Home to Winter

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Our last day on the road was Tuesday, two days ago now. We started in rain from Rockford, Illinois and the first 60 miles or so were already quite stressful. Lots of trucks on the road from the very beginning, all the way home.

I drove for less than 40 miles. By the time I got into the driver's seat, I was already nervous and incapable of lasting very long. The weather was quiet then, but by Black River Falls, the storm was advancing and we put the "real" driver in charge.

It was quite a drive home: rain, snow, freezing rain, sleet, ice. Endless traffic. Vehicles going too fast. Salt trucks. Plows. A semi in the ditch. We crossed the river into Minnesota and almost immediately all lanes of traffic came to a complete halt for an accident being cleaned up off the roadway.

St. Paul was beautiful, under a blanket of white. People seemed very cheerful and energized by the unusual spring storm. We had to shovel our way to the deck and managed to unload some of our bags and the cooler.

It is definitely cold here, with no end in sight. More snow on Sunday.

Enough already!

Photos.

We were dead beat last night and I only lasted till 9:08 with The Kennedys, a series I've been watching on CNN. Bob watched the news for 15 or 20 minutes but I was already sound asleep when he turned off the lights around 9:30. The great thing about a sleepless night is that I usually sleep great on the next try, and that was the case. I had a great sleep and was ready to go when I heard Bob in the shower at 5:00 a.m.

We had a good breakfast and were on the road by 7:20, with hotel coffee in a thermal cup. We gained an hour soon after when we entered the Central time zone, a good thing because we had a long ride ahead ahead of us, beginning with pretty fog in the mountains. Peaceful and serene, except for traffic racing around us.

We went through Nashville in late morning, perfect except for a minor wrong turn which was easily -- and quickly corrected. We had intermittent rain, but fortunately it wasn't very heavy when I was driving. The only slowdown was for an accident, bad for the car involved but only a 15 or 20-minute delay for us.

The temperature dropped quickly during the day, from about 69F when we left Chattanooga to hovering around 32F in part of Illinois. We saw snow on the ground throughout much of the state, a first for us returning from Florida, when we usually delight in the spring plants and flowering trees.

We stopped a couple of times at rest stops, where most people were clad in winter jackets and hats. Gloves too. We recognized fellow Minnesotans returning from points south, because we were all in summer tees and shorts. As always, my Vikings jacket attracted both comments and conversation. Bob mentioned several times that we looked crazy, but, of course -- and perhaps unfortunately -- I really didn't care.

We pulled into Rockford, Illinois, before 6:00 p.m. Unlike the GREAT accommodations at Holiday Inn Express, tonight's stop isn't terrific, but the king room at Baymont Suites is clean and breakfast is a nice early 6:00 a.m.

We had hoped to be returning to spring, a beautiful Minnesota season when we get it, but tomorrow's forecast for the Twin Cities is not particularly encouraging. This year we'll be back in time to blow and shovel snow. 

Chattanooga by Evening

Photos.

I'm really not a good sleeper much of the time. Last night was no exception. I was overtired from packing and a little sad after saying goodbye to our March neighbors, Carol, Joe and Mary. We'll won't see one another until February 2019, which seems very far away, though I know it's not.

I woke up -- if you can call it that -- at 4:00 a.m. and Bob was already rested and ready, looking about 30 years younger than he is. I, on the other hand, felt like the tired and touchy old hag with a sunburned nose. He made us sandwiches (turkey and cheese for him, peanut butter for me -- the turkey wasn't fresh enough for me to consider it safe). I took a shower and got rid of the last trash, noisily because I had to stuff the bag down the garbage chute. Some year, someone is going to make the connection and ID me as the crazy person who obsessively cleans till the very end of our stay in Florida.

We pulled out of the parking lot at 5:20 a.m. I275 to Tampa was fine, but as we drove north the fog settled over the freeway, and by the time we got to the I75 split, there was little visibility. No matter. By then, it was my turn to drive. Magnanimous, as always,  Bob said he would drive if the fog got really bad. It didn't, and I did fine after I settled into the rhythm of the freeway. It's actually somewhat soothing.

Downtown Atlanta

The rest of the ride is something of a blur. Finally, the sun came out and I was happy I had worn shorts. I got to drive once more, into Georgia but not as far as Atlanta.  Bob drove for the rest of the way, breezing through downtown Atlanta.

We stopped at the Tennessee Welcome Center and consulted the customer service rep about a place to stay. He recommended Chattanooga or Manchester ... and I voted for Chattanooga. Bob thought he had "an additional 70 miles" in him to make it through the congestion, but I didn't, and I was not going to drive in the mountains. Been there, done that -- not well.

So here we are for the night. The scotch is good and spring flowers are blooming. I will sleep tonight.

Mystery of the Broken Acorns

Disclaimer: not an actual photo!

Photos.

Yesterday we washed the Traverse, as we have at least once a week since we got here -- much like home. We had vacuumed once before for sand, but more work was needed, and Bob decided to do a good job before leave Florida on Sunday.

He took out the rear mat entirely and found a pile of acorn shells. We haven't seen any oaks on the beach so the broken shells were likely hijackers from Minnesota. But how? Bob is meticulous with his car care so I couldn't imagine that so many shells had been carelessly left in the rear seating area.

As we drove away from the car wash, speculation began. Our first tendency was to wonder if they had come on the shoes of our Minnesota visitors -- but they were all wearing sandals with no tread that would hold an acorn shell. Could the pockets of my windbreaker, unused since last fall, have been full of shells? After discussion, we dismissed the idea of a Minnesota squirrel hitching a ride, even though we saw a gray squirrel like one of our backyard residents, scurrying across the road to a grassy park.

During the night, Bob realized he himself was the offender. Last fall, I guess he had "spillage" when taking bags of acorn shells to the compost site. The shop vac missed some of the shells because he did a quick clean-up, failing to remove one of the floor mats and do a thorough job. Now this surprised me!

Mystery solved; I know there will be no "next time".

Hennessey Visitors

Cath, Trudy, John, Mitch, Adam

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Our Florida vacation is almost over.

John, Trudy and the boys arrived last Saturday and we've enjoyed St Pete Beach through their eyes and experiences.

Bob, Trudy, Mitch, John, Adam

Lots of swimming in the pool and a day on the beach at Fort DeSoto were lots of fun for me too. The Gulf of Mexico was nice and chilly, with the usual therapeutic effect. Trudy made us a sandwich lunch which we ate at the picnic tables near the beach. The gulls stayed away -- so that made me think there must be plenty of picnickers on the beach itself, willing to share snacks with the birds.

We did a run on the Dolphin Racer (our second this season) and, once again, dolphins were plentiful and very willing to entertain us in the boat's wake. Yesterday we were back at Fort DeSoto for an hour of kayaking. Bob and I took pictures and then rode down the beach to catch them as they paddled by.

Most evenings, the visitors explored on their  own along the beach.  Yesterday afternoon, we delivered our crew -- bearers of happiness, all of them -- to Tampa International. We arrived way early, not wanting to be caught inTampa Bays Rays opening day traffic, as well as Easter Break travel to the airport, and, of course, the usual rush hour congestion on I275.

Fun week went by quickly and the condo felt strangely quiet.

House Cleaner

Who the hell cleans house on vacation? Well, I know my neighbor does because she lent me the bathroom cleaner I needed last week. I do like things neat and clean, and I am a laundry fanatic, so it's no surprise that I don't let things slide (much) when we're away from home.

We were expecting the second of wave of Minnesota visitors and I wanted to get the condo spruced up. The cleaners do an OK job, but not great, so I always wash dishes and linens myself when I get here. I'd cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen several times but they weren't really company ready, so I spent part of Friday morning cleaning and washing the tile flower. Bob did the vacuuming for me.

The heat had finally returned and that is a warm job. I looked curly haired and shaggy when I finished. Still, there's nothing quite like the satisfaction one feels when a job can be clearly defined and the results easily measured.

Pool Exercises

Because of many decades of knee problems and several chronic illnesses, I may be more aware than most of the fragility of apparent good health. Over the winter, I had several colds and the flu too, and inactivity seems to have resulted in a recurrence of muscle spasms in my lower back and left leg. Those commercials featuring sciatica sufferers? That's how I felt.

When I arrived in Florida, I wondered whether I'd be able to do my daily swims. Thinking that the right kind of movement would help, I started doing simple pool exercises to stretch my legs and back, as well as my usual swimming. The backstroke felt better than a front crawl, so I did more swimming on my back that I normally do. I followed up with 15 minutes in the hot tub.

I felt better after my first swim. Today, three weeks later, I am almost pain free. There are many resources on the Internet, but the basic idea is to stretch arms, legs and torso. I swim 10 laps, exercised for 5-10 minutes, and repeat at least two more times.  I am a strong swimmer, comfortable in deep water, so I do my exercises in chest deep water. The depth can be varied, according to skill level and ability to balance effectively.

When I get home, I intend to try some kind of land yoga class and, of course, keep up the pool work.