Moving Again

Grandma Apple moved to Nashville today. She sold her house relatively quickly. There are more boxes in our house again. The Nashville Gang left this afternoon. We headed out to the Sunset Grill for dinner. It made us think of Grandma Apple, because we used to go there with her.

4th of July in Tennessee

Aunt Carolyn led us for a hike in the mountains near Crossville, TN.
Here we are at "Daddy's Creek Overlook."


A rocky cliff at the overlook.


We hiked down a trail to the Obed River.



The kids liked playing on the rocks and splashing around in the water.




The water was crystal clear and cool.


We got back on the road on I-40 towards Nashville.


I got to light a real live cannon that my nephew made. Boom!

Heading North on the Dixie Highway

We headed north on I-75 to visit family in Tennessee this week.

An Old Dixie Highway sign in Atlanta.


Smooth sailing through traffic in Atlanta.


Crossing the Georgia/Tennessee border in Chattanooga.


Driving through the mountains along 68 on the way to Crossville, TN.

Another Tree Frog

I found another tree frog in the bathroom this morning. I lifted up the toilet lid and found it stuck to the inside of the lid. This time I screamed, because it startled me so much. By the time Alfonze can running to see what was the matter I was laughing. He looked in the toilet and said, "Yep, he jumped in this time." We shut the bathroom door for a little while until it came out and used the same technique of throwing a kitchen towel over it to catch and release it outside. I think the frog followed me in when I brought groceries in yesterday. They are fast and sneaky. The weather has been very hot, and there's probably not much water for the frogs to find outdoors. That makes the bathroom seem like a Club Med for frogs. I'll have to be more careful about keeping the screen door shut when I unload the car.

STS-117 Space Shuttle Launch

We went to the Kennedy Space Center on Friday to see a space shuttle launch. It's one of those things we've always wanted to do.

This is the business end of the Saturn V rocket that took the Apollo missions to the moon. If you look very closely you can see Alfonze in the sea of people.


This is Stage 3 of the Apollo rocket. A little girl in the crowd kept saying "Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!" That's exactly how it is when you're standing under the Apollo rocket.


We could see the shuttle launch pads from the area where the Apollo exhibit is. I didn't see the shuttle when I took the picture. The sky was overcast and hazy. Once I got home and looked at it on the computer monitor I found it. It's another "Where's Waldo?" moment, like finding the cheetah in the zoo photo. (You can click on the images to see larger versions.)

The bus tour had 3 stops and lasted a good part of the afternoon. When we took the bus back to the Visitor Center the place was packed. We stood in line for an hour to buy hot dogs. After wolfing down the hot dogs we got our hands stamped and went back to the car to our cooler with bottled water. We sat in the car with the doors open and a nice breeze came through. Next time we'll bring some food, too. Then we packed up our things to get ready to wait for the launch. We had folding camping chairs, camera bags, etc. When we returned to the entrance the crowd had dissipated, except for one person hanging around the ticket windows. It was Gene Kranz! He was a Flight Director during the Mercury and Apollo missions. Gene Kranz and his team earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom for helping bring the Apollo 13 crew safely home. He talked to us while I fumbled with the cameras to get a photo. Gene is from Toledo, Ohio and he knows where Erie, Michigan is. The folks back in Toledo are never going to believe this! If we hadn't have waited an hour for hot dogs we wouldn't have been there to meet Gene Kranz.

Here's what we saw as space shuttle Atlantis was launched.

The first thing we saw was a brilliant amber light as bright as the sun shining through the trees. A lady behind me screamed "Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" The shuttle was moving so fast that we didn't hear any sound until it cleared the tree tops. There was a crackling sound, like a 4th of July sparkler, that proceeded to get louder. Then we heard a low, thundering boom that shook everything. Not only did we hear it, but we could feel it. The crackling sound faded as the shuttle climbed higher into the sky.

Then the shuttle rolled and dropped the booster rockets. We saw 3 pinpoints of light from the shuttle and the 2 booster rockets. All of this happened in less than 2 minutes. The shuttle was gone as suddenly as it appeared. It was a breathtaking event.

This is how the rocket trail cloud looked at about 9pm.

Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa

The Lowry Park Zoo is a like a large, beautifully landscaped garden. This pond and parrot shelter is near the entrance.


Here are some birds in the Asian Garden.


A manatee in the aquarium.


What's a trip to Florida without seeing some flamingos?


We couldn't find the cheetah in this habitat. I took the picture to get a shot of the white bird with the curved beak. These birds are all over our neighborhood. They poke holes in the lawn looking for munchies. After we got home and looked at the photos on the computer screen we found the cheetah! It's napping in the concrete tube. (You can click on the pictures to see larger versions.) The zoo can be a lot like a "Where's Waldo?" cartoon.

Riding the Waves

We had fun riding the waves at the beach. The nieces had a blast. You can even see Grandma Apple walking through the surf.


Here we are at our beach camp. We bought another beach umbrella since the last sunburn incident. Ironically, it matches the beach bag I got for my birthday over a week later.

The Bangles

We went to Busch Gardens in Tampa to see The Bangles in concert last night.

Sunburned

We went to Fort DeSoto Beach yesterday and stayed in the sun too long. Today I'm sunburned and really tired. It's a beautiful beach with white sand and clear water. Going to the beach out there is a sort of like going camping. You need to bring along food, water and shelter from the sun. Next time we'll bring a beach umbrella to get out of the sun once in a while.

Chameleon on the Lanai

This morning we found a chameleon on the lanai. I shut the screen sliding door while Alfonze chased him around. The little lizard finally got so worn out that Alfonze was able to pick it up and put it outside. I don't mind the frogs and lizards, because they eat bugs. I was used to leaving the slider door open, but I think I'll keep the screen door shut now.

Tree Frog in the House

When I got up this morning there was a tree frog sitting on the toilet seat. It startled me, but not enough to surprise the frog. The last thing I wanted to happen was for the frog to jump in the toilet to try to hide! The frog jumped on the floor and Alfonze threw a small hand towel over him to try to catch him. Just when he thought he had the frog cornered, the frog ran up the wall. We finally caught the frog and let him go in the backyard.

I didn't even want to think about where the frog came from. It's material for urban legends. Could alligators and snakes get in through the toilet, too?

Grandma Apple says that they follow you in when you open the door. That made more sense than reptiles in the sewers. Tree frogs and chameleons like to hang out in nooks and crannies around the door frame at the front door. That's probably where the frog followed us in.

Beach Hopping

We went to Fort DeSoto's North Beach yesterday. The water is really clear, which makes it a great place to go snorkeling. It's one of our favorite beaches. In the past you had to wade through a little bay that had lots of stingrays. You had to be careful and shuffle your feet to avoid getting stung. I never got stung, or witnessed anybody getting hurt, and the beach on the other side was so great that it was worth the crossing. They filled that little bay partly in by sand, so we didn't have to wade through the stingrays! Yippee!

Fort DeSoto Park:
http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/05_Ft_DeSoto.htm

The sand is white and the water is so clear. There was a soft, cool breeze that made us not want to leave. It was refreshing after a week of muggy weather and smokey air.

We got a lot of smoke from the forest fires that were at the Georgia/Florida border this week. Here's an amazing satellite photo. The fires where hundreds of miles away.

Weather.com Blog
http://www.weather.com/blog/weather/8_12513.html?from=wxcenter_news

Today we went to a place in Ruskin called Simmons Park. It is on Tampa Bay. We went there after taking Grandma Apple out to lunch for Mother's Day. We didn't intend to go in the water, but just to check it out. What a difference the bay water is compared to the Gulf water. The beach had more rocks and the water had a lot of debris in it. The debris was mostly chopped up leaves and twigs. Alfonze said that it looked and smelled just as he remembered it 20 years ago. Yet there were still a lot of people having fun, despite the dark water.

As we were leaving Simmons Park we noticed huge birds nests on top of telephone poles. They were built on top of wooden pallets that were attached to the tops of the telephone poles. If you've ever seen those kinds of pallets up close, you know those nests have to be big. I don't know what kind of bird was up there. Here's a photo of a bird peaking out of its nest.

Sunset Grill at Bahia Beach

We went to the Sunset Grill at Bahia Beach for dinner. The sunset over the water was beautiful.



We lingered on the beach for a while listening to the waves break. The music from the restaurant seemed far away. There was a soft breeze that took the edge off a hot day. The best part is that I don't have to go back to Detroit. I live here now.

Shop 'til You Drop

We've been shopping for furniture this weekend. Got a cheap desk to get the office out of boxes. We went to Target to get some household items and I started feeling dizzy. It was almost 4pm and I hadn't eaten since breakfast. I really need to schedule time for meals. How could I forget to eat?

Busted Ink Cartridge

The black ink cartridge in one of our printers busted and leaked during the move. We were up until shortly after midnight cleaning up the mess.

Note to self: Don't move ink jet printers with ink cartridges inside!

Hurry Up

I got my new drivers license today. There are so many details to take care of after move in. Insurance, drivers license, car registration, bank accounts, utilities, taxes are due Monday, etc. Everywhere I go I'm in a hurry.

Easter at the Beach

We drove to Clearwater Beach this morning. There was hardly any traffic. It was great! The weather was a little cool, but sunny. We had lunch at the Palm Pavillion. Nobody was in the water. The people on the beach were enjoying the sun.

The above picture is from along the causeway leaving Clearwater. There were people on the small beaches along the causeway soaking up sun or fishing. This palm tree lined section is my favorite part of the road.

Sleepy

The adrenaline rush from moving is starting to wear off. As I start to relax I feel soooo sleepy.

Move In Day

The truck arrived promptly this morning. It's move in day in Florida.

Our stuff was packed from floor to ceiling like a giant 3D puzzle.

It's only winter until you get to Kentucky

The weather was 45° F and windy when we left Michigan yesterday. By the time we got to Cincinnati it was 77° F. So, there you have it. It's only winter until you get to Kentucky.

Cincinnati is the first big challenge driving south. The traffic can be terrible and there are a lot of lane changes as you try to stay on I-75 and not end up somewhere in downtown Cincinnati. Traffic was light and we cruised right through.

The next one was Atlanta. We sailed through Atlanta last night around 11:30pm. There was a lot of traffic, but it moved along. The lights of Atlanta are pretty at night.

Today I'm in shorts. The weather is sunny and in the 80's as we approach the Florida border. I've never seen so many billboards along a highway. The Florida vacation billboards start more than 100 miles from the border.