Final Road day 19 Thursday 413 miles

The next morning we are headed north for the barn. Loading the car was different as it was cold and we had brought in the oranges and grapefruits we had bought in Florida and Georgia. I even started the car from the room to warm-up, apparently not gone long enough from Minnesota, as I remembered out how to do it.

We ate in Cedar Rapids at the Metro Buffet turned out Chinese. The foods looked and tasted fresh, even had fresh made sushi. As we were in Cedar Rapids we thought we would see how the Czech Museum was coming along. It was shortly after noon and there was no sight of a car or living being at the museum, only a sign saying to look at their website for information.

We picked up some snow on the east side of the road shortly after leaving and later on road ditch snow.

Hope to place pictures into blog areas tomorrow. Thanks for followed and mentioned it and also to those who lurked in the shadows (I do this also). Jerry

Trip Summary: 3,882 miles; 76 hours and 15 minutes road time; 23.0 MPG; 50.8 MPH

Day 18 in Caseyville IL, 9 miles from St Louis then Quincy 181 miles

We start out this morning for a side trip to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Belleview, IL. http://www.snows.org/. It is a 200 acre area that has many outdoor shrines. It has a first class restaurant and a motel for visitors. On the back side of the shrine is a retirement community for all phases of life. We watched a movie about the work of this group. They house themselves in the areas of the world considered hopeless, yes there are areas in the US that fit their requirements, pictured Chicago and New Orleans. We toured the compound and decided to eat there as we did not know where in St. Louis we could eat. It was good we did this because we didn’t see anything where we parked.

Shrine Restaurant, Shirleen a nice looking hot chocolate, I hot tea, yes, we are back up north. Shirleen had her Bacon Cheeseburger with fresh potato chips, I the chef prepared Pasta bar with the soup bar. Because someone wanted to order fast I ordered my way. The soup bar is one of the best in Illinois and has eight selections; I tried the onion, white chili, pork and beef noodle, quit at four. Missed the lima bean and forgot the rest. I then went to the pasta bar, now to select the ingredients, peas, tomatoes and mushrooms; then the meat but I chose shrimp from the sausage and some other items. Now the pasta, they had thin spaghetti, clamshell and cheese tortellini, I chose the last. He cooked this in the white sauce not marinara. I am glad I only tried really small portions of the soup and I left much of the tortellini behind. We finished off this episode by stopping by the main church and lit a votive candle for the parents and family dead.

We set the GPS for a map selected spot near the Cupples House in the campus of St. Louis University. After circling the campus a couple times I spotted a policemen parked along the street. He said yes I am a policemen but not familiar with the campus. He seemed to remember that Spring street used to go through the center of it and thought if we parked close to Spring we would find it. Well I tried a couple of entries to inner campus and struck out for sighting it. We parked and entered. There off the center was a grand old mansion, the Cupples house. The house dated to 1890 and around 40 rooms. http://cupples.slu.edu/ and here is a good overview http://www.slu.edu/the_arts/cupples/architecture.html We entered and found a young gal by a desk who gave us a pamphlet to study the house. A guard was also present but no docent or guide, turned out to be self guided, my guide was Shirleen, she read the pamphlet as we went along. It was three stories, a great collection of Steuben glassware. Entry light by Tiffany, stain glass windows on all floors, ornate old world desks and dressers; along with Louie the XIII style furniture. Being of Celtic descent he had different emblems of cloth, wood and a hanging curtain with family weaved cloths designs. One item struck both of us let me describe it; they were what we suspect were fancy cut glass saucers that were used to cover the tea cup as it steeped. Reminds me of Sandy F. when she has tea she places the saucer over the cup. It amazed us that the original rug was laying on the floor and we were able to walk over it as if it were any old rug, but it was one of those Persian tightly weaved rug. Well it was a little after 3 and we were to meet at 6 in Quincy. As we took off we got back on highway 64, and little to our surprise it was under construction and we were ramped off with out further direction. We looked at the map and GPS decided to take 44 to 70 to 61 and up north. It worked out but it put us 20 minutes behind. We had to stop for gas so a little more down time, but made it 15 minutes early.

We meet our friends at the front door of the restaurant. It turned out to be a sports bar of a friend of theirs. We met them at Krieger’s Sports Bar in Quincy. Shirleen had her cabernet, I 2 - 23 oz Amberbock and Pam and Randy Sierra Mists, Shirleen ordered a pepperoni thin crust pizza, Pam a Krieger cheese deluxe Hamburger with a salad, Randy Pulled Pork casserole with seasoned fries, I a full slab of BBQ ribs, salad and seasoned fries. All large portions, we will try and bring back our leftovers, as the temperature is cold and we are headed up North. We were invited to their home, we followed Pam’s sporty convertible. A tour of the house ending in the basement at Randy’s wood workshop, he had a number of nice completed works that showed his craftsmanship. The gals reviewed pictures of the family and Randy and I the people we knew in common. After a couple hours we parted. Jerry

Day 18 in Caseyville IL Quality Inn and Suites ran 503 miles today

Today we are headed toward St. Louis. Turned out we drove 503 miles and made a number of stops along the way. As we head to Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga TN with poor directions and no street address to GPS it. We followed the meager directions of two maps. The trail to the mountain top is curvy with many close encounters to the down side of the hill. We follow the signs to Ruby Falls and Point Park (Lookout Mountain). After driving and turning around and following few signs we stop at a guy on the side of the street. He said I think it is straight ahead, we look up and there it is a block away. I look at it and I remember a shot of my mom and dad visiting it in 1938. I cannot imagine my mother making the trip up that mountain in those days. We went into a shop that had a half hour battlefield layout with voice and video. It explained the walk of Grant into the valley below and took the whole valley in 50 some days of off and on combat. It is a National Park and can be found at http://www.nps.gov/chch/. We walked the grounds and took in the magnificent sights of the overview of Chattanooga’s river flowing below and the city layout.

We now head down the mountain at 35 mph and the right side close to the drop off. Along the way are many old majestic homes one would expect along the way. We are now headed to lunch. We stopped along the road at a Shoney’s for lunch. I went for the buffet for catfish and stuff. Shirleen ordered their special, two eggs basted, hash browns and biscuit and gravy. After my first helping no eggs for her, I asked and she said she would check and that they were behind?? Few people eating prepared meals. She received hard basted eggs with good tasting potatoes. When the gal served the food she said sorry we don’t have biscuits Oh would you like to have toast? She went to order it. After a while we got our ticket and asked where the toast was? She didn’t know. We left to the cash register. I mentioned we were disappointed and the manager took off Shirleen’s breakfast and coffee. Treated fairly but not sure when we would stop at another one for a while.

Off down the road, we stopped at President Jackson’s - The Hermitage to pick up the cannon’s for the Junior Pioneers 150th celebration.

We re close to exit 14 on highway 64 in IL close to St. Louis and it starts to rain, later a downpour. We are hungry and t is late. We found a Logan’s Roadhouse with a couple spots on the bar, as they were really busy. The bartender was a hard working fellow as were the rest of the wait staff. For some reason, Shirleen said, the DOW was up today that is why. She ordered a half rack of ribs with a sweet potato and brewski onions (fried down in a dark beer) and a cabernet. I the last good catfish I will have for a while and it was good with onion petals with a hot sauce and fresh potato chips. Those brewski onions would be good on a hamburger. Time to get the car and it is pouring. When we got back to the hotel there was a spot to park close to the front door but as I look out this morning I am the only car parked there and there are no line to park between. Off to St. Louis University’s Cupples House we missed last time through. To Quincy this eve for a dinner with Pam and Randy. - Jerry

Day 17 McDonough GA to Atlanta

After our breakfast at HIE we headed north about 9:30am. The traffic was decent, in a 55 we were doing 75. We got off at Prez Jimmy Carter’s Presidential Museum. It was set back from the main area but within a stones throw of downtown Atlanta off exit 248C. The museum will be undergoing renovation in April till October. The exhibit was really low keyed but centered in on his Israeli and Egyptian accords. Along with his feelings toward the people, that they need a spokesperson not from a political party but for the good of the people. A nice exhibit about his submarine duties on the SS391 Pomfret, then there was his meeting with Admiral Rickover which made him realize he must do his best. In 2004 the last seawolf like fast attack submarine (boat) SS23 was named after him USS Jimmy Carter; why such a low number??. They made him a honorary plankowner, this entitles him to a plank from the boat when it is retired. As I am a plankowner of the SSBN 628 Tecumseh I should have been contacted about one when they pulled her apart.

From there two miles across the highway to Coca-Cola museum. Parking is adjacent to the museum for $10, right downtown. Seeing there is no restaurant in the museum, we ate on the grounds next to and part of the museum at the Far Coast, Shirleen had the vegetarian chili soup, I the chicken salad sandwich. Did I mention the Turtle caramel pecan ice cream sandwich she had? It was nice to see a couple kids playing together on the short grass area. One from Europe the other Oriental, they played together like they were old friends, what can we learn from this? The exhibit cost a pretty penny even for seniors. The exhibit has a number of movies, the 4-D one was really good, really all were. The bottling exhibit was noon-functional today. We then went in to taste the many flavors of Coke products from Asia, Mid-East, China and the free world. This is a nice half day visit.

I asked a guard how far the Ebenezer Baptist Church of Doctor Martin Luther King was, it within a couple miles but not walk able, I later saw why. The location is a National Parks Site. We had a short time to visit but it is sure a place to visit. It shows he chronology of his life as a person who wanted to better the poor by his non-violent working Civil Rights Movement.

Off we go, it is 5:12pm mid town Atlanta, seven lanes of traffic headed north. It was a breeze, a couple of slow spots but no worse than downtown Mankato on a weekday. As we were travelling in a 55 mph zone at 78 mph we still had some passing us. We arrived in Dalton GA around 6:30 at a Comfort Inn and Suites. We were told that there was a O’Charley’s across the interstate. Stev asid we should eat their, but at last nights stop. He raved about the naked salmon and steam asparagus he had. We opted for a split of a rib eye, Potato cheese stuffed with bacon soup, great slightly sweet biscuits and crispy fried onion rings. Brittney our server asked if we were at the Days Inn as they get a 10% discount, we said no , she said are you sure. I said well yes, later told her our desk clerk told us it was good. Tomorrow towards St. Louis - Jerry

Day 16 Stonecrest to McDonough GA Sunday

The day started off with Mary Ann and Shirleen taking the long walk around the gated community. Steve and I got ready for the day. We had decided to eat at the Hacienda Restaurant for a breakfast buffet. It had delicious omelets and sliced ham. The counter had fresh fruit, bacon strips; potatoes with fried onions – good for buffet ones, sausages, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, eggs Benedict – also good as I sampled three of them. Steve a beer, I a Bloody Mary. The food was a good send off for the miles we were to travel as we left at 12:30 for south of Atlanta. It was a nice send-off and we decided to meet early when they come back home.

Highway was busy but not bad. We noticed a sign that indicated we might have trouble at exit 218 because of the NASCAR race at that turn off but called the Atlanta Speedway. As we approached the area the cars were backed up to exit 212, here we looked at the GPS and decided to go parallel to I75. We went north trough the city and back west to the turn-off. Here is where we headed through parking lots to a Holiday Inn Express. I asked the price, $189 because of NASCAR, for a senior $165, she ask if I had been in the service, yes, 7 years. She said $109, took it as we did not want to buck the traffic.

A light lunch was in order as we stuffed ourselves at noon. We stopped at a Ruby Tuesday and had a glass of wine each with a delicious Jumbo Crab Cake accompanied by a nice spicy rémoulade sauce. As we headed back across the freeway Shirleen said lets go out to the racetrack. It was eight miles out from the hotel and car upon car and travel trailer headed towards us when we went out. It was five miles of vehicles and then light traffic. We made it to the racetrack, wow, what an immense track, lit up looking like a space ship landing on earth. We drove to the end and parked at the entrance, streaming with vehicles. To the right were many campfires burning. Looked like a gypsy camp, suspect they stay there all night. We headed back, Shirleen said stay right and the traffic looked quieter in that lane as we went out. She was right we first hit traffic at mile 1.6 from the hotel. Jerry

Day 15 Stonecrest Saturday

I will try and catch-up. We came into heavy traffic and found out it was NASCAR at Atlanta getting out. We went off X212 instead of 218 and took back roads. Highways were just packed with cars and we headed through parking lots to a Holiday Inn Express. I asked the price, $189 because of NASCAR, for a senior $165, she ask if I had been in the service, yes, 7 years. She said $109, took it as we did not want to buck the traffic. Later Jerry

Continued It was a nice breakfast at the house. Time for lunch at the Firehouse Subs. We ate there two years ago and the flavor is really good, wondered what the difference is between these and others? Shirleen got a Kids Roast Beef with cheese, cold; I a medium Pastrami sandwich with cheese and a good sauce, and potato chips yummy. Mary Ann and Steve shared a turkey wrap with baked potato chips.

We then went to look for the purple orchid that Steve saw yesterday at the Flea Market. We walked through the market and the girls split. Yesterday they found a couple necklaces that went well with what they were wearing. We found the orchid, and picked up a couple fresh veggies; tomatoes and cow mozzarella cheese to slice and eat with the tomatoes.

Steve and I watched the first half of the Minnesota basketball game with Michigan. Later we stopped by Publix grocery store and picked up some steak to grill later and other essentials.

Now is time for the grill out. We sat outside and lunched on some seafood with chips and that delicious seafood dip. Along with a couple beverages, gin and tonics and the girls had their vodka lemonade. Steve started the grill briquettes for the grilling. The girls were given the tasks to baked the potatoes for one hour, then place Steve’s chicken breast in toward the end of the time. Shirleen was to stir the mushrooms, which Mary Ann had turned on the wrong burner and Shirleen started to stir the mushrooms and started at 425, not time temperature of the oven. They could have been stirred for a long time and no one would have ate them. The grill was a little ahead of the oven so the girls snuck the potatoes and chicken into the microwave. Well everything turned out just fine. Meals were accompanied with chardonnay for MA and S and S and J had cabernet and merlot. Wine was fine, maybe a little too much. We finished off the night watching some TV motorcycle dirt track racing from Daytona. Mary Ann and I watched the Louisville and someone basketball game. Jerry

Day 14 Stonecrest Day 2

We breakfast with some fine banana cake, strawberries, scrumptious pineapple with a cup of good strong coffee. We sat and talked about an assortment of things and made day plans. We had to pick up some tickets to get into a Village Restaurant and dance hall from friends of Mary Ann’s brother Mark’s friend Gordon. As we called Mark he was on a golf cart lost in The Villages but in-sight of the water tower. We found the gate to Tall Pines but it would not let us in and we again called Mark to let us in. We circled the round-a-bout three times and finally got in by Gordon passing us through. We never run into Mark in Mankato but here we are in Florida and exchange pleasantries. We were shown the house, nice layout. She mentioned it was $3,600 a month and they were staying 2 months. There on the counter was a stick of Schmidt’s meat market sausage, just like home. We left the group and headed for lunch at Crisper’s with a stop at The Food Market to look at the selection of foods. We had toured one with Michelle in Milwaukee, one of the only places that carry both Hereford and Angus meats. The Market is kept in super clean condition.

Crisper’s has seating outside and that is where we are headed. Shirleen had a Citrus Chicken Wrap – mandarin oranges, pecans and chicken pieces I a Hot Russian – pastrami, provolone cheese and pumpernickel bread both had fried potato chips. Mary Ann and Steve split a sandwich with baked potato chips.

To the flea market we go. What a bunch of stuff, to numerous to comment on.

Sat at home to rest up with snacks and two gin and tonics.

We then went down to the square to look at the hot rod golf carts. There were probably 80 of them. A couple had prices on them, what a shock $17,000 on two different ones. Some had flames, one a Jack Daniels whisky scheme – looked like the Vikings colors. A neat fire-engine one, a number of Model A looking ones. One of the classers was a Harley-Davidson, in the right colors with the dude dressed in Harley colors. Everyone walking around talking beverages in hand and smiles on their faces.

Ate at the Palmer Legends Country Club in The Villages with Lucy as our waitress fro the evening. We enjoyed the beverages, MA & S, their chardonnay, Shirleen a cabernet, I a Yeungling Lager. They served a half loaf of crusty hearth baked bread. We then ordered a Shrimp cocktail, 5 large shrimp and a tasty horseradish sauce. Mary Ann opted for the Tenderloin Tips sandwich with fries, Steve had a naked (no dressing or spice on it) chicken wrap with chips, Shirleen had a Steak Salad, a medium rare filet steak with candied pecans over bed of lettuce, I a Chillean Sea Bass with a mild sauce, garlic mashed potatoes and almandine green beans.

For a little entertainment we went to the bar dance floor restaurant to see the many bodies stacked along side each other. Dancing and loud music was the eve. Home for a little TV and bed time. Jerry

Day 13 Stonecrest

Before we visit Mary Ann and Steve we must wash our car, which we did at Shell. With a sparkling car we drove to the compound. We checked in and pulled to the parking lot, I had forgot to call Steve when we left the motel so things started out wrong. Shirleen dialed and got disconnected; she used the next number and again got disconnected. Time for my telephone, it dialed right through and contact was made. We noticed that there were many streets on the GPS and followed Steve to the house. But before we got there the GPS ran out of streets, thank god we didn’t try it ourselves as it is to many turns to get right.

We caught up a little on things and guess what, it is time for lunch. Off to the Villages we head to the Hacienda Hills Bar & Grill for lunch. As usual I will described the meal, Shirleen had hot chocolate with a grilled cheese and cottage cheese; Mary Ann had a chardonnay with a BLT and fries; Steve and I split a half carafe of pino grigio he had a bowl of chicken noodle soup and half a turkey sandwich, I a crab cake with crackers and coleslaw, she asked if I wanted the crackers not knowing why I said yes. They are the finger length type, four of them. I used them as a sandwich material for bites of the crab cake. It was simply delicious, it was more a round golf ball baked but stuffed with large pieces of crab, seldom seen when these are ordered. Off for the afternoon excursion.

Steve had seen a brochure for a of a Florida Carriage Museum and Resort in Weirsdale FL. www.fcmr.org I have not viewed the website but expect it to be good as the museum was spectacular. It was composed of many galleries, first the European with the Golden Carriage of Franz Joseph I of the Hapsburg dynasty,

We headed home for a few minutes of down time, snacks and refreshments.

Dinner is in The Villages at Bogies Restaurant. Shirleen’s cabernet was a Walnut Crest and ours were chardonnays from the same vintner. Shirleen had her filet mignon, Mary Ann Gulf Coast Coconut Shrimp with a baked potato, Steve a grilled Walleye, I the special a rack of baby back ribs with French fries.

We finished the night at house with a fresh peach cobbler. Off to the next day. Jerry

Day 12 Jacksonville to The Villages – Tuesday

We started the day at The Fountain of Youth – Ponce De Leon sight along the Oceanside. There we saw where he found the fountain of youth, why is it called that? Well the Spanish were small people at that time four foot six was he and the crew was an inch or so smaller, that way he was the leader by height. The Indians were six and a half foot tall the chief was seven foot four inches. The Indians would marry the two tallest member of the tribe each year. This height would put them closer to the Great Spirit. The water had the sulfur smell and high mineral content. The location was right next to the cross made by Ponce. It was looking toward the bay, 15 rocks in that direction and 13 across. This designates the year it was placed in the ground. It indicates it was made in 1513 by the rocks. Glad he didn’t come in 1501 would have had no cross member, just a straight line. We had a good tour guide, he explained about the area. That Ponce was the first person to claim the land for Spain and called it Florida. Seeing he made landfall around Easter season, at the feast of flowers, Flores, he named the area La Florida. It was interesting to see the next exhibit showing the many areas of the Americas that the Spanish funded. I, for one, forget their influence on our country. Then a nice planetarium presentation showing the stars and how the sailor followed the route to St. Augustine. We walked the grounds to look at artifacts. Then the gift shop were I found 7 cannons, bought same, for the Junior Pioneers.

Lunch at the A1A Ale Works restaurant, downtown. Shirleen had a intense green spinach salad with seasoned pecans, and two nice lightly breaded and fried goat cheese packets about the size of a silver dollar and about a quarter inch thick with a fine vinaigrette. I a pint of red ale with a grouper sandwich. The grouper was dried out and the crust was chunky hard breading, it was a specialty but not mine.

St. Augustine alligator farm was our next stop. And did they have alligators. All kinds, sizes, colors, trying to sun and swimming with many along the banks sleeping. We walked through the exhibit and looking at artifacts fro South America and many tribal areas of the world where alligators hang out. There were monkey’s and many bird. I find these caged animals not much to my licking.

Driving down the highway towards Daytona I saw a J&R Schugel truck north of Daytona Beach, did they drop ship some cycles from New Ulm for bike week, this weekend? Time to eat again as we enter the area we will lodge tonight. Capt. Bells Seafood of Fruitland, it is a small restaurant alongside the road but well packed by the cars in the parking lot. We ordered a half carafe of merlot for $6 or could have bought a glass for $3.50, we had 4 glasses from the decanter. Poor tasting flavor, must have been a bad old bottle, sweet with undertones of yuk. Shirleen had the lightly blackened flounder with a perfectly baked sweet potato I the tilapia lightly breaded and deep fried with fried okra and grits. Would stop again. Off to Mary Ann and Steve’s for three days at Stone Crest. May or may not get to the blog, but we will have fun behind the scenes. Jerry

Day 11 Jacksonville FL – Tuesday

The day started at Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, http://www.cummer.org a must see when travelling Jacksonville. We went to the prize of the art, Georgia O’Keeffe’s, it is a small exhibit on loan. It has 45 paintings covering all phases of her painting life. It also had shots of her Ghost Ranch in New Mexico on a film of her life. The one we drove 70 miles out and back again on the same road. One of the aspects of her paintings is the softness of the colors and how they blend together.

As we toured the old art we picked up on a tour. The group was from Amelia Island newcomers group. Looked pretty healed. I picked up a brochure that was at the table they ate lunch at and it described the way one could contribute. The tour director gave a nice description of the Baroque, Renaissance and other periods of art. The art was described according to period; triangular aspect central figures of one versus the twisted form – movement of the work by placing a three dimensional view of the knee to the body of another art period. No, I am not an art reviewer just plain interesting. There was also a large room that held a large amount of German made, early period, Meissen porcelain. A generous gift of a family who stored the items boxed up on their porch. The beauty was seen it its thin look with minimal art work. Some beautiful dragons, butterflies and design graced the plates, cups and saucers. From here to a nice American art collection.

Time for lunch. We ate at the museum, a small area of seven tables looking to the large live oak in the front of museum. Shirleen had a strawberry, pecan salad with a light balsamic vinaigrette. I an espresso with a grilled ham and cheese Panini with some pasta in a parmesan cheese vinaigrette.

Now it is time to walk the gardens. These gardens were developed by many different landscapers, with many fountains, reflecting pools, arbors, antique ornaments and sculptures. There were a couple types of gardens; English and Italian with many small garden types within. This area is alongside the St. Johns river. The azaleas and camellias were in bloom. A must see Arts and Garden museum.

Off to St. Augustine. As we were 10 miles north we stopped at the Golf Hall of Fame. There was a large exhibit on Bob Hope. It showed his love of the sport and a nice exhibition of his work as an entertainer for the troops throughout the different wars. We then walked the exhibit and had a fun time using the old style putting club. It was made of wood and at the back of the club head was a slug of metal. The ball to hit was a little smaller and harder, the fake green was rough like the old times. Shirleen had fun putting away. I made the first putt and then a couple holes later made two in a row. We went down through the time of golf. If I better knew much about golf I would have had more interest and knew more about what they were exhibiting.

Off to St. Augustine for dinner. We went to the Hiltons Historic Bayfront Hotel at their Aviles restaurant for dinner. It is the smallest of their hotels, with valet parking rare off street parking close by so I took the easy place – valet. We opened the menu and walla the facing page lit up from behind the page. What a neat design. This way you retain the ambiance of the dim light. We had a good BR Cohn cabernet with a soft roll accompanied by a blend of garlic and rosemary simmered in a smooth olive oil. Shirleen ordered a Hamburger with mushrooms and onions with stripes of bacon; you could put what you want on it at no charge. I tried something different, it would take 25 minutes to prepare, meant it was fresh. It was the Hunan Whole Crispy Fish Aviles’ signature dish with crab enhanced whipped potatoes with Swiss chard greens. The crispy fish was lightly basted wit a sour chili glaze. Mine came out on a long – 18 inch plate with the fish looking at you, eyes and all. He asked which hand I cut with and pointed the head away from Shirleen. Actually the reason was so that I would cut the fish from left to right. The other way would cause the fish meat to mush and not flake off easily. What a pleasant tasting fish, potato and fresh Swiss chard meal. Shirleen left half of her giant hamburger, not made with hamburger, I suspect some of the sirloin and filet mignon was blended to taste.

We then retired to the Comfort Suites, stayed there 2 years ago so knew what to expect. Jerry – off to The Villages area tomorrow.

Day 10 Jacksonville FL – Monday

This evening I found out a great friend of mine has died - Del Smith, may his soul Rest in Peace. We travelled down the line to Jacksonville on Hwy 95. As we came into Florida we came upon the visitor stop for a glass of OJ. As two years ago we stopped and remember the freshness of the juice. Also picked up some brochures and the address to Budweiser brewing. So guess our next stop as it is almost noon or 10:30am. This was a good stop, the tour is somewhat low key compared to St. Louis, but ten times better. He talked about the history but added some tings that made them seem different; did you know they supported the discovery of the diesel? And when WWII was going they built them and put them in submarines. I always knew Budweiser was special. They made furniture and much more. The bottling line, 1,600 per minute, cans at 2,200/m, switch over on the bottling line in 45 minutes because it takes 40 minutes for the pasteurizer to clear. They use beech wood for more surface area for the yeast to act on in the cold 48 deg fermentation process temperature. The beech wood is reused by preparing it by two soakings in sodium hydroxide and five steam cleaning processes.

As Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens was not open today we stopped at Museum of Science and History center, downtown. The interesting item here was the miniature painted pictures gathered by some guy. These were 2 to 5 inches wide or high. Dali, Matisse, Chagall and Van Gough, plus many more. They had a 45 minute planetarium talk. Neat but not enough to recommend the place. If you had nothing to do on a Monday, as most things are closed, stop by.

As we were now hungry as it is 3:00pm we drove out and it looked like we had found a place with no restaurants. We stopped at a Charthouse, not open, went next door to the doorman of the Wyndham and he said with a smile, B.B.s at 1019 Hendricks Ave – off we went down the block. As we pulled up we noticed it was one of those yuppie Bistro’s, so figured the food would be good and different. We split a TMB pizza – 10 inch, that is a tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil combo. The tomatoes are fresh half inch cubes layered around the edge and under the velvety fresh mozzarella cheese, and the thin slices of fresh basil are on the top. With them on top they add a special flavoring to it. I would go 10 miles out of the way to eat here again.

Off to find the Comfort Suites on the south side of town where we rested up before venturing forth. We ate at a sports bar this eve, Sneakers Sports Grille, we saw 3 giant screens 10 by 14 or so and Shirleen figured 80 small sets including the 25 outside. Even with all these it was a nicely laid out with a lot of space between tables with no large dividers, so a clean look to the place. They had a neat Bud beer device, it was a large boot with a tap at the base and ice in a bag on the top. You could get 32 – 10 ounce beers from it. I had a 10 ouncer, Shirleen water and she ordered a children’s grilled cheese, Casey said no problem what you want is what you get. I a thinly sliced prime rib sandwich with horseradish sauce. Tomorrow, Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens and who knows what else?? Jerry

Day 9 St Marys – Kingsland GA Sunday

Travelled St. Simmons Island - more to come. Jerry

Off to Jekyll Island area this morning. Of course start off with lunch. They had eaten at Spanky”s Seafood Grill so it was designated a good stop. Seeing it was close to noon, Steve and I had a beer. The grill sits alongside the bay; Google earth 1200 Glynn Ave, Brunswick GA. Turns out that address gets close it is actually across the street and a half a block down, parking lot and structure. Time to order, Julie had a Blackened Coastal Shrimp salad. The rest of us the Blackened Grouper, Cajun spices with a blend of cheeses – not overwhelming. I with fries and they with Spud potatoes. What are they, so simple wonder why I have not seen these b4. They slice the potato into quarter round slices, coat with a light breading and deep fried. Did I say the grouper was just delicious? Oh ya.

Now it is time to venture off. Jekyll Island is a state park with some residential housing on it. People started visiting it 4,500 years ago.
http://www.jekyllisland.com/
The old part of the island was again built by the super rich. It has the first condo, back to the 1800’s, a beautiful green white trimmed six unit. Forget the owners but some of the inhabitants were J. P. Morgan, William Rockefeller, Vanderbilt and Pulitzer they had their own houses. A beautiful hotel, Jekyll Island Club, is quaint and costs $200 and more with a great restaurant for a price. A couple blocks away was a museum which had many artifacts and descriptions of what went on at the estates. This part of the island was lined with many live oak trees adorned with moss, long strands.

Off to St. Simons Island to view the lighthouse. Did I mention that the winds were blowing at 30 mph and the temp was low 50’s? As we were following the sign to the lighthouse, we missed one of them because of a palm branch blocking our view. Needless to say we went all over the island, got two sets of directions and finally found it. Along the way were many old huse with live oaks and moss hanging from them. The lighthouse is still in use and inspected daily. It had been built in 1872. to reach the top one has to climb 129 spiral steps. It was so windy we could not go out on the landing, but remember when you go up you go down. Today my front upper legs ache from the down journey.

We headed to Julie’s house, with Steve’s travels I think I state it well. Tomorrow he heads to Trinidad for a week. He never let grass grow under him. We sipped on a bottle of Bud Lime. The gals on a Lindeman Reserve Shiraz – tasty. We dined on some ribs, I think Corkies, homemade southern potato salad that has sweet pickles in it, then some beans that had LIMA, and looked like two other beans, fried hamburger mashed up, bacon, sweet and tasty I forgot to ask for the recipes. After dinner we quickly put things together and they took us back. They would get up about 4am to get Steve to airport for a 2:20pm arrival. Sure was fun. Jerry

Day 8 St Marys – Kingsland GA Saturday

Steve and Julie picked us up at 11:30am for a brunch at The Cracker Barrel. One of my favorite on-the-road restaurants. Shirleen, had one egg basted with biscuits, Julie, had eggs, sausage and biscuits; Steve, had eggs, which he still cuts into small pieces, I study peoples habits of fried egg cutting, so this observation comes after watching him 14 years ago; I, had scrambled eggs with fried catfish – UmmUmmGood (Sp). With these orders came biscuits and gravy and grits.

Off for the day after a filling breakfast. We are to pick up the boat at St. Marys for Cumberland Island National Seashore. We went on the stand-by list, and made it. The boat Cumberland Queen was standing by it is a 45 minute ride over and only a limited number of passengers and only one boat load back at 4:45pm. We landed at one of two docks. There is no transportation except in case of an emergency. We walked, along with a Park Ranger, Rene Nun. She has been there for 27 years. On the tour she had 4 or 5 stops along the way. Her explanation of who was here and what happened on the island was cute. She used visitors as people who lived there like George and Martha Washington, Robert E. Lee’s father and Nathaniel Greene. Her teaching method for adults was terrific. She was one of the best but a personal comment, there have been many of these presentations over the country, one of our government programs that works well.

As we walked through the island we saw a couple of the wild horses that populate the island. She mentioned there are about six breeds of horses, some of them have interbred and the lines are diminishing. Numbers of horses are falling. There is no feeding, no worming and no veterinary practices. In time there will be no horses. Why the wild horses? When the last of the Carnegie’s died her will said all horses are to be turned loose. The mansion was burned down by a couple of locals to get even with owners who were firing on them at night for poaching.

Cumberland Island is Georgia's largest and southernmost barrier island. Pristine maritime forests, undeveloped beaches and wide marshes. After the tour we meandered around the island, headed toward the other side of the island toward the beach. There were boardwalks and fine white sand beaches. We saw the water but never made the beach. When we were on the board walk we ate our lunch. As no food available Julie supplies came to the front: cheese, cracker and ham, fresh apple slices, raisins (more to come on these) and granola bars with water bottles.
After this we journeyed to the boat dock. With only one boat leaving we did not have any camping gear so we made sure we are ready.

The ride back had a couple of us standing. But time for more food; Steve found the raisins again. First we fed ourselves then he had the idea of feeding the seagulls some of the raisins. He would fling them skyward and the gulls would dive toward them. Their aim was right on few were missed. It looked to me that they would fly closer to the boat the more they were fed. Most people enjoyed the activity, one gal would not raise her head as she saw “The Birds – by Alfred Hitchcock” I suspect.

We decided to eat at St. John’s Seafood and Steaks restaurant in Kingsland. We ordered a couple of large drafts, and they were big. Now for appetizers, an order of onion rings for the girls and we had fried Calamari. Now time for the meal order: we all had what was called seniors, meaning smaller size. Julie, fried oysters and a green fried tomato; Shirleen, shrimp and sweet potato fries; Steve, a stuffed flounder with crab and shrimp with sweet potato fries, I, a trio of fried oysters, shrimp and clam strips with cheese grits. Thank goodness we took senior orders as there were mounds of food on the plate when it arrived. We then went to their home for a couple Bud’s and conversation. They took us back to the motel and off to a night of rain and thunder of which I heard and someone else didn’t. Jerry

Day 7 Jacksonville to St Marys - Friday

Mary, thanks for the update on the snow!!!

Left Jacksonville on A1A for a run north to the ferry across at St Johns River. Again we left the road to get closer to the ocean. Funny how much of what we drove looked like alleys, and maybe were, but they were active like the main roads. We did not have a map and came upon a no outlet sign. A lady walking a poodle said we had to go back 5 miles or so to the police station and go around to A1A. Again it is time to eat. We ate at Singleton’s Seafood Shack, emphasis shack, in Mayport founded in 1572. What a find, rustic but clean. The fish was fresh with a couple flown in to supplement the others. The seating area was behind a group of six shrimp boats and the river. Within the building was a boat museum established by deceased owner. Many many hand built wooden ships, mostly shrimp and fishing boats. It was time to get in line at the ferry landing. We pulled behind a station wagon with a surfboard on top. As we looked at the cost a van, looked like a Navy van color, pulled alongside. He said that the ferry is not running. He pointed to the large red sign under the cost information. I said better tell the guy in front as we were there sitting with them for a while. Now to backtrack to get to Rollins Park.

We had the address but it lead us to no where; we went back to a State Park and got new directions, those on the internet where wrong. We then headed to Fort George Island Cultural State Park: 620 acres of maritime hammock, shell mound, and estuarine tidal marsh. Opened in 1989. You are surrounded by lush vegetation, a small street, one vehicle wide. Hidden by this green mantle is evidence of 6000 years of human occupation, ranging from shell mounds, through plantation era structures, to a 1920's Ribault Clubhouse resort club. The club was built by the super rich, DuPonts, GM executives and others. Flourishing until the depression, the last one not this one. The history of Ft. George Island is a cross section of Florida's history. There is also a self-guided tour around the island known as the Saturiwa Trail, which can be followed after obtaining a guidebook at the Ribault. We used it, but first had to figure out how to use the DVD player. Then at stop 11 of 22 it stopped working.

We then went stopped at Brett’s Waterway Cafe at the end of the island on Fernandina Beach. Here we sat and watched fishing boats come in with their catch. The one boat had two guys who rented the boat, the skipper filet the fish, throwing the carcass overboard to the pelican awaiting it. There was a flurry of activity when one piece headed toward the water. Occasionally the birds got a hold of the two opposite sides of the fish’s skin and a long struggle ensued. We sipped on our Blackstone Cabernet and a Pinot Grigio watching the sun headed towards the horizon. This, it turns out, is a favorite place to watch sunsets. We opted to move on.

We now headed to Kingsland GA for the weekend. Stopped at the Comfort Suites and asked for a good Italian restaurant. He said, The Original Angelo’s. What a pleasant surprise. It was small seating for 30 people or so. Take-out orders were being taken all the time. Line of people out the door, one gal came in and got there menu for the takeout and called in an order. Shirleen had the 10 inch pizza with pepperoni, which she ate almost half of it. I, Linguini in Alfredo sauce, it had a great sauce with pieces of ham, onions, mushrooms and more cheese in it. With my meal came a salad with a homemade ranch dressing accompanied by some good bread. I suspect the bread was a bun loaf cut in half, slathered with butter and lightly grilled.

We then went to the room and called Julie and Steve J. They asked if we wanted to come over and visit for a little while. With the directions in hand we ventured forth. We found the gate to the gated community Osprey Cove, got our pass and twisted along the road to the home. Wow, what a nice looking home. A brick driveway, one of the only ones in the cul-de-sac, making it easier to find. I blinked the lights through their glass front door. We walked into the living area on the tiled floors. Comes out it is an add on and helped bring up the cost of the house. After their first contractor went bankrupt they got it finished and live able. We sat out in the screened in veranda listening to the frogs croaking in the pond adjacent to their house sipping on a Bud Lime. After an hour or so we left for the motel and saw two deer alongside the road, just like home. Jerry

Day 6 The Villages area to Jacksonville - Thursday

Drove through The Villages on the northwest side, people, cars and housing all over. We found then a internal city I think it was The Waterfront, we walked the Waterfront and the little town it was set in. Time to eat; found a Red Lobster, we split their wood roasted shrimp and rock lobster. Nice finishing by the wood roasting.

Onward and back to Jacksonville with a stop at the Ravine Gardens State Park in Palatka a must see. During Feb and March there are tons of flowering azaleas wild grown, snaking down the ravine to the bottom 50 feet below. There lies a shallow pool with wild water plants and a small spillway. We then climbed the path and went over the suspended bridge, nice and swingy. This was built during the depression by WPA or CCC.

A great route to Jacksonville after visiting this garden is east out of Palatka and through Hastings and a couple miles further, a sign says Jacksonville to the north, it is hwy 13, it meanders along the waterway of the St. John’s river from Jacksonville through Palatka. The overarching live oaks with abundant moss hanging from the branches, the quaint houses to the fabulous multi-floored mansions are sure fun to view.

We settled in at the Hampton, seeing it is a weekday it costs 50% more. Had I known that they give Mayo patients a break I would have indicated that I had an appointment. Hunger sets in and there is a Chili’s right down the line and we both had a burger, with a 2 for 1 cabernet, Shirleen had a bacon cheese burger and I a Swiss and mushroom. Off for a nights rest. jerr

Day 5 St. Augustine to The Villages area - Wednesday

This morning started with a three cheese bake and citrus pancakes with a manderian compote plus the other breakfast stuff. We then decide to take a walk, past the oldest house in the US. Then we walked up what looked like alleys but were streets. The old beauty of the city showed through. Wood battened board houses, plaster coated walls and the original coquina material. We walked for a while then ended up a couple blocks past the St. Francis street, that put a water islet between us and the Inn. We sat in the outside veranda with a cup of coffee and the bright sun shiny day. Joanne and Don called and said they were blocked in there parking lot because of a dumpster on fire, after a couple of calls they were able to meet us for church. From our Inn we walked a couple blocks and found we had a little time before the noon mass. We walked the area but soon returned to be seated. The noon Ash Wednesday mass at Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine was starting to fill up with touring people. This website gives more info
http://www.thefirstparish.org/history.html
The church is really ornate, ceiling painted decoratively, walls with pictures of the founders of ST. Augustine. The mass proceeded as what we thought was usual but there were parts where they used the old Latin language for parts of it.

After church it is time for lunch. We decided on Harry’s Seafood Grille along the tourist street by the water way. This was the site of last nights Fat Tuesday and the maintenance guy said they had 5 broken windows and a broken mens bathroom door. Rowdiness seems to be the call for that day along with the beads slung high into the tree limbs. The gals grabbed a glass of wine Joanne the Chardonnay and Shirleen the merlot, the gents a mug of Yuengling beer. Joanne and Shirleen ordered the pecan crusted catfish, Don the She Crab soup and I a oyster poboy. After the meal it was time to head south, after a tour f an art store. Don got excited when we saw the $12,500 price tag. There were some metal art work pieces by a Minnesota sculpture forgot first name but a Mack. Hey Jim maybe a relative.

We headed to Carolyn and Dick A. home in Spruce Creek. With the traffic and back roads we travelled we were 30 minutes late but at least we let them know what was up. We had a fine plate of appetizers, strawberries now in full bloom, pecans and chips with an accompanying glass of wine. We then sat for dinner with a great tasting vegetable, chicken, saucy cheese and overlapped with a biscuit mix. We then went to the large meeting house. Here I could check my e-mail and saw the many rooms where play rehearsal was going on, billiards being played and two games of an Oriental game of which I cannot spell the name. After a couple hours of catching up we left for our hotel, Comfort Suites at The Villages. It was about 5 miles down from their home. Tomorrow we are headed up north, we ended up in the same Hampton Inn on JAX Beach. More about today tomorrow. jerr

Day 4 St. Augustine - Tuesday

Here is a little bit more about the ST. Francis Inn, house built 1791. Here is the website: http://www.stfrancisinn.com/inn.html it right down the street from the oldest house in America. The history of the house is to much to put in here but go to the website for more. The most striking item on the property is an artisan pond fed through the porous rock. Because of this there is a lingering smell of sulfur. The pool is no more than 4 by 5 feet and stocked with three large, foot and a half long Koi, white, orange, and orange white. A fountain in the middle and surrounded by small brush like trees. The breakfast included some great tasting Belgian waffles, with large slices of ham, along with these warm dishes, I had to have a hard boiled egg, there were many breakfast items but I stuck to the basics.

Joanne and Don swung by the Inn at 1015am and were kind enough to drive us around. We went to the old fort downtown to check on the small cannons I am looking for the Junior Pioneer banquet in 2012. I could not stop at The Hermitage outside of Nashville, this is where I bought the one I showed the board. That day it was raining and after 6 at night. Well as we can get into these parks free after buying the oldtimers pass for $10. we entered the gift shop, there were many cannons for sale none like the one I found. But I thought it would be good to see if they would discount for 40 of them, he would give me 10%. Seeing they were not the right type I said I would have to check with the board for the right to go over the $3 at The Hermitage. We went back across the street to the old town. We walked the street stopping at different stores. We then saw a chapel, reminded us of Corfu Greece, Greek Orthodox. The art was old but well cared for, just a couple small rooms. We then walked into the chapel and there to the left were the small tapers light in remembrance. As Shirleen and I have always lite on for the parents, as we did in Corfu, we lite one here. We went into the next chamber, there was the Nicene creed on the long wall. There was also a TV monitor at the end looking toward the chapel. Don was looking at the monitor and noticed a guy who went into the chapel and then went out but shortly returned and leaned over the left side tapers. It looked to him as he blew them out, we went to see and he did, why??? He had a t-shirt that indicated he was a Jesus follower. We later saw him walking the streets with his teenage son. We decided to eat at the PizzaAlley restaurant. We had a Yuengling beer and a really tasty crispy-crusted sausage and mushroom pizza. I would recommend this as a noon stop. We walked through the smallest Hilton, beautiful art work for sale.

This afternoon we went to the small fortress Fort Matanzas National Monument built in 1740 to guard the inlet and serve as a place for warning of approaching enemies. This sight is down from St. Augustine. It was a small fortress manned by 6 or 8 people. You take a pontoon boat to the other side of the inlet. The ranger gave a stirring history of the sight, well done but as Don said it is different each time they take people there. The ground floor was used as a living quarter, table, bunks 6 of them side by side you would enter your bunk from the foot side no area between the bunks. It also had the equipment for the 4 cannons. Above it was a lone bed, thought to have been the commanders area. From there to the roof was a small hole with a straight up ladder that you could shimmy through. From there you could see down the inlet and see the pirate ships coming. The ranger said that the cannons could shoot up to 1,000 yards accurately, am I right Don? This is a sight that many miss, as we spent three days here two years ago and no one mentioned this National Park.

Back to their house for more bridge. Barely got in the door and Don is dealing.
This evening we went to Salt Water Cowboys restaurant, an old converted hunting shack. The menu was steeped in seafood. The Joanne had a three shrimp meal, Shirleen BBQ ribs, great sauce, Don fried shrimp and I fried shrimp and scallops. The breading was really light. Again one would not just bump into this place. It is nestled along the water way, where we watched the sunset before we ate, highly recommended. But back to bridge quickly. Well it is 1030 or so and our next 48 hands are completed, time to tally-up Joanne retained first, Shirleen second, Don jumped to third – he was also the scorer, Jerry dropped to the bottom but said it was because of his partners. They then returned us to the Inn for a restful night sleep. When we went into the room we noticed they refilled the bottle of sherry, we had a glass each, emptying the decanter and getting a nice rest. I will try to write a little later about Ash Wednesday at the Cathedral and a stop at Carolyn and Dicks and another great home cooked meal that evening, along with some catching up. jerr

Day 3 – St. Augustine FL 30 miles

Back on line but have to write and catch up. We are in The Viligaes - headed to Jacksonville today.

We tool a slow ride down A1A to SA. Found the restaurant Le Pavillion and had about 20 minutes to kill. The old romance of the town reaches into every nook and cranny. The old Fort sits by the edge of the ocean still in wait for those whom might want to attack her. The side streets are made for horse and carriage, narrow, many one way, made of undulating brick. At first I thought the frost had come out and caused these, but what frost. The beautiful brick buildings of Mr. Flagler grace much of the skyline with their massiveness. Horse and carriage along with the motorized tourist trains graced the old historic streets. We arrived at the restaurant a couple minutes early, as did Joanne and Don K. It was fun to greet them outside the confines of North Mankato. We sat down to some good old down home conversation. Along with a couple of 300 ml Warstiner draft beers. We then ordered, the gals think alike they had the quiche, Don the Salmon with a great sauce, I the German plate, nicely scored plump brat and wiener, on a bed of sauerkraut, with home made spaetzles. Preceding this was their famous hot parmesan crusted roll, with a lightly drizzled vinaigrette on bib lettuce.

We then followed them to their place for a round of cards. The suite was decorated in Don’s taste, especially the elephant motif bathroom. Here goes the marathon, we would play 8 hands then switch partners. At the rotation we would go for a short walk on the beach, as today was windy with white caps a ways out in the Atlantic. For those who do not play bridge, there were many of down hands graced by a couple of barn burners. To make the play easier Don quickly grabbed a brandy and water, and of course he found a great tasting 6 pack of Czech beer for me. At half time (24 hands) we took our walk, Breezy but warm to our touch. The rental is on the beach front, from there patio you can see the beach and ocean, just a perfect picture. Now back to the serious nature of bridge. Joanne has had three great partners and is in the lead, we all wish her well, HAHA. At about 6 we decided to eat, she had made a great tasting lettuce salad with sliced strawberries and pecans dressed with a mild vinaigrette wild rice, a great tasting pheasant slow cooked in an onion and great flavored gravy was used over some wild rice. They bring some of their own food down and this was the last pheasant, as they are home bound next week, with intermitted stops along the way. Back to bridge dessert later, the slaughter continues, Joanne in the lead again with great partners. After 48 hands of bridge and ten o’clock approaching Don tallys up. We were a bit disappointed, Don, contrary to widely held beliefs, used whole sheets of paper to score. We had even brought some score pads along knowing his frugalness. Ours were smaller than a postage stamps and we thought he would be able to get all the scoring on them but he saved them for others to see. Joanne held onto first place for bragging rights trouncing all of us widely, guess who finished last? DK

Now it is approaching 11 and we are headed to the St Francis a quaint B&B to be described later. The streets are bare of people and cars. We amble down the dark St George street that the B&B is on. Again it is cobblestone which undulates as we slowly amble on. The accommodations are one of the few with off street parking, well lite as well.

So it is 11:15pm and we have complimentary sherry in the room, makes for a more restful night. I tried to hook onto the internet but this is a whole new way and I am not up to the challenge, concerned that I may botch up the pc and not hooking up later down the way. Jerry

Day 3 Jacksonville FL - 580 miles

I was asked where are you going? Well if I knew how to attach a PDF or SS file you could see. In short, spending 3 weeks in central to northern Florida, visiting friends, bridge players and a couple old bosses along the way.

We started out on a nice bright day after a poor breakfast at the Sleep Inn, thank goodness the bed was comfortable, the redeeming aspect of the stay. As we climbed the Appalachian Mountains to the north of Chattanooga TN we ran into snow showers. We thought to catch lunch as we were going through Atlanta, we turned off exit 237B on the south end. Should have stopped at the north end Buckhead side. We stopped at a Denny’s a good lunch, suspect area. As we tried to go south with the directions we got we ended going north, she probably didn’t understand me as they misunderstood Shirleen’s BLT, ended up a turkey club. We they took the next exit and saw we were getting nowhere, but ended up at the rear gate to the airport. We were given the directions from a guard, he said even a blind man could find his way. I said thanks and thought lord I am going blind and deaf, he didn’t mention that so I went one worse. Well I am waiting to go blind as it really was easy to find our way. We are now traveling down the pike, it is a 70 mph 4 to 8 lane. I am going 72, I am slowing down traffic, lick it to 78, no one behind just passing. I got in the truck lane and motored on. Shirleen took over at after the first 270 miles at a Georgia rest stop. She drove to the Florida visitor’s center, of course they are closed because they are not on central time. These people don’t regard a speed limit nor the police that were heavily patrolling the highway. We turned toward Jacksonville toward hwy A1A. We checked a couple rates and ended up at the Hampton Inn a couple blocks from the higher priced ones and ate dinner for nothing on the amount we saved. Next door was:

Stonewood Grill & Tavern

Shirleen ordered:
La Terre Cellars, Cabernet Sauvignon 5.8
Oak Grilled Tenderloin Skewer
Beef tenderloin pieces skewered with Portobello mushrooms, zucchini wedges, red and yellow bell peppers and Bermuda onions then marinated to accent the flavors of the Oak Grill. Served over rice pilaf.
Single skewer 14

I ordered:
La Terre Cellars Chardonnay 5.8
Oak Grilled Shrimp And Scallop Skewer
Herb basted black tiger shrimp and cold water scallops flame grilled and served over creamy corn risotto accented with a basil cream sauce. 15.5

These were preceded by a goooood sour dough hard crusted bread. Go for it if close they are all over Florida:
Jacksonville Beach 950 Marsh Landing Parkway Jacksonville, FL 32250 (904)285-2311
Close to the Mayo.

Off to Joanne and Dons tomorrow, meeting them at our favorite restaurant in St. Augustine: Le Pavillion, a European style. Till later jerr

Day 2 Murfreesboro TN - 532 miles

So this morning we left I80 truck stop. The snow I mentioned - it arrived. We left at 8:30 so it was light. It was really windy, snow showers, a couple inches of new snow. The first 2 hour were not a lot of fun but a good speed was maintained. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel for lunch at Effingham IL always like eating there. As we do not look real close as to where we are going, it turns out we are eating where Mid America Corvettes home is. We had stopped there probably 8 to 10 years ago. Seeing it was close we went back to it. It is 5 miles north from where we ate. I would put pixs up but to tired. I picked up a Corvette Racing hat, always wanted one but hated to spend postage, turns out it doesn't matter. They discount the magazine price to make up the postage so it was an even push. As we left Illinois on Hiway 24 the side of the highway was littered with broken tree tops, if there were ten thousand there were ten times that. Then as we entered Kentucky and the tree tops broken, when I say tree tops, that could mean up to a foot in diameter. The ills of Kentucky are fun to drive thru but the temp is about 36 and the snow flurries start coming. They continued to 10 miles north of Nashville, then rained all the way to the hotel. We ate at the Outback, been a couple years since the last time. Shirleen had a fillet with a great sweet potato with fresh sauteed green beans with a cab wine. I had a fettuccine Alfredo with scallops with an extra order of scallops on top. They were really tasty, would order them again. The guy down the bar, as we ate at the bar so we would not have to wait 30 to 45 minutes, had an order of these - I order same. Turned out his name was Jerry, was stationed in Hawaii from 66 to 70 a little overlap. We visited with Susan and him, they left south of Jacksonville and ran 8.5 hours to here. They were from Layette IN he was into entertainment. Tomorrow we head for St. Augustine. Jerry

Day 1 Walcott Iowa - 333 miles

Here we sit in Walcott Iowa at the famous Iowa 80 Truck Stop, world's largest truck stop. When we turned in all we could see parked in every open space, semi's. First one was a J&R Schugel. But before I go further, we ate in Dubuque. The hamburger I had was packed with meat (cows) - how could I tell it was cow - uttrely delicious, tomato, lettuce, onion and mayo, Shirleen had the same but hers was a Whopper Jr. - Burger King. Well we needed to make time. They are talking about 6 inches of snow between midnight and 4am. Hope they are wrong again. Early breakfast at the Comfort Inn - used points so a free night. jerr

Start of New Blog

Time to set up another blog after getting reports from a number of people who wondered why I didn't do one at Christmas.