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