Frankie and Slim

Frankie and Slim
Happy New Year

Friday, September 22, 2006

WHIRLWIND

We are home. It seem like we have been gone a month. Chelle brought me back to reality by stating that we had a whirlwind trip. Six days on the road, six days in California visiting family and attending the reunion. How did we do so much in 12 days? No wonder we are exhausted.

Our stops on the way included going by Tandy’s and leaving the Buick, next we went to see mother and assure her of our safe travel. We were off to OKC.

Print and Elaine greeted us with open arms and filled us in on their Alaska cruise. They had tons of envious photos and I took their successful photos as a challenge to do as well with my new camera. I called our visit there a “pampered pause”. Elaine prepared a delicious meal of pork, fresh asparagus, fresh green beans, tomato salad. Ron and I slept in their extra comfortable guest bedroom on exotic sheets. Our send-off breakfast consisted of orange rolls and coffee. (They don’t even skimp on coffee, serving a variety of flavorful blends to suit any taste.)

We were on the road by 7:00 a.m. The drive to our next overnight stop in Holbrook, Arizona always reminds me of the trips to Farmington to see Chelle and Kit, the crazy trip Jessi and I made and the time Chelle, Mike and I met in Amarillo.

Ron was very tired after his 13 hour drive the first day. By 3:30 the next afternoon we were in San Diego knocking on Terri’s front door. No answer. Windows covered with plastic sheets. We broke in to find the house vacant and carpet gone and bathrooms torn out. Huh? Plus, the dogs were in the backyard and we allowed Simon to escape.

The neighbors would not give us any information. They did, however, assist us in capturing the dog. We called Terri on the cell phone and she calmly said, “We didn’t expect you this soon.” She had rooms for us at the Marriott where they were staying while her home was being remodeled. We got over our initial strokes and enjoyed three lovely days hosted by busy Terri and busy Joey, busy Ian and busy Jasmine.

Joey is driving in San Diego!!! He has a job at the local grocery store. He plays football and coaches Ian’s football team. Ian is busy with football and Jasmine is busy with cheerleading and gymnastics.

We also shared fun times with Terri’s handsome boyfriend Ralph and his three delightful children. I got to meet Terri's long time friend Anna that Ron already knows well and her parents, and Ron and I both were happy to meet Megan, Madison and Josh.

The following days consisted of trip to Campo and touring Ron’s old stomping ground, tours with the reunion bunch on the USS Midway Museum, the Birch Aquarium at Scripps, the Tom Ham lighthouse, and a fun harbor cruise. We love this group of sailors and the closing banquet would have been emotional if I had been sober. (Remind me to tell you about the kitchen/bathroom incident and the discussion with Malcom.)

Our theme songs on the 17th were “On The Road Again” and “The Party’s Over”. After a nice breakfast with the group, we headed for Terri’s to say goodbye and hit the highway heading east to Oklahoma. We checked back in with Tandy, spending the second night in his home, and with Mother to share some stories and a few pictures. The third day’s travel home was the best, when we caught sight of our house, our chickens and picked up our happy dog at the vet. Be it ever so humble…………..We’re Home!

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