December sees the Fouchey’s at the end of another Great Adventure…it has been 4 years!
Recap of 2022!
Start of 2022
January Covid Weather Dog Bites Pink Underwear
February Finally Sun
Beach Scene
Concert Rain Storm
March Fun
Tyrus Fun
Tyrus visits
Manatees
April Waxing
Fly Over in Pensacola
May Medical Fixer Upper
cataracts and shoulder replacement
Ty graduates
Mothers Day
Time with Ty
June Dogs
Detroit Coneys
pool time
July No Place Like Home
Hot Air Balloon
August We Hit The Trail
Apostle Island WI
Pasties
September Family Friends Family Puppy Pick
Fouchey Family
Puppy Picks
Descendants Joe
October in Pennsylvania
PA-capital
November Chet the Jet
Chet the Jet
December End 2022 at home
Just too hard to pick out pictures to depict the best of the month(s).
2022 was not our typical year, but wait, what is typical? So we roll with the punches. Outstanding travels were: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Upper Michigan with brother Will and bride Pam – if you are looking for a place to visit would recommend Apostle Islands. Then, October in Pennsylvania is hard to beat – the colors, the great bike riding on the rail to trails in the valleys, the great hikes in the canyons and the quaint towns. Then there was working with our son-in-law, Scotty, and seeing all that goes into a production on the backside. Shoulder replacement healing for Ty will be awhile although he is impatient and wants it to be 100% NOW. All the friends and family we got to play with (and so graciously let us stay with them) and all the new friends we met. The destruction of Ian makes us wonder what we are going into next year as we will be in Ft. Myers from Jan-Apr, but that’s next year. Our summer was interesting too, no better place to be but in Colorado in the summer. And housesitting all that time was a little different for us, but we got to dog sit for 2 great dogs: Tex and Gillian.
So no complaints as it truly was a GREAT ADVENTURE 2022!
Our best to all of our families and friends – we hope to get your way in 2023!
Remembering all our friends and classmates who walked on this 2022
Introducing Chet the jet! He is a jet black (with white strands on front and couple on back paws) Havanese puppy. Ty and I are holding up pretty well, taking turns to be on the midnight, 2 am and 4 am potty breaks, and taking lots of naps
Chet is adjusting to RV living nicely, spent his first 3 nights visiting friends and getting lots of attention which I think helped him adjust to being taken away from his family. Then we had 3 days of 500 miles in a car, getting down to Florida and he slept most of the way in his car seat. He mastered the RV steps, but prefers to be carried everywhere – which we will give him the benefit of the doubt that he is still a baby, but he better buck up soon!
Port Richey
We spent the time in Port Richey just trying to get Chet use to his new surroundings and hopefully somewhat housebroken. We did explore a bit; PR has a nice downtown area, there are no beaches as we think of as beaches because PR is mainly a fishing town, and a couple of state parks where we took Chet for his first big hike. I kept him to the middle of the trail as I was afraid something would come out and grab him. Nervous fur baby owner here.
La Olas no more
Trailers and Boats
Fort Myers Beach
We spent many a good time on this island the last couple of years, listening to Johnny Walker play at La Ola’s with Kit and Denise. Ian has changed all that! Many of you watched on TV as Ian struck, but I have to say seeing the island in person, it is much more devastating. Where La Ola’s was is completely gone, not just a shell of a building but all the concrete structure is gone. This area is called Town Square, but all the restaurants, small shops, and living quarters – gone, swept out into the ocean. All that remains on the beach side is sand and bits of the pier. Boats upheaved and pushed around on-shore where they should not be. Many beach houses, the concrete structures survived but the storm surge was so high that it gutted the living areas which are at least 8’ above ground. Mobile home parks are a mangled mess of metal. The beaches are closed because there is so much building debris in the water that it is unsafe. There are huge cranes that dip into the water and pull out concrete and whatever and dump it into a truck. Then it is taken to area where it is sifted and the sand is reclaimed to be put back into ocean. The piles of debris stand a good 8-10 feet high in some places. We spent the afternoon gawking at the destruction, visited some friends whose house survived (barely), and had lunch at La Ola’s lunch truck. It will be years before the area comes back.
Happy Dog
Home for the Holidays
We flew home, Chet the Jet was a real magnet of cuteness. We could hardly get to the plane as so many people wanted to pet him, take pics and hold. I am so surprised at the number of men that just melt when they see him. Had time to kill waiting for flight and 2 flight attendants who were waiting too, stopped by, and played with Chet for 2 hours! Glad they wore him out for the 4-hour plane ride.
Thanksgiving
Cooks and Canned Cranberry tasting
Kids
It was the usual hectic, fun, cooking, watching football (come on Lions) and lots of food. As usual, Amy and Scott, had a houseful – see pics – just would not have it any other way. I am thankful for my family and friends.
Will be staying in Colorado till December 30, then fly back to Florida to winter in Ft. Myers till April.
Here are a few thoughts from TY before the rest of the story Pennsylvania: Land of OZ, not the wizard of OZ but Doctor OZ and his buddy Governor candidate Mastriano; I wish I had the yard sign contract. We are in a very rural part of the state and yard signs are everywhere. Another interesting thing is when you get out of these very small towns, they have functioning phone booths. Pick up the receiver get a dial tone, dial the 800 number and someone will tell you how much your call will be. Who would have thought?
Anyhow we came here primarily to see Gettysburg and enjoy the fall colors. Gettysburg as you might imagine was very moving; 58,000 men(and 1 woman) killed or wounded in 3 days, July 1,2,3 1863. While the war continued for a couple of more years it was one of the first major defeats for the confederates and Lee. The museum and battlefield offer reminders of things I learned over the years but have somehow forgotten. Reading Lincoln’s Gettysburg address is still moving today even though at the time the southern press address described it as “silly” “a total waste of anyone’s time” etc. along with political cartoons. Politics has always been a nasty business from the beginning of our nation through today. I mentioned we came in part to see the colors and did we see the fall colors. We started in the Pocono Mountains; their higher altitude brought the colors out in early October. As we then traveled through the state the colors remained spectacular. We had three full weeks of prime viewing regardless of our mode of transportation, hike, bike, automobile. I had very high expectation and they were exceeded daily.
55th Class Reunion
Can’t believe it – 55 years ago I graduated from St. Mary’s of Redford, Detroit, MI. 55 years!! It was a small gathering at Monahan’s KofC hall in Livonia and since we were in the area, I got the chance to attend. Chris Black hosted a Friday evening for Gina, Diane, myself, and our significant others. Sat (the big day) we girls played golf in the afternoon before going to the reunion (starts at 4 ends at 7 so people do not have to drive in the dark – gad we are old!). Golf was so much fun; I do not have clubs with me, so I played with Gina’s, which were very fine. In the pic, I will not say anything about Diane’s driving – just she found the curb!
Chet the Jet
Puppy selection has been made and on Nov 3 he will be with us in our forever home.
Checked off our bucket list the things we wanted to do in PA
PA-capital
Gettysburg
This is a must-see Civil War site. 3-day battle, so many men (1 woman) on both sides killed or wounded. This is the site of the famed Gettysburg Address “Four scores and seven years ago…” Interesting tidbits about this speech. Lincoln was asked to give a short speech at the dedication of the cemetery (initially only for the Union soldiers). The preceding speaker, the Governor of PA gave a 90 minutes speech and then Lincoln spoke for 4 minutes. In this speech he says “long will we not remember what was said here…” yet his speech is one that goes down in the history books. Another tidbit is the fraction that did not favor Lincoln or the Republican party, ridiculed the speech as “corny” “not well spoken” “frivolous.” Boy they wrong.
Parking Meters
I must have about 10 parking apps, at least, on my phone; when we first started out, I was intimated by having to use the phone to pay for parking, now after 4 years I will admit I have gotten good at it. In Gettysburg we decided to just roam the town and of course the dreaded parking meters. While loading the app (of course, every city has their own parking apps), started to read the meter label and what do I see?? No parking fee on holidays. Today is Columbus Day (Indigenous Day for the more progressive states) Ty and I had a lot of fun walking down the street telling parkers struggling with the app: “Hey its Columbus Day…parking is free!!” Felt like we are doing our civic duty. Ha ha
Harrisburg
Capital of PA and probably the most opulent capital we have been into to date. There was so much gold everywhere you would have thought PA mined gold not coal!
PA Capital
Ringing Rocks
Rated as one of the top 10 must see (hear) sites to visit – but is in New Jersey! Anyway, a huge boulder field that you scramble out on with your hammer and you start to hit away on the rocksI Climbed into the rock field with hammer in hand and hit a lot of rocks. Some ringggggg, some thud. Interesting just saying
Ringing Rocks
Descendants! Best Bar Yet
On our way back from the Ringing Rocks, right on the PA side of the Delaware River is this very quaint town with this bar that looks like it is right out of the movie James and the Great Peach. Better still is (we always sit at the bar) the owner, Joe, came over and chatted with us, we imbibed in his favorite Irish Whiskey, Redbreast, and talked about our travels. What we liked about this place is many locals wandered in, everyone knowing each other and Joe (who with family lives above the bar), some patrons even babysit occasionally for them. It is a place where “everybody knows your name.”
Descendants Joe
Poconos
Then hiked where we saw 23 waterfalls in one day! Surprisingly, the water was still rushing over these falls, and it was a good thing too ‘cause it was very steep slippery climb down all the rocks (Deja Vue of New Hampshire, Mt Washington) and then having to climb back out – 4.5 miles round trip, took us 4 hours! Biked over 40 miles of the Lehigh Gorge, a D&L rail to trails; right along the river, sunny days in the 70’s.
Waterfalls Ricketts Glen
A lot of water
Ricketts Glen
Let Me Just Say
Ty did a lot of mountain driving on a lot of back roads; me, I am on the outlook for low hanging branches, overpasses and covered bridges. There were many a back road that Google wanted us to take that we said : “No Way!” Pic shows the mountains and valleys we crossed, covered bridge we can’t get thru (Wanda is 13’1″ tall) and then one sign which when you have 5 tons behind you (Wanda) this twisty turny downhill surpasses any Cedar Point/6 Flags amusement park – just saying.
Hikes in Allegheny
Allegheny Mountains
The Colors just went on and on, and we hiked or biked on and on. Too bad I didn’t track the miles we hiked, averaged about 4 miles a hike, 3 times a week – you do the math. Then we biked on the off-hike days, around 16 miles a ride – gawd you think we be skinny by now, but we are not!
We like to think of ourselves as pretty experienced hikers, but this Hickory Creek Wilderness was a tough one. It is rated easy, but in the fall with all the leaves on the trail and poorly marked we only managed 3 miles in 4 hours; but we never got lost!!!
Quitting Time?
“When will you quit?” We get asked this question often and honestly, we don’t know. Just the other day after setting up camp I said to Ty “when we stop, we won’t know what to do with ourselves“. It was a realization that we are not ready yet.
‘Moss and ‘shrooms
Pennsylvania certainly hit all the bucket list items: hiking, biking, fall colors, capital. The colors of fall just had us saying at every turn in the road or trail “Oh my, that is just beautiful”
Next Month and Beyond
November we will get Chet and then mosey on down to Florida where we will store Wanda for the month of December. Which means December we will be in Colorado with family which we miss tremendously (and friends). But we are still having fun!
and wifey Pam we slowly made our way across the UP of Michigan making stops at Sault St. Marie, where we had a camp spot at Aune Osborne which is right one St Mary’s River about a mile from Soo Locks. It was amazing how close we were to the freighters. Of course, when traveling thru the UP a stop for pasties is a must!
Leelanau is next stop…
Winding down the trip with brother, we all met up with Jerry and Michele LeAnderson (and Jerry’s sister Kristin and Peter) for lots of wine drinking, a meal and fireworks on the lake (which a private citizen puts on annually). I love fireworks! And these were amazing!!!!
Fireworks Little Traverse Lake with LeAnderson’s
6 degrees…
you know about the 6 degrees of separation? Turns out Pam and Michele both grew up on the same street as there is just a few years in age difference. Of course, they did not recognize each other but after introductions Michele starts to inquire of Pam where she lives and where she grew up. Pam says on Barbara in Roseville, Michele says “I grew up on Barbara in Roseville” Pam says, that Barbara is a big street with a couple of blocks and she was the middle block. Michele says “me too.” Turns out they lived 4 houses apart from each other, their sisters were the ones who played together. That is 6 degrees of separation – what are the chances of that? Rest of night Michele and Pam were in memory lane, reminiscing about the block and neighbors.
Another trip for the books…
sadly, the trip with bro comes to end and we part ways for another year. This trip was an unplanned adventure and we all agreed it was a very easy, relaxing, and a surprising sightseeing trip. Never would have gone to Minnesota or Wisconsin on our own but very glad we did.
Friends and Lake Michigan
Friends we are so blessed to have such wonderful friends
Girl Friends
Once we settled into Pioneer Park my girls – Mary Ellen and Peg – came up to spend a super relaxing weekend while Ty went on his annual sail with Jerry. All we did was talk and talk and talk. Spent the entire day (10:30-4:30) at the beach. Did a little swimming, snoozing and lots of talking. It was wonderful to have the “girl time.”
La Ola friends…
Kit and Denise, show up for a couple of days a biking and furious games of Euchre and cornhole (Denise kept complaining I was stepping over the fault line, what a stickler for rules – really, Denise!)
Clarkston friends…
thennnn,,,Tom and Leslie, Cecilia and Brad join us and again we bike ride and spend great nights around the campfire. Weather was so warm
Family Fouchey Weekend…
Fouchey Family
Ta Da,,,keeping with tradition it is rainy, cold and rainy. Does not stop us. It is the also the campground Harvest Trick or Treat where all the kids dress up and collect candy, I also “decorated” with what materials I had on hand and some kid looks at the decoration and declares “That is pretty lame, just saying”…
I took his eye out and used it as my costume.
TrickorTreat
Puppy ALERT!!!
Renee and the Pups!
Back to Indiana to get the slide repaired and some maintenance done, so we left Wanda there and headed to Canada to visit sisters (Ty and I both have sisters in Canada) AND to pick out a puppy! Ty’s sister, Renee, decided to breed her Havanese dog, Queen, and she had 6 pups born on Aug 25. She offered pups to family and friends; I am 3rd pick. Since we are in a lull, we just had to see them for ourselves. Like Ty says “I want a dog that I can treat like a cat.” We know getting a dog, let alone a puppy, is probably not the wisest thing to do in a RV, but Ty and I are not known for our wise moves. Ha ha. Cannot get the dog till November, we’ll be back…
It was a great visit, not only for the dogs, but to see Renee and hub Kirk – which we have not seen in 3 years due to Covid. As a bonus, we got to see the nieces and nephews, Lauren and Steven, and their significant others and kids. Great reunion, family is always good to have.
September Wrap up…
Left my sister Sue’s house in Windsor, Canada (3 day visit and puppy look see); stopped off at American Coney Island as we drove thru Detroit – sadly our favorite place, Lafayette Coney Island was recently shuttered due to a rat infestation – yikes! Instead we went next door to American so Ty could satisfy his coney craving. Detroit is really changing (except for the weather – still mostly cloudy) but the city itself is seeing a rebirth. And it is so clean – no litter and we even saw 2 guys sweeping the streets as we sat and ate our dogs. Keep it up Detroit!
Detroit Coneys
Wound up at Kit and Denise’s house to sadly watch the fate of our winter homes in Florida as Ian slammed into Ft Myers and Ft Myers Beach. K/D wintered at the Red Coconut on Ft Myers Beach which is totally gone. We winter at the Blueway RV which mostly flooded out – will see if we winter there are not. Luckily John and Sandy Hill – our good friends and landlord (we use their address to register as Floridians) stuck it out and had some damage but nothing major. Shingles off a roof that needs to be replaced anyway, a tree uprooted and lots of frons and limbs down.
ft myers beach Ian aftermath
Flamingos Rescued!
Steve Lawing – my friend
Steve Lawing
This month we lost a very good friend, Steve Lawing. I probably know him better than Ty, as Steve and I were Single Malt buds. I learned a lot about whiskey, and scotch and a lot more because Steve was more than willing to give you an education on just about anything. That’s what I loved about him; I can still see how he cocks his head to one side and waves his hand and says: “Let me tell you…” and off he would go.
I think Steve paid me visit as I was in Meijer’s and there was a Jameson sampling. It was Jameson with ginger and lime, which Steve would absolutely say it was blasphemous to mix a good whiskey with anything. As I lifted my glass, he popped into my head and I toasted him saying: “I know Steve, but this is pretty good. Here’s to you my friend”. He passed that day.
October Preview
will try to get onto Pennsylvania to visit capital and Gettysburg for the month of October. Hopefully, there will be some color.
Since we are meeting my “donut” brother, 1st stop I had to get a maple glazed!
Scotty and Ty
Meow Wolf
Meow Wolf Show
Before we got started, we had the unique opportunity to work for our son-in-law, Scotty, who was doing a production for Meow Wolf in downtown Denver. Ty worked as a “runner” for 8 days which was exhausting work for 10 hours a day for an “old” man and I was the Staff Check-In Manager for 4 days (not so exhausting, but it was HOT sitting in tent in 90plus degrees. But we LOVED every minute of it. Fun to see what Scotty does and manages – taking a real junkyard and cleaning it up, putting up stages, porta pots, water stations, food/beverage stations, vip tents. You name it, that is what Scotty is doing. It is one hell of a big job! And Amy does the decorating of the VIP tents (2) which is no easy task. Event lasted 4 days, sold out at 7000 tickets. Not our kind of venue, but hey, just fun to be there.
Mice – Yikes!
We still can’t hit the road yet as when we pulled Wanda out of storage and oh my , did we ever have the mice!!! I had gotten rid of all the pantry food, but the mice decided that toilet paper, napkins, anything in cellophane would make a great nest. They even brought in dirt pellets and made them a nest out of them. So we took everything out of Wanda, dishes, silverware, pillows, blankets, rugs, clothes and really just everything and washed it all. What a job, took us days plus laying of traps to get rid of the little buggers. When we finally began to travel, a couple of little guys came along and were probably wondering “where in the heck am I?”. We trapped them all and by the time we got to LaCrosse WI we only had 1 left and “it” was a goner by that evening; but not before his last meal was potatoes flakes.
First Stop – Lincoln NE State Capital
Lincoln was one of the Covid drive-by capitals, so we thought best to take advantage while we were in the neighborhood and get a tour. It is one of the rare capital buildings that does not have a dome, rather it is a very tall sphere. Inside was gorgeous with all the mosaic and ceramic tile, and granite. Nicely done.
Meet Up with Bro and Bride
Time to travel with brother Will and bride, Pam, and it was decided since time is short to do a little of Wisconsin, and bits of Minnesota. We met in LaCrosse
Great Horned Owl
LaCrosse being first stop, we took in the sites of the river and toured a very well-done Owl Refuge. Great lecture – made us get rid of the mouse poison we had.
Red Wing was up next – nothing much to do there but enjoy the cute town and people.
Lake Elmo, right outside of St. Paul; another capital tour that turned out to be a repeat. Oh well, it was all new to us until we got to climb up 65 stairs to view those statues on the top that look really small from the ground but are really really big!
St Paul MN capital
Duluth, although another repeat, caught our attention because we had missed the Lift Bridge, had to see that! Stayed in Amnicon at The Backyard Bar and RVCamp – a great overnight. This Lift Bridge is one of 2 (Chicago being the other) that have a Lift Bridge. This is a roadway that actually lifts 150 ft up as oppose to having a drawbridge that lets the boats continue in in the waterway. Amazing site!
Down — Up
Well then, we will be flexible
For the first time we ran into not being able to get into any campgrounds without having a reservation months in advance. We had planned to do the north shore of Lake Superior, but not to be. Instead, we headed for:
Apostle Island WI
waterfall hike
Ashland Wall Murals
Ashland WI, which is a whole vacation spot in itself, could spend weeks here! Ashland is just a darling of a town, and they are proud of it. There are murals that covered the whole side of buildings depicting the townsfolk and life in town. Managed to grab a camp site in the Krehner County Park right on Lake Superior. This was home base to travel up to the Apostle Islands which are roughed and beautiful. Boat tour, hiking, waterfalls and lighthouses.
Ashland Wall Murals
Madeline Island Wi
Mushrooms
More mushrooms
Mushrooms are abundant
Church Ore Dock
Yooper Michigan Here We Come
Moving on we crossed over into the Upper Peninsula via Hwy 2. Ride was rough coming out of WI but once we hit the MI line it smoothed out. First stop was Marquette and Presque Isle. Great biking in this area, spent day on the beach and of course white fish sandwiches (I will probably come down with lead poisoning from all the white fish I am eating). Lots of iron ore still comes out of the UP and in Marquette we saw the Ore Loading Docks. The one in pic is no longer in operation, but there is a working one in Presque Isle. The docks were built so the lake freighters could pull right under them and the rail cars on top and the ore is dumped into chutes which then dumps into the ship.
day on Lake Superior
What is the UP really known for?
We wouldn’t be true to the UP if we didn’t stop and buy some Yooper Pasties – meat and rutabaga kind.
Have to admit that I (think Ty would agree) that being “stuck” in Colorado is a wonderful thing. We missed the grandeur of the mountains, sunsets in the East (weird I know) the boulders and rocks, the trees. Oh, did I mention the kids? Yes, the kids – we do miss seeing them on a regular basis. But it is this part of the country that I think we miss the most on our travels.
Balloon over house
Been reading (actually, I “read” through audiobooks) John Steinbeck’s “Travels With Charley”. Don’t know why I have never read that book before, Ty did when he retired and then went off on his “retirement travel” with dog, Brit. Know I understand. Steinbeck’s need to see the country is not unlike ours, albeit we are doing it almost 62 years later! It is hard to fine the sleepy little town with an all-day breakfast and people sitting around willing to talk. Now it is mostly fast food, breakfast mostly only in the morning and not many people have “time” to talk. Sad really. Have made it a goal that when we get going again, that it is the slow sleepy road, with stops for breakfasts.
Hiking, Hiking, Hiking, Hiking – you get it, right?
This is all about Ty, as usual, but not in a medical way. He has been hiking every chance he gets – he is a happy man. Spent a week in Winter Park and we hiked every day, I was pooped what with the altitude and steepness of trails. On the plus side we saw Moose and Baby one day, 4 moose the next, 1 lonely guy (moose) and so on. Lots of moose.
Pepe Osaka’s Tequila Bar and Japanese Food
What a combination! What great happy hour Tequila! What a great bartender, Brandon; if I were only 50 years younger – sigh.
Right down the street from condo at Winter Park, so we visited every day and took Scotty’s dad, Bob and stepmom Linda there more than one night. Ah Tequila, Tequila makes me Asquealea (you have to really work through all the vowels and consonants on this one to get it). We had fun.
Pepe’s
Fun with Nichols
Winter Park
Speaking of Winter Park (that is where Pepe’s is) we were able to get a week in and crammed it full of fun including a visit from Scott’s Dad, Bob, and stepmom, Linda. We managed to play some golf, which I was nervous cause I really haven’t played in a long time and was glad Linda didn’t want to keep score.
Happy Birthday Tim Hynek!
Driving thru Grand Lake on day and on a chance, I texted Tim to see if he rebuilt his home which was destroyed in the 2019 fire that devasted the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park and much of the surrounding area of Grand Lake. He immediately responded: “ (that) no, instead bought a new place while they decide what to do with the property. Come over on Friday and celebrate his birthday” –which we did. We had Tyrus with us and he was thoroughly entertained by the bucks that walked thru their yard, the moose we saw up front and personal munching away at the bushes, and the ATV ride Tim’s son, Tom, took Tyrus on. It was a very delightful evening sitting out in the mountain yard (no fences only mountains) watching the sun set over the peaks, smelling the fragrance of the night flowers and eating the MOST DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE TORTE I have ever had. Jean you are a wonderful dessert maker!
Marvel Costumes Custom Made!
Marvel
When The Great Adventure first began, Tyrus was just beginning to make costumes for the family. All of us and friends have Marvel characters and so he decided we all had to have our Marvel suits. At first, we thought this was just a passing fad, but 4 years later he has made over 10-12 different costumes. In the beginning I would help him get the boxes ready to paint and cut out the arm holes, now he pretty much does it all himself. This last one (we all pray it is the LAST one) is the most complicated. It is Spider Man and doing all the webbing out of tape was really hard – it did take all of us to help with it, but look how wonderful it turned out!
start end
Beat the Heat
Heat has been extreme in Colorado this July, with countless (well somebody has counted them) days of temps well over 95 degrees. Amy’s house does not have air conditioning and in years past has not needed it, but climate change and all and it does now. So one late hot afternoon out of desperation, Amy and Scotty went out and bought an above ground pool, nothing fancy but it does the job! Yippee! Let’s all dive in.
July pretty Tame
We continued to housesit for the month of July; back with Tex the dog for a couple of weeks, then at friend’s house in Anthem, Chris and Joe. We are so thankful for the opportunity! And it allows us to keep visiting our past neighbors/friends, playing cards, volunteering and of course spend as much time with Amy which equates to laundry.
It was a great and very hot month – Colorado set a record for the hottest July since who knows when but I loved every sweaty moment of it.
An incredible dog, but definitely a “momma’s boy”. Tex was the first dog/house sitting “job” we had in May but I forgot to tell this story and shouldn’t be forgotten.
First night at Wendy’s, Tex slept on couch just outside our bedroom. But the second night was a different story. I stayed the night at a friends, so it was just Ty and Tex. Ty heads for bed, Tex to the couch. About midnight, the bedroom door comes busting open, Ty being sound asleep just couldn’t figure out what was going on. It was Tex who decided that he needed the bed, so he must have run full speed into the door to open it up. Ty is not having any dog sleep in his bed, so he returns Tex to couch. About 1am, Ty now awakens to the sound of furniture crashing, so he gets up and there is Tex trying to get into the natural fireplace – the screen has fallen to the floor and wood and Tex is trying to curl up onto the grate. Ty resettles Tex to the couch. About 3am again Ty is woken up to the loud sounds coming from bathroom. Upon investigating he has found Tex trying to get comfortable in the tub. Ty shoos him out and now picks up all the bath stuff that has fallen into tub and returns to bed only to find Tex curled up on his side. Ty puts Tex on floor next to him and crawls into a wet bed (tub floor was wet) and sleeps until morning. When he opens his eyes he realizes Tex is spooning him, sleeping peacefully.
Gil
Gillian – The Irish Setter
Irish Setters are pretty stately dogs; they prance when walking with their long red fringe swaying side to side. Always on the alert when walking to point out (literally Gil did) a bird or rabbit that he saw along the way. Gil, as he is known by, is a 10-year-old and his favorite pass time is to sit in his chair and watch the birds.
I just wanted to put a pipe in his mouth.
Bruce and Sheena’s neighbors – Brian and Shannon
For the first 17 days of June, we stayed at a different another friend of Amy’s that travelled to Scotland to visit their daughter . This is Gil’s home, we stayed and took care of house and him. Bruce and Sheena have some very nice neighbors, Brian and Shannon, that came down and we got into Bruce’s liquor cabinet.
Brian Shannon
Tex puppy eyes
Tex again
Last half of June we returned to the house we stayed at in May with Tex and was there until July 2. Glad to be back with Tex and I think he was happy to see us too. He settled nicely into the closet of the bedroom for the nights. Tex is not only is he a “momma’s boy” he also is a “clock watcher” if a dog can be that. 7am breakfast and walk, noon walk, 5pm dinner and walk. And he has the sweetest of eyes and when he comes up and puts his head on your lap and looks up at you – you just have to either feed him or walk him.
This is what we did with the rest of June
It was actually nice to be in Colorado this month – the weather was spectacular and although Ty can’t hike in the mountains, we have found some really nice hikes just below the foothills. We even came across working cowboys herding cows to another pasture.
RoundUp
Ride in the Mountains
And I am sure you grandparents with teenagers they love to see you but not “hang out” with you. One day we captured Tyrus and with promises of a hamburger in the mountains he took a ride with us one day.
Batter Up! another nice opportunity afforded to us was to watch Tyrus play baseball and hit a homerun for a walk off win. That was fun.
Homerun!
June just cruised on by and we are healing nicely.
I can see and Ty’s range of motion gets better every day.
Ty had his shoulder replaced on April 28th. Surgery was very much a success according to the surgeon (of course what surgeon wouldn’t say that?) and now it is up to Ty. Physical therapy is twice a week until August 11! So far, he is doing well.
I had cataract surgery on both eyes and what a difference it makes. Surgery is a breeze, takes longer to prep in pre-op than the actual surgery. Opted for the laser cut so the doc could have a cup of coffee and not worry about jagged lines. I can see!!
Both of us did our yearly medical check-up, and dentist, and dermatology and I threw in a podiatrist just for good measure. Actually, was having left foot cramps and it turns out I had a swollen nerve which was treated with a steroid and it is good to go.
Bet you are all glad to read about our medical issues – least we are not talking about poop.
Ty graduates
Grandson Ty is a Graduate!
A wonderful event in the family to have a high school graduate. The whole family was able to attend the ceremony; 2 ½ hours of speeches and handing out the diplomas for 500 students while we sat in the bleachers – our poor butts but at least the scenery was incredible. I was the only smart one in the group and brought a cushion. One down, 3 more to go.
Ty and the Girls
Afterwards, there was a huge parade in town for the Fairview graduates, notice Ty in the truck bed with all the girls!
Graduation Parade
Snowstorm
Tessa and Gang
Last Winter Storm – next day sunbathing
Gotta love Colorado weather! Day after graduation ceremony (Friday) it snowed 6 inches overnight! Temperature dropped from 70 degrees to 30 in a matter of hours and the storm blew in. Then the next day (Saturday) the temp went back up to 70, snow melted in a hurry and Tessa and her gaggle decided that sunbathing was the thing to do.
Tex
Lodging
Our intentions when we came out here was to stay in Wanda at a friend of Amy’s. Unfortunately, didn’t work out as planned so we scurried to find another place to stay. PROBLEM is there IS NOT a campground near the Boulder area that we could get into without having to move every weekend to where we don’t know. Everything is booked.
Lucky for us, neighbor of a friend of Amy’s needed a house and dog sitter while she went to Costa Rica for 3 weeks. It is a lovely home, right on the edge of the foothills which Ty loved because he can get out and walk and some wide not too rocky paths with the dog. Has a route that is about 4 miles, which we do everyday twice (Tex the dog is getting into shape!).
Tex is a real momma’s boy. First night he slept on couch just fine, Second night didn’t go so well; I spent night with a friend so Ty puts Tex on couch like night before. Around midnight Tex crashed thru the bedroom door all whiney. Ty puts him back on couch only to be woken up around 1:30 with Tex trying to crawl into the fireplace. Once again Ty settles him on the couch – at 3am Tex is now in the bathtub making a big racket. Ty gives up and lets the dog sleep with him. In the morning he woke up with Tex spooning him.
So we spent the rest of our stay with Tex sleeping in the closet of bedroom. He was very content in his cave.
Mother’s Day
Four families (friends of Amy and Scott’s) got together to celebrate the Mothers. Nice to be pampered by the guys.
Ode to Mothers
Gentle Woman,
quiet light, morning star
So strong and bright
Gentle Mother
Peaceful dove, teacher of wisdom
Teach us love
Mothers Day
Egg or trailer
Egg or Trailer
We do see a lot of unusual rigs.
We are settled in, good to be back home for awhile. Good thing cause we are here for awhile. Will get our “mountain” fix
Weather has changed and what a difference having the sun out and the warmer temps have made! It is still windy, natives tell me that it is always windy this time of year.
Ty wasn’t happy with me because I said he was grumpy here in Florida. Can’t help it though, because he really doesn’t like where we are at right now. No good hikes or bike rides. We all know if you can’t exercise and get those endrophins-thingys going, then you are going to be grumpy. Sorry Ty – (it does make me sad when he is not a happy camper)
feb SUN
I Have Become My Parents
When my mom and dad retired, they moved up to Pt Sanilac MI from Detroit to a small retirement community. Every so often in the winter they would go “missing”. I’d call my brother or sister and asked if they heard from M&D, they had not. Later we would learn they left the cold and drove down to FL with friends and played. When M&D passed and we went thru their pictures we found out why they liked FL so much. The white sand beaches, bikini girls (dad took those pics I am sure cause they were not of mom) and gatherings at the outdoor bars. It sure looked like they were having a great time, not a care in the world. Gettin’ a little sun, gettin’ a little tipsy, doing a lot of dancing.
Now here I am loving retirement in Florida. And it IS fun; the white sand beaches, having a great time, not a care in the world, getting tan, getting tipsy, doing a lot of dancing.
Eventually, we all become like our M&D’s!
Goddess
Ty takes almost daily walks around the park. I thought he just wanted to get his daily exercise until while I was riding around the park, came across this park sculpture…hmmm.
Gators
gator behind bike
Shark Valley: Took a 13-mile bike ride through about a dozen alligators which are so docile, they are just snoozing by the canals’ edge. Ranger said there is plenty of food for them so they are not interested in catching a walker or biker as that would be just too much effort. Anyway, we get to the halfway point and park our bikes and whoa! a gator comes up from the canal and quickly walks over towards us. Let me tell you what, that gets those endrophins-thingys going! So, gator guy decided that plopping down right next to our bikes was just the thing to do! We decide to go up the observation tower figuring gator guy would be gone. But NOOO, gator guy is joined by another gator guy and this one is even bigger. I am not leaving my beloved bike, so I made Ty unlock the bikes and bring me mine. Hey he wanted to get his heart pumping; am just trying to help.
Activities Picking Up
As mask mandates slowly dissolve, we have been doing a lot more where we are staying (besides the daily walk to the statue).
Attended a Michigander party where you had to be from MI at one time or another. This park is full of people from MI so it was a large affair; the joke around here is they are going to have a non-MI party and only have to set up one table of eight!
Valentine Dance: been awhile since we danced but we still got it!
Been to the beach several times to watch sunset – beautiful as you would expect.
Full moon canoe through the Mangroves, moonglow illuminating the waterway was spectacular.
Weekly excursions to Ft Myers to La Olas to party with Kit and Denise, my liver finally texted me and told me to stop drinking, now I am the designated driver. We met a really nice couple from Iowa, Kelly and Keith. They are farmers by trade but winter in Ft. Myers for a spell. Fun couple.
Kelly Keith Kit Denise
Went to Ava Marie which is a sub-division out in the middle of nowhere for a Blues concert which was actually more like a Heavy Metal Blues so it was different. But the highlight was where we were at was the ONLY place in the whole state of FL where it rained. It poured and it came on us very suddenly, as you can see where we had to take shelter.
ENHANCE_NONE
Thoughts on Florida
I am not 100% certain but am pretty sure that drivers in this state (regardless of where they are from) think that turn signals are just a suggestion. I wonder if they get into their car and wonder what this little stick that is sticking out of the side of steering wheel and goes up and down is for?
Speaking of cars – another thing is you have to have the high beams on when driving at night is mandatory. It’s true! Don’t care if they are blinding the on-coming car.
Retirees sure know how to have fun and STILL get 8 hours of sleep! Happy time starts at 1:00 pm and the actual happy hour starts around 3:30, but most get started at 1. Since we go to bed at 9, wow, a whole day to party on!
Visits
Went to Weston FL which is north of Miami to visit with Bob and Pat Tomizac, spent the night in a very high-end hotel which we found on Hotel Tonight. This app finds rooms that are pretty reasonable, the catch is to get the best rate you need to book it the day of arrival and pretty close to arrival time. These are rooms that haven’t been rented out as of yet that day. Good deal, good app. Try it!
Duck Key and saw Silvia and John Hernandez. Parents of John (Jess) Hernandez who are friends with Amy and Scott. On our first go around in Florida in 2019 we visited John and Sylvia; think I mentioned that they have a beautiful home on Duck Key overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. These two, grade school sweethearts, are just that sweet and so hospitable. They have been busy in 2 years converting the front yard into an orchard of tropical fruits and plants that the butterflies and hummingbirds are sure to love. It was fun to go out and knock down a papaya plant, then Sylvia would make papaya juice which we drank every morning. They also have 2 boats, one for fishing and skirting around, other a much bigger affair for long trips or trips to different islands in comfort. First day we putted around Duck Key as it has many canals and gawked (me) at the houses and next we traveled in comfort to Marathon Key for lunch. Duck Key is fairly large, over 400 homes, established in 1950 built on a salt factory that was no longer in operation. Was a great visit.
Ended Too Soon
February ended way too soon and before you know it we will be heading “north” to Ft. Myers for month of April to finish our wintering. I will be sorry to bid adieu to Naples, the place grew on me despite the lack of directional turns. I understand that’s how you keep your brain smart when you have to keep guessing. There are so many big pretty birds here; we have daily visitors (Ibis) in our “yard” every morning which I look forward to. Ty not so much, he struggled to find a hike or bike ride challenging enough.
And Ty is setting an all-time record for how many times he can hit his head on the hitch – 4 so far this month, 2 bleeds, 1 scratch, 1 just a bump.
Thought once we left 2021 behind us that things would get back to our normal and we would be carefree again. We had enough of hurricane force winds, trees blowing down and fires in Boulder, we were ready to party. But not so fast!
Covid Look
As soon as we came to Florida, picked up unfixed Wanda, said bye to John and Sandy, COVID hit Ty. Put him down for a couple of days with the aches and pains (are not these the same?) then couple more days of just sleeping away. I only had a scratchy throat and maybe a little tightness in the chest but nothing I would call “sick”. Can’t believe I didn’t get it, as it is hard living in 275 sq ft of living space to not to breathe in the sneezing crap that flying thru the air. I spent the first 8 days trying to be as far away from Ty as possible, so I sat outside next to rig not wanting to expose anyone in case, I was a carrier.
While Ty was sick the weather was nice and hot and humid. Oh, how I long for that weather now; anyway, Ty got better and now we are ready to party then that weather maker that hurled itself across the mid-west reached its windy cold arm down our way. That means TORNADOS WIND and RAIN! Let me be the first to run into the tornado shelter, if I could find it, so had to settle for the kitchen of the community center while a Baptist service was commencing. I haven’t been to a church gathering where we are all packed into each other like sardines since pre-Covid days. I suspect a lot of people were not Baptist, but actually seeking shelter. But we all sang, waved our hands about and prayed like mad that the Gods that be would not let a tornado strike this little mobile home park. Ya know, that is the first place tornados like to strike – trailers. Well, all is good at IW (that lingo for Imperial Wilderness) as all that was shaken was me (and a few others) and the palm trees.
Then the January weather decided to be like the rest of the county; all that snow in the “north county” (any state north of FL is “north country”) has seen fit to also send clouds and cold winds down this way. I am not prepared for this t I have very few winter clothes; nothing to do so I decide to wash clothes forgetting that I had bought a red item and now all of the whites (Ty’s) are now a nice hue of pink. Ughhhh.
Remember that cute little dog, Dulce, that belongs to John and Sandy. Ty doesn’t think so cute anymore. Dulce was curled up behind Ty’s legs, and Ty stood up stepping on the Dulce, she thanked him by biting him in the big toe. Ouch! For such a little dog, she sure does pack a mean punch. Toe got all swollen and looked nasty for a couple of days. All better now.
John and Sandy Hill, our FL address people, came down to Naples and off we went to see some old guy, I mean old – in his 80’s play at a Japanese Steak House. He actually is really good, plays anything without any sheet music. Get this: a patron of the restaurant, with shaven head except for a mohawk patch, all tatted up with a girlfriend in Goth mode made a request. I couldn’t wait to hear what he had in mind and he asks “Do you know any Chopin?” CHOPIN? I didn’t see that coming, not what I pegged this guy to ask for. Reminds me, todays sermon at church was all about putting people in boxes – that’s what I did; note to self: need to work on that. Back to the story, so this 80+ piano player starts in and plays a couple of tunes by Chopin all without the benefit of sheet music. He was wonderful, and his wife sings too.
What else has been happening this month? Not much really – went to the ocean for this first time we have been here (day 25 to be exact) on the one and only day that it has been in the high 70’s. Still cloudy, windy and no sunset to be had.
Wanda is not completely fixed, she did get a new fireplace, but the grease fittings are back ordered. She continues to squeak driving me perfectly insane. Me, LazyDays and Grand Design have a thing going, not in a good way.
The fabric on the chairs didn’t wear out, they UGLIED out. After 3 years of sitting on a off-white fabric you can imagine the grime that just doesn’t wash out. While weather was not nice, we made the most of it by recovering chairs. Only 3 trips to Joann Fabrics for material and foam, 2 to hardware for the correct size stables. also had to borrow a staple gun (not something we carry around with us, thank you brother Willy for knowing somebody) and lastly a gazillion hours on YouTube trying to figure out just how to get the old stuff off. There are a million staples on the underneath. Finally, Ty thinks to call his brother Dave who is an unholster, for gosh sakes, who told us to leave in staples and just cut off material. Duhhh. And trips back to hardware and Joann’s to return unwanted stuff.
Ty has a few new injuries to his head as he continues to bump his head on open kitchen cupboards. Refuses to wear the helmet Jason gave him, of course. And he wasn’t too keen on wintering in FL, did it to appease me, so he not his usual cheery self, just a little more than grump I would say. But hey, he got off to a rough start and if he would just close a cupboard door!
Met up with our friends, Kit and Denise, at Fort Myers Beach for fun at LaOlas although it is a Covid petri dish of 60-70’s year old just wanting to have some fun. We met them 2 years ago at LaOlas and my liver will never be the same. This time, we won’t be meeting them at the bar 3 times a week!
Oh do I have Tiffin envy. For those of you unaware, Tiffin is a top of the line Motorcoach – it doesn’t get any better than a Tiffin: marble floors – which are heated, granite counter tops, lightening and heat controlled by your phone. Full size refrigerator, induction cook top and I could just go on and on (4 TVs!!)
“K&DRP” Kit and DeniseRolling Palace is a befitting name.
Brother Will and wife Pam also have a condo in Naples which they rent until April sometime. It is nice to have them down here with us and we are trying to make the most of it. Went to local theatre to see “Silver Alert”, about the kids taking away the old folk’s car keys. Been there with my parents, too close to happening to us.
There are some activities that I have tried to engage in. Hand and Foot which of course has it own rules and tweaks. I haven’t been back, too painful. Did play Pinochle, 3 handed, and that was fun. Haven’t played that card game in a long time. They play a game called “Pitch”, which I hope to try soon.
