Day: May 20, 2022

Jacksonville – Day 1

Friday, 20 May 2022

…Florida that is. Jimmie and Stephen’s Alexa kept reporting the weather for Jacksonville, NC when asked.

I think I left Jimmie and Stephen around 8 am and arrived in Jacksonville around 4pm, so that’s pretty much 8 hours including stops. My first stop was actually in Greensboro to get some diesel and to air up my left front tire. It’s had a slow leak for about a year and I probably should do something about it but I have a pump that plugs into the cigarette lighter that does the trick. Another reason I haven’t done anything about it is it’s about time to get new tires. There’s still a little tread left but it’s getting pretty thin.

It seems the drivers on the interstate are pretty aggressive. I travel the speed limit and try to be helpful to truckers in letting them in or moving over a lane when they begin to overtake me. On the other hand are those that cut you off, block you off from your lane so you cannot move over to allow people entering the interstate and most famously, those that match your speed while they are in the fast lane so you can’t maneuver around slower traffic in your lane. Regardless, I made it safe and sound to Jacksonville.

I’m in the Hilton Garden Inn in the downtown area. The hotel is very nice but the area is a little iffy. It looks like the area is undergoing a resurgence but it also looks like it hasn’t gotten there yet.

Speaking of iffy, I got a little nervous when I walked into the elevator and a very professional looking sign that said the rule about no parties was strictly enforced. Also strange, my self check in app on my iPhone did not work. Then when I went to the 6th floor, there were wet paint signs all over the place. I would have assumed the hotel would not book a floor that was undergoing painting because of paint fumes.

In any case, the room is nice albeit the carpet seems a little dirty. I’ll just wear socks everywhere.

Dinner tonight was Grubhub delivery of red curry with chicken. It was mediocre at best. My favorite Thai restaurant is a little hole in the wall called 84 Thai (it’s on state road 84). Of all the Thai restaurants in Fort Lauderdale area, this one is the best (to me).

Tomorrow is a five plus hour drive to Fort Lauderdale – all on I-95. There will be the usual slow down in Palm Beach but unless there is a major wreck (entirely possible) I should be home between 2-4 pm. Then comes the unpacking. Then a dip in the pool. Then a stiff drink.

Stay tuned!

Greensboro – Day 3

Thursday, 19 May 2022

My day started a teeny bit earlier than yesterday. Instead of getting up at 7:30 I got up at 6:30. As usual, Stephen was ready with the coffee. Since it so early and the morning was cool (in the low 60’s) Jimmie and I headed out for a walk. The humidity was low and it was overcast so it was a very pleasant walk of around 1.8 miles.

We headed back home and had bagels for breakfast. They know my weakness for cream cheese with chives and always have it on hand for me.

After breakfast, it was time for our traditional making of the tea cakes. Over the years, I’ve given the recipe to most of my relatives and all of my friends (often with samples of the tea cakes) and everyone raves about them and yet no one seems to make them. The only time I make them at someone’s house is when I come to visit Jimmie and Stephen. Every time. Like clockwork. Stephen has become our official taster. Jimmie rolls the dough and cuts the cookies while I make the dough and place them on the cookie sheets.

After lunch, Jimmie and I did tai chi. Jimmie is a long time practitioner but I’ve never done it but have admired the grace of those who practice it. She logged onto a site and introduced me to tai chi with an instructor that was pretty laid back. It certainly is good for breathing exercise and Jimmie knew I wanted to work on my balance so she cued up a video for balance. I did OK but I found out I really do need to work on my balance. Strangely, I have better balance on my left side than my right side. Jimmie says the same for her. I think I’ll continue it when I get home.

Later in the afternoon I did another walk. A block from their house is a loop that is perfect. Every time I visit I try to make that walk at least once. This visit I made it twice.

While on the walk, I found some maple “seeds.” Technically, they are not seeds but are a winged fruit called a samara. Where Jimmie and I grew up, we would find the winged seeds of pine cones and throw them up in the air. The design of the seed at one end and the wing on the other makes them “helicopter” back to earth. It’s a pretty efficient means of seed dispersal.

She had been wanting some maple samara to show her granddaughters and as I walked on the sidewalk of the loop I found two pair of maple samaras.

I know it is confusing that pines have winged seeds and maples have winged fruit but for the most part, to young children, they are just helicopters and a load of fun.

Tomorrow I head for Jacksonville, Florida to spend the night en route home. I always thoroughly enjoy my visits to Greensboro and catching up with Stephen and Jimmie. They treat me too well but that’s how they are. Hopefully, before too long I will get a chance to spoil them a little in Fort Lauderdale.

The trip to Jacksonville will be a little over 7 hours. It’s just too long of a drive for an old man like me to make it in one day back to Fort Lauderdale. By the way, I found out why my GPS was routing me through strange back roads. I clicked on the options and found that during some trip I had clicked on the “closest” route, not the fastest. I checked my new routing to Jacksonville and it had me going mostly via interstate with a couple of short by roads to the next interstate. Maybe, just maybe, it will not steer me down any more dirt roads that lead to nowhere.

Stay tuned!