Julie and I drove up to Tennessee for the last weekend of July to take advantage of a lovely log home there which is owned by a previous co-worker of mine. The home is situated high on a mountainside just outside the city of Townsend, TN and just north of the border of Great Smokey Mountain National Park. Despite simple furnishings, the place is well-appointed with all one might need, including a full kitchen, audio/video equipment, garden tub, and our favorite perk – a Jacuzzi on the back screened-in porch. While I had preceded this trip with another trip, and thus was sufficiently rested and relaxed, Julie had extracted herself from the tiring busy-ness of life, thus she particularly needed the R&R. We spent most of the drive there catching up (having not really done so for almost 3 months). After arriving, we made a quick side trip to Pigeon Forge to visit a friend of Julie’s from her school years who happened to live in the area and was recovering from knee surgery. Friday and Saturday nights were pleasantly identical: dinner at the house, movie on DVD while relaxing on the leather sofa and lay-z-boy, and last but not least a relaxing visit to the Jacuzzi. Saturday morning we woke to the sound of rain on the tin roof of the house, and we gladly stayed inside to enjoy the comforts of the cabin while waiting for the rain to subside. I tried unsuccessfully to start a fire several times (only as we were cleaning up Sunday afternoon did I discover the “fire-starter” logs). Late in the afternoon, the sun came out, so we decided to hike the Chimney Tops Trail. As you can see, it is touted as a strenuous hike on the sign, and we found that to be exactly the case. I suppose the view was worth the climb, as the sign also claims, but I think it would have been nicer on a less cloudy day. Needless to say, the Jacuzzi felt even better on Saturday night after the “strenuous” hike. My muscles weren’t terribly sore until Sunday, but I obviously got a good workout on the way to the chimney top.
The following week, on Thursday, I flew from Atlanta to Miami to visit Christine and Adam. Christine planned on picking me up at the airport, and all was going well until… we had touched base after I landed, and she was going to call me when she reached the airport to meet up. Well, while I was waiting, I managed to drop my cell phone, which split into two pieces. Despite frantic efforts on my part, I could not get the phone to turn on again, so I had no way to contact Christine and vice versa. About 45 minutes later, I decided it would be worthwhile to leave my spot outside and try to call a mutual friend, because I could not remember Christine’s cell number. I tried Holly, which cost me a dollar in change, and left a message to have her call Christine and explain my location. About 20 minutes later, when I still hadn’t seen Christine (who, in the meantime, got frustrated with the Miami airport and decided to park and go inside to look for me), I miraculously remembered her cell number and begged from a stranger for 15 cents so I would have another dollar in change. So I was able to finally reach her, and we found each other in the airport about 10 minutes later. Whew! What a start to the trip! Thankfully it got much better from there. Every day was a new adventure as we explored the Keys and saw exotic animals of various kinds everywhere we went. My favorite day was Saturday, when we went sailing together on Adam’s sailboat, which I think is about a 12-footer. I have never experienced the excitement and slight fear of capturing the strength of the wind in order to go from place to place. After the initial fears wore off, though, I was in awe of the mixture of complexity and simplicity with which a sailboat operates. The idea is of course fairly simple: raise a huge taut sheet and turn it so the wind blows into it. The complexity comes in when the sails must be angled precisely in order to maximize wind usage while avoiding boat tippage. It’s also interesting how simple each pulley and rope is, but the sheer amount of pulleys and ropes is enough to challenge the driver each time a sudden move must be made. Thankfully, Adam knows just enough about sailing that we were able to get around quite well despite the fickleness of the wind, which absolutely disappeared a few times. We stopped at two different keys, or islands. At the first one we ate lunch (which we had packed), Christine and I went snorkeling, and we all swam down a small channel in the middle of the island. We felt like we were on Lord of the Flies or something, exploring around the little island. Thankfully we weren’t actually trapped, because we probably would have starved or been eaten alive by mosquitoes pretty rapidly. At the second island we got out and walked around in some shallow water, saw a few fish (I can’t remember which kind), and then headed back as it was getting late and we were getting hungry. Other highlights of the trip included seeing the local Key Deer and large iguanas, hanging out with some of Christine and Adam’s teacher friends, and a walk on the Seven Mile Bridge during which we saw some huge starfish and stingrays below us in the water. For those of you who know Christine and Adam, let me recommend to you a visit to their new home. It is worth even the hassle of the ridiculous Miami airport, though I would recommend flying directly into Key West if you can afford it.
My most recent trip, following the Keys, was a visit to Lakeland, FL with my mom to see some of our relatives. We stayed with my mom’s cousin Donna and her husband Tom, and also saw their kids (who are close to my age) Rachel and Curt as well as my mom’s Uncle Curtis. Curt and his wife also have a baby, Jackson, who we met for the first time. We used to go to Florida once a year, but we now rarely make the voyage, so it was a long overdue visit. On the way down, we saw a family carrying their Aunt Edna on top of their car, as seen in the photo.
Most of the time in Lakeland was spent visiting and eating large delicious meals. Not bad for a final summer vacation. I went out one night with Rachel and a friend of hers for sushi and then to the happening bars of downtown Lakeland. We had a good time visiting and catching up. One night my mom and I drove to Brandon (near Tampa) to visit a good friend of hers and stay the night. We also did some shopping and saw the movie World Trade Center. I’ll have more to say about that later. My mom’s Uncle Curtis is 89 years old and still getting around quite well, which we were happy to see. He has a predictable but nice daily routine: mow two strips of yard for exercise, get dressed in afternoon for dinner, stop at country club and have two beers with friends (none of whom can hear), go to Donna and Tom’s house and sit in personally reserved chair for 5-15 minutes, eat dinner, return to chair, drink half a cup of coffee, say goodnight and return home. We are all a little nervous about him driving, but he seems to do just fine. Also of interest is the family cat, Tigger. Tigger is 17 years old and is the most relaxed cat I have ever seen. This ability to relax is not a function of age, for Tigger has always had the gift of relaxation. I took a little video so you can see for yourself.
1 comment:
I think Tigger has dementia.
Great update! Glad you had such a good time. Can't wait to visit the Ray's. What fun!
Post a Comment