Dear family and friends, it has been a long time since I have posted and so much has happened. You would think that being retired and being free of housework and yard work, I would have plenty of time to write. However, we are just having too much fun! We have been to see friends in North Carolina. John was a classmate of Chris when we were at Virginia Theological Seminery. His wife Debbie became my best friend. The four of us and our children did everything together. John asked Chris to supply for him on the Sunday after Christmas. He loves doing it and I get a good sermon. Best of all, I don't have to wonder where we will go yo church. We have been to two very interesting churches in Virginia Beach. It is very different up here. We did attend a very simple Midnight Mass. Sure missed Holy Spirit.
We also spent time with a girlfriend that moved to Virginia from Gulf Shores. She is the one that turned me into a blonde. We had so much fun catching up and meeting her new husband. I ate my first fish taco and learned to play Mexican Train Dominoes. It has nothing to do with lining them up and knocking them down. Chris was so disappointed.
Of course the best part was spending time with family. My granddaughter and I made matching macrame key chains. I could not find my glasses to read the directions so they are not perfect but we laughed a lot. We went to see Night At The Museum. I cried a lot because Robin Williams was in it. I rode all over town with my college age grandson and learned about his ambitions and goals. I watched my daughter Amy bake every kind of Christmas treat and had to keep Chris out of the buckeyes until all gift bags were filled. (And he can't understand why his sugar levels are so high)
We had planned to meet our Ohio friends over New Years but had not set a destination. After examining several options we decided to just meet them in Ohio. Chris has no fear of anything! The first day of driving was not bad. By nightfall we had made it to the West Virginia border and stayed at the no frills Wal-mart. Nothing but the best for me. The next day of travel was harrowing. I had to
drive through the mountains in the rain. I don't think I ever went over 50 miles an hour. I was the slowest vehicle on the road. The curves were matched with 5% downhill grades. I just stayed in my lane and prayed for my shift to end. Of course when it was Chris' turn to drive, the sun came out.
It is very cold here but we are warm In our camper. I am amazed at how well we are doing. Tonight will be the real test with freezing temps. The current temp is 21 degrees and the low tonight is 18. If the pipes hold up tonight we will be ok.
Peace to all. Happy New Year
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Greetings from Charleston, South Carolina
We arrived n Charleston late today after two wonderful days in Savannah. I wish we could have stayed there a week but even though we are retired and free spirited, we still have deadlines that can't be moved....like Christmas.
On Monday we took the 'hop on,hop off ' trolley and had a great overview of the historic district. I learned that Spanish moss has nothing to do with Spain or moss. It is an air plant that does not attach to the tree. It is in the pineapple family. We saw an old house that Joe Namath purchased for $90,000. He wanted to turn it into a gentleman's club. The city would not allow this so he sold it for about $250,000. Today it is worth several million. We passed by the birthplace of Juliette Low. Did you know she was 52 when she started the Girl Scouts? Amazing what people can do regardless of their age. Do you know why they sell Girl Scout cookies? The girls made cookies to send to soldiers in WWI. However by the time the cookies arrived there were nothing but crumbs. So the girls started making candy for the soldiers. The sugar and butter for the candy were quite expensive so they sold cookies to get the money for the candy. That's their story.
For lunch we ate at Mrs. Wilkes. The tables are set for twelve guests and food is served family style. There were so many dishes: sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, greens, slaw, cabbage, stewed tomatoes, rice, turnips, stuffing, lima beans, macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, baked beans, bar-b-que, corn bread, rolls, and of course sweet tea. We spent the first 15 minutes passing food. There were people from Colorado, Savannah, and Iran. Interesting group.
The best site was the Cathedral of John The Baptist. It was beautiful. The stations of the cross were carved and exquisite. I took a picture of all 14 to keep for my prayer time.
I still can't believe we have been on the road since August and we are still married. Our 27 feet have not closed in on us. We have found more time for prayer together than we ever had before. I have found that I can have my quiet time when Chris walks the dogs each morning. I have been reading Henri Nouwen's Spirituality of Living. He suggests that you repeat 'the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want' at least three times. This is a good Mantra for this Christmas season. I have been using it for my breath prayer. The truth is, I do not want for anything...the Lord has provided for all my needs. Of course, when the 42foot deluxe coach pulls in next to ours...I have to say the prayer over and over so I won't covet their storage.
Tonight we are in a county park that houses the Festival of Lights much like Calloway Gardens. We will take the tram tomorrow night. It is very cold here and I am hiding under my electric blanket.
Peace to all, Barbara
On Monday we took the 'hop on,hop off ' trolley and had a great overview of the historic district. I learned that Spanish moss has nothing to do with Spain or moss. It is an air plant that does not attach to the tree. It is in the pineapple family. We saw an old house that Joe Namath purchased for $90,000. He wanted to turn it into a gentleman's club. The city would not allow this so he sold it for about $250,000. Today it is worth several million. We passed by the birthplace of Juliette Low. Did you know she was 52 when she started the Girl Scouts? Amazing what people can do regardless of their age. Do you know why they sell Girl Scout cookies? The girls made cookies to send to soldiers in WWI. However by the time the cookies arrived there were nothing but crumbs. So the girls started making candy for the soldiers. The sugar and butter for the candy were quite expensive so they sold cookies to get the money for the candy. That's their story.
For lunch we ate at Mrs. Wilkes. The tables are set for twelve guests and food is served family style. There were so many dishes: sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, greens, slaw, cabbage, stewed tomatoes, rice, turnips, stuffing, lima beans, macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, baked beans, bar-b-que, corn bread, rolls, and of course sweet tea. We spent the first 15 minutes passing food. There were people from Colorado, Savannah, and Iran. Interesting group.
The best site was the Cathedral of John The Baptist. It was beautiful. The stations of the cross were carved and exquisite. I took a picture of all 14 to keep for my prayer time.
I still can't believe we have been on the road since August and we are still married. Our 27 feet have not closed in on us. We have found more time for prayer together than we ever had before. I have found that I can have my quiet time when Chris walks the dogs each morning. I have been reading Henri Nouwen's Spirituality of Living. He suggests that you repeat 'the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want' at least three times. This is a good Mantra for this Christmas season. I have been using it for my breath prayer. The truth is, I do not want for anything...the Lord has provided for all my needs. Of course, when the 42foot deluxe coach pulls in next to ours...I have to say the prayer over and over so I won't covet their storage.
Tonight we are in a county park that houses the Festival of Lights much like Calloway Gardens. We will take the tram tomorrow night. It is very cold here and I am hiding under my electric blanket.
Peace to all, Barbara
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Greetings from Savannah Georgia
Saturday was beautiful after the fog lifted. We took the dogs, Millie and Miss C, to the ocean for time to run and play. Because of the fog, the beach was empty so we let the dogs off the leash and they had a great time as seen in the video. In the afternoon we went to Jacksonville Beach Pier with our friends to watch the surfers. At first sight I thought there were about 40 large black birds in the water but then I realized I was looking at wetsuits.
For dinner we went to a fish market nd had the best fresh blackened grouper. But the day is not over yet. Sharon was able to get two tickets to Jeanne Robertson, a nationally recognized humorist and former Miss North Carolina. At age 71, she entertained us for almost 2 hours in 4inch spiked heels. We laughed nonstop. The 'boys' went to see the movie Interstellar.
We were out way past our bed time but we made it to church today. We have found the best church! Father Tony even recognized us from when we attended a few months ago. The music is so uplifting. It is both traditional and contemporary. We were in church from 10:30 till 12:15. Can you imagine a service that long. There were many young children and people of many colors.
After church we headed to Savannah with no reservation. We found the military base campground but there was no camp host. We found out that this camp must have reservations...no drop-ins...contrary to what our research had stated. So, we are parked in what may or may not be a reserved spot. And we may or may not get a knock on the door and we may or may not have to move before morning.
Tomorrow we will enjoy the town of Savannah and hopefully have good pictures.
Peace and Joy, Barbara
Oh....the boat will close on Monday. Great news that will allow us to travel without the worry of the care and maintenance of our boat.
For dinner we went to a fish market nd had the best fresh blackened grouper. But the day is not over yet. Sharon was able to get two tickets to Jeanne Robertson, a nationally recognized humorist and former Miss North Carolina. At age 71, she entertained us for almost 2 hours in 4inch spiked heels. We laughed nonstop. The 'boys' went to see the movie Interstellar.
We were out way past our bed time but we made it to church today. We have found the best church! Father Tony even recognized us from when we attended a few months ago. The music is so uplifting. It is both traditional and contemporary. We were in church from 10:30 till 12:15. Can you imagine a service that long. There were many young children and people of many colors.
After church we headed to Savannah with no reservation. We found the military base campground but there was no camp host. We found out that this camp must have reservations...no drop-ins...contrary to what our research had stated. So, we are parked in what may or may not be a reserved spot. And we may or may not get a knock on the door and we may or may not have to move before morning.
Tomorrow we will enjoy the town of Savannah and hopefully have good pictures.
Peace and Joy, Barbara
Oh....the boat will close on Monday. Great news that will allow us to travel without the worry of the care and maintenance of our boat.
Friday, December 5, 2014
Greetings from Mayport
The weather was great on Thursday. The fog cleared and so we decided to drive up the coast to checkout Jekyll Island. We had lived a short drive from the island when we were newlyweds but never visited the island. When we finished crossing the bridge to the island, there was a toll booth and a charge of $6. I thought Chris was going to turn around. He did not want to pay just to see the island so he went into the visitor center to see if it was worth it. We had already driven about 100 miles so what is $6? Alas,he decided we would enter this little community. Most of the restaurants where closed for the season but the big, historical Jekyll Island Club Hotel was still serving. We ate in the Grand Dining Room. It was very beautifully decorated for Christmas and it was Grand! What a treat.
The island was covered with giant live oaks covered with Spanish moss. It is funny...I never miss it till I see it in Florida. The beach along the Atlantic was empty of tourists and quite relaxing. The best part was Driftwood Beach recommended on TripAdvisor. It was the number one recommendation for the island tour. We drove by the unmarked dirt road the first time but found it after turning around and stopping next to another pickup truck. After a very short hike, we were excited to see miles of beach covered by huge trees that had turned ash and clearly had been on the beach a very long time. It was amazing!
We also discovered a little church that housed three different congregations. I think the Methodist church owned the building because their sigh was the largest. Their service was at 11. The Episcopal Mission service was at 8:30. The Catholic service was 7pm Saturday night. What a good stewardship of a building.
Today, Friday, we are spending time at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville. One appointment is a regular update with his doctor for diabetes. The other appointment is for issues he is having with his neck.
Luckily we have the time and the motorhome that allows us to come here for his bigger issues. I think we have at least one surgery in our future for corporal tunnel. That is just a little thing.
Well, no humor in today's blog. Maybe tomorrow.
Peace to all. Barbara
The island was covered with giant live oaks covered with Spanish moss. It is funny...I never miss it till I see it in Florida. The beach along the Atlantic was empty of tourists and quite relaxing. The best part was Driftwood Beach recommended on TripAdvisor. It was the number one recommendation for the island tour. We drove by the unmarked dirt road the first time but found it after turning around and stopping next to another pickup truck. After a very short hike, we were excited to see miles of beach covered by huge trees that had turned ash and clearly had been on the beach a very long time. It was amazing!
We also discovered a little church that housed three different congregations. I think the Methodist church owned the building because their sigh was the largest. Their service was at 11. The Episcopal Mission service was at 8:30. The Catholic service was 7pm Saturday night. What a good stewardship of a building.
Today, Friday, we are spending time at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville. One appointment is a regular update with his doctor for diabetes. The other appointment is for issues he is having with his neck.
Luckily we have the time and the motorhome that allows us to come here for his bigger issues. I think we have at least one surgery in our future for corporal tunnel. That is just a little thing.
Well, no humor in today's blog. Maybe tomorrow.
Peace to all. Barbara
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Greetings from Mayport Naval Station (Jacksonville, Florida)
The RollinACE has hit the road again. We spent the month of November in Gulf Shores. This gave us time to visit friends and have walks on the beach. We also sent the ACE to camping world for repairs and a modification of the TV. We also took time to purchase a jeep so we would have a vehicle for our next trip. The boat is practically sold. If nothing goes wrong we will close this week. The buyers have not acquired insurance yet...the only holdup.
If the boat sells our worldly possessions will consist of the RV, one jeep, one power parachute, two dogs, and one 5x5 storage unit. It is so freeing. I guess you could say we also have a house but it stays rented so we try to forget that liability.
We stayed very busy in GS but one month was a long time in one place and I was ready to travel again. We first headed to Niceville, Fl. We visited the priest at St. Jude's Episcopal Church. We had a great visit with Father Greg and his lovely wife Cindy and had the best Cajun food ever. The bread pudding was deep fried and served with the best sauce. We spent the night in the church parking lot. (Boon docking--better than Walmart).
Now we are spending 5 nights at my favorite campground. We are right on the water but the fog is so thick that we can't see any of it. We hope to spend time with our good friends here and I look forward to Sunday Services at a wonderful church we found here. We are headed to Chesapeake, Virginia to visit my daughter and her family for Christmas. We plan to take our time and enjoy sights along the way.
Peace to all. Barbara
If the boat sells our worldly possessions will consist of the RV, one jeep, one power parachute, two dogs, and one 5x5 storage unit. It is so freeing. I guess you could say we also have a house but it stays rented so we try to forget that liability.
We stayed very busy in GS but one month was a long time in one place and I was ready to travel again. We first headed to Niceville, Fl. We visited the priest at St. Jude's Episcopal Church. We had a great visit with Father Greg and his lovely wife Cindy and had the best Cajun food ever. The bread pudding was deep fried and served with the best sauce. We spent the night in the church parking lot. (Boon docking--better than Walmart).
Now we are spending 5 nights at my favorite campground. We are right on the water but the fog is so thick that we can't see any of it. We hope to spend time with our good friends here and I look forward to Sunday Services at a wonderful church we found here. We are headed to Chesapeake, Virginia to visit my daughter and her family for Christmas. We plan to take our time and enjoy sights along the way.
Peace to all. Barbara
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Greetings from Lake City, Florida
Dear friends and family, I really thought I had come to the end of our exciting once in a life time trip. I was looking forward to a relaxing, nonevent full five days at the airfield. I should know by now that at no time is my life boring or nonevent full. How ever it is rich and full of blessings.
Our stay at the airfield started of rocky. The generator died on the first night about 2am. Now I was ready to rough it but not without AC. Chris managed to get a ride to town and get some oil which he hoped was the problem. Three hours later and 90 degrees hot---he arrived and we were back in AC. Our friends arrived on Thursday and the day was filled will watching flyers and swatting gnats. On Friday morning Chris took Jennifer for a ride and after landing the battery died so they had to push the plane along way in the 90 plus temperatures. When the door to the RV opened there was this very hot, sweaty, petite, woman that was very upset with her husband because she had been calling him to come help. Neither of us heard a phone ring. We decided to go to an afternoon movie to get out of the heat and to go get a new battery.
The Movie: we went to see the movie with Jane Fonda, Jason Bateman, and Tina Fey. No one knew the name so while I went to the bathroom they bought tickets to the wrong movie. We should have gone to the wrong movie. This movie is so trashy and over my threshold for comfort. Since none of you should see it...here is your spoiler alert: Jane Fonda gets a boob job and lets them show throughout the movie, everyone is cheating on their spouses, Jane is grieving the death of her husband but turns into a lesbian at the end. That dysfunctional family made mine look good. Need I say more? I laughed hard and shed a lot of tears but I would not recommend it. I felt bad that I had taken everyone to something just short of R rated movie. We got the new battery and came back to fly some more. Chris flew and I decided I would fly after he landed. So I walked down to end of the runway to meet him but found that the engine had quit again. Oops, he had to be towed in. He came back and cleaned the carburetor and got it going again but by now it was dark so too late to fly.
After dinner we went to see the entertainment. There was a DJ and it was Karaoke night. The problem is the audience was the four of us plus the DJ's husband and one other person. We felt so bad for the DJ that we stayed. BIG MISTAKE. She harassed us until Chris and Bud finally went up and sang Barbara Ann by the beach boys. I tried to get Jennifer to sing My Guy but she wouldn't. However, the DJ's husband told her our names, plus another girl whose name was Cathy. Cathy and I finally got up to sing but Jennifer would not go. SO the DJ made a big deal calling her name and coming after her so Jen finally gave in. When we got ready to sing, Nancy did not know My Guy, so we sang Red Neck Woman by Gretchen Wilson. Jen had never heard of it. I wish we had been drinking so we could explain why we were so bad...but we were embarrassingly sober.
Saturday morning Chris got up to fly early. Asked me to go with him. I said you take a spin and be sure the plane is fixed. He did. By the time he had landed, our friends had arrived and I told Bud to go for another ride. All was well. by the time they landed the wind had picked up so we headed to town for the day to stay out of the heat.
Here is where it all went bad. It was early evening, the wind was calm and it was time to fly again. Bud went first and had a great flight. Jennifer and I sat by the runway taking pictures. At anyone time there were no less than 4 and at times 6-8 planes setting up on the runway at the same time. They just take there machine out, lay out their parachutes and look for an opening to take off. There is an Air Boss but the PPG (the guys that put their engines on their backs) don't use radios. THey are free spirits. Jennifer and I had been amazed that there had been no accidents. We spoke that out loud several times. But I looked around at all the flyers having so much fun and realized how silly I was to be afraid. All week, hundreds of flights, no problems. What was there to be afraid of. I decided it was time to fly and walked down to the end of the runway to where Chris would be landing.
He landed fine and was so excited to see me there. I hopped in, he straightened the parachute, Bud took our picture and Chris waited for the Air Boss to clear him. I could not believe all the stuff in front of us. I have only flown when we were the only ones on the runway. So we get cleared for takeoff and the rest happened in a matter of no more than a minute. he gave it power, the chute lifted and immediately a vehicle cut in front of us. Chris shifted to avoid it but then we were leaning too far so he corrected by shifting opposite and then right in front of us was a man sitting in his machine waiting to take off. When I saw him he was just a few feet in front of us. Chris pulled way back, we leaned way back and I thought we flew over him and landed just about 5 feet past him. I also saw a boy about 12 years old standing beside the machine, he looked in my eyes and finally dove out of the way. When I got out of the plane I saw the man in his machine, the whole machine lying on its back and he was laying there all strapped in. It was a miracle. Everyone seemed ok. Lots of people came out to help. Jennifer and Bud ran out to us. After Chris got his airplane together and packed up he went to the family to apologize. The man was Hispanic and spoke no English. He had a pacemaker so everyone was worried but no one took him to the hospital. They shook hands and all was good. we helped get everything back to the camp. We were all shook up but Chris started packing up the trailer and packing up our campground. He was just staying busy. Then the man, his interpreter, and two other pilots, drunk, came to our site and were cussing and hollering at Chris and saying all sorts of mean things. It was horrible and scary because I thought they came to beat him up. Jennifer put me in the RV and that little lady put those big cussing fellows in their place and they even apologized
After it was all over we have been told that the parachute got caught on a surveyor stick and that is what caused the parachute to go up wrong. We have liability insurance but right now it is listed as an accident but not Chris at fault. Everyone on the property signed a waiver that released anyone from any responsibility. Everyone that signed the release had an armband, all spectators and pilots, and if you did not have an armband you were asked to leave.
In the end I feel that Chris did an incredible job of not hitting the man directly and showed great skill. He wishes he had waited until he had a clear path to take off and I wish I had said lets wait when I saw all that was in front of me. I will not ever fly at a flyin. I know God lifted that plane over the man and we were given grace.
Powered parachutes are very safe....as long as you don't get hit by one. Love to all
Our stay at the airfield started of rocky. The generator died on the first night about 2am. Now I was ready to rough it but not without AC. Chris managed to get a ride to town and get some oil which he hoped was the problem. Three hours later and 90 degrees hot---he arrived and we were back in AC. Our friends arrived on Thursday and the day was filled will watching flyers and swatting gnats. On Friday morning Chris took Jennifer for a ride and after landing the battery died so they had to push the plane along way in the 90 plus temperatures. When the door to the RV opened there was this very hot, sweaty, petite, woman that was very upset with her husband because she had been calling him to come help. Neither of us heard a phone ring. We decided to go to an afternoon movie to get out of the heat and to go get a new battery.
The Movie: we went to see the movie with Jane Fonda, Jason Bateman, and Tina Fey. No one knew the name so while I went to the bathroom they bought tickets to the wrong movie. We should have gone to the wrong movie. This movie is so trashy and over my threshold for comfort. Since none of you should see it...here is your spoiler alert: Jane Fonda gets a boob job and lets them show throughout the movie, everyone is cheating on their spouses, Jane is grieving the death of her husband but turns into a lesbian at the end. That dysfunctional family made mine look good. Need I say more? I laughed hard and shed a lot of tears but I would not recommend it. I felt bad that I had taken everyone to something just short of R rated movie. We got the new battery and came back to fly some more. Chris flew and I decided I would fly after he landed. So I walked down to end of the runway to meet him but found that the engine had quit again. Oops, he had to be towed in. He came back and cleaned the carburetor and got it going again but by now it was dark so too late to fly.
After dinner we went to see the entertainment. There was a DJ and it was Karaoke night. The problem is the audience was the four of us plus the DJ's husband and one other person. We felt so bad for the DJ that we stayed. BIG MISTAKE. She harassed us until Chris and Bud finally went up and sang Barbara Ann by the beach boys. I tried to get Jennifer to sing My Guy but she wouldn't. However, the DJ's husband told her our names, plus another girl whose name was Cathy. Cathy and I finally got up to sing but Jennifer would not go. SO the DJ made a big deal calling her name and coming after her so Jen finally gave in. When we got ready to sing, Nancy did not know My Guy, so we sang Red Neck Woman by Gretchen Wilson. Jen had never heard of it. I wish we had been drinking so we could explain why we were so bad...but we were embarrassingly sober.
Saturday morning Chris got up to fly early. Asked me to go with him. I said you take a spin and be sure the plane is fixed. He did. By the time he had landed, our friends had arrived and I told Bud to go for another ride. All was well. by the time they landed the wind had picked up so we headed to town for the day to stay out of the heat.
Here is where it all went bad. It was early evening, the wind was calm and it was time to fly again. Bud went first and had a great flight. Jennifer and I sat by the runway taking pictures. At anyone time there were no less than 4 and at times 6-8 planes setting up on the runway at the same time. They just take there machine out, lay out their parachutes and look for an opening to take off. There is an Air Boss but the PPG (the guys that put their engines on their backs) don't use radios. THey are free spirits. Jennifer and I had been amazed that there had been no accidents. We spoke that out loud several times. But I looked around at all the flyers having so much fun and realized how silly I was to be afraid. All week, hundreds of flights, no problems. What was there to be afraid of. I decided it was time to fly and walked down to the end of the runway to where Chris would be landing.
He landed fine and was so excited to see me there. I hopped in, he straightened the parachute, Bud took our picture and Chris waited for the Air Boss to clear him. I could not believe all the stuff in front of us. I have only flown when we were the only ones on the runway. So we get cleared for takeoff and the rest happened in a matter of no more than a minute. he gave it power, the chute lifted and immediately a vehicle cut in front of us. Chris shifted to avoid it but then we were leaning too far so he corrected by shifting opposite and then right in front of us was a man sitting in his machine waiting to take off. When I saw him he was just a few feet in front of us. Chris pulled way back, we leaned way back and I thought we flew over him and landed just about 5 feet past him. I also saw a boy about 12 years old standing beside the machine, he looked in my eyes and finally dove out of the way. When I got out of the plane I saw the man in his machine, the whole machine lying on its back and he was laying there all strapped in. It was a miracle. Everyone seemed ok. Lots of people came out to help. Jennifer and Bud ran out to us. After Chris got his airplane together and packed up he went to the family to apologize. The man was Hispanic and spoke no English. He had a pacemaker so everyone was worried but no one took him to the hospital. They shook hands and all was good. we helped get everything back to the camp. We were all shook up but Chris started packing up the trailer and packing up our campground. He was just staying busy. Then the man, his interpreter, and two other pilots, drunk, came to our site and were cussing and hollering at Chris and saying all sorts of mean things. It was horrible and scary because I thought they came to beat him up. Jennifer put me in the RV and that little lady put those big cussing fellows in their place and they even apologized
After it was all over we have been told that the parachute got caught on a surveyor stick and that is what caused the parachute to go up wrong. We have liability insurance but right now it is listed as an accident but not Chris at fault. Everyone on the property signed a waiver that released anyone from any responsibility. Everyone that signed the release had an armband, all spectators and pilots, and if you did not have an armband you were asked to leave.
In the end I feel that Chris did an incredible job of not hitting the man directly and showed great skill. He wishes he had waited until he had a clear path to take off and I wish I had said lets wait when I saw all that was in front of me. I will not ever fly at a flyin. I know God lifted that plane over the man and we were given grace.
Powered parachutes are very safe....as long as you don't get hit by one. Love to all
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Greetings from Coldwater, Alabama
Dear friends, the tour of National parks is over and now it is time for a different kind of journey. We will be in Fort Valley, Georgia tonight. For the next five days we will be parked on the edge of an airfield. We will not have hookups for water, sewer, or electricity. Thank goodness for the generator. I know people live like this or worse but I am calling it "roughing it" and a step below Walmart. At least at Walmart I can go shopping for fresh fruit and water. The one silver lining is that Jennifer and Bud Currens will be joining us on Thursday. NO they are not staying with us and they are not even staying in Fort Valley. They will stay in a lovely motel in a real town and join us each morning. Bud will fly with Chris in the competition on Saturday. I get a few days to relax and read as I have not done that this whole trip. I am looking forward to being in one place for more than two days in a row even if it is rustic. Maybe Jennifer will take me to town one day.
We are now driving with a large trailer behind us. We have a combined length of 45 feet. It makes things interesting. This morning we pulled into a tire place to have the air checked. Without proper planning we found ourselves in a very tight and difficult to get out of situation. This is not a place where he can just back up a mile or do a three point turn as he has done throughout the trip. He was also tying to drive speed limits as he had done before. After passing by a bad accident were the tow of a motorcoach had ripped off and flipped, I managed to convey my concerns in the gentlest of voice, and he agreed ever so willingly to drive a little bit slower. He is such a wonderful husband.
Speaking of wonderful....I had decided to give up my morning coffee with caffeine and threw it away. For days I have only had decaf. This morning I really needed real coffe so I asked him to go to the office and get me cup. The office person asked, "awe, newly weds?" Yes, he replied, 43 years. She was amazed. Her marriages never lasted more than 6 years and she was on her 4th husband...wasn't sure if she would make it in this one.
Peace and love to all. Barbara
We are now driving with a large trailer behind us. We have a combined length of 45 feet. It makes things interesting. This morning we pulled into a tire place to have the air checked. Without proper planning we found ourselves in a very tight and difficult to get out of situation. This is not a place where he can just back up a mile or do a three point turn as he has done throughout the trip. He was also tying to drive speed limits as he had done before. After passing by a bad accident were the tow of a motorcoach had ripped off and flipped, I managed to convey my concerns in the gentlest of voice, and he agreed ever so willingly to drive a little bit slower. He is such a wonderful husband.
Speaking of wonderful....I had decided to give up my morning coffee with caffeine and threw it away. For days I have only had decaf. This morning I really needed real coffe so I asked him to go to the office and get me cup. The office person asked, "awe, newly weds?" Yes, he replied, 43 years. She was amazed. Her marriages never lasted more than 6 years and she was on her 4th husband...wasn't sure if she would make it in this one.
Peace and love to all. Barbara
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