Day: May 8, 2024

8 May 2024

Another 9 hours of sleep. I’m slowly recovering from the family drama although I don’t have much optimism as to the outcomes.

It was basically a five hour drive to Gainesville from Gulf Breeze. I erred in saying tonight was a Hampton Inn & Suites. It’s a Hilton Garden Inn. Very surprisingly, they have dinner tonight, happy hour, and cocktails. I’m stunned. They used to do this at Garden Inns but stopped during Covid. It starts at 5 pm and I’m always hungry by that time. I think all of these were designed with full kitchens so they should be able to get back in the swing of things. It beats going out and hunting a restaurant.

Tomorrow should be an even easier drive – 4 hours and 37 minutes. Add an hour for back ups on the Turnpike and stop and go traffic at Palm Beach.

So far, the traffic up to Mississippi and back down to Gainesville has been pretty good with no major problems. The Jeep is running fine and no check engine lights have come on. I’m getting around 31 mpg with the diesel and I can’t complain about that.

Sorry for the brief posts but I’ve been physically and emotionally drained. Hopefully, the closer to home, the better I become. It’s been an interesting trip. I got to visit with my first cousins, Charles and his wife Minnie Jean and Jean and her husband Russell. Then it was seeing Jimmie, Stephen, Jean and Roger. Then it was a medical emergency for my sister-in-law. I also got to see Kevin for the first time in many, many years, his son Liam and his wife Olya. We even got a house tour. Then it was back to the doctor with my sister-in-law, Tanis.

I feel badly for leaving Archie and Tanis but I did what I could while I was there. Hopefully, things will get better.

Stay tuned!

7 May 2024

I was very tired last night. I went to bed around 8:30 pm and slept for 9 hours – with the exception of 3 pee breaks. I was just beginning to stir after coffee and oatmeal when I noticed a voice mail on my phone. My Jeep was ready to pick up. Honestly, I didn’t expect them to call me until after noon sometime.

I quickly packed up Tanis’ car and drove to Brandon. I hugged Tanis goodbye and Archie let me drive to the Jeep place and I paid for the repair. It was just a little over $830 even with tax. Apparently, one of the parts was cheaper than they anticipated. I tipped JoJo $40 for expediting my Jeep. Then the person they sent to bring it up couldn’t find it. After a while, he drove up in it and I parked beside Tanis’ car and transferred my junk from her car to mine.

Archie and I get emotional when parting. I told him that we are of the age that there is no guarantee that we’ll see each other again. That was certainly brought home by my cancer diagnosis in January.

I headed south and east via various roads and interstates until I reached Pensacola. I’m staying at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Gulf Breeze. It’s a pretty amazing bridge crossing to get to Gulf Breeze.

After unpacking what I needed from the Jeep, I searched for some place to get a meal. I settled for a Hawaiian restaurant, the Papa Nalu Aloha Grill. I was the only customer even though TripAdvisor said it was the #3 rated restaurant in Gulf Breeze. It was over 6 miles from the hotel and in heavy traffic to get there. At least the food was good. I had two appetizers: coconut shrimp and pot stickers.

I’m now back at the hotel, showered and sleepy. I plan on getting to bed early tonight and getting up very late. My next stop is in Gainesville, about 5 hours away. Another Hampton Inn.

Stay tuned!