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It is my intention to finish telling the story of The Great Ameerican Adventure. I'm going to continue for now from memory because the pad I kept notes in is locked in the flower shop for now.
If I remember correctly; I left off when Susie and I had left Jag's place in N. Carolina and headed straight into Hurricane Alberto which was mean enough to rain all over us and hit us with side winds. I drove in this for 3 or 4 hours until I decided to stop for the night and push on in the morning.
By morning, Alberto wisely decided to veer off and we drove off into a cloudy day with scattered rain showers. As we had a flight out of Miami that couldn't be changed and a stop in Boynton Beach that I had no intention of skipping, we pushed on and after being tricked by road signs in S. Carolina and Georgia, not to mention the lying sign in Florida that pointed to a rest stop that tuned out to be strip mall, we stopped at a proper rest stop a mile or so down I 95 with me raging about trickery and other treacherous things.
Poor Susie was just about ready to start eating the car so we stopped at an Olive Garden some place in Florida that was crawling with cop/sherriff cars and went inside for what we thought would be a nice meal. I can't remember what I ordered except that it came with a huge bowl of salad which was fine as I was desperate for weeds by then. The waiter appeared and informed Susie that her order couldn't be filled because they were out of it. She ordered something else and then the manager appeared and told us they were out of both of our entrees and that we could order anything we wanted; on the house. As I was just fine with my weeds, Susie reordered and quite enjoyed her free meal.
After dinner, we pushed on towards Boynton Beach and after 12 hours on the road, found a motel on Rt.1 and checked in. We had trouble with the A/C which I had turned on to heat It was sorted by a motel employee. In the morning we drove off to find the Boynton Beach Bitch (my father's widow) and have a little fun at her expense. We got to her house easily and I had my fun. Details by private request email only) Let's just say it went better than expected and leave it at that. After that, we went to try and find a beach for Susie to look for sea shells on. How silly....try to find a beach in a town named Botnton Beach. They are all private. We did find a nice restaurant and ate there for supper and breakfast the next morning before heading out for Miami and our flight to Nevada.
For some reason known to no one at all, I decided to check out the airport before finding the motel I wanted to stay in that night.
Of course I managed to get good and lost, but in the end I figured things out and found the motel that gives a whole new meaning to Highway Robbery. We checked in and crashed for the night. It was a nice room, but we could have bought a whole house for the price. We checked out in the morning and headed for Miami to look for a beach, which we found but it was sea shell free so Susie never did get a sea shell for her friend.
We got the car returned ok and made the flight to Reno. I have some pictures of Miami from the air and a few of some cool cloud formations. There was a stop over at Pheonix and I saw my wheely get back on the plane there. When we landed at Reno we discovered that Susie's suitcase had not gotten back on with my wheely. The wheely pusher was a darling and fellow smoker so she and I left Susie to sort the missing luggage issue and went out for a few puffs. After Susie finished with the lost luggage issue we went to the car rental place and a super nice gal got us the car and gave me a lighter because mine was stolen by the airport security people. We headed off in the general direction of Winnemuca but stopped for the night at a nice motel just off the highway. We found Winnemucca in the morning and Jeanie found us and took us to the Motel El Cheapo. Susie's travelling runaway suitcase showed up there the next day
Jeannie is a fellow VAer and a darling, wonderful gal-ex army helo mechanic who can also fix wheelies and has damn good taste in cars. She has a 67 F150 that sounds just like it should-great. She lives way out of town, literally at the end of no where and has a view to kill for. As there is next to no ambient light out there (there is a porch light in need of shooting on her street) we spent a lot of time sitting out in the dark looking at the sky. That woman can cook and her BBQ and gumbo are second to none.
We did some shopping at the local Walmart where Jeannie's mother works and once when I was taking her to work, ran a red light. No cops in the area so that was ok. Over the days we were there, I ran at least 2 stop signs, gave a deputy sherriff the finger and was run into by a kid on bicycle. Talk about lawless. I love driving in Winnemucca.
We discovered a salad (weed) bar at the Winner's Casino/hotel there and ate there lots. As our plans for Reno and Lake Tahoe were trashed by an empoyee Jeannie had to work instead of, we moved out the first motel into Winner's for the last night. It was great, but the cause of a few bad moments for Susie and me. We had to wait for a while for our room to be ready and she asked what we'd do while waiting. I said "we'll just park our butts in the lobby and wait."
Susie heard the word "park" and short circuited to 'wait in the parking lot' We had a good laugh after we got the misunderstanding sorted and waited in the lobby. It was so sad for me to say goodbye to Jeannie and Winnemucca, but we had to get back to Reno for our flight to Seattle. The speed limit on the Interstate in Nevada is 75 but as Susie needed a bathroom, I pushed the car to well over 90-that's miles per hour, not kilometers per hour. Would someone please explain how I got out of that state without so much as one single traffic citation? I was nervous until the plane took off for Seattle. The whole Washington State part of the trip was too nuts to even start to explain. The flight landed in the wee morning hours [they lost my new purple suitcase(the one with my new LL Bean boots)] and I had to drive from SEATAC to Roy without a ball on the steering wheel because I forgot mine in Reno. After breakfast we found a store that had one that wasn't very good. We finally made it to Ginger's house and followed her to their camp on Lake Mayfield-without the ball. After a really great visit with the rest of her family and some friends, I crashed for a nap then, we went for a boat ride on the lake. That was something I thought I'd never do again-get into a boat. It was so fantastic I can't even begin to find the words to describe it. I cried tears of joy. What I did not do was drink enough water which played a major part in the next part of the trip. Washington State was a 36 or so hour stop over and I spent most of it driving. When we got back to SEATAC we tried to find my bag, but no luck. Alaska Airlines is not one I'd recommend. Susie and I were originally seated in the first row and our hand luggage stowed. Suddenly a guy appeared and told us to move to the back of the plane because our seats were "out of commision" whatever that means. As soon as we had moved, he reaseated a lady from the back in our original seats. The attendants refused to move our stuff to our new seats and was downright rude. I ended up crying and she ignored me while being ever so sweet to the teenaged hooligans in the row ahead of us. I know I cry when I'm tired, but this was something else. The hooligans were noisy and kept bothering us and refused to pipe down. We finally landed at Burbank and called Kathleen who thought we were due the next day. She arose to the challenge and recruited her brother to drive to the rescue. First order of business was lunch which we had at a very posh restaurant in some idiot part of LA where it's illegal to smoke. I had a lobster and it was great. I also fell in love with her brother, which didn't stop me from kicking him in a most sensitive place quite by accident the next day. When we got to her house, I suddenly felt sick and barfed up all the lovely lobster and we diagnosed me as suffering from heat stroke. I stretched out on the sofa and started dosing myself with water and salt. I slept a lot too. Feeling better the next morning, we went to a deli for breakfast, did some shopping in a pharmacy and I think we took it easy the rest of the day. Thanks to heat stroke most of LA is pretty fuzzy, but I loved Kathleen's house and and her extended family and spent as much time as I could on her patio. My meds were in the bag with my LL Bean boots so I was a bit shaky until we took me to a doctor at an emergency clinic where the doc sorted the meds and gave me a quick check up. At some stage we found a store that sells knee pillows so I could replace the one that went missing in Winnemucca. I bought 3 and am still on the lookout for another like the missing one. We drove around LA a bit and Susie went to Universal Studios while I rested. We went to Grauman's Chinese Theater and the Wax Museum where I took tons of pictures. First time in my life I enjoyed playing tourist. We also went to Disney World where my credit card decided not to work. In addition to my brother, I now owe Kathleen a small fortune, which will be paid very soon. On the way out of Disney World, I tried to take out a gate post with my knee. Post 1-knee 0. Susie and I rode around on electric scooters. I had a few bad minutes with a minor recurrance of the heat stroke, but a short rest with a large water bottle sorted that.
We had an absolutely wonderful visit with Vicky and Don Ecker from UFO Magazine and good friends of Dwight Schultz the guy who played Murdock on A Team.
Other than waiting for what seemed like forever, I got my flight back to Israel just fine. Even with a stop over in Toronto that flight seemed like it would never end, but it did and we landed on time, and minus one suitcase, and plus a ton of debt, I got home safe and sound only to have two vehicles that wouldn't go. The missing suitcase eventually showed up and the Land Rover is doing just fine, but Harey Too is under the weather yet again and I have to get his fixer guy up here PDQ.
OK, that's pretty much the whole story. Of course there's a lot more in the fond memory storage area of my brain.
I just can't seem to find time to post here since taking over the Shop On The Corner. I bought the flower shop from Shmaryah's wife and it's a blast. I spent Friday being a delivery gal and never in my life have I taken part in anything quite so insane. We totally failed organization wise, but got all but one delivery done before the start of the holiday. That's quite a thing considering how screwed up things were! After I got the Disco and Harley Too home, I collapsed in bed and surfaced yesterday to a new year and made some lovely deposits at the bank. Then, just for fun I "blinded" a Citroen by smashing it's headlight. That Land Rover is dangerous. Orna and I were taking a plant to a house on one the more obscure streets in town and because drivers going out of the alley refused to back up for me, I had to reverse out of there. That's just fine except there was a Citroen behind me and the trailer hitch on the back of the Disco poked it's eye(right front headlight) out. OUCH. Turns out the car behind him wouldn't back up so he was a sitting duck. We'll get it sorted later today after my TIVO gets replaced yet again. The damn thing just doesn't work right and crash-freezes at the worst times. The cable techie who takes care of it installed a cable telephone and internet line at the flower store yesterday and we might just have figured out what the problem is. He;s bringing a new one today and we'll just have to wait and see. I'll be taking this computer to the flower shop later today and get the big PC sorted later so I'll be one of the 'best connected' business women in town!
I have no less than a bazillion errands to run today, aside from the blind Citroen (1100) and the TIVO, so I'd best get started. Everyone I have to meet has my cell number and know that I can get home from anywhere in 10-12 minutes on Harley, so I think it's time to start running around town. Project # 1 is to get my reading glasses sorted. I need at least 2 new pairs and one more computer pair.
With any luck at all, I'll have time to play 'catch up with myself' here later.
It seems that I actually did get the TIVO to record a program, and let me watch it. The remaining problem is finding Hallmark. I'll work on that another day. I just hope it records Hogan's Heroes today.
I finally got around to calling my brother yesterday.Jenny Jump is moving out into a group home and I'm really excited for her. It's a huge step and a very positive one.
Jeffro brought up the mobile home thing again. I used to think that would be great for them and in a way it would be, but, after having been there, I know it really isn't that good an idea. My baby brother is the best, but he just isn't into any kind of maintenance and that mobile home just wouldn't be taken care of and would fall to pieces with in 5 years. I was a bit harsh with him and told him flat out that taking the money out of the bank and having a bon fire with it would be pretty much the same as buying a mobile home. Strange as it sounds, my "slum lord" scheme is much better for them. A 3 or 4 apartment house would pay for itself and be a future source of income for the kids. There are even several options for running it. There's no way Jeffro could do it on his own and I'm too far away. That leaves either a management company or a trusted friend. Vicky's friend Robbie would be ideal and my ex would be good too. The whole thing turns on finding the right building so I'll pop over in the Spring and get it sorted.
Jeffro just can't be bother with fixing things that go wrong and hates any hassle. The condition his present apartment is in is criminal, and even though it's not his fault, or even his responsibility, he can't be bothered to get on to the landlord to get even the really dangerous things fixed. The stairs up to his place are falling apart, and never mind the railing that's coming apart. It's a miracle no one's been injured or killed on those stairs and the toilet in not properly anchored to the floor. The electric system is so old it can't handle even a small window air conditioner and they don't even control their own heat. It might be a good idea to start looking around the real estate ads on the interweb again and start making some phone calls to agents in Auburn to find a place. I'm not too concerned about him trying to get around my plan by running out and buying a mobile home tomorrow for the simple reason that he really hates change and the road of least resistance is the one he'll end up taking. He also knows that if I buy the building there won't be any strings attatched other than obvious reasonable business ones like how it's run and that it go to his kids come the day.
I have to organize myself for a morning at the flower shop which means getting my hands on a chair I can sit on, some coffee and a cup. It's only about 7 minutes by Harley from the door store, so, I'll be able to hop back and forth. Best get on with getting ready.
It does truly annoy me that there are not enough hours in the day to even half of what I want to do! It's only going to get worse starting Sunday. I bought the flower store and will have to find a way to divide my time (or lack there of) between the two businesses.
Shmaryah was upset beyond words when I first told him, but seems to be getting over it. Not like he has a choice. I give him 2 months to start telling everyone that it was his idea to start with! As long as he stays away from it, he can say anything he wants. In any event I will soon know exactly what's been going on with his "hidden" life. I will also know next week whether there really is a psychic connection between us or if there are bugs all over the place. He really wants it to be the former and not the latter.
At least doors are flying out of KBT and money is coming in. As of Sunday all the money from the flower shop will be deposited in it's very own very separate bank account, and things will set up correctly for both stores. I'll be spending most of next week at the flower shop, and in a month or so, I'll have someone I can trust to be there all the time. This business woman gig is fun, but doesn't leave me much time for anything else as both store need constant attention if they are going to succeed, and they will. I just can't lock one store and take off to do other things while it's closed, and for now, Shmaryah has to be out most of the time measuring for doors etc. He can and does put the store on follow me to his cell phone, but the store really should be open during business hours. Ah, well, the solution to that isn't far off.
I'm having endless trouble with the new TIVO. It just doesn't seem to want to work right and gets stuck every few hours and I can't even change the channel. I'll get that sorted sometime next week, I hope. AND yes, I have read the directions and do exactly what it says. Today it's stuck on AXN which would be fine, except I wanted Hallmark which would not come on for reasons known only to it. Things will get really ugly if it doesn't record Hogan's Heroes tomorrow! So far it hasn't recorded a single thing I told it to record. Again, YES, I did follow the directions. I think I'll go make a sandwich and take another shot at it.
I don't have all that many good friends over here, but the ones I do have are the best. Back in the Dark Ages, when I lived in Upper Nazareth, Etti and Yaacov were good friends and they are the only people from there that I am still in touch with. It was their son's greenhouse we went to and almost got blasted to smithereens by that missile during the war.
Etti called last night to tell me that Yaacov is in the Neurosurgery ward at Rambam Hospital in Haifa with a possibly malignant tumor in his brain. Ever since I met them back in the 1980s he's suffered from severe headaches and nothing was ever found. According to Etti he has a tumor and the 2 remaining questions are: is it malignant and is it operable? As I'm going to Haifa anyway today, I called Shmaryah and told him that I will be taking off as and when Etti calls. This morning when I woke up, I decided that until things are clear, I'll be going to Rambam every other day. It's real simple. These people have been my family pretty much since the day we met. There's also the fact that Etti needs an anchor. She has a bit of a psychiatric history and this is not going to be easy for her no matter which it goes.
I now have to get dressed, go to the bank, do a few things with Lavana-Shmaryah's wife, whose flower shop I'm adding to my "business empire" get home by 1100 for the TIVO, get ready to go to Haifa with Lavana to by potted plants and visit Etti and Yaacov at Rambam. Yes, it's going to a long day, but, needs must.
It often takes a while, but, eventually, I do carry out my plans. I got a long modem cable for the laptop and connected it some 2 weeks ago, but left the computer in it's usual spot. This morning I finally got it set up in my room and I am now ensconced in bed with it. It'll take a while to find a comfortable position but at least I finally did it. The only problem is that the modem cable has a tendency to fall out. I think it's called "auto disconnect"
Another plan that finally came together was the replacement of my old SK cell phone. The one that only worked when it was in the charger. They were having s special deal on the latest 3rd generation phones so, of course I got one of those. It does everything except make coffee, and it just might do that too. It's the Motorola V3C, the next one up p from my Orange Razr. I'm quite in love with it and the timing was perfect. Shmaryah appeared with the Bluetooth ear things that Orange owed us so I can use the new one for that phone. I use the one I got in Maine on the Orange and love it to pieces. Of course that has nothing to do with it's color! For my next trick I just might make a phone call. For someone with so many phones, yuo'd think I'd have a huge phone bill, but I don't really like talking on the phone all that much. I just like the phones.
Now all that's left to do right after I pay Jeffro back is to get WIFI in here so I can lose the(snake) cable. Soon, soon. Of course it might be a good idea to get the big PC fixed, but as long as this one is working that can wait, I'll get around ti it one of these days/weeks/months/years. I'll even get back to posting the rest of the story about the trip, but not right now. Right now, I'm going to take Peg out, play with the new phone, send a text message to Kiri/Cab, have a rest and then figure out what to do for the rest of the day.
I've seen a full moon or thousand. There are two places that are hard to beat in the 'night sky' category. One is Casco Bay in Maine, the other is at the end of nowhere in Winnemucca Nevada. Last night on the way home I kept expecting Harley Too to take off and fly to the moon. It was huge and bright, and just beautiful. I really wished that I could just sit outside and gaze at it for hours, but my new TV was on it's way, so I had to go in and take all the 'purples' off the DVD that was balanced on the TV in my room. I've been planning and plotting how to get a new LCD TV for ages and even talked to my TV store about it. He really thought I should get a plasma set. After thinking and thinking, I decided that LCD would be more than enough, and much cheaper. As the TIVO is coming on Monday, I took the leap and bought a 32" LCD and it was delivered and set up last night. WOW. What a picture and now I can see the writing without squinting without glasses. My calculations also took into account the money I still owe my brother, but that will be sorted soon. We'll be getting enough to sort that within two weeks or so, and I'll be able to get that debt paid. In fact part of it should be in the bank today and the rest by the 20th. Of course, there's always the chance that it will take a little longer, being that it's coming from our idiot government. But it will come in eventually and we're doing fine from door sales for now.
I don't believe it. A guy just came to the door and asked to connect something to my electic socket outside. This after that jerk local contractor stole thousands of shekels of elecrickery from there for months. He got a resounding "no" in answer, but at least he asked. I have to get up now and disconnect the cable!
There just aren't enough hours in a day to get half of what I have to do done. Since coming home from the Great Trip and reopening the business after the war, I've taken the reins of the business firmly in hand and dived in head first. 10-12 hours days are the norm now and I barely have time to breath. The filing is a mess and I'm working nonstop to get the paperwork up to speed.
We got a government secured loan that was offered to keep businesses in the north afloat, and it saved us. Orders are flooding in but there's no tracking system in place yet. I'd just about gotten it set up when disaster struck in the form of yet another broken tooth. I had decided a few weeks before to have the already broken ones looked at by an American dentist I met years ago at a friend's insurance office in town. Why American? Easy, the last dentist I went to was a Druze who studied in Russia. He was drilling for a filling and turned the drill on the tooth that just broke knowing that eventually it would break and I'd be back. As there's no way to prove he did it, I'm doing the next best thing and not going bback to him. No more dodgy dentists for me. I'll take American trained, thank you very much. Orna and I are heading out for Carmiel to get the rebuilding of my mouth started in 15 minutes. And no, this doesn't count as a day off! I'll just have to stay late tonight to get caught up.
