversary of her death.   We all miss her terribly but have so many "laugh out loud" memories of  our "Carol" who we long to hear laugh..... just one more time.  She is with us daily and we know we will be with her in heaven when it is our time.
We will continue to update our blog...with pictures too....notice the pictures that we could not add when writing from our IPAD...Maryann even figured out how to do on her own...but was very close to calling George to get his guidance...so thank you George for just being a call away ...just in case...it gave her courage to try!!!
See  below....how the girls welcomed Granddad back....just another day of play with Molly, Samantha and Kirsten!

 It was so nice to get hugs as we traveled....they were given for no other reason than  we care for each other..what a good feeling.  Will leave you with a hug from our heart to yours..simply because you each mean so much to us.  We will keep you in our prayers and just let us know when you want to come to visit...

God Bless your days.

Tom and Maryann







On the road again in Texas---22 September 2011

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