November 18, 2012: Carrie Underwood Concert

I bought Mom and I tickets to see the Carrie Underwood concert at the VanAndel Arena in Grand Rapids.    She performed a very nice show. I liked how they brought the stage up into the air and forward to the other side of the arena so the people in the back could see her more up close.  

November 16, 2012: Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part II

Tiffany Peterson and I had been excited about the opening of the final installment of the movie "Twilight". I am in love with the character, Jacob, played by Taylor Lautner. Taylor is originally from Hudsonville, Michigan. He and his family moved to California when he was around 10 years old. The other two main
characters, Bella and Edward were played by Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattison.

We got tickets to ladies night for this movie. They gave us pizza and other appetizers. Plus, they gave us popcorn and pop. We had bought our tickets for the event in Muskegon, but the event was cancelled, so the event manager gave us our money back and free tickets to the same event at Celebration theater in Grand Rapids. There were over 400 people in theater #1.

On our way home, it was very foggy outside. I could not see in front of me. It made me a little nervous. Tiffany invited me to go to Mo'z which is the gay bar in Muskegon. I had always wanted to see a drag queen show there so thought I would go. It was comical seeing the pitchers of alcohol with two colored straws in them. I guess that would be for your partner.
Tonight, the theme was 60s. The emcee was quite funny. He liked to pick on our table. He/she gave me the nickname, bob, because of my bob haircut. Tiffany was called TJ. One of her friends was called Tiny Tim. Her friend is from Germany. Tiffany has two male gay friends who were at our table.

We got jello shots later and I could not suck that jello out of the container. I was cracking up.

Later on, the emcee said I looked like I came from a Seventh Day Adventist Church. Do I really look like a church lady?

There are many straight people who go there, including me. I have to say that I was impressed that no one hit on me and the people were just there to have fun and dance. I heard that you don't see bar brawls at these places like you do in a regular bar.

I drove home in the fog and was glad to get home safely.

November 12: Gordon Food Service Corporate Office

In observance of veteran's day, I didn't have to work. Mom and I went to Spring Lake to see Joan Morse's new apartment style condo. Then, we had a nice lunch at Two Tonys restaurant which was across the street.

Later on, I got dressed up in my business suit and headed to Grand Rapids to tour the new corporate office for Gordon Food Service which is located at 1300 Gezon Parkway in Wyoming.

There was an article in our local newspaper on Sunday about the new office. The building is gorgeous. They used mostly West Michigan companies to build the facility, as well as the inside furnishings. Each employee was able to pick out the type of desk and chair they wanted. I like the new adjustable desks.

Our tour guide, Erin, showed us around the building. There were some Art Prize pieces on the walls. The skillet display of North America was a copy of the original, as the original did not include Canada, which is the newest territory they are marketing. They also had the rain display which also was made special by the Art Prize artist.

This tour and professional development opportunity was hosted by a volunteer group called Blend. They do three events per year at different locations.

I asked our tour guide if it was hard to get a job there. He said for every 200 job postings, they get around 6,000 applicants. The typical work week is about 50-60 hours.

They served us some appetizers at the event.

Then, we listed to a speaker, Cliff, who has worked at GFS for 19 years. He said the CEO has an open door policy which is unlike any other company he has worked for. He can go to the boss's office anytime.

He spoke about being a victim or victor when it comes to life's obstacles. He was very inspirational.

After the event, I drove to Rivertown Mall in Grandville and met up with my bus driver friend, Tim Shelton and his lady friend, Katy Newberg. It started to snow last night. I don't care for that wet stuff, especially driving in it. Luckily, it melted right away.

October 14, 2012: Abundant Life Tabernacle

I met a very nice lady, Thelma Prather, at Barnes and Noble. She sits with our group on Friday nights. Her husband, Ron, is the pastor of Abundant Life Tabernacle on Hts. Ravenna Rd. This weekend, they were celebrating his 25th year of being a pastor. He is originally from Cleveland, Ohio. He met Thelma at a funeral in Ohio and they fell in love. They got married in 1970.

I was surprised to see someone I knew there. It was Danuel German, whom I used to work with at Sears back in 2001. She left there a year ago and has a job now at GH Express in Muskegon Heights. It was great seeing her.

The church service was 2 1/2 hours. Towards the end, they have the congregation come up front and someone touches your head and prays for each person. I had never experienced that before.

After the service, they provided us a nice meal. I met Colleen Walther. She was very nice. She lived in Louisiana for many years but moved back to Hesperia. I got to talk with Danuel too. I got a kick out of her surrounded by 4 desserts. The food was wonderful and everyone was so nice.

September 20, 2012: Jennifer Wagenmaker's Book Signing

When I found out Jennifer Wagenmaker (Jerry Depoy's sister) had written a book and was having a book signing, I decided I had to go to Barnes and Noble and support her.  The name of the book is:  "Becoming:  All that God Created Me to Be".   I bought the book and had her sign it. I read it in about 2 days.  It was very interesting to read about her life.  

I asked her how long it took her to write and publish the book.  She said it took her a little over a year.    She gave me the inspiration to write my own book.

September 8, 2012: Condo Open House

Mom and I spent March through June picking out flooring, furniture, paint, blinds, etc. for the new condo at at 5670 N. Turning Leaf Way at Stillwater Springs Condos.   
It was alot of work trying to figure out what we wanted.  My mom spent more time than me trying to decide, as I usually know right away whether I like something or not.

I invited many friends and relatives to the official open house of our new home.     

Some of the people who came were: Audrey Apostle, Milly Dreleozis,  Linda Scott, Rhonda Collins, Jim Morse, Melanie Morse, Jasmine Morse, Gabrielle Morse, Kay Tobey, Karen Scriver, Betsy Floyd, Minda Floyd-Schouten, Ron and Joan Morse; George, Marianne, and Joy Gonyo;  Linda and Ben Borgerding, Helen and Paul Thomas, Jeanne and Kevin Reenders, Becky Ruger, Molly Piersema King, Chevella Alviar, Betty and John Westra, Jerry and Harry Stapel. Some others were invited, but were not able to come to the party.  

We had food and drinks for everyone.  Minda brought her Thirty One bags to sell.   Audrey brought her Premier Jewelry to sell, too.   I had a good time at the party and it was so nice to see everyone.   

July 3, 2012: Maggie's Pancreatitis

I decided this morning that I needed to schedule an appointment for Maggie to see the vet, as she had been laying on the floor of the living room for 2 days, not wanting to move, go outside, eat, or drink. Poor thing looked so sad and I didn't know what I could do to take away her pain.

I left work and took Maggie to Clarke Animal Hospital.   The vet technician had a hard time getting Maggie out of her crate. She held on for dear life.   Maggie usually is not like that with people. She is usually excited to see everyone at the vet, so I knew something wasn't right.   The doctor did some blood work and found some elevated enzyme levels in the gall bladder, so she thought it might be that.   She recommended that Maggie get an ultrasound to give them a better idea.    They didn't have the ultrasound equipment there at the vet, so I had to go to the emergency vet, Michigan Veterinarian Specialists, in Grand Rapids on Michigan St.     

We got to Grand Rapids and brought Maggie into the vet.   Maggie had her ultrasound, which took about 2 hours.    Mom and I waited in the waiting room the whole time. There were alot of other dogs at the vet today, probably because of the holiday.

The doctor had me come in the exam room and said that the ultrasound showed nothing wrong with the kidney, liver, or gall bladder, but there was severe inflammation of the pancreas.   She was diagnosed with Pancreatitis, which is a painful gastrointestinal disease.   The vet recommended she be hospitalized for a couple of days.    She would get fed intravenously water and nutrients.  Plus, she would get a plasma transfusion, which is donated from another dog.     I was given the estimate on the cost of $2500 on the low end and $3500 on the high end.  I swear I almost had a heart attack.    I know my mom freaked out at the bill too and her first reaction was to put Maggie down, which is not what I wanted to do, as Maggie is only 8 years old.    We went back to see where Maggie would be staying and she looked so bright eyed which melted my heart. 

Maggie is my baby and I would like to keep her in my life as long as possible, but not put her in a bunch of pain.    It was hard to leave Maggie at the hospital, but I knew she would get good care there.  

Later on, we went to Barnes and Noble and I talked with the girls I sit with there which made me feel a little better. Many of my friends posted on facebook that they were praying for Maggie.   

On our way home, my mom said she felt bad thinking about putting Maggie down, but that she was stressed with not having the closing date on the condo and then me putting out all of this money on Maggie at the vets lately.  She said she would never forget Maggie's bright eyes looking at us at the vet.

I prayed that night before I went to sleep that Maggie would heal and make a full recovery.

June 24, 2012: Becky Stowe

I will never forget the day that I met my friend Becky Stowe.      She was a friend of my friend Molly Piersema's.   We all went out to eat at Red Robin in Grand Rapids.  Since then, we have become great friends.   She now lives in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.   She loves to watch the same soap operas as I do (Young and the Restless and Bold and the Beautiful).

June 14, 2012: Best Buy and Barry Manilow Concert

I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of Geek Squad from Best Buy to come and mount our TVs on the wall.     They spent about 6 hours setting both TVs and the equipment up.    I didn't have my media console for the basement, as that was being delivered the next day, so the guy labeled all of the cords and hooked them up on the floor.   All I would have to do is unhook them and put the equipment in the console when I got it.      

They made several trips to the store to get different cords and such.      The technician programmed our remote controls so we could operate everything from one control which is going to be very nice.    

There was a problem with my sound bar in the basement.  The unit was engineered poorly so when the thicker cord was put on, it kept making the unit fall over.  We went to Best Buy to show them the issue and they couldn't believe it was made that way.  So, the worker said we could return the sound bar and get a different brand. I ended up getting the Samsung soundbar.  Best Buy would have to come out another day to install that equipment which was ok with me.

It was going to be fun to have a 55 inch TV to watch movies on.      I plan to have several movie nights once things get settled down.

In the evening, Betsy, my Mom and I went to see Barry Manilow perform at the VanAndel Arena.   We all had good seats.  He performed a nice show.   

June 13, 2012: Cleaning out apartment

I was dreading cleaning the apartment at Shoreline Landing.  I pulled out all of the nails from the walls, vacuumed, and cleaned the bathroom.     When we were done, we both couldn't believe how dirty the carpeting looked. It didn't look like that when we had furniture in there.    The complex was supposed to replace the carpeting for the next tenant, but I have a feeling that it wouldn't be done by June 15th, when that other person was supposed to be moving into the apartment.  It was nice when we finished cleaning the apartment.   

We did some more organizing around the condo.  

June 12, 2012: Move-in Day at the Stillwater Springs Condo

Our condo builder, Ron Stroup, received the certificate of occupancy, so told us we could move in before the closing date, as he knew we needed to be out of our apartment by June 13th.    That was very nice of him to give us that permission.

My Mom and I started bringing things over this past weekend.   Even though I got rid of a bunch of stuff in January, it still seemed like I had so much.    

I think Maggie was a little confused with what was going on.    

I picked up some furniture I had ordered through Pier 1 Imports.  It sure was nice to have my Honda CRV for hauling it all.   What a blessing!   We made several trips to Pier 1.   

My leather Lazy Boy was delivered early in the morning.   The delivery guys were Hispanic and so funny. They got a kick out of my life size bear sitting in the Lazy Boy.  

I put together my pub table and unpacked the buffet table.  Maggie was trying to get into the styrofoam that was in the boxes.      She seemed to be having so much fun running up and down the stairs.     

It was quite an exhausting day moving all of our stuff.   

The moving van came later in the day to bring our big furniture.      They helped us get our beds put together which was nice.

In the evening, we decided to celebrate by having some popcorn and an ice cream sundae.   I turned on the fireplace to see how that looked.   I will never forget looking out the windows of the 3 season room and looking at the neighboring condos and feeling so blessed that we could live in such a beautiful condo.  

May 31, 2012: Baptism with Maggie and Pastor Jerry Depoy Jr.

I'm not sure if I posted this picture of me and my dog, Maggie, getting baptized in Lake Michigan with Pastor Jerry Depoy Jr., but thought I would post it.    I remember that day like it was yesterday.     I loved my dog so much that I thought I would have her baptized too, as I want to be sure she is saved and goes to heaven like I do.

May 5, 2012: Dave Ramsey Live

I bought tickets for mom and I to go see Dave Ramsey Live at the VanAndel Arena in Grand Rapids. Dave spoke for about 5 hours on the 7 steps to financial freedom. He became a millionaire in his 20s and also lost it all. He bought alot of real estate at that time and spent alot of money on vacations, cars, etc to show off. When he went broke, he didn't know what to do. He had a wife and 2 small children to support. He began to read the book of Proverbs in the bible and got alot of inspiration. He also began to talk with millionaires to see how they did it.

He is quite an inspiration to me. He says live today like no one else so you can live like no one else in the future. He says it is a great feeling now to have the money to be able to help others in need. This was my mothers day gift to my mom and a gift to myself.

April 21, 2012: Latsch's, Best Buy, and Drywall

It has been a whirlwind of a day.     I took Maggie for her grooming appointment at Sitting Pretty Pet Spa in Lakeside.  Then, we went to Latsch's Flooring, owned by by co-worker, Ivi English-Bene's brother, and finalized our flooring.  We got vinyl for the  foyer, kitchen, dining room, and bathrooms.  We have carpeting in the 4 season rooms, home office, bedrooms, and the basement.   

We have been given a tentative closing date of June 5th.

Everyday, we are visiting the condo to see what else is done. The past few weeks haven't had much of a change.    Today, when we went to the condo, they started working on the drywall sheets.  It is starting to look like a house inside. It is supposed to take a week to do the drywall.  They pretty much finished our neighbor's drywall so now they will work on ours.
The siding is done on the sides and the back, but the front still needs to be done.    I was so ecstatic to see that I will have a small walk-in closet. I know we had the sketches, but I didn't quite realize it until I saw it in person. 

We picked out our washer and dryer at Sears today. 

My friend Sue Arnouts has a second job working at Meijer doing food samples, so we stopped to see her.

We also went to Best Buy to get my big screen TV, the sound bar, DVD player, and items needed for mounting.   We are going to have the TV's mounted both upstairs and downstairs.   I ended up getting a 55 inch Samsung LED flat panel TV.    Yesterday, we had Geek Squad from Best Buy come out to the condo to assess our situation.   Luckily, we did that, as we needed 2 additional electrical outlets (one upstairs and one downstairs) at a height of 5'10.     We noticed today that both were added so we were very happy.    Luckily, the other day, my laptop screen broke, so we had to go to Best Buy to get a new laptop. I decided to go check out TVs and talked with the sales person about the mounting services, so made an appointment to have them come out.   Thank goodness we did it when we did, as we needed those additional outlets put in before the drywall sheets went up.  God was definitely watching over us this week.

Then, we went to a wonderful Polish dinner at the Knights of Columbus.  I took a nap and then went with Rhonda to see the Titanic movie in 3D.   The Titanic sunk in April 1912, so for the 100th Anniversary, they wanted to recreate the movie in 3D.   I had forgotten it was over 3 hrs long.

Today was a busy day, but we got alot accomplished.

March 14, 2012: Neighbor Peggy/Stillwater

 

After work, my Mom, Maggie, and I our our neighbor, Peggy, over to Stillwater to show our lot and the condos. We walked a little on the bike path. She was quite impressed with the complex. She couldn't believe how many different styles of condos you can choose from.    We walked inside the Greenfield that is in the process of being built.    We didn't like the size of the bedrooms or the 2nd bathroom.   The lady who is buying this condo wanted 2 bedrooms/2 full bathrooms on the first floor with a hallway that went out to a deck.   I felt clausterphobic in this unit.    So, we walked to the condo on the other side that had the 3 season room and liked that much better.

Three ladies (Kay, Joyce, and not sure on the other) that live at the complex stopped by to see these condos too and they didn't like that first one at all.  They all have the 3 season room and love it.  They gave us some suggestions.  I am glad they were there to give us their thoughts, too.  We have to have this figured out by Monday, as Ron's group will start taking down the trees on our lot.      

Maggie enjoyed digging a hole in the sand.    Peggy has had homes built in the past. She used to live on Milliard St. over by the lake.     Peggy's son-in-law's mother is the sister of Tony Moulatsiotis's mother.  What a small world.

March 13, 2012: Purchase Agreement at Stillwater

My mom went to the bank yesterday to get her cashier's check for $20,000.  We went for a meeting with Ron Stroup at 6 p.m. to sign the purchase agreement and give him the money.       I still can't believe we are actually going to have a condo built and that my mom is going to do it.  I think this will be a good thing for us.

On our way out of the office trailer, we ran into that young fella and his girlfriend. He asked if we had bought and we said yes.  He asked where would it be and we said right across the street from him.  

Then, my mom and I walked on the bike trail that goes around the complex.  It was a beautiful trail that curved.     It will be nice to be able walk on this bike path everyday.       

March 10, 2012: Stillwater Springs Condos

I sent an email to the builder of the Stillwater Springs Condos in Fruitport, as I wanted to see what the cost would be to have a condo built.    I told my mom about the appointment, so we met with Ron Stroup, to figure out what would be our best needs.

He showed us 2 Greenfield models that were in the process of being built.   It was hard to visualize the rooms, but we thought we would like the smaller one with 2 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms on the top floor.

He wrote down the price at $149,000 plus $2500 for the gas fireplace in the living room.    He worked it out with my mom that she would need $20,000 down and then give him another $30,000 in April and then another $30,000 in May when her CDs mature.  The remaining balance would be borrowed through the bank.  He said he could have the condo built by the end of July/beginning of August.

We picked out a wooded lot on Turning Leaf Circle, which is across the street from the young fella that we stopped while we were driving around the complex last week.  He was very helpful.    He has lived here about 5 years.     He said he really liked it. He works 12 hour days so he said it was nice to come home and not have to do yardwork.      He told us we could stop by anytime with additional questions.   He told us he was living in the unit that has the red pick up truck.

We have been touring these condos for about 5 years. It was just never the right time.   I think my mom is excited about this building, but I think it will also be stressful for her to make all of these decisions.

March 2, 2012: 10 Year Anniversary at Work

Well, the day finally came when I became vested at work.  I can't believe I have been working at the County of Muskegon for 10 years.   I am finally vested, which means I will get a pension when I retire.    It has not been an easy road at all. I have tried to leave the health department on 3 occasions, only to end up back in the department. It must be God's way of saying that I need to be working here for some unknown reason.

I celebrated my anniversary with a buttercreme frosted cake from the famous Ryke's Bakery and shared it with my co-workers.     I know that whenever I bring in a Ryke's cake to work, I am going to have a bunch of friends that day.

February 26, 2012: Homeward Bound

I was not looking forward to driving through Tampa.   I am glad it was Sunday as the traffic should be less.  Well, that was what I thought. We got into Tampa and the traffic was horrible. I hate driving on I-4 or anywhere around that area. I was glad to drop off the rental car and be done with that part.

The flight home was a different story.    I had these two kids sitting behind me who kicked my seat for almost the full 2 hour flight.  I was so pissed. Finally, I pushed the button and slammed my seat back into their laps. I think that helped make my point for a little while.    The mother barely did anything to them. I would have separated those kids.    

There was a nice family sitting next to me.  Their son was afraid of flying and crying throughout the flight.  The father said he was from Grand Haven.  He was pretty nice.  The mother was sitting in front of us with the daughter.

Jeanne and Kevin Reenders picked us up from the airport and we went for a wonderful dinner at Turk's Restaurant in Nunica.  That cheeseburger was fantastic.  I loved the bar cheese and chips too.

When we got home, we went inside and Maggie came to see us. I think she was happy to have us home and we were glad to be home.

My mom and I have wanted to move to Florida for many years and have travelled there on several occasions checking it out.    We both agree that the traffic is terrible around there.    It is a nice place to go on vacation in the winter.    

I have been following the job market and news around Florida and North Carolina and it's bad. The unemployment rate in Ft. Myers was around 12% for the past year.     My mom read in an article that Tampa has a high rate of suicides due partly to lack of jobs and people getting depressed about their situations.   

Steve Dykema moved down to Florida 3 years ago and wasn't able to find a good paying job, nor was his wife able to find out.   I read on his facebook he was glad to be moving back to Michigan, as he thought the people in Florida were rude and crackheads, not to mention the bad traffic, especially in the winter months.
Leah said she wants to move in about 5 years.    She said the summers are so hot and miserable.      I think she misses her family and friends back in Michigan.

So, now, we have to figure out what our next step will be in our lives, as moving out of state was our plans for many years.

February 25, 2012: Wiregrass Mall in Wesley Chapel

Mom and I had a nice breakfast at the hotel and began our trip back to Zephyrhills. We stopped at the Wiregrass Mall in Wesley Chapel to do some shopping.  The weather was alot cooler here than down in Sarasota or Naples. People were wearing long pants and long sleeved shirts.

My mom and I had dinner at Sonny's BBQ which was fantastic.    We went to Zephyrhills and went to visit Norm at Heartland.   Cheryl, Norm, my mom, and I went for dinner at the Village Inn Restaurant.   My mom and I had dessert there and they had dinner.     

Then, we went back to Norm's house to stay the night.   Cheryl has been such a fantastic hostess.   

February 24, 2012: Ringling Brother Museum

Peggy picked us up at the hotel and we drove to the Ringling Brother Museum. There was quite a line.  I didn't think it was very organized this time.   We paid $25 for the ticket to tour the grounds, but it only included the tour of the first floor of the mansion without a tour guide.    You had to get a separate ticket to have a guide or to go to the 2nd floor. I thought that was ridiculous.
This was Ringling's winter home. It is on the water.

We went to St. Armand's Square and did some shopping at Chicos and other stores.  We had a nice shrimp lunch at one of the restaurants. Then we had some gelato for dessert.    I am glad we finally got to go to St. Armands.

Ken took us all out for dinner at Spanish Pointe which is near Venice.   We had a nice dinner and there was a band.  Ken said I look alot like my Grandma Gonyo and remarked how nice I was.   That made me feel good.   It was nice to sit and chat with Ken and Peggy.       I remember going to the cabin as a child and they would come visit us and we would chat for hours. I miss those days.        

Peggy said she helps out at the beauty pageant each year in Baldwin.     I didn't realize they even had a pageant there.   It was good to see both of them.     

February 23, 2012: Naples

My mom and I left Jim and Marty's place and drove back to Naples.  We wanted to go to Dilliards at the Coastland Mall to see if Lori Lear was working.   We ran into Lori as she was coming into work.  She looked great.     We got to visit with her.  She said they had moved to a home but were buying it on land contract.  Her youngest daughter is in high school. Her other kids are back in Michigan. She said she misses seeing them and her grandkids.       She said she has arthritis in her hands.       I think she was happy to see us.  We love the Dilliards in Naples. They carry the good quality clothing which we like.

Then, we went to Tin City and had a nice lunch down on the water.   We didn't think too much of Tin City. It had restaurants and touristy kind of shops.       Then, we drove around the neighborhoods to see the big mansions. I picked out the one I would love to move into. 

After Naples, we went to Sarasota and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express.  We called Peggy Katt to let her know we got there.  We were going to go with her to the VFW in Venice, however, we got in late.  Peggy wasn't too happy with us at all, even though we had called earlier in the day to say we didn't think we would make it by 5:30.   It's hard to make definite timed plans on a day you are traveling from one city to another.    

February 22, 2012: Naples/Ave Maria

I woke up in the morning with my back still in pain.    I was able have breakfast but then had to go lay down again.     After I got dressed, I went out to their deck and saw Jim, Marty, and my mom taking turns jump roping. It was so cute. 

Then, we drove to Naples to go to Ave Marie, which is a development started by Tom Monaghan. Tom started Dominoes Pizza.   He was a good friend of my Aunt Marianne's brother, Mike, who lives in California.    Tom wanted to build this university and community around a catholic church in Ann Arbor, however, there were some issues in the community with the project.   Collier County, which is where Naples is located, offered 4000 acres of land in their county for him to build the university, church, and community. We went to it around 4 years ago and were quite amazed.       We were wondering what changes had occurred in the past few years.  They wanted to have around 30,000 residents in the community, but only have around 1500.    Tom has stepped down as CEO and is just the Chancellor.    

We had a nice lunch at this pub on the grounds and then went through the visitor's center.     I am glad we got to go back to see this area.

We had pizza at Heavenly Pizza in Ft. Myers which was delicious.    I highly recommend it.

February 21, 2012: Ellenton to Ft. Myers

I woke up in the morning and took a shower. While I was bending over to get dressed, I felt this sharp pain in my lower back.    I could barely walk back to my bed.     We had breakfast at the hotel and then walked over to the Ellenton Outlet Mall.  I was in such pain and walked so slow.   We went through some of the stores, but I had to sit down quite a few times and had a hard time getting up.
My mom had to help me walk up this hill.  I was wondering how on earth I was going to drive us to Ft. Myers as I couldn't even sit in the car.     I took some aspirin and somehow was able to sit in the car and get us to Jim and Marty's condo in Ft. Myers.  I was the only one authorized to drive this rental car which made it more difficult.    As soon as we got to their condo, I went to bed.  Marty gave me a vicodin, which I have never taken in my life.        

Marty made us a delicious chicken enchilada dinner.  I was able to sit long enough for the dinner and then had to go back to bed.   I felt so bad this happened, as I didn't want to cause any problems for anyone.    We wondered if we were going to have to bring me to a med center or to the hospital.    I really didn't want to have to go there.     They all took good care of me which I was thankful for.

February 20, 2012: Dolphin Tale/Clearwater

Mom and I had a nice breakfast with Cheryl and then started our drive into Clearwater to visit the Clearwater Marine Hospital, where the dolphin, 'Winter', is in rehabilitation.   Winter was featured in the movie 'Dolphin Tale', that was filmed there between September through December 2010. Winter's fin was injured in the Atlantic Ocean over near Cape Canaveral.  She was rescued and brought over to the Clearwater Marine Hospital.    A gentleman saw the story and contacted a doctor to help create an artificial fin for Winter. If Winter did not get this artificial fin, it would jeopardize her health and further swimming.  
The movie was filmed on location at this hospital. Although the characters were fictional, the dolphin played herself in the movie. It starred Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman.    

They had a museum at a separate location that told about the making of the movie. Then, we took a trolley over to the Marine Hospital.    When we got to the hospital, the crowds were huge. Thank goodness we already had our tickets, as I would not have wanted to wait in that line.

We got to see Winter do a short show.    We got see the houseboat that was made for the movie.

After the marine hospital, we drove around Clearwater Beach which was packed.  There were no parking spots, so we didn't stop.     I was so glad to get out of that mess.   We stayed the night at the Hamptons Inn in Ellenton.

Cheri Kersting, whom my mom and I used to work with at the County of Muskegon, was now living at a mobile home park near our hotel in Ellenton. We went to dinner with Cheri at a Crab Restaurant near the hotel which was delicious.  We had a nice conversation with Cheri. It was good to see her.

She took us to her mobile home so we could see it. We got to meet her husband and her precious dog, who has had some health issues with her eye. The little dog is so spunky, despite all of the medications she had to be on. I think Cheri said she had 18 medications/eye drops to give her.

February 19, 2012: Silver Springs and The Villages

Cheryl Duplantis, my Mom, and I headed for Silver Springs. My mom hadn't been to Silver Springs since she was in 8th grade.   On our way, we stopped at one of the Florida orange stores and bought orange perfume, which Betsy had asked for me to get her if I found it.  All of us got one for ourselves, as it smelled so good.     Then, I drove by Jumbo Air in the town of Anthony to show Cheryl where John Travolta lives.   She thought that was so neat.


We got to Silver Springs and it started to rain. I was hoping it wouldn't rain all day, as this is an outdoor park.   


Here is some history on the park.


"Throughout history, Silver Springs has been a timeless oasis and a place of unparalleled beauty, offering respite to early settlers who drew sustenance from its 99.8 percent pure artesian spring waters.

In the early 1500s, Timucuan Indians settled in the area around Silver Springs which they referred to as Ocali, a sub province of Timucua. In 1539, the area was invaded by Spaniards, led by Hernando de Soto, looking to exploit wealth. After many battles, the Ocali Indians were able to retain their claimed territory.

In time, the Timucuans were succeeded by other Indian tribes including the Seminole Indians. When the U.S. Government attempted to move the Seminoles from Florida to reservations in the western U.S. in 1835, Chief Osceola and the Seminoles retreated to the southern swamps. His slashing of the treaty the U.S. Government representatives presented to him is the famous gesture that gained him the respect of the Seminole Indians, and many joined Osceola’s forces in future battles. Today, all of the Glass Bottom Boats are named in honor of those Indian leaders who fought in Florida.

In the 1850s, commerce was introduced to the Silver Springs area as barges carried cotton, lumber, and nonperishables up the Silver River to the area’s growing population. Hubbard H. Hart founded the Hart Line, a stagecoach connection between Palatka, Silver Springs, Ocala and Tampa. In 1860, Hart hired James Burt, who brought conventional steamboats to Silver Springs. From that point on, tourists flocked to see the crystal-clear waters that had attracted attention for centuries.
Silver Springs’ popularity flourished after Hullam Jones invented the glass bottom boat there in 1878. By installing a glass viewing box on the flat bottom of a dugout canoe, he created a window to an underwater world teeming with fish, turtles, crustaceans and fossils more than 10,000 years old. 


Six of the original Tarzan movies, starring Johnny Weissmuller, were filmed on location at Silver Springs.


Lost River Voyage opened to the public. The voyage begins where the "Sea Hunt" television series was filmed and continued one mile down the Silver River, show casing an untouched and untamed part of Florida. "             


We took a ride on the glass bottom boat which was nice.    I didn't realize how much lime stone there is around Florida.   We saw the beautiful fish.


Then, we walked around the grounds and came across the animal section. We enjoyed watching people feed the giraffe.  Then, we looked at the animal farm.


After Silver Springs, we drove to the retirement community, The Villages, near Leesburg, in order to see what changes had been made.      We had a wonderful lunch at Panera Bread.     Then, we walked around the shops and around the neighborhood where my mom and I stayed a few years ago.      The neighborhood reminds me of this perfect little street with perfect lawns and big homes.     


The Villages sits in 3 counties.  The third village is being developed. This will be the final phase.   It will have a western theme.


Cheryl Duplantis is so funny.  She was telling us about living home with her parents when she was 37 years old, but had to move out when she got her poodle, as her parents didn't want a dog. I thought it was so funny, as that is just like my story.      She said she loved staying home with her parents, as she didn't have to worry about bills and could spend her money traveling. She worked for a law firm in downtown Chicago.    She had some boyfriends, but never got married.       Her two sisters also have never married.   It felt good to know that I am not the only single gal out there and even if I never marry, it will be OK.     


We got back to Norm's house and had some dessert.  Cheryl and I stayed up until 1 a.m. talking. I told her my soap opera story that occurred back in Chicago when I was living there.