Long ride but an excellent weekend . . .

Sweet rides

Slept at our son’s home last Wednesday and Thursday so I could take care of his 6 year old grandson while his Mom and Grammy brought his younger brother to the Children’s Hospital in New Orléans. Our son is at a job site in Texas for another couple of weeks so it’s a good thing I could help out. I really didn’t have to do much as P was in school during the day so I just had to bring him to school and pick him up at the end of the day. We did homework together, made puzzles, walked the dogs and ate a delicious Chicken Alfredo my daughter-in-law made for us before she left. P&D’s Pop came for lunch one day and we ate at Lagniappe’s in Zachary. I hadn’t heard anything great about the place but we found it to be quite good and not too expensive. I love the name! It means ‘a little something extra!’ Very Cajun, I think. After I dropped P at school Friday morning at 7 I drove directly home so P&D’s Pop could remove the back seats in the Hyundai and then he could pack three Control Line planes for our trip to Glen St. Mary, Florida. It’s about 555 miles from home and took us nine hours with stops. I’m pretty good with 8 hour trips but any thing longer than that makes me squirm! I can’t sit still easily; I fidget a lot! We ended up staying at a Red Roof Inn for $59 a night. The price was right but the place had definitely seen better days about 60 years ago! But it was clean; there really were not any snazzy places to stay in Macclenny, the nearest town with any hotels not too far from the flying field. Macclenny is an old town and certainly isn’t booming. It’s main road was 6th Street and we were please as punch to find a very good breakfast place that also had beer and excellent dinners; The 6th Street Steakhouse was just perfect for most of our meals. At the field a lady in a lunch truck came and cooked up burgers, hot dogs etc. The field used to belong to a church that ran a home for wayward boys and I guess straightened out quite a few of those boys over many years but some do gooders took it upon themselves to say the church was too harsh for the kids. The church was forced to give up its mission and somehow or other the Shade Tree Flying Club got themselves a nice flying site. They had three well mowed circles for the contest. There were not as many contestants as usual because Hurricane Florence was attacking the Carolinas and keeping people away! As a matter of fact I think that all three of the vintage hotels were filled to capacity because of the number of families who had to evacuate before the storm hit.

P&D’s Pop flew well and won Third Place in Profile Stunt even though on his second flight half of the wing went flying off of the plane! I helped out by running the scores from the judges to the score keeper. I got in 4 1/2 miles of walking Saturday! That kept me busy along with taking a few photos of some wild flowers. We finished around 2 pm and P&D’s Pop agreed to bring me for a ride to Atlantic Beach on the other side of Jacksonville, FL so I could walk barefooted on the sand and get my toes wet in the ocean. It was an experience that pleased me no end! I’m not sure what possessed me to want to walk on the beach but it was enticingly comforting to walk along and enjoy the beauty of the clear, bright day with the water rushing in, the few children playing, a few fishermen, and the little shore birds scurrying about. There were very few people which made it seem even better. The people that were there were sweet couples with little ones or older couples walking in the sand. Best of all it was free! Yes! Free! I may be wrong but I think that all beaches in Florida are public beaches and as long as you can find a legal place to park you can walk by the homes near the water and enjoy the wealth of natural charm. So the hour ride through Jacksonville was worth it for me. P&D’s Pop has been favoring his right knee for about a week now so he kindly waited for me to enjoy my stay and then calmly drove us back for a superior supper at Pier 6 Seafood in Macclenny. I enjoyed coconut shrimp, fried okra, rice pilaf and Key Lime Pie while Grampa had his favorite Salmon and mashed potatoes. The following day after the contest ended we went to visit the Heritage Museum in Macclenny. I shall post some photos as the days go by. There was no charge because the buildings are only open for special tours if you make an appointment. So we strolled through the reconstructed town and peeked through all of the windows! It was interesting.

We left to come home at 4am Central Time and since we hadn’t had breakfast we stopped at a Pilot Truck Stop and ate an excellent meal at a Denny’s. I was impressed; it was better than a Waffle House and much better than iHop. There are only three Denny’s in all of Louisiana, I think and the closest is about 75 miles away! Phooey!

I went to see the neurologist this past week and he gave me an excellent review! He did tell me that the numbness and pain I get in my left foot and leg is neuropathy and there is nothing to be done about it.  I didn't want any pills but I was hoping for some exercises!  He did tell me to continue to walk and stretch as usual - so I guess that's what I'll do. It doesn't bother me all of the time but I swear it makes me tippy! Oh well I suppose my body and mind are both aging as they're supposed to do! Not much to do about it but enjoy living! I'm a whole week behind getting this entry completed. It's been busy and I've been lazy too.

Quote:  Delicacy is to the mind what fragrance is to the fruit.   ___A. Poincelot

Exhausted . . .

I feel as if I’ve put in a 50 hour week! I helped out at the Early Learning Center today, my first day back to school since summer vacation, and I’m beat. I only helped out in two classes but in the first class the teacher was not there so a school runner was holding the fort. When I got there she had already gone through all of the materials the teacher had left for her so I read at least three books to the 4 year olds and then we had them make a self portrait! When the teacher arrived I helped out in a class of three year olds. Not sure why I ended up pooped but I was. When I left I went to North Park and walked in the gym for 45 minutes listening to Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I wanted to listen longer but I just quit walking and came home to eat some mac and cheese and drink a Root Beer Float. I think my pep is returning. P&D’s Pop has been making up big batches of hummingbird food. We have more than a dozen at a time diving in to eat at the five feeders. We’ll be leaving for a flying contest next week and he will add about three more feeders and hope that the nectar lasts until we get home!

I returned a couple of videos I had borrowed from the Baton Rouge Library on Goodwood Wednesday and I decided to walk around the Botanical Gardens and take pictures. I was surprised with how many pretty decent shots I got. The gardens are not at their best at the end of the summer but it was still a nice walk.

I had lots more to write about but my brain is in slow motion at this time. I had a good long conversation with an Oneco friend last evening and I felt as if we were in Connecticut! I’m all caught up on the the goings on up north! I think we’ll just have a pizza for supper. That’s my old standby for Fridays.

Quote:  The great fact is, that life is a service.  The only question is, "Whom will we serve?" ______Faber