I’ve been running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
WHAT’S COME OVER YOU, GREG? “You’re running around like a chicken with its head cut off. You were so sluggish while you were ill that we’d almost forgotten you could move this fast. So what’s up?” “Here’s the deal. Eight months ago the doctors told my wife I had only a few hours to live. Yesterday I had my last visit to one of those same doctors. They’ve a said I’m good to go. I’ve got so much energy and determination to do God’s will it’s hard for me to find enough hours in the day to ‘get it done.’ But I’m whistling Dixie and I’m happy as a clam. It’s all good. And as to God’s will, I know what you might be thinking. Don’t fret. I’m not going to start lecturing you like Al Sharpton, or even Joel Osteen. I’ll do my work without you even realizing at first what’s happening to you…how you’re benefiting from reading this Blog. It will be completely painless.”
REALLY, WHAT’S NEXT? We’re moving our earthly possessions back to our motorhome. You may recall that it’s been in storage for a long time. When it became obvious that I wasn’t going anywhere for a while and the doctors predicted it would take me a year to recover and learn to walk again, Florence rented us a little apartment. But it only took me five months to get back on my feet. That’s another story for a different day.
Zac’s an Eagle Scout. Me too.
A young man whose name is Zac will orchestrate the logistics and help with the project. Okay, if I’m going to be honest with you: he’s doing darn near all the work. He’ll detail the coach, clean it inside and out, repair our oil pressure gauge and perform an 84 point pre-travel inspection. He’s a tech at a local RV dealership, so he knows how to do all these things.I’m lucky to have met this young man just when I needed him. And I he’s lucky too. Turns out we I have lots in common. We’re both Eagle Scouts. (Once an Eagle always an Eagle.) He’s honest as the day is long. He’s dependable as am I. We both have a pretty good sense of humor. The sarcastic, self-deprecating tongue in cheek kind of humor. You already know that’s my trademark.
WHERE ARE YOU GUYS HEADED? That’s a good question. But I don’t have much of an answer to give you just yet. We’ll depart Pensacola in about a week and head north…we need to get out of this heat and humidity. We’ll stop each night at a Cabela’s or a Bass Pro Shop. They both have lots of RV parking. Our first destination of any significance will probably be Lake Erie in Pennsylvania. My friend Bruce grew up in the state, so he’ll probably be able to give us some suggestions when we arrive in his home state. And we’re hoping to visit him on Cape Cod later in the year. He owns and operates his own business in a town called Wellfleet, one of the most beautiful towns right on the water’s edge we’ve seen so far on our trip. And that’s saying a lot. For the longest time I felt presumptuous saying we were seasoned travelers. No longer…we’ve come a long way and seen a huge part of America.
WE WANT TO SEE LOTS OF FRIENDS ON THIS LEG OF OUR ADVENTURE. We’re also hoping to see Matthew and his family in Connecticut. We met them last year while in Cape Cod. We’ll also see Julie in Charlotte, North Dakota and Dylan in Norfolk. We’ll meet Jon on the road and perhaps travel tandem for a week en route to Texas where we’ll join Annie and Roger. Once there we’ll want to meet up with Jen at Buckhorn Lake Resort as well as Ray Garcia. And we’ll be passing Lake Livingston so we’ll say hello to my lifelong friend David Yetter and his wife Ruthie. Therese in Oregon is chomping on the bit and we’re hoping she’ll come stay with us for a week in Texas. But we will also be driving through Portland so we can see her again there on our way to stay again with John and Jude.
Mari and Marymay want to see us again soon, and we want to see them too. We’ll make it happen. Then there’s Fred in Idaho. Vicki, Kathryn and Susan are there so we can hardly leave them out. And Chris in Nebraska has offered to show us around. If I’ve neglected to mention anyone else we plan to see, forgive me. We’ll get there eventually. So many friends. So little time, only because winter is always around the corner and that of course brings us to a screeching halt for at least 4 months. Other than that we’ve got all the time in the world!
SO LITTLE TIME. SO MANY FRIENDS. Whew! My head spins just thinking about all of this. So, I’m going to take a break at the end of the year and fly to San Diego to see my best friend Earl and meet with Ryan. You met him recently. He’s my website guy and we’re planning a major overhaul to this site. While I’m there I hope to connect with Diane Hollister. She’s an old friend form high school and lives in nearby Carlsbad. We can keep each other laughing and reminiscing for hours. Finally, of the rest of you guys in San Diego will also get a knock on your door. Count on it.There’s just not enough space on this page to list all of you. But you know who you are and I’m going to be knocking on your front doors all week long while I’m in San Diego. That’s it. Isn’t it enough? I think so!
Pennsylvania’s Lake Erie will be our first real stop on this leg of our Journey. The weather is nice at this time of year and there’s lots to see and do in the area.
Bass Pro Shops: I took this picture about a year ago when we stopped night at a Bass Pro Shop. There’s always plenty of RV parking and often the spaces are landscaped and just as nice as those in a high-end RV Park. Overnight parking is free and the lots are usually patrolled all night by security guards. Typically there are other motorhome travelers also in the lot and it’s not uncommon for a social hour to be part of the deal. We meet interesting folks all over the country, even in parking lots!
RV overnight parking at Cabela’s.
On this upcoming leg of our Great American Adventure, we’ll see some Civil War reenactments and learn a little more about this American conflict.
We’re going to pay a visit to our friend Julie, who recently moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. She’s a hoot. You’ll like her. I asked her to book this carriage. I want to see the city in style. After this stop, who knows? Do you have any suggestions? Leave a comment at the end of this post.
SAY, WE’VE NOTICED SOME CHANGES ON YOUR BLOG. You sure have. I’ve decided to make the website lots more interactive. You guys are now collectively a large enough group that we can have some pretty lively online conversations. So don’t be timid. Leave a comment at the end of this post and future posts as we move along. Talk about it on Facebook or tweet about what you like here. I’ve got a social media bar all the way to the left side of the post roll. I’ve improved the “Envelope Icon” so you can email me easily and you won’t have any problem getting your email to me. Also, let me know how do you like the music I’ve embedded. I’ve already changed it a couple of times in the last few days. For the time being we’ll stick with the theme song from Bruce Brown’s classic film, “The Endless Summer.” Makes sense to me. And don’t be shy about tossing a few bucks in my “tip jar.” You’ll find it on the sidebar. Ah, come on…you can spare a few bucks. Think how much you’d spend seeing Tony Robbins and Dennis Miller on the same ticket! I’m a cheap date compared to that.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON WITH YOU, GREG? I’m getting back to work on my book, “My Life in Court.” I finally found a new Lanier dictaphone like the one I used in my law practice for decades so I’ll once-again be comfortable dictating notes to myself. I’ll then electronically transcribe them and watch my fingers fly across my keyboard when I’m writing a new post. And I love the new computer I just got. It’s a huge laptop gaming computer. It’s screaming fast and has a huge storage capacity. I’m certain that using it will enhance my blog results.
Florence and I each got a new Asus laptop. They’re fast. Really fast. Using this computer will really help me to be more efficient. Okay, I’m also going to do a little gaming, a new experience for me. We got a Logitech Extreme Pro Stick and Speedlink Meduna Surround-sound head phones. So we can play some pretty sophisticated games on rainy days.
ANYTHING ELSE? You bet! I’ve got a full plate. An almost full dance card.
I’m excited about doing some motivational speaking. As an attorney, I sold words for a living. Now I’m going to give them away. Two church pastors have invited me to
speak to their congregations. We’re still perfecting the specifics, but their belief and mine is that I’ve learned some lessons this year which I can share with others and make a difference in their lives. One of these churches videos records its entire service each Sunday. When the video of my talk becomes available I’ll post it to YouTube and embed it here so you’ll be able to watch it. That way you can assess my speaking prowess and let me know what you think: Thumbs up or thumbs down.
I’m also taking time to perfect my Spanish. Doing so will generate new my brain cells. Since I lost some of my marbles during my long hospital stay, I’ve become convinced that with some mental exercise I can become my old sharp-as-a-tack self again. I’ll hope to find those marbles I lost. We’ll find out soon if my plan works. I’m counting on you guys to let me know. Again, leave me comments at the end of my blog posts.
Live and in concert.
And of course I’ll start cooking again and I’ll continue to learn as much as I can learn. I’m often able to find cooking classes in little towns and I’m ready to attend lots more! The last class I took was here in Pensacola. Remember? It wasn’t one of my favorites but I always have fun.
SO THAT’S ABOUT IT. We may still have time for Jon to lead one last tour: Scenic Highway 30A is supposedly a drop-dead gorgeous drive along the coastline. I’d love to try out my new Osmo camera and Florence needs some camera practice with her Phantom 4 Camera drone. My final post before we hit the road will be pictures and commentary about the CeeLo Green concert we’re attending on the 16th. That’s right, CeeLo Green in concert. Hey, it’ll keep us young.
I’LL CONTINUE MY STORY NEXT TIME. JOIN US, WON’T YOU? Be good to yourself today. Do a random act of kindness. Hug your kids. Live as if today’s the last day of your life. Rejoice in it, right now! Because you just don’t know what tomorrow will bring. You think you do, but my story is evidence to the contrary. Learn from it.
I’ll continue my story next time.
