The Adventure of GPS Failure

I rely on my GPS to get me to where I am going when on-the-road. Last week my husband and I were in the Baltimore area. We had been out and about and really only had one incident where I took the wrong turn, which put us in downtown DC instead a road around. However, on our last day the GPS lead us on an adventure.

Crystal Bridges – Our Visit

I love art museums. Even better are those with great sculptures and awesome architecture. Crystal Bridges meets all of these expectations and was truly a great experience. When I saw a piece on TV about this new museum last year I knew we had to visit. It is located in Greenwood, AR which is about 2 hours north of where Gene’s oldest daughter and her family live .
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Meeting Famous People You Don’t Know

Jane Roberts

When you sit down on the plane you just never know who your seat mate might be.  Even though Gene and I were traveling together today from Tampa to DFW we were not sitting together.  We had received our American Airlines 1st Class upgrades early this morning and we were sitting in different rows.  While I was busy getting settled into my seat, getting out my music and current book The Now Revolution, Jane arrived on the plane and settled in next to me. We exchanged pleasantries.  She asked what I was reading.  I showed her the book and explained what it was about.  The revolution name on the book had caught her attention.

As I found out she is a very big part in a revolution that plays out everyday all over the world.  Jane Roberts was the cofounder of 34 Million Friends of UNFPA in 2002 when the Bush Administration first announced they would withhold the $34 million that Congress allocated to UNFPA. She had been in Tampa making several speeches in just two days. Jane travels extensively to spread the word and raise funds for this organization.  Jane also has a book, 34 Million Friends of the women of the world. Seems she blogs a bit to at Jane Roberts’s Diary.

Jane is a great example of one individual following her passion and making a difference for many others.  Just another great example of the interesting people I meet while exploring “The Glamour of the Road”.

Enduring Events and Relationships

Thirty-nine years ago two men in Olney, TX were joking around over morning coffee.  They were betting on which one of them could kill the most doves.  Now both of these men have only one arm.  This joking around became the One Arm Dove Hunt.  My husband Gene read about the event in George Dolan’s column in the Fort Worth Star Telegram.  At that 1st hunt, a few men showed up and went hunting that afternoon.

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Left to Right: Jack Bishop, Gene Alexander, Jack Northrup

Over the years the hunt expanded to include lunch and then a hunt.  Then it became a 2 day event including such activities as trap shooting, a golf tournament, horseshoes, cow chip chunking, local entertainment and an auction (which can be entertainment in itself).  We are now fed 2 lunches, 1 breakfast, 1 dinner and leftovers after the hunt.  This small town pulls together and provides door prizes, volunteers and some of the most wonderful deserts you will ever eat.  Just throw the diet away so you won’t feel guilty.

Where Has Pat Been?

A number of my friends have asked that I blog about what happens when you are 1,000 miles from home and you are injured.  My husband, Gene & I were on vacation when he injured himself.  Here is our experience.  I always buy travel insurance when we go out of the country so that we can get back home incase of accident or illness.  I have never done this for domestic travel, but I am reconsidering.  Today’s airline flights are so full that you are only flying on the plane you are scheduled on in many cases.  The proper travel insurance would have allowed us to return home a few days earlier.

My plan was to take a short break from blogging and social media.  I knew that during the first part of our vacation in Yellowstone National Park we would not have access to the internet.  I thought this would be a great time to clear my mind and do some planning.  Well, all of that part went as planned.  However, the afternoon of June 18, 2010, my husband slipped and fell and tore the quad muscles on both of his legs.  This rendered him immediately unable to walk.  We were in the Badlands National Park and 1,000 miles from home.

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Providence in Nashville

Last week Gene, Jessica(our granddaughter) and I went to Nashville. Jessica and I were attending the Lifework 2.0 Seminar on Thursday. Gene was able to find an old high school friend that everyone said they couldn’t find in Franklin. Thursday night we went to downtown Nashville for dinner and a little karaoke. Now we didn’t know anything about any of the bars in downtown. Jessica got on her iphone and read the reviews and chose Lonnie’s Western Room.

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Last Day in Vancouver – Aug 09

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There was a really slow start to Friday morning.  The day on Grouse Mountain had taken its toll on my body.  But there are still things to see and do and they include lunch and shopping on Granville IslandGranville Island was once an industrial manufacturing area, but is now a major tourist destination, providing amenities such as a public market, a large marina, a hotel, the Emily Carr University of Art and Design (named in honor of the artist), various theaters including the Arts Club Theatre Company and Carousel Theatre, and various shopping areas clustered around the one industrial outpost remaining, a cement plant.

Grouse Mountain – Vancouver, Aug 09

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I do not like suspension bridges.  Never have, don’t think I ever will.  However, this is part of the deal if you are going to “do” Grouse Mountain.  Sometimes you just have to “suck it up” so you don’t miss life.  We decided to do a 6 hour tour for Grouse Mountain which included a Capilano Salmon  Hatchery, The Skyride, other entertainment and a ride back to Vancouver on the SeaBus.

Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition – Aug 09

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While browsing through the tourist sites for Vancouver I happened upon the Deeley Motorcycle ExhibitionNow motorcycles are not my thing but I am not the only person on this vacation.  My husband Gene has been riding motorcycles since he was 14 years old.  He loves the history of motorcycles.  The current exhibition is focused on the rise and fall of the British motorcycle industry.

Victoria, B.C. to Vancouver, B.C. – Aug 09

IMG_2692 While in Victoria we watched the Seaplanes coming and going.  We had taken a tour in one several years ago in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. This just seemed like the smart way to get back to Vancouver. Let’s see, 35 minutes by air, 3-4 hours by bus and ferry.  A no brainer.