The Universe is starting to whisper….catching our readers from where we left off last year
We got home safely from Bangkok Thailand on March 16, 2020. We self-isolated. Wore our masks as required. Social distanced. Didn’t go anywhere. The spring weather was bad in Milwaukee and the days were very long and dull. Our excitement came down to watching a plastic bag float outside our 19th floor window as we offered commentary for 5 minutes. Sad, but true. To make matters works, the flight home had been long and uncomfortable, exacerbating Steve’s ongoing hip pain. At that point, a visit to an orthopedic surgeon was indicated. Of course, non-essential health care was shut down and it took until June before he could see someone. The doctor prescribed a course of physical therapy and anti-inflammatories. While both helped a bit, this clearly was not a complete solution. Steve powered through the next months. Cindy started long distance bike riding and taking long walks. Both of us started volunteering at a food pantry. The summer muddled along.
Getting restless, we started thinking about travel. International, no. Crowded destinations, no. Airplane, definitely not. How about a road trip? Yes, a road trip! Oh, but where to go? Maybe camping? It seemed like a good pandemic activity and Wisconsin is beautiful in the summer. So, we bought a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Limited minivan in mid-August and headed to Kohler-Andrae State Park in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. We camped, in a tent. We have not camped in over a decade, unless you count a Motel 6 as camping, and we don’t stay in those anymore either. OK, we did have an 18” queen size air bed, but we were still in a tent. After a few nice days of camping, we decided that we like it and we should do it some more. Keep this in mind as our story rolls forward.
Since our mini road trip went well, we sort of invited ourselves up to Steve’s brother and sister-in-law’s cottage in northern lower Michigan. Pete and Mary’s place is on a small lake and is quite remote. Very quiet and relaxing. We earned our keep by helping install decorative lattice panels under their deck to keep the critters out. And it was harvest time for Mary’s vegetable garden, so we were treated to fresh organic food every day and it was good to be around humans in person for a while. So road trip #2 went well.
What’s next? We got a little bolder. Our son Mark had agreed to buy our 2007 Toyota Highlander. Since we live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Mark lives in Austin, Texas, maybe we could deliver the car to him? A thousand miles one way with two cars? Hmmm, maybe not. Solution? We met sort of in the middle. We drove both cars to Memphis on Labor Day weekend. He flew and met us there. We did some touristy things like checking out Sun Records where Elvis and other legends recorded multiple hit songs, and of course made the obligatory trip to Graceland. We spent some time with our feet 10 feet off of Beale. A quick trip to the Peabody Hotel to see the duck parade and it was time to come home. Mark headed home to Texas with his new wheels and we meandered our way back to Milwaukee. We checked out the New Madrid Museum in Missouri for a history of one of the strongest earthquakes recorded in the U.S., and Springfield, Illinois to check out the Lincoln Museum. So far so good.
Late fall brought colder weather and shorter days. Time to hit the road again in search of warmer temps. How about Florida? Off we went in late October. We spent few days in Ft. Myers to see Matt and Judi Radish. We rented a nice guest house with a pool. We sunned at Ft. Myers Beach and dined at a seaside restaurant with a view of the sunset. We also checked out the Thomas Edison and Henry Ford summer homes. Ever since that visit, Matt & Judi have been trying to convince us to move there. We’ll see.
Next, we spent a week in The Villages, America’s friendliest hometown. The Villages is a 55+ planned community with 130,000 residents and is still growing. Some call it Disneyland for adults. That is an appropriate description. Through The Villages’ sales office, we rented an entire home that included a golf cart, several rounds of golf, bicycles and activity guest passes. The facilities had just started to reopen in October, although still had reduced capacities, etc. The development has three town squares with live music nightly along with lots of dancing (NOT Steve). These old folks know how to have fun. Old is a relative term, of course. Maybe “active seniors” is a better descriptor. Cindy went out with the biking club one morning and could barely keep up with the slow group. Could moving to The Villages be in our future? We’ll see.
We had planned to spend early November in Cocoa Beach with our old neighbors, Bill and Vicki Sirny. They typically winter at the beachfront condo but had some work to do on the Brookfield house they were selling, so they bailed on us. While they allowed us to use the place, it is definitely more fun when they are there. We lucked out and watched an evening rocket launch at Cape Canaveral from their balcony.
We took an indirect way home. An overnight in St. Augustine, Florida. We had a drink of Juan Ponce de León Fountain of Youth, so we have that going for us. We took the tram tour and strolled around the interesting historical city center. We moved on to Savannah, Georgia, which is a very charming old walkable town. We’d like to spend more time in both places someday, especially when more places are open and when Steve’s mobility is improved. En route home, we stopped for lunch in Hilton Head, South Carolina with Brookfield, Wisconsin friends John and Connie Hauer. We also stopped at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, KY and were lucky enough to be able to buy some Blanton’s, which is nearly impossible to get from retailers. One bottle for us and one for the Sirnys for sharing their place.
Upon returning home in November, it was clear that Steve’s hip pain was not going to improve. He and the orthopedic surgeon agreed that it was time for hip replacement. After all the prep work, Steve had a surgery on February 4, 2021. The difference was amazing. The hip pain was gone and Steve was able to start walking a few hours after surgery.
We have been doing some volunteer work for the food pantry at the Milwaukee Christian Center. Because we have contact with the public, we were considered essential workers and were able to score the Moderna Vaccine. So, with physical therapy complete and a fresh vaccine, we headed to Florida, again. Another week at the Villages. Another trip to Ft. Myers. Another stay with Bill and Vicki. This time, we stopped off in Tampa, Florida to visit with our friends JT Flood and Gayathri. JT retired in January and is splitting time between Wisconsin and Florida. While in Tampa, we stalked our favorite Milwaukee piano player, Joe Hite. A quick stop in Metropolis to visit with Superman.
We returned in time to get our second round of Moderna and settled in again. On April 24th, Steve had his other hip replace. Some more physical therapy with down time to plan our next adventures.
At the end of June, we packed up and hit the road again. This time, west. We had a stop at the world famous Spam Museum. Yes, Spam, that wonderful “meat” the world loves. As we were leaving, Steve heard a voice from the past. Looking around, we saw an old PSE fraternity brother, Leo J. Pilak III.
After a brief stop at the Culvers restaurant for a Spamburger, we headed to Mitchell, South Dakota for a look at the Corn Palace. As a child, Cindy desperately wanted to see the Corn Palace, but couldn’t talk her Dad into it.
After a night in Ogallala, Nebraska, we headed to Rocky Mount National Park. Steve is finally old enough to get a Senior Lifetime Pass, also known as the geezer card. We drove the length of the park through some amazing scenery. We stayed at an Airbnb in Grand Lake, Colorado. Cute old town. We were across the street from the Rocky Mountain Repertory Theater, so we took in a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. Very nice.
The original plan was to spend time in Breckenridge, Colorado with our friends Jeff and Inna Germanotta, but they had a couple of issues that needed them to stay in Wisconsin. However, they offered their condo for us to stay in, which we accepted. Breckenridge is a beautiful, old town. Steve built a bicycle rack that allows two bikes to be inside the minivan. With bikes available, we had a nice ride into town.
On the way home, we stopped in Omaha, Nebraska. We had dinner with our old neighbor, Patty Altenbach. Patty is a recent accounting graduate from Nebraska. After a nice dinner, we stopped at a piano bar. Not only did we have nice music, but the small audience joined in. There was a nice gentleman in his early 80’s that was singing (a bit off key) and doing a bit of a soft shoe. There was also a woman with an amazing voice that would bust into song. As we were leaving, we asked her if she ever was on the stage. The piano player chimed in “oh yeah”.
The rest of the drive home include a stop at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library in West Branch, Iowa. We really like the presidential libraires and this one was no exception.
We finished the summer with one more camping trip. A few days at Devils Lake in Wisconsin. Devils Lake is a short 2 hour drive. It is very popular with a lake and lots of hiking trails. With his new hips, Steve is able to walk a lot longer without pain.
Well, summer is over and we started planning our next adventure. Stay tuned for the next installment.