So, let me provide you with some highlights of recent events. For those of you with little or no patience for my tendency to be too verbose, I’ve provided some pictures so ya kinda get the story…you have my permission to skip over the boring parts.
The departure from New Braunfels, and my friends at the River Ranch RV Resort was very much bittersweet. I’ve been there a long time, have good friends there, and honestly hope to return there sooner than later. We went through the normal "be safe on the road", "good luck", and "hurry back" moments while I was unhooking everything. Yet, the memorable moment occurred when I approached the office / exit from the park to find the spouse of a good friend (and his dog) sending me a special message upon my departure. I cracked up and obviously had to stop for a photo opportunity. In a moment of weakness I was mentally trying to figure out where to put her bag and if "Hank" was going to enjoy being in the Hula Hut during the upcoming travels. In the end, reality set in and I remembered the golden rule about borrowing a friends wife and left poor Dovie standing on the side of the park road.
As sad as it seemed, all in all, it was a heckuva way to start the trip!
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My first stop was at a KOA campground in Scott, LA that evening. Nice place, huge trees, plenty of lake front property, and easy access to and from I-10. Just far enough from the freeway to tone down the noise of traffic. The downside was no Internet or satellite service due to the trees. Heck, I sat outside instead and read, so it was all good commune time with nature.
The next stop was at another KOA campground in Milton, FL, about 35 miles or so outside (East) of Pensacola. The drive over was pretty nice, light traffic, cool weather, and no problems with the rig. Yet, I’ve spent so many trips back and forth on I-10 I found myself wondering if I was ever going to see something new. If and when I come West again, I definitely have to find another route! The KOA there is another huge park with large grass lots, just enough trees to make it pleasant, far enough from the freeway to eliminate much of the traffic noise, and close enough to places if you have to run errands. Yet again, there was little in the way of Internet connection, so I was out of luck.
Either way Sharon, you’re as beautiful and graceful as ever in both spirit and person, and it was great to see ya!
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From Milton I moved on with the intention of staying at a KOA Campground around Central Florida where I-75 South and the Florida Turnpike begins. However, as the days travel progressed it became increasingly obvious that I was going to get hit with a serious bit of weather (a spin off of a Tropical Storm in the Gulf) unless I got into South Florida that evening. With that it mind, I picked up the pace a little bit and finally arrived at TY Park in Broward County (Ft. Lauderdale) around midnight – but before the storms had a chance to impact the local area. It was nice to settle in that evening. TY Park is a huge place with concrete pads (65 x 35 feet), a nice view of the public lake with a lighted fountain at night, and a fair breeze from the nearby ocean that gives a hint of the beach. The running / walking track is one of the longest I’ve seen and weaves in and around some of the largest and oldest trees in the area. It’s a great place to visit and I ended up staying there for five days. My only regret is that the place (which is way out of my monthly price range) was sold out from November through May, and once again, the internet service was unavailable unless you drove to the other side of the lake and sat at a picnic bench somewhere close to the office. Not very practical, yet I would recommend that anyone looking for a place to stay in South Florida serious consider the place.
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The first Saturday night back home my old friend Bonney (Another married lady. Am I the only one seeing a trend here?) and her husband, were hosting their annual Halloween party and it gave me an excuse to get out in the rain and meet some long unseen work friends and meet some new faces. As expected, I wore not a costume, but what I like to think of as my new uniform. A robe, sun blocking fedora, tank top, white tube socks with sandals, pajama pants, Life Alert panic button around my neck, and my pockets stuffed with medications! I thought I made a striking figure in my new attire, yet the prize for best costume went to some undeserving woman (we’ll just call her "Bernie") wearing a low cut gown and posing as something or another. . .how’s a man supposed to compete with breasts?
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I finally moved into my semi-permanent site at the Green Acres RV park on November 1st. Pulling into the park I was reminded just how small these sites are compared to the much nicer and larger lots I had just recently left in New Braunfels. Oh well, I don’t intend to live here forever, so who am I to complain, right? As you can see by the picture below, my neighbors and I are crammed into a pretty small area (the lots are 40x 20). One thing I didn’t take into account, or more honestly didn’t give a lot of thought about, is that ALL of my new neighbors are visitors from Canada who barely speak English, or perhaps just refuse to, and blare French language TV late into the evening. I’m certainly far from bias in my views of our Northern brothers and sisters of North America, yet I admit I find myself flying my US and Texas flags a little longer each day (I even added lights so they can be flown at night), and occasionally give in to the child-like behavior of wearing one of my US Border Patrol or CBP K-9 shirts if I’m outside working on the rig. Hey, I’m just trying to keep life interesting, that’s me.
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On the second weekend home, I finally got a chance to ride the bike with my brothers from the Iron Warriors Motorcycle Club. It was the first time since 2006 that I’d seen some of them, and the ride up to, and around, Lake Ocochobee, despite the occasional rain, was a great way to get caught up and enjoy the day. The guys took me to a new Texas style BBQ place that served truly good food. The day ended with 282 new miles on the bike, and a renewed connection with the club. My friends Ruben "Pitbull" and Tony "T" and I have never been accused of missing a photo opportunity, so we took a picture outside the diner to mark us all getting back together once again.
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This past weekend I took a little side trip up to Montgomery, AL to take part in another IWMC event, this time on 4 wheels not the bike. The event was the Regional Presidents meeting and I expected to meet up with our new chapter President from Central Texas (we had started a chapter out there just weeks before my departure) to celebrate our "Alamo" chapter and be introduced to the rest of the regional Presidents. Alas, Greg "Slowhand" our Texas President was unable to attend at the last minute and I ended up representing the club. I have to admit to some "Texas Pride" when I was given back my vest with our new Texas rocker on the back. It’s a special moment when you’re involved in something new. The Southern Regional President, Jim "Rooster" went out of his way to make me feel welcome and was extremely pleased about the new chapter. I was humbled and honored to represent the other chapter members in Slowhand’s place.
At the end of the meeting on Saturday, the local chapters rode to one of the local clubs for a draw down party. Despite weather in the lower to mid 40’s, the turnout was tremendous. The local Alabama clubs had about 65-80 riders and another 2 dozen or so vehicles in a mile long convey on the way to the club. I was truly impressed by the scope, size, and organization of the whole thing.
Needless to say, getting 250-300 off duty cops, fire fighters, wives, girl friends, and straphangers all gathered in some nightclub having a celebration is sure to be a fun experience. And this one certainly was! I can’t count, much less share with you, how many times I was pounded on the back and had to shake off offers for a drink because of that new Texas patch on my vest. Suffice it to say that everyone is proud of our new chapter.
The highlight of the evening, for me at least, was something I learned later is a standard part of one of the chapters in Alabama. There is a chapter there called "7 Bridges" and they have adopted the tradition of singing the Eagles song "Seven Bridges Road" at any club event. I can do it little justice in prose, yet, imagine if you will, 30-40 guys and gals standing in a football style huddle, arms around each other, drinks raised to the ceiling, singing along in harmony at the top of their lungs in the middle of the club. The emotion, the feeling of brotherhood, and the sharing of hopes and dreams, real or imagined, is carried in that song, and in the heart and soul of each of the men and women in that room that night. I was awe stuck standing on the sidelines of such a sight.
Believe me when I say, standing in that room, listening to this song, sent shivers up my spine. The picture is my lame attempt at gathering the spirit of the thing, but honestly, the picture does it little justice in relation to the real thing.
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OK, so pretty much that brings you up to date on some of the highlights of the past few weeks.
Ahead are still many days of getting settled back into a routine (like, what the heck do I do now?), helping my best friend Stephanie with some chores around her new house, and finally, making an attempt to get some resolution on the immediate future. There are so many choices I actually have to stop and think about what to do next.
I’ll attempt to do better on keeping everyone up to date a little more timely in the future. As always, your feedback is welcome and refreshing, so if you have something to say, let’s hear it.
To close, don’t feel too badly about me being stuck down here in Florida for a while. This is one of the views I have steps outside the door of the Hula Hut.
In the meantime, be safe in whatever you do, and I’ll talk with y’all soon!
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