Florida and Mississippi

Tuesday 20th: The excitement of getting to Pensacola was partly to see the camp sites mom and dad stayed at but also he wants to see how much damage was done to the area from Hurricanes. Ivan came thru here and hit it quite good. The roof of the restaurant we ate at "Crabs We Got 'Em" was taken off during the storm. It is back on now of course but they still need to fix the door to the bar because it lets in a lot of cold air. Unfortunately the roads were being worked on that prevented us from getting to the campground, so we could not actually get to see the spot they were at. But it was mission accomplished anyway because that is what he wanted to find out. I had been in this area before the storm myself and i must say that it does not look much different than I remember. The water is beautiful and so is the sand, the temperatures are not so good at 42 degrees during the day and hard freeze warnings for the inland areas tonight. It makes you think twice about going back out to the car from a warm hotel room to get the gin, so that comes in with us the first trip.

Friday 23rd: After a $200 fix of the computer I'm back in business. Could not even get into safe mode!! But all files recovered and going again, but will need to load all my lost programs later.
Getting to Waveland dad showed me why he wanted to get down here so bad. This was a home away from home and everywhere reminded him of mom, but it has changed. The hurricane trashed much of the place so much is rebuilt. The park where they stayed is closed but we went in anyway and the store where he got fish is closed and trashed. The hotel we are staying in is out front the old grocery store (Coast Inn) so he can sit in the room and watch the action out front of the old store (passing cars). The Casino Magic is now the Hollywood Casino in one place and the other location on the beach is nothing but a foundation now being worked on. Many lots are for sale and empty but others have huge houses built on them standing on pillars that look like they would withstand a big storm. But talking to locals they see them as kites. The highway 90 bridge was completely destroyed and it was a massive concrete and steel thing.
So it is the same, but different, with memories built on what seems like shifting sands of a once sturdy foundation.
Weather is going to be rainy and cooler and the trip home will turn cold soon. But seeing this area has settled some things it seems and hopefully this will lead to a little peace of mind.
Slide show below will be added to in the next few days.

Sunday 25th: Left Waveland to return home today and traveled to Vicksburg to see some Civil War History. The hotel is the Battlefield Inn by the Vicksburg National Military Park and Museum. A great stop where dad can have some catfish and work the hotel bar. May stay another day because of the free drinks and all there is to see here..............a real good day.

Tuesday 27th: Seems like we are moving along sort of fast. Now in Nashville we are back in cold weather. Ice is forecast for tomorrow morning. But the drive along the Natchez Trace Parkway was nice. Temps about 70 degrees during the day. We stopped in at another campground along the way he knew, but it was closed for the winter. Another one or two days here in Tennessee and then it will be North for the push home.

Friday 30th: It's been a few days in Tennessee seeing the area around Cookeville. Nice hills and lakes make for possibilities later.Stopped in to see Bob and Donna McGovern in Crossville. It was a surprise to see that Bob and dad worked with the same people even though they never met before.It is a small world. After a long drive we are back in Warren Indiana staying at the Huggy Bear. It is the first stop on the way out for dad's trips and the last stop on the way back. I think there is some thermal sink at this spot because it is 5 degrees now with chill to -7.I think adding the temperature up from the first time here and this time it doesn't pass 10 degrees. Tomorrow is Saginaw and for me two days from San Diego.It will be good to get back home.

MICHIGAN TO ALABAMA TRIP

Brother Up At The Ski Lodge Ready For Tequila Tasting

Temperatures Inside And Outside On Ski Day

I Don't Do This In San Diego!!

This trip is about taking dad to places him and mom visted during their many trips down south in their 5th wheel.

The trip starts with family up in Boyne City at the ski slopes. My brother Gary in his rental with other friends come to ski and drink and eat. The flurries are falling and it is 19 degrees tonight at 10:00 pm. but colder temps are forcast for tomorrow. I will start the bunny slopes tomorrow to test the hip and take it from there. The goal for me is to do no harm..........and have fun in the process. Ski lift is the only expense because thanks to e-bay and local garage sales Gary has enough ski equipment to outfit everyone.

Saturday Morning 1/10: Single digit temperatures to start the ski day as the picture shows. But bundled up it doesn't seem to be so bad. Got to see much of the mountain and spend time with some great people. Skied till about 5:30 off and on.....great time. Didn't ski Sunday so as not to risk the rest of the trip.

Monday January 12, 2009: Up in Harrison Michigan with Dad I am reminded of why I moved to California. Snow piled against doors, in the driveway with ice under and over everything makes it difficult to get around. The cold is refreshing and there is plenty of that to come. Minus temperatures are predicted to make a showing for the next three nights and single digit highs during the day. Snow is forecast thru the week all around here. The escape plan is down to Saginaw tomorrow evening and after an eye appointment on Wednesday off to Indiana to the first stop. From there we stay around Nashville a few days and then to Eufaula Alabama.
Of course this is all subject to change depending on how much snow we get tonight. One to four inches is what it should be.

Wednesday 14th: Still in Saginaw at sisters house. Estimated departure is Thursday now. I will put together a slide show and add pictures to it as the trip unfolds from here. Snow is falling, the sound of snow plows on the city streets and a nice view of a snow covered patio. Not a bad place to hang out till we depart.

Thursday 15th: A snowy drive down the highway from Saginaw with temperatures all day that never got above single digits. We pulled into the Huggy Bear Hotel (Warren Indiana) for the first stop on the “sentimental journey”. Things have changed over the years from what dad last remembers, some of the hotel rooms are apartments now and the Broasted chicken so coveted in the past is no longer made. Just goes to show ya to enjoy the moments when you have them because it may never come again.

Friday 16th: 15 degrees below zero with a wind chill getting it into the -20’s has been the lowest temperature I’ve experienced outside a lab test chamber. Going to and from the hotel to the gas station/store/diner (50 to 70 yards) seemed like taking your life in your hands. Ice under the crunching snow meant travel had to be slow. But we got to the diner to have breakfast and take in some of the local color. Remind me to tell you the story of the raccoon hat and the waitress. The drive was beautiful with a stop in Indianapolis to get a phone charger. The snow line was about the same as I remember extending to about the middle of Indiana. After that there was little snow, just bare trees and the bitter cold. Tonight is spent in Bowling Green in a Hotel 6. Dinner was compliments of a fist full of Red Lobster gift cards dad had in his glove box, so thanks all for the cards over the years, one was from us a few years ago. Enough for yet another meal too.

Sunday 18th: A good day. Sunny and temps in the low 60's. Leaving from Montgomery it was a short days drive thru the Alabama back roads to Eufaula. With some looking, we got to the White Oak Campground about 3:00 or so with lots of time to explore the sites where dad and mom spent numbers of weeks each year. Usually it was in the spring on the way back from Mississippi they would stay here. But Oakwood loop with sites 30-59 was closed for the winter. It was site 52 where they would stay. We went around some of the open campgrounds to see the area and having come this far it was concluded that parking the car and walking into the closed section was the thing to do. So after some power walking down the road we lingered at site 52 for some time talking about the things they use to do while here. Neighbors giving them fish, walks in the woods, trips into town etc.

This seems to be a trip where specific memories are a moving target. Things have changed since dad was last at these places and memories are not always accurate, making for some uncertainty in facts. But the certainty of what he feels does not need much prompting because every mile we travel is not just hotels, campgrounds and restraunts but connections to a time and a person providing a comfort that familiar things bring.

Below is a slideshow that will be updated as we go.

Mondy 19th: Another day in Eufaula spent seeing the area. Some additional slides added at the back of the show. Of note, Kathy McGovern's AND Rusty Fullers' Birthday today. Got in the traditional call to Rusty but missed Kathy..........so happy birthday Kathy. And of course Happy Birthday to Bob Howie too. How long has it been since we got together on a birthday Bob? Perhaps next year hu? Remember Total Eclipse 2012 in northern CA!!! May 12th I believe.

Anyway, me and dad will leave for Waveland Mississippi tomorrow and I will add more files to a different entry with different music in a couple days.