Cousins

5/04/2018 It was an early morning start for the five hour drive from the current location at the Ochlockonee River State Park to my cousin’s house in Lake Mary, Florida. It was a 10:00am departure by the time breakfast was consumed, all housekeeping duties were performed and the waste tanks emptied. The travel was uneventful with my route taking me along the back roads to the Horse Capital of the World, Ocala, Florida, then through numerous toll booths to my destination at the residence of my cousin, Marty and his lovely wife Theresa. Upon arrival and a very warm welcome we set the trailer up in their front yard and I then began the residential tour. After the travel trailer was secured, the cocktail hour commenced whereupon we imbibed both the beverages and the familiar conversation. It’s nice to be here. 

5/05/2018 Feliz Cinco de Mayo! It’s a unique day in that Cinco de Mayo and the Kentucky Derby fall upon the same day. Being at my Cousin’s house we had to celebrate starting with a trip to the Sanford Orlando Kennel Club dog track for their Off Track Betting to place our Kentucky Derby bets and having never been to a dog track I bet one race unsuccessfully before departing. Hoping that we would be luckier than with the dog racing bets and with the newly acquired Kentucky Derby wagers we attended a Kentucky Derby (aka: Derby de Mayo) party at the University Club of Winter Park. The University Club benefit included hors d'oeuvres provided by local vendors and an open bar with a very entertaining eclectic group of attendees. Everyone eagerly gathered  in the main hall for the race that was shown via a large projected screen video. My elation culminated with the dash to the finish line and the realization that I had picked the winning horse with two additional bets to be paid on show positions. Afterwards, the three of us went to Christner's Prime Steak & Lobster restaurant for dinner which was the perfect end to a very enjoyable day.  

5/06-07/2018 Hanging out yesterday with my Cousin Marty and his wife Theresa, didn’t do too much, went to breakfast and collected our Kentucky Derby winnings at the dog track. Later they gave me a tour of the new house they are having built in Winter Park. It’s a very nice house in a great Orlando location that will be completed around October. Marty worked today, Monday, so I worked on the travel trailer window that I had a problem with back in Texas. 

5/08/2018 I finished the repair on the large window of trailer slide-out that now works well again. My day was completed by going to dinner at a very good Mexican restaurant with Theresa and son, Tyler.   

5/09/2018 I was invited by Marty’s neighbor, Bob, to have breakfast with him and a great group of his friends, Bill, Dennis, Mel, and Timm. They meet every Wednesday to discuss baseball and of course politics plus today they had the opportunity to welcome and debrief the new contributor, me. It was great meeting and deliberating life’s intrigues with this group of guys and look forward to having breakfast with them upon my next visit. 

 Afterwards, my time was spent lounging which being retired I am getting pretty good at. Late afternoon Marty, his son, Tyler and I went to visit Marty’s brother/my cousin Donnie. We found Donnie in his back yard building an extension onto his deck. He graciously stopped work when he noticed that Marty’s face was swollen, thus began our conversation until early evening when we were requested to pick up pizza on the way home. 

5/10/2018 It was a hectic start this morning as I was asked to take Marty’s computer to his work as he had forgotten it in his truck. After the 30 minute drive to another zip code, Marty gave me a quick tour of his work location then I was off to meet his brother Donnie and Donnie’s son in law, Brian, for lunch at Chuy's Tex-Mex Restaurant in Winter Lake. Once Theresa then Marty arrived at the restaurant, we finished lunch then we all set off to tour the house that Marty and Theresa are having built. Later in the evening, Tyler and I prepared one solar panel for its installation tomorrow.  

5/11/2018  Tyler, Marty and Theresa’s son, is having his end of school year party at their home tomorrow evening with 65 of his classmates attending,  so today it was swab the decks and polish the bright work day. After I had done my chores, I finished installing one of the solar panels on my travel trailer. After much machination the panel was successfully installed and works as advertised. Later when Marty arrived home from work the cocktail hour commenced and was capped off by a great grilled steak dinner. 

5/12/2018 Today was Tyler’s Freshman class end of year party at Marty and Theresa’s house. Forty-eight Freshman all in one spot yelling, screaming, chasing each other, splashing in the pool, did I mention yelling and screaming. No fight or riffs of any sort; they all seem to have had a fun time. The party was catered by a local BBQ restaurant that everyone enjoyed. I parked the travel lodge down at the local Publix Supermarket parking lot to allow room for the party and it was returned unscathed. It was a very nice gathering for Tyler’s end of year celebration. 

5/13/2018 I bid bon voyage to my Cousin and his marvelous family early this morning and set off to another Cousin’s house near Atlanta. I pulled up for the night about 90 miles south of Atlanta and short of my destination by situating my mobile residence at the High Falls Georgia State Park that was very cool and quiet but with those dang mosquitos. The solar panel Tyler and I installed in Lake Mary held strong and fast for the trip and I believe will stay that way for very a long time. I was unable to connect to a cell tower so I was unable to submit a blog entry. 

5/14/2018 Prior to this morning's departure from the High Falls Georgia State Park I was able to contact my Cousin, Pat Grizzard, who lives west of Atlanta in Villa Rica, Georgia. She requested and I acquiesced to her insistence for me to travel with her to attend her Grandson Logan Templeton’s high school graduation in Atlantic, Iowa and to visit her daughters in Tennessee and Illinois. However, after arriving at Pat's home, I was preparing to depart the next morning, and in my haste, I tripped on a step and broke the second toe on my right foot. After a short hour at the local emergency medical clinic, with the broken toe taped to the toe right of the broken toe, I was released to my Cousin’s house that was now filled with broken toe laughter and frivolity.