Golf with a bite!

There are a couple of Christmas  eve traditions that have become pretty much written in stone. 

One is a "girls luncheon" that Beth's best friend growing up (Lori McCroan) organizes every year. There are usually 10-15 of them that get together at a local restaurant for lunch. I'm sure there is a lot of laughter and enlightening conversation at these annual gatherings. Not everyone makes it every year and sadly one of the regular attendees passed away this past year but it's now evolved to where grown daughters are often in attendance. I don't think there have been any great granddaughter's attend yet but it's not too far off even if they don't want to recognize that fact. 

I understand that next years luncheon will be somewhat of a milestone, the 30th consecutive year of this extravaganza!  Congratulations to Lori for organizing and keeping this going through the years. 

Another tradition with a few less years history but something that is becoming an annual event is the boys golf outing which I've named the "Hack City Open".  It isn't pretty but it is a bunch of fun.

The players are Ben, my brother in law and friend since elementary school Drew, and his son Kyle who is Ben's age and me. Occasionally Drew's older son Scott will join us but this year he was on a fishing/diving trip and missed participating in the destruction. 

Although I grew up playing golf and at one point many, many moons ago I was fairly decent. Now I play once or twice a year. It's too expensive and takes too long for me to stay focused. Plus, I don't own a set of clubs anymore. The set I had went the way of the refrigerator, couch, and house when we downsized. In case you were wondering, no, we still don't miss any of that "stuff"!

So as we made our way around the golf course I noticed that Ben and I were locked in a pretty tight battle. This was quite unusual because he usually pounds me pretty good. I think it was a combination of him playing down to my level and me playing a little better than expected. 

With three holes to play I had a two shot lead. I was beginning to feel confident that I was going to whip him. I was so confident that I started talking a little trash to him figuring I could get in his head and pull away for a decisive victory I could hold over him for a year. 

I guess I made him mad. He got a shot back on 16 and another one on 17. As we stepped to the 18th tee tied tension filled the air. It was Jack vs Arnie, Tiger vs Phil, Sunday at Augusta and the Ryder Cup all rolled into one. 

He was in the fairway off the tee while I was a little to the right (my usual place on the golf course and in politics) near a lake but dry and with a clear path to the green. 

Then it happened. As I was walking to my ball with my head down and in deep concentration I looked up and what to my wondering eyes did appear?  A 7-8 foot gator right in front of me!  While he was still a few poodles away from being full grown he was a decent size and there was a little bit of a startle factor that came into play.  He seemed interested in holding his place in the sunshine on an unusually hot Christmas Eve. Ben told me I had to "play it as it lies" which was about twenty feet from his teeth. 

I summoned all three of them to keep an eye on him while I hit my shot. I gave clear instructions that they were to alert me if he decided to come in for a closer look. 

I guess I rushed my shot for some strange reason and ended up short of the green. This resulted in a double bogey 6 on the hole and I lost to Ben by one shot. He shot 90 which was a little high for him while I'll gladly take my 91 and live with it until next year. 

It was a great afternoon of fun and losing to Ben isn't a bad thing. 

Bleeding the Orange and Blue of the University of Florida I've said it many times over the years......"dang Gators" (cleaned up from the in my head version of what is usually said)!  I think it applies in this situation. 

Gator Bait!

Lifelong friend, college roommate, brother in law and fellow hacker Drew Eason

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2017!


Thanks for Reading

Up Next: Barcelona Bound

AMI Sunsets Never Get Old!



We've been back in the US since November 23 and back on AMI since the 30th.  It's been fun and while we still have Christmas and another week to go here in Florida our next adventure is on the horizon.
A week from today we're heading out from here and although we may be Barcelona Bound there will be a couple of very important stops prior to heading across the pond.  We will be flying from here to Dallas and then driving directly to Fort Smith.  The last time we went directly to Fort Smith via a flight from Tampa to Dallas was on July 9 and we were on our way to meet that precious Sweet Baby James! 
Ben is going to fly to Fort Smith on the morning of the 1st so we'll all be together for a little bit.  This is going to be an extra special time and is the perfect ending to the Christmas season and beginning of 2017.  Then we'll spend a couple of days in Burleson and then fly from DFW to Barcelona (by way of Madrid) on the afternoon of Jan. 4.
We will be arriving in Barcelona on the 5th, and unbeknownst to us when we were planning this trip that's a huge day in Barcelona and throughout Spain.  It's known as "Three Kings Day" and marks the end of the Christmas season.  The evening of the 5th there is a huge celebration and parade marking the arrival of the three kings to the city.  Based on everything we have read about the parade it is very festive and goes on for a long time. We think it runs fairly close to the hotel so we'll most likely watch it from the comfort of the balcony or on tv since we will have been traveling for quite a while and there seem to be a few idiots out there that like to drive trucks through crowds of good people who are just out enjoying life.  We're certainly more cautious with our travels these days but we're not stopping.  To do so and live in fear would mean the bad guys have won...........it ain't happening.
http://irbarcelona.org/christmas-barcelona/three-kings-day/
After the night in Barcelona we'll be getting on the Norwegian Spirit for two cruises that are "sorta" back to back.  The first one is ten days in length and the second one is twelve days.  I describe them as "sorta" back to back because the ship is in dry dock for 5 days between the cruises.  I'm not really sure what they will be doing to the ship during those days but I'm assuming routine maintenance type of stuff.

While they are doing whatever they are doing to the ship we will be enjoying Barcelona and the surrounding area.  We've been there a couple of times and it's one of our favorite cities so there really wasn't any problem with having a few days there between cruises.
I've said it before, these cruises are a pretty good way to go.  They are affordable, especially in the offseason and everything from the planning to meals is handled.  It makes being a "Traveling Idiot" pretty easy!





Cruise 1



Cruise 2

Christmas Through The Years Tucker Style !

Merry Christmas from AMI!



Wow!  Here we are again, another Christmas is right around the corner.  Not that I'm keeping score but this will make the 58th one for me and as best as I can remember they've all been pretty special in their own unique way.  Even the one way back when I was in my early teens and mom decided that we would have our big family meal and open our presents on Christmas Eve.  This was a slap in the face to tradition and traditions just aren't something to be taken lightly.  I can't really remember the rationale behind this big change but I do remember that we woke up Christmas morning and didn't have a clue what to do.  It made for a really long day and we decided early on that morning that it would never happen again and it never did.
Mom and Dad have been gone for quite a few years but the memories of Christmas with them remain special.  Mom took care of the inside of the house which was always decorated very festively.  Dad was the master of the outdoor display.  He took great pride in winning the "Best Decorated House in Mulberry" several times. Now even though it was Mulberry it may have well as been New York, LA or Chicago.  He couldn't have been any prouder. 
Compared to some of the technology used in Christmas displays these days they were pretty primitive but I do remember he rigged up a rocking chair somehow so a big plastic Santa would rock back and forth all night long.  He was a man ahead of his time in many ways, especially when it came to decorating for Christmas.
My earliest memories of Christmas morning were actually more in the middle of the night.  My two older brothers would coax me into going in and seeing what was under the tree, assuring me that I wouldn't get caught.  Some how even being as quiet as I possibly could be mom and dad would hear me and yell at me to get back in bed. 
After a pretty sleepless night for everyone (thanks to my brothers forcing me into devious behavior) Christmas morning would officially start after mom, dad and my grandmother (Nannie Aultman) were up and in the living room.  We three boys would finally be allowed to come in and the good times would start rolling.  Once my two brothers were grown and out of the house I figured out that I didn't have to try to sneak into the living room in the middle of the night to get a peak.  I only had to open the trunk of mom's car.  We had a silver Chevrolet Caprice that was something akin to a tank and had a trunk that I think could have easily held dad's Volkswagen Beetle.
Coolest present ever as a kid, that's an easy one; a black and silver Schwinn Sting Ray 10 speed bike.  I could almost get that sucker airborne. Looking back now obviously that bike was just a bike and the real present was family.
Then there were the middle teen years when I had to act too cool to show I really cared about all that Christmas stuff.   Thankfully mom and dad saw right through that little charade and still made every one of them special in spite of me being pretty butt headed.  Although I probably didn't tell them as much as I should have I'm so thankful they kept the traditions of Christmas alive and going strong through the "rebellious years".  I think during this time they were praying, "Lord help him and send him a wonderful woman".  It happened and they lived to see me marry Beth.  Thankfully they even had a few quality years with Ben and Sarah.
This will be my thirty fifth Christmas that Beth and I will be celebrating as husband and wife.  Throw in a half dozen or so more years of dating and there seems to be a trend emerging of Christmas's spent with Beth and boy have they been great!
Her family traditions are very similar to ours so there wasn't a real "learning curve" that either of us had to go through as we joined forces.  We enjoyed many early Christmas mornings with NaNa and PaPa which were filled with laughter and excitement.  There would always be Ben and Sarah's cousins Scott, Kyle and Kimberly in the fray, along with Beth's siblings and their spouses.  Later in the day there's a big gathering of Beth's extended and very close knit family. These celebrations I'm happy to say are still going strong and are usually held at her Uncle Dick and Aunt Phyllis's house in Winter Haven although on a few occasions they have been moved to Palmetto. 
Once we had the kids I used to watch in amazement, amusement and humble appreciation at how meticulous Beth's preparation would be every year.  She would search out, lay out and compare to make sure that everything was perfect and that it was equal.  If Sarah had five presents wrapped and three under the tree you can bet Ben would have the same thing.  I have to admit I didn't think they compared that closely but in later years they both confessed that they did compare closely to see if there was any evidence that we loved one more than the other.  I think they've figured out we love them both the same, but we still keep the gifts balanced!
We packed up and moved to Texas when Ben was starting kindergarten and Sarah was just over one year old but Christmas was always spent in Florida and Beth was always going to make sure it was special.  It really didn't matter if it was a basketball goal for Ben or a doll house with about a million pieces and those most feared words "some assembly required".  The gifts were going to come to Florida to be assembled for Christmas morning even if it meant taking them apart and reassembling it once we returned after the holidays.  I'm still not sure how Ben didn't see that basketball goal in the van between him and Sarah as we drove all night but he swears he didn't!  I think it's fair to say and I believe they would agree that thanks especially to Beth their Christmas mornings were always super special.
Now we do have one Christmas tradition that is a little unique.  In the thirty four Christmas's that we have enjoyed together as husband and wife we have spent practically no time in our own house.  If I did the math right 34 Christmas's equals 816 hours of Christmas.  Of the 816 hours we have probably spent no more than 6-8 hours in our own house on Christmas day.  It didn't matter if we were living in North Carolina, Florida or Texas we would always be at my parents, Beth's parents or in recent years Beth's sister and her husband's house (thanks Cindy and Drew).  Coincidentally Drew has been a good friend of mine since elementary school!  As a matter of fact, it's only been in recent years that we've spent any time in our house on Christmas. That's because we have flown back to Texas on Christmas night.  Not a chance this year since we no longer own a house and the way we're enjoying this new part of the journey we may never own another house.
So here we are less than a week away from another big day and I'm excited because this Christmas is going to last for a while. Plus there is going to be a new and very special present under the tree this year.  Here's what's happening; Ben is flying down and will be with us here in Florida for a few days. He's flying back on the 27th and we are heading out from here to Fort Smith on the 29th to see Sarah, Joey and that extra special present under the tree this year, Sweet Baby James!  Ben is going to be joining us on January 1st in Fort Smith and while it won't be for long we will all be together for a bit of time and that's as good as it can get!
Now about that picture.  A few years back while I was laying in a hammock on some beach somewhere I had the brilliant idea to take a picture of my feet with the crystal clear water in the background.  I was so proud of my photographic effort that I decided to send it to my colleagues back at the hospital who were working tirelessly.  The photo was quickly and well received by all of them. I received immediate and encouraging feedback like "jerk", "I hate you" and "those are some of the narliest feet I've ever seen"! 
After that what else could I do except send them an occasional picture similar to that first one many years ago,  just from a different location.  They probably have a collection of about 20-25 pictures, including the one above sent directly to their work e-mail.  Always narly feet and always water in the background, just a little extra decorations in this one!

Sweet Baby James and his wonderfully awesome parents!



  

Paddleboarding is much nicer in 76 degrees!

Here's two of my favorite Christmas youtube video's.  Sarah sent me the first one several years back and I've watched it every year at Christmas since then.  The end always brings a tear to my eye..............this getting old and sentimental is a challenge sometimes!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7baFMmSv4k

This one is funny!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRhjWdr-LAA



A manatee fart makes for a great experience!

Since I've retired and while we are in Florida one of my favorite activities is paddleboarding.  It all started when one of my nephews (Scott) left his paddleboard here at NaNa's house.  I took it out one day and was instantly hooked.  It's simple to launch right in the back yard and there's pretty much unlimited calm, clear waters to explore.  Everyday brings something new from ospreys and pelicans in the sky to fish, stingrays, dolphins, small sharks and manatees around the boat docks, bridges, sea walls and mangroves.  It's a combination of a little workout and nature hunt at the same time.
Yesterday morning it was pretty foggy out here so I waited a little while before heading out.  Even though there was a little fog still hanging around the water was it's usual calm and clear.  I had been out for about 30 minutes and it had been pretty uneventful, a few big snook and sheepshead under the Key Royal bridge but nothing to write home (or a blog) about. 
I was cruising very close to some mangroves behind the Shell Point condos and getting ready to start heading back towards the house when it happened.  Between me and the shore the calmness of the water was disrupted by a fairly large bubble rising to the surface followed by another and then another.  As I stopped to try to figure out what was going on I quickly realized that they were coming from the back end of a full grown and well camouflaged manatee laying very still and calmly munching on some grass on the shoreline and merrily farting while eating.
There are quite a few of these guys that live around here so it's not totally unusual to see them swimming off the beach or in the bay.  I've also seen them several times from the paddleboard but it's always been just a passing encounter as they slowly swam by, but this was different.  He or she (I didn't look) was really enjoying breakfast and wasn't going to be disturbed by some old guy on a paddleboard hovering within arms reach. 
I'm not sure who enjoyed that ten minutes or so more, him with a hearty breakfast of sea grass or me being able to watch it from such a close range.  I'm very grateful that little toot tipped me off as to what was right under my board and for the time spent with this very cool and unusual looking animal.


http://www.savethemanatee.org






Beats working!

Tampa and Orlando in a Flash

Sunday morning we were up and on the road fairly early heading for Tampa. This time in addition to Beth, NaNa and I we were joined by Beth's sister and tsunami watch expert Debbie.  Our destination for the day was Busch Gardens which would finish up our Tampa City Pass.  Before heading out thanks to Beth's expert planning we altered our gameplan a little bit so that I would be able to see my sister Jan in Clermont and brothers Gerald and Cecil in Bartow.  To get it all in we turned it into an overnight adventure that not only included Busch Gardens but then a drive to Orlando and a night at the Gaylord Palms. 

Once again NaNa was an incredible trooper and I think had a great day (at least that's what she's telling us).  We were at Busch Gardens from around 10:00 AM until well after dark so we could fully enjoy all the Christmas Decorations.  We hadn't been to Busch Gardens in a number of years.  I'm not exactly sure how long it's been, but the brewery closed in 1995 and it was still there the last time we were there.
The brewery building was huge and it's completely gone now so the park has expanded quite a bit.  The gardens and animals were very nice and they've put in roller coasters that will twist and turn you every which way you could imagine if you chose to get on them, which we unanimously decided to skip.
There were a number of Christmas shows and it was refreshing that the shows featured real Christmas carols and didn't try to hide behind some goofy "Holiday" theme.  Good for them!
As I mentioned this was the last of our City Pass Adventures.  In looking into this deal a little more I learned that they are offered in about 10 cities around the country.  I haven't studied the details closely for all locations but I was really pleased with it for Tampa and would recommend you look into if it's offered in a city you are going to be visiting or live near.
http://www.citypass.com
The Gaylord hotels go all out for Christmas and we had enjoyed going to the Gaylord Texan several times. While the Florida hotel is much smaller (because as you know everything is bigger in Texas) it was nicely decorated.  Thanks to a room upgrade from a very friendly front desk clerk we had a balcony overlooking the massive indoor atrium.  In addition to roaming the gardens Beth and Debbie enjoyed going through the ICE Exhibit although with it being 9 degrees inside they were in and out pretty quickly.
It was so great seeing Jan, Gerald and Cecil.  We're a blended family but we've never acted that way. Speaking for my brothers and sister, we're very blessed to have each other!



Hard to keep that NaNa under control

One of the many hyperactive kangaroos at Busch Gardens

Busch Gardens-Me, Beth, Tsunami Watcher Debbie & NaNa 

Busch Gardens Christmas Village

Gaylord Palms-Orlando

Beth introducing NaNa to her new friend

Gaylord Palms-There must be mistletoe up there somewhere!

The Beatings Are Back!

We (NaNa, Beth and I) went up to Tampa on Wednesday and took advantage of  two more attractions on the Tampa City Pass; Lowry Park Zoo and the Florida Aquarium.  As I mentioned previously, Lowry Park has been around for what seems like forever and was a real thrill to visit back a half a century ago when I was a kid.
All these years later it's certainly changed a bit but it's still a pretty darn cool place to spend a few hours.  It's mostly a zoo, hence the name but it has a few kiddie rides as well. We kept our feet on the ground and didn't partake in any of the rides.  The animal habitats were large and well done with interesting information available.  They even had a couple of Koloa's that were fun to stare at for a while.  We had seen some on a visit to Australia way back when the kids were little and even had some pictures of Ben and Sarah holding one.  I learned that they sleep up to 21 hours a day and don't do much but eat when they are awake, not a bad gig!
After the zoo it was off to the Florida Aquarium.  This was our first time visiting the aquarium which has been around since 1995 and is located in the channelside area of Tampa.  It's an impressive building with three stories of different displays and exhibits.  After NaNa petted the stingrays at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium earlier in the week she had her hand back in the water in no time whatsoever.  This time she was petting a small shark (he was harmless but don't tell her).  She's living life in the fast lane, who know's what's next!
Speaking of NaNa, she has reassumed her position as "Queen of Rummy".  She beat Beth five straight times at the hotel while I was working.  Once we got back to the island I said "come on NaNa I'll play you".  She quickly responded with "I'm not afraid of you" and then promptly beat me two games in a row!






Birds of Different Feathers Flocking Together



Beauty and the Beast-You Decide



This is NOT the shark NaNa petted



There's a small shark under NaNa's hand-not quite the killer shark in the picture above



Lowry Park Zoo



Me and my new Bald is Beautiful Bumper Sticker-Lowry Park



She started mouthing off so we parked her under a bucket of water



Of all the pictures of SBJ Sarah sends us this one is my favorite.  Just under 5 months old.  He, mom and dad were heading out to Wendy's for a Frosty!

Before Disney World, Sea World, Universal Studios and Busch Gardens there was Lowry Park Zoo!

We've been back on Anna Maria Island for just over a week and settling back in to a nice routine of both enjoying and helping out with NaNa.  So far I've been able to avoid her challenging me to checkers, rummy or scrabble so my pride is still intact.  It probably won't last much longer and I'll have to face my fate but I'm gonna run and hide for as long as I can.
Being back on the island is always fun.  We've been treated to a couple of really nice sunsets, enjoyed going on morning beach walks and bike rides and I've been getting back out on the paddleboard almost daily.  The first time I took the board out I had a dolphin come up about 10 yards from me and hang around for a couple of minutes.  I took it as a welcome back!
We have purchased a pretty neat deal called "The City of Tampa Pass".  It's pretty inexpensive and gives admission to five different attractions in the Tampa area over a period of nine days from the date you activate the pass.  Yesterday we kicked it off by first going to the Chihuly Glass Collection at the Morean Arts Center in Downtown St. Pete. 
http://www.citypass.com/tampa
http://www.moreanartscenter.org
It was a fairly small display compared to ones we had seen in Seattle and Dallas but very impressive nonetheless.  One of the cool things they offered was a glass blowing demonstration which was both informative and interesting.  The heat generated by the kilns and the attention to detail and patience required made me quickly realize that I wouldn't make a very good glass blower!
St. Pete has really reinvented itself into a pretty vibrant and hip town which is a far cry from what it used to be when it was known more for being where folks went to live out their last few years before moving on.  Central Avenue had some very cool looking shops and restaurants.  We found a nice little pizza place with outdoor seating for a quick lunch before heading on to our second stop, The Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium serves primarily as a rehabilitation facility for injured sea critters such as dolphins and turtles.  It was made famous for one of it's residents "Winter" a tailless dolphin who was the star of the movies Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale 2.  The dolphin couldn't survive in the wild so he (or she) is the permanent star of the aquarium.
Beth convinced NaNa to pet one of the stingrays as they swam by in the stingray display.  Now Beth wasn't encouraging illegal behavior, touching was not only allowed it was encouraged.  It took a little convincing but on about the 4th or 5th pass she did touch it.  Afterwards she confessed to Beth that this wasn't on her bucket list!
http://www.seewinter.com
 We've got three more places to check off.  Tomorrow we're hitting Lowry Park Zoo and the Florida Aquarium and will be finishing off the City Pass with Busch Gardens over the weekend.
I'm looking forward to seeing Lowry Park Zoo tomorrow.  It'll be my first visit in about 50 years.  It'll be another walk down memory lane.  Long before all the big attractions that now cover the great state of Florida Lowry Park was about as big as it got.  In reality back then it was just a small zoo with a few rides and displays but for a kid from Mulberry it seemed larger than life.  It's going to be fun to see it again!
http://www.lowryparkzoo.org
One other thing, I was having a hard time posting pictures and unable to post captions while we were on our recent trip.  I've been going back and adding some additional pictures and captions.  I'm working my way back and about half way through so far.  Take a look if you're interested.



NaNa and her stingray friend





Two Priceless Pieces of Art.........and some nice glass too!



Glass Blowing at the Arts Center

Thankful 2.0!

Yesterday was our last day in Texas and much of it was spent running from appointment to appointment.
Pacemaker check (still working), dentist (still have a few teeth) & financial advisor (Jeff Atwell @ Edward Jones if you live in the Burleson area and are looking for a good one)kept us pretty busy.
I even had one doctors visit cancelled because the doctor had a family emergency.   This was with my dermatologist who thanks to my time spent outside in my younger years without sunscreen is a very wealthy person.
This cancellation opened up a little time for me to stop by the hospital and roam around a bit.
I didn't realize it until late last night but yesterday was my seven month anniversary of being retired.  Time has sure flown by since that day. The adventures and new memories Beth and I are making are awesome and so are the memories of 23 years at Huguley and 31 total years with Adventist Health System.
The new hospital opened in early August and is absolutely amazing!
While it was special to see the building what was really meaningful was to have a chance to say hello to so many people who mean so much to me.
Ken who was my boss and CEO was in and took me on a tour through the new areas. It was exciting and humbling to see many of the areas that I had played a really small part in designing. When I say "small" I mean "small" because the hospital design and processes were developed by the most important members of the team, those who directly or indirectly are taking care of the patients.
Based on what I saw as well as what I experienced while having some blood work done they did an outstanding job!
While on the tour as well as in the administrative offices I  loved visiting with so many familiar faces that I'm not even going to attempt to name them. What I can tell you is that every hug, hand shake, hello was so appreciated.
Although my visit was short, it should have been since everyone had more important matters to attend to than to talk to an old retired guy. The visit created another special memory of a place and some of some of the people that will always be a part of me.......another reason to be thankful!




The New Texas Health Huguley!

Thankful!

We're back!

After a couple of extra hours in Sydney due to weather we were finally on our way. 

We landed at DFW around 3:00 PM and even though it's supposed to be the busiest travel day of the year it wasn't too chaotic. 

We appreciated Ben letting us stay at his place Wednesday and Thursday night. It was a busy time because we were helping him shop for a new car which was something he really needed. He's now the proud owner of a low mileage one prior owner Nissan Rouge. 

Thanksgiving Day was a little bittersweet since we weren't going to be with Sarah, Joey and Sweet Baby James although we knew we'd be seeing them on Friday. 

We're so fortunate to have great friends like Rob and Pam McNeely who I've written about previously. They were kind enough to open their home to a homeless family so Beth, Ben and I joined them for an outstanding Thanksgiving feast.  I told them that they could possibly include the expense of the meal as a charitable contribution since they were feeding homeless people! Friday afternoon after

 helping Ben finalize the purchase of the car we were off to Fort Smith. 

We arrived around dark and boy was it great seeing Sweet Baby James........and Sarah & Joey too!  

He's almost five months old now. He's grown so much, has a smile that will melt your heart and in my unbiased opinion is about the cutest thing ever. 

Even though we couldn't all be together at the same time we're grateful that we have been able to spend some time with both Ben in Burleson and Sarah, Joey and SBJ in Fort Smith. 

A special weekend with very special people!

Sweetest Present Under The Tree!

Sarah, SBJ and Max  James and Max are real buddies

Mimi and SBJ at feeding time

Starting to get the hand of "solid food"!

!&/@?;:"?!#<^% did Nelson Street go?

We just took off from Auckland.  While we're looking forward to seeing family and friends it's a little sad leaving this magnificent country behind.  Obviously I can't predict the future but I'm thinking we'll be back hopefully soon and often. 

So while we were here I would occasionally turn on the TV to get a little news or sports. As I had mentioned previously Fox, CNN and ESPN were usually available. Additionally the New Zealand networks would also show some American shows. If you were a New Zealander and you formed your opinion on America strictly from what you saw on TV your impressions would be based on shows like; Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Housewives of _____________ (there were a bunch of different ones), Toddlers and Tiaras, Hoarders and Dance Moms to name a few. Let's hope they get a little more exposure to the real America than just those fine exports, or is that who we are?

One of the things I became fascinated watching on TV was the game of Cricket. I had occasionally watched a little while traveling in the past but really got a kick out of it this time. 

First of all there is a dedicated Cricket channel so it's "all Cricket all the time".  Second, even after watching for quite a bit over the past few weeks I still have absolutely no clue what's going on. Third, the matches seem as if they can last for centuries!

I got to noticing over the past few days that every day India and England would be playing something called a "test match".  I'm thinking "test match" stands for something like "marathon", "never ending" or "till Gabriel blows his horn". 

The last I saw it was day five of the match, England was trailing by over 300 runs but the announcers were talking as if the Brits could still pull it out. If I get any further updates I'll pass them along. I do understand the matches can end in a tie. Can you imagine that, five+ days and they still can't determine a winner. 

When we arrived in Auckland on Monday we returned the rental car to the downtown location where we picked it up two weeks earlier. We put just under 1000 miles on the car and covered quite a bit of the North Island. Beth was a great help with the driving. She became quite proficient at navigating the roundabouts as well as training herself to not turn on the windshield wipers every time she'd turn. 

Our plan was to drop off the luggage at the hotel before taking the car back. We would then walk back to the hotel which looked to be around a 15-20 minute walk. 

Auckland like most big cities is a mish mash of roads that are one way, suddenly become one way, change names, etc.  Mix in a bunch of pedestrians, bikes, motorcycles and driving on the left side of the road. What could possibly go wrong?

Since we didn't have a GPS I had written down the directions. Keep that word "written" in mind till the end of the story. 

With Beth navigating and me driving we actually made it from the motorway to the hotel with just one minor navigational mistake.  A friendly (I'm serious) cab driver helped us get back on track and we were easily at our hotel. 

Having dropped of the luggage we headed back out for the short drive to the rental car location. This required going right through the cities central business district where thousands of Kiwis were ready to head home after a long Monday in the office. 

The confusing roads suddenly became more confusing, the one ways became more common, street signs disappeared and Nelson Street was nowhere to be found!

!&/@?;:"?!#<^% did Nelson Street go?

What looked like it was going to take 10 minutes was now working on an hour and the rental car location would be closing soon. 

!&/@?;:"?!#<^% did Nelson Street go?

We passed Albert Park for about the 5th or 6th time. Started recognizing shops, businesses and homeless people because we had been by so many times. 

!&/@?;:"?!#<^% did Nelson Street go?

Wait, there it is!  Seems as if I had written "turn left" when I should have written "turn right". 

I was honored that I could provide Beth such an in depth tour of downtown Auckland!

The rental car was returned within minutes of finding Nelson Street and to the best of my knowledge no dings, dents or scratches. 

Our way back to the hotel was pretty easy....we knew the roads!

Yesterday was our last full day in Auckland and we wanted to take in as many sites as possible while spending as little money as possible so we did what we usually do, walked a bunch!

We saw a sign in the harbor for a "Coast to Coast Walk" it was free, went by a lot of cool places so off we went. The walk was just under 10 miles from the Waitemata Harbor which is the main harbor over to the Manukau Harbor. Along the way we went through Albert Park which we had driven by numerous times on the rental car return fiasco. Climbed Mount Eden which is actually an old volcano for incredible 360 degree views of the city. We walked through many tree lined parks and pristine neighborhoods.  It was a great way to wrap up this adventure. 

Three hours to Sydney (where I will probably post this), a six hour layover followed by a 14ish  hour flight to Dallas. Breakfast on this flight consisted of scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns and baked beans thrown in for good measure....what could possibly go wrong?

Auckland City Tower from Albert Park-Nelson Street is down there somewhere!

Winter Gardens Auckland

Winter Gardens-Auckland

Surfers Beach near Ragland-I was doing my Japanese Tourist Pose

Flowers, Bungee Jumpers, Sheep Shearing, A Dam and Flatulence All In The Same Day!

Yesterday was our last full day in Taupo and in spite of very strong winds it couldn't have been nicer. 

It was early Sunday morning here but Saturday afternoon back in the US. It's kinda cool to roll out of bed between 6 and 7 and the afternoon slate of football games are already on. 

While the Fla/LSU game wasn't on TV (they were showing some Big 10 game) I was able to keep up with it on the internet and through text messaging with my "Gator Boy's".  

We have a running thread of texts all season long that would no doubt seem silly to outsiders but is pretty darn special and funny to the seven of us. The friendship with these guys is something I will cherish forever. 

There were some very anxious moments but the good guys pulled it out in the end. At one point Beth turned to me and said "you look very stressed out and you're shaking". As usual she was right on both accounts. 

So after the game was over we set out to explore the rest of Taupo. 

First up was their botanical gardens which had several really nice short walks through magnificent azaleas and rhododendrons. If the Masters golf tournament was played down here it would be that time of year.....spring is in the air. 

Next up was something a little unusual but very interesting to watch. The Aratiatia Dam on the Waikato River is opened four times to provide water to the hydroelectric power plant. Watching 21,000 gallons of water per second being released to fill up and flow through a narrow gorge is kind of mind boggling and amusing. The dam is open for about 8-10 minutes creating monster rapids that begin to recede within minutes of closing. If you're a fan of The Hobbit movies there is a scene in The Desolation of Smaug that was filmed here. 

There are tons of outdoor "extreme adventures in New Zealand. We love these but only as spectators!  We were able to watch a few folks pay $169 each to bungee over the river. Better them than us!

We finished the day with one final thermal walk at the Craters of the Moon. I ran into a little issue while on the walk. Seems my lunch disagreed with me and as you can see from the picture I had some major flatulence!  I'm feeling much better now. 

Taupo was a great base for four days. We stayed at a very nice 13-15 room motel called The Gables. The owners, Peter and Penny could not have been any nicer. They would greet us or wave goodbye as we would come and go and were very helpful with tips on where to go and what to see. Our last evening there Peter visited with us for about an hour sharing stories about the farm that had been in their family for generations, his kids, technology, sheep shearing (he made big bucks doing this) and of course a little post election discussion!

We left this morning heading for Auckland. Made a short detour to Bridal Veil Falls and then the coastal town of Ragland which has a reputation as a "surfing and hippie town". Neat little place. We had some great fish and chips right on the wharf where the boats come in. Saw a bunch of surfers but only a couple of "hippies". It was only around noon so I guess they were sleeping in. 

Tune in next time for fun stories of the never ending cricket match I've been watching for five days, American TV shows down here, finding the hotel, returning the rental car and other Auckland adventures!

That was a hot one!

Bridal Veil Falls

The Aratiatia Dam on the Waikato River

Ragland Beach

HEY, We know them!

Although we have been in Taupo for two nights we had not really seen much of the town until today. 

Our hotel is located on the lake about a little over a mile from the city center. Yesterday morning we walked down to their very nice harbor near the downtown area before heading off to Tongariro. Today we did a little more exploring. 

We walked back into town but stayed along the river past the harbor. We ended up at their fairly small but quite busy Saturday Market. The doughnut I am stuffing into my face was fabulous. It was covered with fruit so I'm opting to put it in the fruit category. 

In the afternoon we went out for a walk to Huka Falls. We could have driven to the Falls but chose to hike the 45 minutes along the Waikato River to reach them. 

Shortly after starting our hike I looked about 20 yards in front of me, turned to Beth and said "hey, we know them"!  She looked at me and said as she often does "what are you talking about"?  At that point I was still too startled to come up with their names so I replied "there's Holland America"!  

She admitted at that point that she thought I had finally gone off the deep end and was having visions of our ship floating down the river. Thankfully it all became clear after I yelled out, "hey, Holland America" and Jordan and Jason turned around (it was about here that I remembered their names).

We had met Jordan and Jason in the hot tub on the ship between Honolulu and Sydney. A few things about them stuck out right from the start.

First, they were really nice. Second, on the ship they were two of the dozen or so passengers that were clearly younger than us. Third, they were "travelers"!

Jordan had requested and been granted a three month sabbatical from her job in Virginia so they could visit Australia and New Zealand. Jason shared with me that he had hiked the entire Appalachian Trail over the course of two summers.

We visited with them several more times on the ship before they got off in Sydney and we continued on to Auckland. 

This was a pretty amazing crossing of paths. They have been off the Noordam for almost a month. They got off in Sydney and wandered around Australia a bit before heading to New Zealand. We got off in Auckland fourteen days later, wandered around New Zealand only to end up on the same trail in Taupo twenty yards from each other. 

It was great visiting with them again, they're still nice, still younger than us and still travelers. 

Their travels tomorrow are going to take them on the Alpine Crossing Trail that I talked about in yesterday's post. They have our e-mail and this blog post web site now. I'm excited to hear how they do on tomorrow's hike. I'm thinking it'll be a walk in the park for them!!

PS  I frequently tell Beth that wherever we travel I'm always on the lookout for people we know. It's happened several times over the years. Doug Futch our neighbor from Burleson in New York.  Vince & Evie Liem also neighbors from Burleson on a cruise ship in Alaska. Rich Reiner from Adventist Health System in New York, too. Rich lived in Florida but was the Chairman of the Board for Huguley and was sitting directly in front of Beth and I at a Broadway play. Rich and his wife were traveling with John Harding and his wife. I had worked with John early in my career at the hospital in Punta Gorda, Fl.  

There was Don Wiersdorfer, (sp?) from Burleson in Hawaii and Jean Barnhart(maiden name) who Beth and I knew growing up in Mulberry at London Heathrow Airport. Beth also ran into Sandra Burns, an old classmate from Mulberry on a cruise ship in the Bahamas.  Sarah has even got in on the act. In Junior High she and her friend Allison who was traveling with us ran into a classmate at the Zurich Airport. 

It's a small world out there. Keep your eyes open!

That's fruit on top!

Huka Falls

Lodge on the river above Huka Falls

Tongariro National Park

Our adventure for today was driving a little over an hour from Taupo to the Tongariro National Park. Not only is this a national park it is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Some other spiffy places with the same designation are the Great Barrier Reef, Grand Canyon and the Pyramids. 

One of the walking trails that we wanted to check out was the Tongariro Alpine Crossing Trail. This trail is just a little over 12 miles in length. Along the way it crosses between Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe both of which are considered active volcanos. Tongariro last erupted in 2012 and Ngauruhoe in 1977. 

The walk crosses ice fields and requires the use of ice crampons on your shoes and ice picks. The walk was amazing.....at least that's what we read from people who have done it. 

We know our limits and this wasn't within them.  We did see the sign to the trailhead. Does that count for anything?

We did do three walks, two that were within the park and a short one just outside. 

First up was the Taranaki Falls Trail. This trail was the highlight of the day. It was just under two hours long with some moderate elevation changes. Along the first half we had great views of the two snow covered mountains/volcanos while the second half was mostly under a forest canopy along side the icy stream.

It had actually snowed down to about 3000 feet overnight so there was plenty of fresh snow in the distance. The stream feeding the water fall was full making the brisk and breezy mid-day hike well worth it. 

Next up was Lake Rotopunamu which is a secluded lake in the national park that is believed to have been formed by a landslide over 10,000 years ago. The interesting thing about it other than the ridiculously long name is that there are seven streams that feed into the lake constantly but no visible outflow. It was a short but mostly uphill hike to this peaceful setting and there was a three mile trail around the lake but since we had just finished the long hike to the falls we opted out. The good news here, the mostly uphill trail to get to the lake was now magically mostly downhill for our return to the car!

At our final stop we realized we had made a mistake. We ended the day with a short but very interesting walk at the Tokaanu Thermal Fields and Hot Pools. 

The walk started by crossing over a crystal clear stream that was full of trout of all sizes. As I was watching, an older man walked by and with his thick New Zealand accent said "makes you want to go get your fishing pole doesn't it mate"?  Nothing profound or significant in what he said but for some reason I was struck by the simple and kind greeting. I think he would have been a fun guy to go fishing with. 

The thermal walk took us by boiling mud pots, boiling clear water springs and icy streams. I was fascinated by the fact one body of water would be super hot, walk 20 feet and it would be a near freezing stream. I guess the moral of the story here for this place is to stick your toes in the water before you jump in or you might not get what you were expecting. 

Now about that mistake. There was a really nice hot pool here that would have made for a great soaking but we forgot to pack our bathing suits. 

The story does have a happy ending. Our hotel room comes with it's own private hot pool...no bathing suit required!

Mount Ngauruhoe

Mount Ngauruhoe and Tongariro from across Lake Taupo (taken from our hotel)

Lake Rotopunamu

Taranaki Falls Trail

Taranaki Falls Trail



Taranaki Falls Trail