Back in Michigan

Well, I did it! This trip was 160 days and 6,574 miles and now am back in Michigan!

It is so great to spend some time with my sons, and the family and friends that I have been able to track down so far. Spanky seems to remember his favorite people and takes running back into them as a normal thing. Everyone has lots of stories to tell and it seems all have a good attitude with the great spring weather. Today was 70, tomorrow is to be 80, and this great weather improves everyone's attitude coming off a long northern winter!

It is definitely serious springtime here, very green with lots of trees in full bud. My spot at the lake fared well and am glad to report the corkscrew willow and red maple planted last year are doing great as well!

Please accept my thanks to everyone who helped make this last trip so good for me. All the fine people I met on the road, as well as those friends and family (you know who you are!) who kept in contact with me during my trip thereby helping me keep my sanity!

I am very appreciative of all the wonderful people in my life, and my wandering means I am always away from someone I care about a lot. The good news is, I will be back!!!!!!

Springtime in Tennessee

They call them the Smoky Mountains and driving through Georgia into Tennessee in the rain, thats just what they looked like yesterday!

I am in Athens, Tennessee and the signs of springtime are everywhere! Lots of trees are flowering, and green is everywhere! And yes, some people have already cut their grass.

Today I looked up a old time Mopar dealer on my list, and spent the day looking through his old inventory for gems. I just love going through NOS (new old stock) parts. They were built in the USA back in the day when our manufacturing and quality really meant something. Plus they have a certain good smell, must be the old cardboard boxes!

Of course, I wasn't the first one to look this warehouse over, we say there are no 45 year old virgins left! But I was able to find and buy quite a few old special Mopar muscle car parts!

After a successful day, it is time to put a few miles on, heading north.......

Leaving the gulf coast of Florida

I have spent a few more days here back on the gulf coast in little fishing villiages. It is a interesting place and I have met many of the local people here. They are all pretty much laid back without a lot a fire burning.

These folks, and I will respectively call them rednecks are ekking out a living fishing, crabbing, and oyster shucking. Many are living in sad little campers, shacks, or houseboats. I met some who harvest worms to make ends meet. They go out in the swamps, and put a wood stick in the ground. Then they "play" a metal bar across the wood which causes vibrations to bring the worms out of the ground.

If you ever wanted to build the ultimate cooking smoker, pictured is a design that works really well! The flavored smoke goes through the outside tubes. The tubes inside are higher than the bottom so you can pour in a few inches of water in the bottom. This evaporates during cooking keeping your meat very moist. Pictured was my neighbor Steve, who fed me the best ribs I think I have ever had!

One thing that bugs me here - and I mean that literally - are these sand gnats! This time of year they are terrible, they are so small they come right through your screens. Guess I am a wuss, but I left a beautiful spot on the water as they were eating me up!

I sure am missing my sons, family, and friends! So, I have decided to start back early, and am going to start a slow trek north bound today. I leave you with another great Florida sunset!!

South Florida

I just spent 5 great days in south Florida near Port Charlotte.

The first photo is of my good friend Captain Dick from Howell at the wheel of his Bennington. This is a cool pontoon boat with a 150 horse motor that runs a amazing 45 miles an hour!

The second photo is his lovely wife, Barb (and Spanky) when we were coming back from an enjoyable long cruise. These fine folks have a beautiful house right on the canal. Most of the nice homes here, like theirs, have a lanai screened room with pool and a boat lift a few feet away so they can really enjoy the Florida weather! It is a great location, as they can travel by boat up the river, into the intercoastal, then out in the gulf to all points beyond. Their good friends Tom and Shirley (also from Michigan) were very gracious hosts to me, allowing me to park the Starship at their home during my visit!

The third picture is just to show you, wherever Spanky goes, he is always adding new members to his fan club!

If you know me, you know my love of Amphicars, and my continued quest to find the remaining ones. The last two photo's are of one I found in south Florida. A perfect example of why you should never drive your car into salt water! Sadly, this one will never swim again.

What a wonderful week, but time to hit the road again. On the way north, slowly............