Friends
Three days in Portsmouth NH
Ooma treated me to three nights at The Hotel Portsmouth – a “boutique” hotel in Portsmouth NH. It is a lovely old building with updated rooms and all the amenities that one would expect from a superior hotel – tile shower, newer fixtures, a large flat-screen TV and a very comfortable king-size bed. Our room … Continue reading
TX1: 4 days in Austin TX
Attending the wedding of Ooma’s close friends Peter and Ashley was the raison d’etre for the trip to Texas. Ooma had the honor of accompanying Peter down the aisle and joining him for the mother/son dance – his mother was unable to attend as she was caring for her mother in PA. They were married … Continue reading
Memphis Lightning
Last weekend Ooma and I attended the Memphis Lightning concert at the Buckingham Blues Bar “back yard” – an outdoor venue that I had not seen before. This is a venue with a capacity in excess of 1,000 and so is used when there they have a high-profile featured artist. Memphis Lightning, a 3-piece “rocking … Continue reading
A most unusual spring training game
I attended the last Red Sox spring training game in Ft Myers in this truncated spring training season. It was the most unusual spring training game that I have experienced. First, I got the day wrong, thinking the game was Monday, March 28. But when I texted George, my friend who was buying the tickets, … Continue reading
Introducing Ooma
That isn’t her real name, but that’s the way we roll here; are you surprised to hear that Sparky is not my real name either? Anyway, I have been keeping company with a lovely lady who will be known as Ooma here. She is older than I – by about 10 days – and is … Continue reading
A weekend in Naples
If you have been paying attention, you will remember that I had a very good time on my second Princess cruise (PCL2) in December, due in no small part to my congenial cabinmate, Carl, and the friendships we formed with two lovely ladies from Ft Lauderdale, Bobbi and Patricia. When the cruise ended we agreed … Continue reading
PCL2 Day 7: At sea
This was my first cruise with back-to-back days at sea since the transatlantic crossing (TC1). I enjoy days at sea, so there is no problem with having two of them in a row. It just means that I am going to eat more than usual (a fine beef bourguignon for lunch and mahi mahi for … Continue reading
A week in my hometown
Well, close to my hometown anyway. DeForest, when I was growing up in Madison WI, was a little village. Now it is a town with 2 water towers and more than 10,000 residents. My week included a number of social and recreational activities: Dinner with 5 friends from high school at Paisan’s which, in my … Continue reading
Dick, Pete, Dan and Charlie
It has now been over 6 months since Jett’s passing. That hardly seems possible. But those six months of grief have been compounded by the deaths, in just the past two months, of four men who were significant in my life. Dick Vogt was a herpetologist who lived and worked in the Amazon jungle for … Continue reading
The long drive home
I stayed with my sister-in-law Christine the night of the funeral. We played some Hand, Knee & Foot in Jett’s honor. The next day I loaded up the truck with everything left in our storage unit and terminated that contract, then had some pizza with my lovely granddaughter Liliani. Sister-in-law Kim took off her minister … Continue reading