Yesterday was a major travel day. Lots of quality time in the car. We heard from our friends the Huntley’s. Larry let us know that he had been reminded of an old movie he watched on a long airplane ride one time. Called “Leisure Seeker.” It’s about an old couple traveling to Key West to see Ernest Hemingway’s house before his Alzheimer’s and her cancer get the best of them. Operative words: “older couple.” My response: “Ouch. ‘His Alzheimer’s and her cancer.’ I’ll own the dementia, but we’ll have to switch Chris’ to a heart condition … but the Hemingway House IS on our list …” He replied: “I knew it. Just make sure you know the way home.” My answer: “Home? Home? Is that another movie? Or is it a song? Something sounds familiar.” And his final answer: “OK Dorothy.” We have great friends.
They
have more billboards for lawyers out here than I have ever seen. And all of them have the guy’s picture on
them (I say “guys” because I haven’t seen
one with a lady yet). One was for the firm
Farrah and Farrah. But it only had
Farrah’s picture. That didn’t seem Fair-ah
to the other Farrah …
We
stopped at a few rest stops this time.
We have been impressed with how many there are out here. At one rest stop I was standing at a urinal
when a voice from my pocket spoke out, “Turn right.” The guy at the urinal a few down from mine
heard it and asked “Din you lose your way to the urinal?” I replied, with all the seriousness I could
muster, “No. Just working on my aim.” We both laughed our way back outside.
Our
first real stop was in Bradenton, where we sampled some local cuisine and found
a National Monument site. Something
about Hernando de Soto, I think. The site,
not the food. The visitor’s center was
closed for repairs, so no stamp.
Waa. The food came from a local
diner called the Sage Biscuit Café. My
meatloaf sandwich was good. Chris had a
heart healthy burrito. It was huge. Enough to keep three or four hearts
healthy. For at least a week.
We
heard from another of our basketball/Denver church guys. Brian connected with us about thirty or forty
minutes after we passed where he lives.
Sorry to miss out on seeing ya, Brian.
But come to Galveston sometime …
We
also heard from our friends up north, the Dammeyer’s. Actually, I texted Mark because they used to
live here somewhere. I wanted to know if
there was some kind of shrine to their presence that we should make a
pilgrimage to. All he came up with was
the church they used to attend. They started
with a few hundred folks and now they are running in the tens of thousands at
five campuses. Church by the
Glades. Maybe on our way home when we
are on the Atlantic coast … if it’s a Sunday.
We
actually stopped a little earlier than usual.
After driving pretty much the whole length of the state of Florida in
one day, Chris deserved a break. We found
a hotel near Fort Myers and settled in.
Well, for a while, anyway. Who
should come knocking on our hotel room door but Cathy and Lauren from
Seaside? They have been vacationing near
Fort Myers, and were on their way back from a shelling excursion. They popped
in just like it was any other Thursday night home group, expecting a Bible
study. I led with the usual cliff-hanger
instead, imploring them to “come back next time to see what happens.” We’ll meet up with them this morning to visit
some kind of preserve in the area. We may
have to walk around on our own, though.
The driving tour part is closed on Fridays only. Just our luck this trip. I don’t imagine they’ll have a stamp,
either. Waa.
Next
we’ll take our leave of Lauren and Cathy and head to our stop at Big Cypress National
Preserve to see if they have a stamp. They
offer wilderness tours of some kind.
Then we’ll look to the Everglades.
We eventually plan to ride on an airboat tour down there, either before
or after our Keys excursion. I still want
to see a manatee. And I still want to
eat an alligator. Next we’ll head for the
Keys where another couple we know from Arlington days is vacationing. We hope to see them and at least have a meal
together. Unless we just move in with
them in the tiny house they have rented for the week. Sounds cozy.
And of course we still have our eyes on Key West to see the Hemingway
house. We found out yesterday that we may
not get to go to Dry Tortuga Island at all.
The boats are apparently all filled up until sometime in July. Chris is going to call today to see if there
has by chance been a cancellation. If
not, guess what? No stamp. Waa.
But we’ll still have some fun in Key West. Think we can get it all done in two days? How about three? Would you believe …
Colossians
4:2 says, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”
Father,
thank you for our friends who are keeping in touch with us. Makes the journey that much more more fun. Amen.
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