Road Trip Part Deux

Hmm, the pictures look almost the same, don't you agree?


Arriving at 4:00 am in the bloody morning after a long an exhausting trip,I had been instructed to call a friend, no matter what time we arrived, that we were here and I would be waiting to be picked up by him when ever he was ready. He said he would get back to me after 6:30 am, when everyone was awake. I was ok with that as it gave me time to get some sleep. I had forgotten I had lost an hour time wise so I actually picked up another hour of sweet, sweet sleep.

That would be Jerry, on the left, Myself in the center and Bob is on the right. We have known each other for over 40, yes, 40 years.

Soon Jerry had picked me up and we were on the way to St. Andrews Golf & Country club with Bob





For three days I hung out with my friends reliving old times, having a beer or three, eating some pizza, sleeping when I got the urge, visiting Bob's mom(87 years old and a Cubs fan, my favorite lady), and his sister Jeanie. I stayed at Jerry's condo during my visit. The company was pleasant, the beer cold, and the couch very comfortable. I had a nice dinner at Bob's house with wife Cindy and friend Dottie. Mean while, my wife and daughter and her friend stayed at her uncle's house and visited downtown Chicago. They went to Navy Pier(like an amusement park on the lake) and even took a boat ride on Lake Michigan. We met up late Saturday to spend time for the rest of the weekend with old friends Tom and Cathy. My wife Connie and Cathy have known each other since they were around six years old.

Connie and Ray

Cathy and Tommy behind us. We were out to the local bowling alley for a few games.

Later on that evening and late into the night, ending around 2:30 am
a rousing rendition of Karaoke. Nothing like drinking beer to enhance the singing ability and render the hearing of songs that we found out, knowing the words didn't seem to matter.



The view of the power lines on the ride back home. It looked like a scene from King Kong vs. Godzilla fight amongst the power lines.


This is a picture of a storm that dogged us every mile on the way home, remnants of Tropical depression Anna.

We tried to make the trip home less eventful, deciding to go through much of Illinois, back into Kentucky, and into Alabama.

Half way into Alabama, Tom Tom shifted us to a different highway, just as it got dark. Much quieter highway, meaning no gas stations, restaurants, bathrooms!!

Of course the urgency rose with each mile, with gas running low, and bladders acting like a young child.

We finally found a well lit station to pull into, and there was a mad scramble to get inside, like ants at a picnic.

It at first looked like there would be a dramatic time savings with the new route, but no, the same 17 hour drive back to the daughter's
place at 1:00 am.

The above pictures were part of the journey in Florida and we made it safely home.

The trip was well worth it, all in all, because one must touch base with loved ones and you never know if or when the opportunity will come again. Things happen and you don't want regrets later.

I hope this was an enjoyable read. I enjoyed writing it. It took many days to put this to print, I think it was worth it.