27 May 2014

From 1989, Returning From a Trip


May 26, Thursday. Well, here we are back home. Bandit has been in her yard since we arrived, with no signs of ever wanting to leave. The Azaleas are in blossom, as is one Dogwood. The Rhododendrons are about ready to blossom. The Iris are forming buds. Jim Cole had done a good job on the lawn. It took a while to get the trailer cleaned out of clothes, food, and books. More to come, but we are too tired to continue.

Things I learned on this trip

  • That hub caps do fall off Travel Trailers and are never seen again.
  • That a group of businessmen in Toronto, hoping to capitalize on the Blue Jays training camp in Dunedin, Florida, started a development of mobile homes in Dunedin, called, appropriately enough, Blue Jay Estates. Unfortunately, it didn't catch on with the Canadians.
  • That 95 year old Aunts are fragile human beings, and when they have heart attacks and fall and break their hips, they don't last long. Hopefully, her 85 year old brother, the last of my father's brothers and sisters, will be able to relate to me all the stories she told him of their childhood.
  • That it rains hard in Louisiana.
  • That some Rotary clubs are very difficult, if not impossible, to track down.
  • That it is almost the same distance from Key West to the Alabama border of Florida as it is from the Louisiana border of Texas to El Paso.
  • That the KOA at Fort Stockton, Texas hasn't improved in the past year.
  • That desert starts just past Houston in Texas and extends to the mountains around Los Angeles.
  • That it is a good idea to check the batteries in your photographic equipment before you plan to enter Carlsbad Caverns. My flash unit wouldn't work, so the slides are very faint.
  • That the continental divide is almost unnoticable in New Mexico, but very apparent in Colorado.
  • That March is too early to see Azaleas and Rhododendrons in Alabama, and Hummingbirds in southern Arizona.
  • That the sun shines in other parts of the country.
  • That some Bassett Hounds can open purses, remove glass cases, and chew the earpieces off the glasses. Also, that Lenscrafters will repair the damages free.
  • That Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona in Arizona are very pretty and need to be visited again.
  • That it's no fun to change a tire in the heat of the day, below sea level, in Death Valley. And especially so when the jack won't fit under the axle.
  • That people will stop to offer assistance in Death Valley, but only after the tire is changed.
  • That automobile warranties are very carefully planned, such that replacing the bearings in the differential of our Suburban wasn't necessary until several thousands of miles after the warranty had expired.
  • That the Descanso Gardens in La Canada and the Huntington Library & Gardens in San Marino are worth every minute one spends there.
  • That prices in California are too high for the merchandise.
  • That one should never be surprised to run into acquaintenances anywhere in the world. We saw the LaCounts in the gift shop at Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California.
  • That the roads indicated as “Scenic” on the AAA maps are usually scarey as well, most winding around mountains and at the edge of cliffs.
  • That some grapes grow on trees.
  • That breaking a crowned tooth in not a total catastrophy.
  • That Ballys in Reno, Nevada redecorated two suites for Frank Sinatra's stay: one for Frank & Barbara; one for their dogs, including installation of a sandbox.
  • That the California Railroad Museum is worth visiting, as is the Colorado Railroad Museum.
  • That teaching is a team effort, the team composed of a teacher and both parents; the parents should be willing to perform some of their team responsibilities at school during the day.
  • That it's not as much fun to visit Salt Lake City when your genealogy records are in Ontario.
  • That the railroad spike completing the link-up of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans was not driven at Promontary Point,, Utah; and that the spike was not of gold.
  • That Buffalo Bill Cody and his wife are buried atop Lookout Mountain near Golden, Colorado, far from their children's graves in Rochester, New York.
  • That the Interstate highways need much work to eliminate the wash-board effect.
  • That Whip-poor-wills can make a fierce racket in the evening and early morning.
  • That some merchants in the US of A will accept an out-of-state personal check with no questions asked and no proof of identity. It happened in Hannibal, Missouri and again in Shipshewana, Indiana.
  • That the law suits resulting from the collapse of the walkways in the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City, Missouri were just recently settled.
  • That many areas of the country are working to increase tourism, that being a way to bring in capital without requiring major expenditures for improvements in services, unlike attracting industry.
  • And finally, that people are fun, and funny, no matter where one goes.