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.

VALENTINE'S MEDICAL REPORT

I'm interrupting this travelogue to bring you a medical alert.

Here's the history...
2008 @ Valentine's Day, Gene had a triple bypass. Everything went well.
2009 @ Valentine's time, he needed more surgery to repair his sternum which had failed to heal correctly.
2010 @ Valentine's time he must have had something else to do.
2011 @ Valentines's Day he had a chest pain and off to the emergency room he went. The blood tests showed that there had not been a heart attack. He had the full routine, many EKGs, a stress test, an echo-cardiogram, and an angiogram. Nothing tragic was found. After many conferences with and among his doctors, it was decided to change his meds.

Gene is home again after a two night stay at Northwestern Memorial. He is feeling fine and thanks everyone for their kind thoughts. I wonder what he has planned for next Valentine's Day.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program...

Road Trip - January, 2011

Once again, we took a road trip to join Gene’s high school reunion in Palm Beach.

When we left Chicago, the temperature was in the 20s, there was snow on the ground and a cold wave was on the way. I had no regrets leaving.

An uneventful drive brought us to our first stop in Columbus, Indiana. It is an interesting city, a Mecca of inventive architecture and design. Even the bridge at the highway exit is well designed.

There was still some snow, mostly the remains of clearing streets and parking lots.

The next day we crossed the Ohio river and went through a piece of Kentucky and into Tennessee and stopped in Normandy, TN, near Tullahoma, at the George Dickel distillery. The memory of their wonderful whisky brought us back to their company store. If you are ever able to taste their wares, do so. I’m sure that you will enjoy the smoooooth quality of their golden nectar.

When you are in Georgia and it is not peach season, you have to indulge in pecan treats. That brought us back to Ellis Bros. Pecans in Vienna GA. Their address was in our GPS from the last time we drove to Florida, for a very good reason. Their many variations on pecans are wonderful. Roasted and salted, praline crunch, coffee coated, spiced, pralines, chocolate (light or dark), you get the idea. You can even get them plain, just in the shell.

TO BE CONTINUED and PHOTOS ADDED

Back so soon . . .

Tonight was the celebration of the 100th year of Phi Alpha Delta, Gene's law fraternity. It was held at the InterContinental Hotel on Michigan Avenue. Cocktails, short welcoming speeches, salad, some awards and acknowledgments, chicken, some sort of soufflé, veggies, more awards, Gene (and our friend Garnet Fay) get acknowledged for their work with PAD, chocolate mousse, coffee, thanks and good-byes. In by 6, out by 10, not bad.

My How Time Flies....

It has been a while since last I posted.

Things continue to continue. I won't try to play catch-up, but will try to stay current.

Okay, here's a little recent history.

New Year's Eve was a Greek Fest and Games at Abe's. It was both tasty and fun.

It is Chicago and it is winter. It is cold and there is snow. No big deal, nothing like the east coast or even northern Indiana.

I continue to knit and to make jewelry, even knit some jewelry. I participated in a Christmas bazaar and sold several items.

Gene is still busy being a lawyer. He is well and thriving.

Our house is much quieter now that Squerky, our Nanday Conure, died. It is interesting that you can get so attached to an unfriendly, neurotic, feather-challenged bird.

Traveling on

When we last connected with our intrepid travelers, they were in Kentucky, on their way to the Graham-Eckes class reunion in Palm Beach, Florida.


After the National Corvette Museum, we continued on our leisurely drive. The countryside showed more signs of spring each day.

Roads cut through rock are an exotic thing to flatlanders. Frequently there would be water trickling down the face of the rocks. Quite artsy. Many times we were warned to look out for falling rocks, but never told what to do if we saw them.

Our next adventure was a stop at the George A. Dickel & Co. Distillery in Cascade Hollow, Tullahoma, Tennessee. The tour was interesting, educational and a great marketing tool. After seeing what care goes into the production, you have to get some. And guess what, there is a gift shop at the end of the tour. Who would have suspected? We bought a few bottles without tasting, because they are in a dry county and traveled on. That evening, at our hotel, we tasted it. Silky smooth, no burning, wonderful taste. I was hooked.

The next day, we high-tailed it down to Palm Beach to start the reunion festivities.

===== I will get you caught up =====

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 **