Change of Plans

One thing about this lifestyle is the need to be flexible.  Though we had planned to head west along a southern route and then turn north through AZ and UT, our plans changed for a couple of reasons.  We had been watching the weather patterns and it appeared snow might cause us some headaches at the higher elevations plus our house batteries that we rely on to run the household when we are not hooked up to electricity were having issues.  So change of plans…head north through St. Louis where
we’d probably be able to get new batteries if needed.  As we headed north on I-55, just north of Jackson, MS, we spotted what looked like a miniature version of the Washington Monument.  Turns out that it’s actually a cell phone tower…pretty clever disguise!

 

Being in St. Louis even for a short visit of course means time with friends. As what seems to have become tradition, our first night in town John drops by for pizza and beer.  We were once again staying in the Hollywood Casino parking lot not far from Steve and Patty’s house so they dropped by, too.

 

The next day was spent working on the batteries.  Though Russ had found a nearby distributor for new ones, we decided to try a couple of other things first before forking out the money for 6 new deep cell batteries.  We removed every single cable and deep cleaned them in a baking soda and water mixture, scrubbing well, and then reconnecting everything.  Bob came by to supervise and checked the voltage with his super duper meter.  We decided to hang out a few days and see if this fixed the problem.

 

While in town, Russ fit in a round of golf with his buddies, and I caught up with Gloria and her bowling team to watch, chat, go to lunch, and get in a little shopping.  Dana could only stay at the bowling alley for about an hour so wasn’t in the group photo but we managed to grab one with her and Diane S., and when Diane N. arrived we got one with her but Dana had already left…my high school buds.

 

Lucky for us the American Legion Post 338 Fish Fry (www.thomanboothepost338.com/fish-fry/) had opened for the season!  We ordered 1-1/2 lbs. of cod just for us along with a large side of spaghetti…yummmm!!  Bob was already there when we arrived

       and Mike showed up a short time later each enjoying their own lunch choice.  Another good time with good friends and good food!

 

One place I’d never visited was Laumeier Sculpture Park (www.laumeier.org).  Pronounced

   “lau meyer”, this 105 acre park is free and open to the public and much bigger than I had originally thought!  It’s described as a “living laboratory where artists and audiences explore the relationship between contemporary art and the natural environment”.  Though the indoor gallery is currently closed for renovation, there is still plenty

to see and trust me we didn’t see it all.  Some sculptures are fascinating and some are, well, um, interesting but most have a descriptive plaque which helps explain the art to some degree.  The park is pet friendly so think I’ll plan a return visit when we come through in the fall, bring Abby, a picnic lunch, and maybe even some friends!

 

This year marks St. Louis’ 250th birthday and to help commemorate the event the city has created the Cakeway to the West.  It’s described as “one part public art exhibit, one part scavenger hunt, and one part history lesson.”  There are 250 “cakes” located throughout St. Louis and the

      surrounding area, each standing about 4 ft. tall, decorated by local artists, and representative of its location.  One of these cakes was at Laumeier, and I found another at the historic Kirkwood Train Station.  Only 248 to go!!

 

As luck would have it, Gary Pinkel, head coach of the Missouri Tigers football team, was the guest speaker at Lombardo’s for the monthly luncheon of the St. Louis-Tom Lombardo Chapter of The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (http://www.stlnff.com).  It was our wedding anniversary, and

though we did not purchase tickets for the event, we had already planned to celebrate with lunch at the restaurant.  Bob joined us in the bar where we planned to eat and where some of the overflow crowd was seated as it is just off the banquet room.  Afterwards Bob went into the room to ask Coach a question, and suddenly Bob

  motioned for me to join him.  Turns out the coach was signing autographs, but though I didn’t have anything with me to sign, he was gracious enough to pose for a picture.  Shortly thereafter Carmen surprised us with a bottle of Cinzano Asti Sparkling Wine as an anniversary gift from him and Angelo but left before we could include him in a picture.

 

Even though our stay in St. Louis was relatively short, we still managed to catch up with a few friends.  Sometimes they came to our place like Michelle whom we hadn’t seen in a couple of years or Rick and John who came to watch the baseball game, and sometimes we met up with folks elsewhere.  Plus a huge thanks to Steve and Patty for letting us catch up on our laundry at their house and providing a yummy dinner.  The days were full and the batteries were thankfully holding their own, but it was time to move on and get to Yellowstone.

 

Beach, Baby!

It was finally time to make our way towards our summer volunteer position in Yellowstone, and since we had some time before we needed to be there, we chose the southern route taking in a little of the Gulf Coast.  We dubbed this our “Walmart tour” because we planned to spend our nights in Walmart parking lots along the way.  Our first one was spent in Perry, FL, where right across from
the store is a shopping center containing C & J Supreme Buffet (sorry, no website).  We had eaten at this Chinese buffet a couple of years ago, and though it may not look like much on the outside, the interior is nicely decorated and the food was still as good as we remembered.

 

We pretty much stayed along the coast taking U.S. Route 98 through the panhandle.  The drive was uneventful and lovely with plenty of views of the water, palm trees, and lots of birds!  In Destin we even spotted a floating general store and bait shop called Destin Ice & Tackle (DestinIce).   Just pull your boat up to the barge!

  Continuing west we stopped in D’Iberville, MS to meet up with our friend, Kay.  She and her husband, Jim, had been our inspirations to venture into the world of camp- ground hosting.  We had met them at Mammoth Campground 4 years ago and were lucky enough to work with them for a month the following year.  Though they did not return to Yellowstone, we have stayed in touch and unfortunately Jim passed away unexpectedly last year.  She and her granddaughters met us after church in the Walmart parking lot, and we all headed to Ruby Tuesday for lunch. Erin couldn’t stay long but Elissa, whom we had met in Yellowstone when she visited, joined us for lunch and a picture.  We all parted company but 20 min. later Kay called to say her plans had changed so she returned for a longer visit…a definite plus for all of us!
 

The next day’s drive only took us about 30 miles to Pass Christian, MS (pronounced: pass kris-chee-ANN), a town that was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Katrina but was well on its way to recovery when we stopped there a few years ago.  There’s a large pullout parking area right at the beach, and though it was overcast and the
water too cold to get in, I still enjoyed just hanging out, watching the waves and the antics of the birds.  After about an hour, the wind started to pick up and the temperature dropped so I changed clothes and took Abby for a walk on the beach.  Our plan was to spend the night at Walmart and then return to the beach for a few hours the next day, but unfortunately the weather did not cooperate so the next morning we decided to move on down the road to Walker, LA.

       So what’s in Walker?  A Walmart, of course, but more importantly it’s only a short drive to visit my friends in the Baton Rouge Chorus!  I met up with Emily, Wendy, and Annette for a bite to eat beforehand, but Annette had to leave early for a pre-chorus meeting so missed out on the selfie!  I got to participate in the

entire rehearsal, and it was almost like stepping right “back into the old routine” (my SA friends will smile at that reference J).  The chorus is working hard for their upcoming show in July, and one of the songs they’re polishing up is “When I’m Gone (Cups)” from the movie Pitch Perfect.  Molly started the rhythm while Cate directed, and then half the chorus

joined Molly at the table keeping rhythm with the cups while we sang, then we traded spots.  I know with a few more rehearsals I’d be able to get that cups sequence down pat! The real pro at this is Tolly's granddaughter, Jada, who will turn 10 next month and is one of the chorus' newest members.  From what I hear she has been very patiently teaching the others.  Though a few gals were missing, it was still so great seeing everyone again.  We ended the evening in a circle with hands joined in fellowship singing "How We Sang Today"...and oh, how we sang!

Lovin' Disney

The last couple of weeks have flown by!  The last weekend of March we enjoyed the musical stylings of The Lovin’ Spoonful (Summer in the City, Do You Believe in Magic, Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?) at Epcot.  Did you know that they were the first rock band to have their hit song, Nashville Cats, on both the pop and country charts at the same time?  The band includes original members Steve Boone and Joe Butler along with Jerry Yester (who joined the band in 1967) and provided a nice mellow evening with their folk/rock sound even if both shows were exactly the same including jokes. J

 

Instead of staying for the Epcot fireworks we met Joe and Nancy at Magic Kingdom to watch its fireworks, Wishes.  Since we’d be beginning our trek west soon, this was probably going to be the last chance we’d have to see them this season.  The place was packed, but we managed to find some seats for viewing.

The FastPass+ program has now been expanded to allow Annual Pass holders to also reserve FastPasses online.  So we managed trips back to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios for a couple of our favorite attractions, but I didn’t take the camera either time so I have no proof that I finally beat Russ at Toy Story Mania!

 

Our last trip to Epcot was the following weekend.  In addition to the topiaries (more pics below), they had created a sand sculpture to help announce Disney’s upcoming movie, Bears.   From what I gather it’s filmed in the mountain ranges of Alaska and documents the lives of two mother bears and their cubs over the span of one year.

 

This weekend’s concert series featured Paul Revere & the Raiders (Hungry, Kicks, Indian Reservation).  We arrived for the 6:45 show, and Paul, who is 76, didn’t seem to be as energetic as usual though still quite sharp and funny. His left arm was in a sling but no mention was made of it during either show, and he walked out using a cane assisted by his
son, Jamie, who’s now playing with the band. He crammed many of his hits into the 30 min. set, and every time they played a song, he’d say “I think that was a solid gold hit, let me check”, then hit a button on his keyboard, and a cash register ka-ching! would sound, and he’d say “yeah, it was!” He also noted that his was the first rock group to
ever perform at Disney World and they have played somewhere in the park every year since 1971.  Lead singer, Darren, also does a great impersonation of Elvis which they play up to the audience by giving out "scarves" which are pulled from rolls of toilet paper...what a hoot!  We stayed for the 3rd show, too, which is pretty much the same with a few variations.  If you’ve never seen the band, these master musicians are quite entertaining and Paul is a riot.  He just might truly be the “last wild man of rock and roll”!

 

After the last show instead of watching Illuminations again, we decided to take one last ride on Spaceship Earth (called the big golf ball by most people) since there was literally no line.  We’d be leaving FL in a few days, and it was a lovely, relaxing way to spend our last day until next season.  So for now I’ll simply leave you with more topiary pictures to enjoy.