Back to the Road Trip

Now let's see, where did I leave us on the road. Ah yes, Georgia. But first, a word about the promised photos. They are trapped in my phone. I don't know how to extricate them. I now have a microSD card in the phone and new photos are stored there, but the ones that are in the camera's memory, are viewable on the phone but not movable to the SD. Bah, they are really nice too. Oh well, but I digress.

Many restaurant chains are available near us. One that isn't is - - -


We always look forward to lunch at Waffle House.

From the land of peaches, pecans and cotton we entered Florida on I75, a handy road that goes down the peninsula and meets The Florida Turnpike that cuts diagonally across the state to the coast and our first goal of Palm Beach and Gene's high school reunion. On the way, we drove through one of the worst rain storms I've ever driven in, minimum visibility and maximum splash. We arrived safely and compared notes with everyone else who experienced it.


THE GRAHAM ECKES REUNION

First there was a lavish cocktail party at the grand home of one of his classmates. It was wonderful to be able to spend the evening on the water-front patio while handsome young waiters plied me with drinks and tasty bits. One could get used to it. The next day we had reunion part 2, brunch at the Sailfish Club.



Gene at the Sailfish Club, Palm Beach Florida, with blue sky, pleasant breezes and balmy weather.

The brunch was a leisure, friendly affair, with a spectacular buffet and great drinks. It was nice to see Gene's classmates again and catch up on what is new. I'm looking forward to the next one.

A good time was had by all.

Time Passes

Much has happened since last we met. Travel, medical issues, knitting, life.

We took a road trip. I love road trips. No airport bothers, keep your shoes on, be on your own schedule, no hurry-up-and-wait. Gene's high school in Palm Beach planned a multi-class reunion in January, the perfect excuse to get out of two weeks of Chicago winter. We rented a PT Cruiser, at first I wasn't thrilled with the choice, but grew to love that car.



We managed to leave just before a big storm hit Chicago and stayed ahead of more bad weather. One of the neat things about travel at this time of year, is watching the seasons and vegetation change, from snow covered bare trees, to a hint of green, to planted, growing fields and finally the tropical setting of southern Florida.


Ours was a very leisurely drive. We stopped at a favorite winery near Bloomington, Indiana. Oliver Winery has a varied, delicious, and reasonably priced selection. They also have a friendly, helpful staff and beautiful landscaping.

Here we saw the first greening. Spring will happen again this year.



Some landscaping outside their shop.



Our next planned stop was the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. This was a stop of parental pride. Our son, Abraham, wrote the computer game "Pit Crew Challenge" that is featured at the museum.

The cars were awesome. The movie about the history of the Corvette showed how the first 50 cars were literally hand-made. This is a recommended stop if you find yourself in Bowling Green.

** TO BE CONTINUED **