December Cruise

We just got back from a 4 night cruise out of Tampa to Cozumel Mexico on Royal Caribbean. We went with our friends, Marilyn and Gus Lopes. They are nearly profession cruisers as they are Diamond Plus members in the Crown and Anchor Club. We are only Gold members but they were able to take us along for many of the perks they get.

Here is Carol, Marilyn and Gus enjoying complementary champagne in the lounge for the diamond members. We had plenty of it each evening!!!
This cruise made a stop at only one port, Cozumel.  Jim did not go ashore because he  was still nursing a torn ligament in his left knee. There was just too much walking for him as he was still using a cane. The major reason to go ashore was to get some reasonable priced Kahlua. Each couple got 2 liters for  only $10.00 per liter, a great price.
Of course one of the obligatory pictures is the formal picture on "dress up night".

Here we are in our finest!!

One of the cute things done on the last day at sea was the baking of a cake made into a "gator" for lunch. The kids, and adults enjoyed the cake after lunch.

Mini Phi Kappa (Theta) Reunion

We were treated to a most enjoyable mini reunion by Jim and Nancy Stroke at their condo in Naples, FL. The Phi Kaps attending were: Bob Brisco, Jim Julian, both class of 1957 and Dan Smerald and Jim Stroke both of the class of 1958.

 

Left to right is Brisco, Smerald, Julian, and Stroke.

 

While I have seen Jim Stroke and Bob Brisco since graduation, this was the first time we got to get together with Dan since graduation in 1957. Dan also got the "prize" for travelling the greatest distance since he has been living in Wales in the UK for the last 20+ years. He was not able to have his wife make the trip but the wives that were there had a good time.

 

 Here is Carol Julian, Nancy Stroke and Marlene Brisco.

 

When we were attending RPI, the fraternity was Phi Kappa but several years after our graduation they merged with another fraternity and became Phi Kappa Theta. For  us old timers, we are still Phi Kaps!! The  house we had during our college days has been torn down and the fraternity is now in a house near the RPI field house.

Carol and I visited it when were were at my 55th class reunion. It was really fun because they had old photo albums from the years I attended!! They even salvaged some  of the bricks from the old house and made a bar out of them. Also they salvaged the old brass plate with Phi Kappa on it.

Here we are at the bar with the old bricks and the door plate.



Bloomin' Onion & Veterans

Sunday was Veterans Day and the Outback Steakhouse had a special for veterans. They were giving a free Bloomin' Onion and soft drink to vets. I couldn't pass up such a good offer so I took Carol out to lunch since I am such a big spender!!

I had to spring for a glass of wine for Carol but that was OK.

We thought we might have dinner after the onion but it was plenty and we were full after finishing all of it. We will go there isn the future for a dinner since they are giving 10% off to veterans for the rest of this year. Not a bad deal at all.

25 F in StThomas

Brrrrrr. Who thought it could be 25 F in ST Thomas. Not us of course. But last year they opened an attraction called Magic Ice. It is 10,000 sq ft of ice sculptures and an Ice Bar. They have to keep it at below freezing so the ice does not melt!!

When you go in they supply you with a big coat, gloves and even wrap up your ankles, since most everyone has shorts on. At the ice bar, they serve you a cold (of course) shot of Cruzan flavored rum. It does not warm you up in that cold place though.

They also have a slide that you could ride down on a mat, so you don't freeze your butt!! Carol did that and I have it on video.

We topped off our stay at St Thomas with a very good meal at the Lobster
Grill at Bolongo Bay resort. It was a fine restaurant and the atmosphere was very fine also. Carol had her Caribbean lobster for dinner and her leftovers for lunch the next day!

Wining and dining in St Thomas

One of the things we enjoy at St Thomas is going out with friends and having an enjoyable meal and of course a few glasses of wine. For the past 5 years my dive buddy has been Hank from Lake George, NY. This year he has a girl friend that came down with him and that made our time there that much more enjoyable.

One of our favorite places to go is the Room With a View and have their 5 o'clock specials. Here is Hank, Holly, Jim and Carol enjoying the evening.
One of our other favorite places to go is Paradise Point which is above the cruise docks overlooking the town. They have decent food, good Bushwackers, music and a great view for a sunset.

For lunches we usually get out to Secret Harbor at least once during our stay.

After a nice lunch we stopped at Bluebeard's Beach club to use their pool and relax some more. Hank "lost" Holly for a while but finally found her getting a little nap on one of the hammocks.

When we went to the Shipwreck Cafe for lunch one day, Carol found a new guy ...... but he wouldn't buy her lunch so she stayed with me!!

We sure enjoy ourselves in St Thomas and look forward to t he trip each year.

St Thomas SCUBA

Carol and I have returned from our annual 2 weeks in St Thomas and I got in more SCUBA than usual. I also worked on upgrading my certificate which gives  me more latitude on the type of dives I can do safely. I took training on deep dives (up to 100 ft), underwater navigation, photography,  wreck diving and night diving. All dives were a lot of fun and a true learning experience.
I now have competed 77 dives since getting certified 5 years ago, at age 72. That means I have completed 77 d1ves at age 77!! I sure wish I had gotten started earlier!
Here I am taking some pictures while at about 40 feet underwater.

Carol does not dive with me but she gets some relaxation time while I am underwater. Here she is at Coki Beach enjoying the view in the shade.

She does get in the water from time to time though. At Coki Beach the fish are very friendly and usually surround you when you get in the water. They are looking to be fed from dog bones that the vendors sell at the beach!!

If Carol had a dog bone there would have been more fish around her!!

Soul Food??

One of the things that Carol and I have enjoyed over the years is the local food. This ranges from food where we were raised to other places we have visited. On our recent trip to Troy we made several stops at our past favorite eating spots.

Here we are in Cincinnati at the Montgomery Inn having a slab of ribs and onion straws. We split one meal and still took a few ribs home with us!!

While in Troy we went to Red Front Pizza which is still there after over 50 years. That is a small pizza in front of Carol!! We finished half of it and had the remains over the next few days.

Another favorite spot in Troy is Ted's Fish Fry. They deep fry fresh cod and have an excellent sauce to put on it.

In 4 days at Troy we made 2 stops at Ted's and one day we split 3 sandwiches between the two of us. We never had any leftovers from Teds!!
Also in Troy we stopped for Hot Dogs at Famous Lunch. They serve small sized dogs with a great chili sauce on them. The hot dogs are from a local provider, Helbold,s and they are natural skinned with great flavor. They used to be 10 cents each when I was in college 55 years ago and I would get 10 for a meal!! I missed getting a  picture but next time I won't!!

In Zanesville we made our stop at Tumbleweed and I got my Beef Burrito Deluxe and of course had to have a margarita to help wash it down.

Short stop in Warwick RI

We got to West Warwick RI early in the afternoon and parked at another Elks lodge and then transferred the DD-531 ship model to Richard Ernst. He and his wife Ann are doing the local planning of our ship reunion in April 2013. We went with them to look at the hotel where the reunion is to be held reunion and we checked out the lounge. They have found an excellent place for the reunion.

We had dinner with them next door at a very nice seafood restaurant. It would have been nice to spend more time in the area but we decided to leave in the morning and head to Troy so we could get some things done prior to the start of the official activities.

Wedding Bells

We arrived in Zanesville, OH on Wednesday SEP 26 and parked at the Dillon State Park so we could have power during our stay. Lori and Brad's wedding was scheduled to be on Saturday and my sister, Jeannie, was arriving on Thursday. It was nice that Lori was able to pick up my sister at the Columbus airport as she was in Columbus and coming to Zanesville on the same morning that Jeannie was arriving.
We made our usual stop at Rob's grave site and Carol did some cleanup and decorating.

The wedding on Saturday was a very nice event and we were happy to see that Lori is now returning to a more normal life. She and Brad were high school sweethearts but drifted apart after both went to college.

Since we had a tight schedule, we departed the day after the wedding, Sunday SEP 30 and headed for Trafford. On the way we dropped Jeannie at the Pittsburgh airport and she picked up a rental car. She was planning to stay in the area for several days visiting old friends.
Our main reason for stopping in Trafford was to drop off some Mint Julep pre-mixed cocktails to Rey and Bib Peduzzi!! As usual we parked the middle school paring lot but had to be out early on Monday morning because of school hours.
 We departed at 6 AM and drove in fog and rain for several hours on our way to Warwick RI. We stopped just short of NYC in Parsippany NJ at an Elks lodge. It was a good place to stay and we were even able to get some reasonable priced diesel (for that area) in the morning. ($4.08 per gallon!!). We left early enough in the morning to miss most of the rush  hour traffic and crossed the Tappan Zee bridge north of NYC easily ..... except for a toll of $24.75 for the motor home and our towed car!!

Cincy & Montgomery Inn

Arrived at the Family Motor Coach Assn. campground last night and as usual have a great place to park. And it is free for 2 nights with full hook-ups and even Wi-Fi.

To make our stay even more pleasant there is a motor home of the same year and model  of  ours across from us. You can see it in the above picture but not very well.
Of course the major event of today was going to dinner at the  Montgomery Inn, Jim's favorite rib restaurant. We ordered one dinner that came with their Onion Straws. They are deep fried onions that are cut very thin. Even though they are deep fried, they are not greasy at all.

 Look at that pile of Onion Straws!!! You can't see the whole rack of ribs but it is the full width of the plate. Even though we got one dinner and split it, we still had a carry out box to take home.

At least Jim looks happier in this photo and Carol must have enjoyed the ribs. Notice the sauce on her cheek!! She actually ate one  more rib than Jim! We took the ribs on the plate back to the motor home for lunch tomorrow.

Carol said she wanted to horse around a little this evening so here she is .... horsing around.
We leave here on Wednesday and head to Zanesville for the wedding.

 

Visiting Reagle's in Monteagle TN

After a shaky start to our trip north for a wedding and a college reunion we finally got on our way. It was a shaky start because the refrigerator in the motor home would not work 2 days before our departure date!! Thanks to the maintenance guys at the RV repair place in Englewood, we got on our way on Thursday. We drove to Valdosta GA and spent the night at our favorite campground there, Sam's Club!!
The next day we drove to Monteagle TN and stayed at Dave and Lana's place. They are in the process of selling their cabin and this will be our last time to stay there. It is much more than a cabin as you can see below.

Dave and I had some fun feeding the catfish he has raised  in his pond. He put about a dozen small ones in the pond several years ago and now all are about a foot and half and longer. The fish look for the feeding each evening. Here are several of them.

We departed there on Sunday and stopped by in Louisville to pick up a case of pre-mixed mint juleps we  had ordered. These are the official mint juleps that are served at the Kentucky Derby each year. We like to keep a supply on hand and there are several of our friends that also wanted several bottles.
After our short stop in LOU we drove to the FMCA campground in Cincinnati to spend a couple of days just chilln' out. I do want to have a dinner at the Montgomery Inn because they have my most favorite ribs in the entire USA.
Best to all, Jim and Carol

Key Largo SCUBA trip

On August 15 Carol and I drove to Key Largo so I could go SCUBA diving a couple of days, Spiny Lobster Season opened on August 6 and I wanted to dive for some and see if I could get a few. Prior to going I tried to find a dive shop that did lobster trips but fond none so I was gong to do dives on wrecks.
After we go there I drove around and finally found a shop that does lobster dive trips and arranged for  2 dives on Friday. On Thursday I did a dive on a wreck and one on a reef looking at the fish etc.
I got a little disappointed on my first dive because I turned my camera on to take pictures of the wreck and it would not function correctly. When I got back on the boat I found out that it had flooded!! So I am contacting the maker of the camera to  have it sent in for repairs.
I did get a couple of pictures when Carol and I arrived at the motel. It was the most unique motel we have ever stayed at. It had 2 floors with a bedroom, large sitting area and bath on the 2nd floor. The first floor had a sitting area, a full kitchen, balcony and another bath. Quite apparently these units had been apartments or condos at one time. There was also a pool for the guests.

As you can see the view is great and even though we did not use the kitchen much, it was nice to have a full refrigerator.



The dive on Friday for lobsters was a lot of fun. Three of us dove together and it was not long before one guy spotted one. We all helped capture the rascal as the lobsters are not happy about being caught. When they scoot away, they really go fast. They hide under coral and in the nooks and crannies of it. After catching it, he measured it and it was of legal size so it was a keeper. We did not see any more on that dive but we were the only group that came up with a lobster.

On the second dive we moved to another reef and I spotted one under a large chunk of coral and we nearly got him but he shot away, never to be seen again. Near the end of the dive the other guy spotted one in a hole in some coral and we could not get him. The holes in this coral group had a maze of tunnels and he got out of our sight,

We did see other interesting sights such as a large Moray eel hiding in the coral. That thing was about 9 inches in diameter at the head. We never saw how long it was because he would not come out even with all of our coaxing. One of group looked under a  ledge for lobster and came face to face with a 4 foot nurse shark. It swam away without bothering anyone as they are usually quite docile, thank goodness.

All in all it was a very good diving trip and I am definitely going beck to chase after lobsters again

Carol's Birthday

Yes, today was Carol's birthday but we will not say how old she is at this point.  I told her I was taking her to dinner but we were to stop at Gus and Marilyn's for a "drinky po" before dinner. In fact it was to be a surprise dinner for her at their place. Gail, Carol's sister, Angelo, Ernie and Sonya also came to make it a special evening for  Carol.

Marilyn served her great appetizers and then we had dinner of her special pizza. As usual it was a great meal.

Of course after the meal there was the traditional birthday cake. Carol seemed a little overwhelmed with all that was going on but she was still able to blow out the candle on the cake.

It is great living here in Riverwalk and having such great friends around us.

Birthday celebrations

With Jim's birthday on August 1 and Carol's on August 10, we arranged for a birthday dinner to celebrate both at one time. Gus and Marilyn Lopes provided the transportation to Fleming's in Sarasota this past Sunday.
Fleming's is a fine restaurant that has excellent serviced and superb meals.It is especially nice to go there on Sunday as they have a prime rib special that is Gus's favorite. They also do some nice things for the birthday celebrants one of which is taking a picture and giving it to you before you leave.

They also gave both Carol and Jim a box of four chocolate truffle candies that are really good. Then they top off their gifts with a $25.00 gift card to each of us for use in their dining room in the future. You can hardly go wrong if  you go to Fleming's for your birthday!!!!
There is no doubt we will be back many more times in the future even if it is a bit of a drive and a little on the pricey side. It is well worth it. 

The Big Double 7

Yes, Jim hit the big double 7 yesterday!!! Yep, 77 years old and still going strong. The body is getting a little tired and sore at times but the mind is still 18 years old .... most of the time anyway! As an example, Jim has 4 SCUBA dives scheduled in Key Largo later this month. How many 77 year old guys do you know that still SCUBA dive??
We celebrated Jim's birthday by going to dinner at Portafino's Restaurant with Gus and Mayilyn Lopes. They were nice enough to give a bottle of Champagne as a birthday gift.

But this is not the end of birthday celebrations. On Sunday, the four of us will be going to Flemings, a fine place for dinner in Sarasota. We will be celebrating both Jim's birthday(again)  and Carol's birthday (August 10). Flemings is a superb place to dine and we always enjoy our times there. Their special on Sunday is Prime Rib and Gus really likes that.

CHILLIN' OUT

We decided to use one of our timeshares that was in the RCI bank, to take some time to relax. We went to our nearly local timeshare, Lehigh Resort,  in Lehigh Acres, only 70 miles away. It is inland from Ft Myers and is a laid back resort with not much going on in the area. They do have plenty of activities at the resort to keep you busy though. The resort is well kept, well run and a pleasure to be at.
Since it so quiet around here, we drove down to Ft Myers Beach and wandered around there for a while. It has been several years since we  have been there and it is still a nice beach town. We also had a good lunch at the water's edge.

Being here will also give us the opportunity to go to the Ft Myers Elks and dance to the music of Jerry Dycke, one our favorite entertainers. That is on tap for this evening.
We will be home tomorrow after a relaxing, and rejuvenating week!!

Our new Portrait

We are so lucky to have the great friendship of Gus and Marilyn Lopes. And now we find out that Marilyn is a great artist as well a superb chef.
She recently made the portrait you see us holding in the photo below.

I know you cannot read the poem she added to it so I am putting it here so you can read it clearly.
.

We cannot see,

We cannot pee,

We cannot chew,

We cannot screw,

Our hearing stinks,

Our memory shrinks,

No sense of smell,

We look like hell.

The Golden Years are here at last ......

The Golden Years can kiss our ______ !!!!!

And here is  close up of the picture so you can see it more clearly.

It sure is wonderful having friends like them!!

Father's Day

Carol and met with John and Mary Lou Serafin to go to dinner today to celebrate Father's Day. I have known John for about 70 years ... yes, 70 years!! We were both raised in Trafford, PA and lived about 1 block from each other. John was 2 years ahead of me in school but the class size in Trafford at that time was about 45 in each class. Every one knew everyone else in  our town of 2500, at least by name if not personally.
We chose to go to Rosebud's for our dinner and here we all are waiting for our dinner.

Since we have known each other for such a long time we spent much of our time talking about the "good old days" and everyone we knew in Trafford. It is amazing that we can spend so much time talking about such a small town!!
All of our dinners were excellent and Rosebud's is a superb place to have dinner in our area, Carol and John had veal liver and onions which may sound strange to some people, but all of us like it. Maybe that is some of the Trafford heritage!!

Here we are again, toasting each other!!
It was a wonderful way to spend a special day with special and wonderful friends.

The Big 8 - 0 for Ernie

Yesterday we attended a small party for Ernie Nolin's 80th birthday. Carol and I, plus Gus and Marylin and Ernie''s family had a gathering at his home to celebrate the occasion.

Chinese cuisine was brought in for dinner and was quite good and certainly plentiful. Of course there was the cake, without 80 candles but with two on the numbers of "8" and "0". We didn't want to have a major fire with 80 candles!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY , Ernie and many nore.