Tonight is our last evening in Dallas, as we leave tomorrow for a new adventure of living in Arizona. We have been back in Dallas for 2 years since leaving California and will be residing in Mesa, which is close to our kids there in Gilbert. We feel it is only fair to spread our “oldness” around to all of our kids and since we owe Jodi and Eric some real fun and what better fun than taking care of old folks? We really are doing it for them. We feel that any marriage that can withstand taking care of parents can withstand anything. So We thought we would do them a favor and move close to them to see just how strong their marriage is. Every time we do a favor for them, (Like Randy cleaning out Jodi’s van or organizing her garage (at her request, we really do not just go out there and start organizing their house, ok maybe I do a little bit, but really their dirty clothes hamper really didn’t look good in their closet and the table runner that she had on the table was a little too contempary so of course I got one that looks perfect now) anyway, back to favors. When we do little favors here and there, like put the dishes in the cabinets where they really should be, Randy tells Jodi “that is just another diaper you will have to Change on us in a few years.”” She gags and walks out of the room.
So we are trading our furs, diamonds, limos and tux for shorts, turquoise, flip-flops and a golf cart. OK, I admit we didn’t have diamonds, furs, limos or tux but we are trading being known as a Texas to try to fit in with a lifestyle which is a little more relaxed. The last time I flew in to Phoenix I felt that when I walked into the airport from the plane, it looked like a nursing home, as there were so many wheel chairs lined up waiting to be wheeled onto the arriving plane. I remember thinking that Phoenix must be the place to live if and when I ever got old. Well, I do not feel old, but because we feel that the longer we live here, the harder it would be to leave. We always said that we would never ask our kids to move to take care of us, so we feel the right thing to do is to move and begin our next season while we are in good health and not waiting until we “”have” to.
Our car is loaded, we have made our last trip to Weirs for our favorite popcorn for our trip the next two days. We have gained 10 lbs this past week having family dinners. In the morning, we will put on our comfortable clothes, flip flops and make our way across the desert to our new destination. We are grateful for the last two years for the healing which has taken place in our lives. We have learned things about each other which only comes sometimes in seasons of discomfort. Because neither Randy nor I were expecting his retirement, we struggled our first year, learning to live together 24/7. We did learn that we truly love each other and enjoy being together, no matter the season, no matter the place. We have been blessed beyond anything we ever expected. We are trusting the Lord for His guidance, His protection and His faithfulness.
If you are ever flying into Phoenix, look closely at the old folks sitting in wheel chairs waiting to get on the plane, you might see Randy and I. You will recognize me. I might be leaving Dallas, but I’m taking my Dallas big hair with me.
The End of the Road
Our adventure these past 27 days are behind us. We are back in Texas preparing to leave next Wednesday for our next adventure of living in Mesa, AZ with the rest of the oldies. The memories from this trip have truly blessed us as we continue to look at pictures of the different states, new friends that were made along the way and some truly great recipes which I will post from time to time. Randy and I learned that we can survive just fine, riding in a car, next to each other without having to buy a shotgun or call an attorney. We did, however know that maybe we were in need of having some alone time when we left Franklin, TN. Being such a “wanna be” Southern Belle, I had found a most precious top that I just had to have. The story of obtaining this certain top is a post in itself. Randy told me to go ahead and go to the shop where I had seen the top in question the day before, while he sat at Starbucks to get some coffee. That was perfect. I walked down to the shop, walked in the door and the owner of the shop was visiting with a customer. The customer turned to me and told me she loved my hair. An hour later, I walked out the shop with a new top and a new fried. Randy walked down to see if someone had kidnapped me, but when he discovered me standing there sharing stories of what he had done on past April Fools day, Of course, we all then began to share places which we had been and they told us places we still needed to go. We got to the car and he ask me if I had indeed bought the top I had gone in there to get or did I just visit. When I pulled my new purchase out of the bag he looked at it and examined the label, which was LTX. He ask me if it stood for Large Texas, to which I gave him the “look” and considered going back in and spending more of his money for that remark. It was then that I began to sense that maybe it was time for us to head back to Texas and hopefully get to spend some time alone. We made the 12 hour trip back to Dallas 2 days ago and since then, we have regrouped, refreshed, and repacked our car and suitcases. Because we have family that we will spend each night dining with before we head out, our “alone” time will have to wait until we get to Arizona. Right now, thinking about all the hours we will spend driving across the desert next week, I guess that we need to stay friends so I will have someone to hand me chocolate while I drive. Chocolate…makes the miles go faster, the time go quickly and our relationship…sweeter!
We had time to go over the entire adventure while driving between destination and this is our opinions of some of the best of the best.
Hotel. The Westwynd Farm Inn, Hershey, PA 1 of the top 10 in the USA
Restaurant.Frankie Bones, Hilton Head, NC (thank you Michelle Secco for the recommendation)
2nd Best Restaurant. The Red Pony, Franklin, TN
Best Time The Corvette Plant Tour in Bowling Green, KY
2nd Best Tour….Jack Daniels Distillery, Lynchburg, TN. (This one is free and is just so interesting
Most Beautiful State. Pennsylvania and Tennessee
Friendliest People…Tennessee
Best Bakery. Riley Bakery, Bowling Green KY Since 1922
Will post several recipes tomorrow which I got from different places while traveling, but thought you might be tired of reading by this point.
Comfy Cow
No I’m not talking about Randy or myself, even though I have to say that we are truly very comfortable staying in our Tina House, here in downtown Charleston in the historic district. What I am talking about today is ice cream. As we were reading some of the literature which the owner of this darling little house has here, we read about Comfy Cow ice cream, which apparently is very well received here in Kentucky. When I read about their popular flavor of Browned Butter Peanut Brittle, I knew that we would be in search of this remarkable new food for us. So after church, which was such a great blessing today, we went in search of Comfy Cow. We found it here at Whole Foods. $7.99 a pint. Their Browned Butter Peanut Brittle flavor has little bits of peanut brittle broken in it with the flavor of browned butter, which, in my opinion, is one of the greatest flavors of the decade. This ice cream beat out 1200 other entries in the 2015 World Diary Expo Championship. They were out of that particular flavor, but we choose the bourbon infused, vanilla cream with pecan pie pieces and dark chocolate shavings. We sat in the parking lot and devoured the entire pint. I looked over at Randy, who prides himself on eating only Blue Bell and he says, “this is so much better than Blue Bell” WHAT? Did I hear him correctly, I could not believe it. If he knew what it costs, he probably would not say that, but that will be our little secret. If you are ever in Kentucky, be sure and either go to a Comfy Cow Ice Cream store, Or buy a pint from Whole Foods in this great state.
Browned Butter Peanut Brittle,..we cannot wait to find you before leaving to head back to Texas. Randy has a spoon hidden in the console of our car, just in case we find it.
Around The Bend
Each morning before my feet hit the floor, it is my intention to just tell the Lord, “”good morning and thank You for the day” before reading Streams in the Desert or the Bible verse of the day. It just helps me to remember that the day belongs to Him, not me, and thatI need God’s guidance and direction each and every day. This morning, I began to go back over the last 3 weeks of adventures we have encountered along the roads which has taken us to 10 states, thus far.
Because we have had such a blessed time, it made me think about all the blessings which have been ours since we packed up and headed out. Because it has been such a time of rest and just being able to go where we wanted, seeking out new places, I started wondering about this time. Yesterday, after Randy pulled off the road to allow me to take a picture after I just stated, “man that would make such a pretty picture”, he pulled over and said,”is this a good spot?P I quickly looked over to him and ask him if I was dying and he just hadn’t told me. In fact, I began to think back over the 3 weeks of travel and remembered that this entire time, Randy had been overly thoughtful, to the point that he lets me choose where we eat, what sightseeing spots we go, the hotels that I suggest, and even saying, would you like to buy this souvenir? It would look so cute in our new kitchen.” I began to get suspicious. I must be dying and he is just not telling me. It made me compare my feelings to how I feel when God pours out His blessings to us. Why God, are you being so good to me? Are you getting ready to take something away, or what bad event will be around the bend? Why is it that we pray and ask God’s Hand of blessing to be upon us, only to question Him when He gives us times of refreshing? Why do we continually question His goodness to us all the while thinking “o wretched man that I am.” because we know our hearts and thoughts, we don’t deserve His grace or goodness? It makes me stop and remember that, in fact, no, we don’t deserve His grace or goodness, EVER, no matter how good we think we are. But because God loves us, He pours out His grace to us. We truly might not know what bends in the road there might be, but no matter the bend, we have the Master of our Souls to carry us through. I need to learn to just accept that love and grace from God the Father and from Randy. I don’t deserve either one, but am truly blessed to be loved by both.
Shoefly Pie, Hershey & B & B’s
We are about 17 days into our road adventure, making stops in Destin, Orlando,Hilton Head, Richmond, and now, Hershey, PA.
Each of these destinations have blessed us with many new precious memories, new foods and new friends.
This week we are in a bed & breakfast, which I was shocked that Randy agreed to. He is not a B&B person, since he might have to talk to a stranger sitting across the table at breakfast. I’m not saying that he is unfriendly, nor is he shy, he is just one of those men who fake being asleep on a plane to avoid talking to the person sitting next to him. But, because we could not find any hotel which we felt good about, after reading rviews, we ended up here and we are so thankful we did. when I read about Westwynd Farm Inn, it looked amazing. So here we are,just a couple of miles out of town and have loved it so much, even Randy suggested we stay for another night. We woke up this morning to Lemon streusel muffins, spinach & feta cheese frittata, sausage and poached pears. Absolutely delicious. Carolyn and Frank, the owners built this to be a horse farm where they have lived since 1980. The Inn is beyond beautiful. She bakes everyday and we came in the door to the smell of raspberry bars, lemon squares, peanut butter cookies, brownies and hot tea/coffee.
Today we ventured out to the Amish country and was just mesmerized by the beautiful farm land, the horse drawn buggies and all of the great baked goods. We bought and ate our first Shoefly pie. We ended up going back and buying one to bring home with us. Tomorrow, we head to Hershey for me to surround myself in chocolate everything. Actually, today we went to Wilber’s chocolate Factory in Lititz, a little community which is known for their chocolate. Wilber’s was around before Hershey and their “chocolate buds” (just like Hershey kisses were made long before Hershey kisses) are really good. Driving into Hershey today, I was like a little kid, when we saw all the street lights shaped like Hershey Kisses. My kind of town! Randy and I are having a glorious time just adventuring to places we have heard about, but never been. I had not been to Amish country in 43 years and it has changed so much. The beauty is just a great reminder of how amazing our Creator is and all the beauty He gives us for our enjoyment.
Tomorrow, we are headed to see a life size replica of the Jewish Tabernacle, which is in Lancaster. It is a 45 minute tour of which we are thrilled to be able to see. When we leave this exhibit, we will head over to see the Hershey Hotel and Chocolate town, where I plan to pick up, well, let’s just say that if you come to visit me, you might see signs of Hershey all over my kitchen, mixed in with the mementoes we stuffed into our trunk at Paula Deens. Tomorrow night, I will wipe all the chocolate off my face after we leave Hershey Town and come home and post our findings. Until then, have a piece of chocolate and think of all the blessings which God has given you. of course, one of those being…chocolate!
Southern Sweetness
What is it about the South that separates it from the rest of the world? This week I think I have found the answer. Since we arrived in Hilton Head, we have never been in an elevator that we were Not spoken to. Anytime we shared the elevator, whether with young or old, people looked you in the eye and spoke, not just hi, but how are you, isn’t it a beautiful day, or have a great day when exiting. Several times, while getting in the elevator or door, even the young people, down to one young man who looked to be about 10, told me “ladies first” and let me step in first. This morning at Starbucks, a precious young boy ordered his drink and told the lady behind the counter thank you and hoped she had a great day. He couldn’t have been over 8 or 9. We have just been amazed at the old fashioned manners which we have been around. It has felt like we were living in a “Leave it to Beaver” kind of world. No Baggie pants, no spiked hair,no huge ear lobe holes. Even groups of teens which walked down the hall in the hotel spoke and were just so polite. Maybe it is all the sweet tea they drink here. We will be leaving tomorrow refreshed and with a new appreciation for the South.
After lunch we went to an AT&T store to see why I could not download a book on my phone. When the young man inquired As to my name, I told him it was Trudy,to which he replied, “welcome to AT&T Turdy”. But at least he said it very sweetly and with a smile. It took me a couple of times to get him to say it correctly as we went through a list of “Turdy? No…Trini?No…back to Turdy?NO!” Very slowly I spelled it, T R U D Y…TRUDY,finally he was able to get it. Guess, if I lived down here I would have to learn to speak a little slower or I would be known as Turdy. According to all the books here, one way to know you are in the South is when you have your name embroidered on your bag. Wonder if I would have Turdy embroidered in pink or brown?
Recipes From The Road
Yesterday I said that I would post some recipes which we came across while traveling through the East these few weeks. We have eaten at Hudson’s twice while in Hilton Head. Their seafood is just so good. They serve this slaw which they share the recipe on the back of the take away menu.
7 Day Slaw
1 head cabbage
1 small sweet onion
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup oil
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tablespoon yellow mustard
Salt & pepper to taste
Slice cabbage and onions thinly or shred them nod toss with sugar. Mix remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Pour boiling mixture over cabbage and let set five minutes, then mix. Chill in fridge and serve on leaves of romaine.
Serves 8 to 12.
Because it has no mayo, it will last in fridge for a week.
#ButtertobeHappy
What can I say except, YUM!!!!! Today was one of those days which will remain one of my favorite food memories. If you are like me, you have those special days of falling into different categories and today, well, all I can say is,
“I had a great time.”. We arrived in Savannah an hour before our RSVP of 1:15 at Lady & Sons. After 45 minutes of driving around trying to find a parking place, we were about to give up and just chalk it up to maybe we weren’t suppose to be there today. I told Randy that it was ok, it wasn’t that big of deal (all the while just trying not to act disappointed) and that he didn’t have to waste anymore time trying to find a parking place. We had gone to 3 public parking garages only to be turned away as they were all full. Randy, knowing how much I wanted to go told me that he would make one more loop around the block (we had driven around these blocks probably 5 or 6 times already)to just see if maybe we would be lucky enough to see a car pulling away, giving us a parking place. Knowing that this was not going to happen, I resolved to the fact that it just should not be that important to me. We turned the corner onto the one way street which runs right in front of her place and low and behold, it was just like the Lord just waited until our car was in perfect position to pull into the parking spot that a car was pulling out of. I have to confess, I got tears in my eyes that the Lord did that. We were parked and walked in the door to the gift shop and began to pick up a few (maybe more than a few, ok, a lot, a whole lot) of kitchen items which will adorn my new kitchen in AZ. I think our new friends there will get the idea that we are Southerners since we bought everything from a pillow to spatulas to measuring spoons to coffee cups with “Hey Ya’ll or It’s a Southern Thing” written all over them. Then, because it is a dream of mine that Paula read my book, I took a copy in just in case. Knowing that it would really never happen that she be there, (but a girl can dream) I asked the lady checking us out if Paula came in to the store and restaurant. She (Betsy) replied that she had just been in with her whole family on Friday. Getting excited, I ask her if I gave her a book would she promise she would get it to Paula. She had been kidding Randy about all the kitchen spatulas I had bought and she told me that if I would sign it, she promised to give it to Paula. Also Betsy’s husband drives the limo which drives Paula’s family around so if she didn’t see her in a few days, she would give it to her husband the next time he picked Paula up to give to her. Now my heart was beating so fast, we walked to the car where I proceeded to go on FB and find Paula’s page. After finding it, I wrote and told her what I had just done and in about 30 min,she or someone who writes for her (yes, I like to think it is Paula, herself) answered the comment saying that she could not wait to read it. All I can say is, this day was better than being let loose with an unlimited credit card in HomeGoods for 8 hours. Even Randy had a great time, feasting on delicious fried chicken and mashed potatoes at the Lady & Sons. It was a fabulous day and cannot wait to hang up my new kitchen towel, drink from my new coffee cup while whipping up a butter cake with my new spatula. It will be grand to go relax on our couch, laying my head on the new “Hey Yall” pillow.
It was a very “butterful” day!
Senior Struggles in So Carolina
Maybe it’s just us, but as we travel along our great Nations byways, we are learning more about ourselves. Most travelers seem to write about the great experiences they have at each destination. We, on the other hand, seem to experience things that just point out that we are not getting any younger. This morning, Randy had the wonderful idea for us to go out by the pool and relax while soaking up some sun. Being the wonderful sport I am, I decided to just put on enough makeup so I wouldn’t scare people walking toward me. We stop by the coffee shop to buy a latte and head outside. We did consider walking a little father to go sit out at the beach, but decided that it was still just a little too cool out by the water, so found two pool chairs and “fell” down on them. Randy noticed that I was shivering just a little and offered to get up to go check out a towel to cover my lily white legs. When he tried to get up out of the pool lounge chair,it was so low that he just couldn’t get up. We decided that we would just stay there until folks left the pool area to go eat lunch so they would not see us trying to get up from the chairs that were so low to the ground that it was not going to be a pretty picture watching us getting up. The sun was shining very brightly and I was trying to read the book I had downloaded on my phone, but simply could not read the screen. I began to get bored just sitting there not having anything to read. Remembering watching others always on their phone and thinking about how they were so addicted to them, they couldn’t even relax by the pool without having their phones in their hands, I decided that I WOULD Not EVEN GLANCE AT MY PHONE. Why is it when you decide to do that, it is impossible to not look? I’m a senior, I should not be addicted to my phone. I should be carrying around knitting or a stack of books or taking naps out by the pool. But…my confession is that I am addicted to my phone. We finally could not stand it anymore and decided that no matter how old it makes us look, we have got to get up and go in. It is now noon and we haven’t had breakfast or lunch and everyone around us is not leaving. They are just having those young little 3rd graders bringing lunch to them from the pool grill. I get up first. Not bad, just took me a minute to get circulation back in my legs from sitting so long. But Randy, poor thing, well, let’s just say that we probably won’t be going back to the pool area for a few days. He just confessed to me that he had devised a plan in his mind that if he couldn’t get up by me pulling on his arms, he had decided that he would pull the chair beside him over and roll over to it on all 4’s using his hands and knees to push himself up. He was afraid that if he just tried to push himself up from his sitting position, he would loose his balance and fall into the bushes which were right beside his chair. So as seniors, it is always best to have a back up plan for times like these.
We will be writing a suggestion that they buy some pool chairs which we “mature” folks can just almost bend our knees to allow us to almost slide onto the chair.
Also, we think that seniors should get the rooms closet to the parking garage. I just videoed our walk from the elevator to our room and it took almost 2 min to walk the hall. I know that doesn’t sound like a long time, but when you are our age and nature calls, Depends only hold so much. Last night, because we are too embarrassed to have the valet guys see the inside of our car (remember we are homeless and living out of our car for a couple of months while traveling around until we close on our new place), we self parked. It took us 3 trips to the car just to unload what we would need for 5 days. Let’s just say that my FITBIT thought someone else was wearing it. We waited until after dark and late in the evening until we unloaded our Walmart bags full of Dr Pepper and candy. We already look like vagabonds and we don’t want to look like we are vagabonds who pack our clothes in plastic bags.
Tomorrow we are treating ourselves to Lady & Sons in Savannah. This was such a highlight of our trip East two years ago, we have to go back. In fact, we finally ate lunch today at 3 p.m. We decided that just having one meal today, and just snacking for dinner, will leave us lots of tummy room for our lunch at Paula’s place tomorrow.
We are in love with Hilton Head. Seeing so many folks riding around the island, we have decided that as soon as we get settled in our new place in AZ, we are going to get in better shape so next time we are faced with pool lounge chairs, we won’t have to sit there pretending to be reading because we can’t get up. But this trip, we are all about eating our way through the East Coast. Will be posting Recipes From the Road, starting tomorrow.
Florida Fun Facts
We have been in Florida since last Monday. Traveling from Destin to Orlando Thursday, we decided to stop in Tallahassee for lunch. We noticed a sign directing us to Sonny’s Barbeque which had places on Exit 202 and 203. Pulling into the parking lot, which was totally packed, we decided to get our order to go and keep on driving. When we ordered sandwiches, we were given the choice of having our chopped brisket and pulled pork on buns or garlic bread. We both decided on the garlic bread. WOW, WHAT A GREAT DECISION!!!! Both sandwiches were just the best Barbeque and then to have the meat between 2 pieces of grilled garlic bread was just too much! We were in Barbeque heaven. Seriously, if you are in Florida, do yourself a favor and find a Sonny’s Barbeque!
Today, we took our first air boat ride at Wild Florida in Kenansville. What a great afternoon of being swirled around the swamps in an airboat. When we rounded a marsh, we saw vultures circling overhead. Because my 5 yr old precious little granddaughter, Kenley, had told me, on our trip there that I would be going to Heaven today, I began to wonder if she had super powers or if God had spoken to her, when I sat in the airboat watching the vulture circle over our heads. But we made it back to shore after seeing a few crocodile and beautiful blue herons. Because this is Wild Florida, there were animals, much like being at the zoo. Kenley, of course, wanted to go to the petting zoo, hold a baby crocodile, which she did. After a few minutes of walking along the path to see the animals, I had to turn back. There were so many lizards running back and forth across the path, which made me so frantic that I had to just go sit in the souvenir shop, which was full of fake alligators of all sizes. If you have never been on an airboat, treat yourself. Yesterday we went to Lake Apopka WildLife Drive which is free and we saw a minimum of 30 alligators, up close and personal. Some of the birds which were there were the blue heron, a snake bird and several species I cannot remember the names, but there were professional bird watchers there with some of the largest cameras I have seen, so you know that it is a great place if watching birds is your thing. We leave Monday for Hilton Head. Will post more on restaurants which we find, in a couple of days.
Tomorrow, have a glorious day celebrating our Risen Lord and the sacrifice He made for you and for me. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have ever lasting life,” John 3:16 Happy Easter
