Friends of A Lifetime

Friends of A Lifetime

Catching up on the Vinny VanGo blog as it has been several weeks. But I have a really good excuse, and now maybe even it will be less of a problem since we can erect a 25 ft pole into the sky that has an antenna so we can boost that one bar to two when we are in a wilderness area. Of course we discovered Vinny’s inverter which will power the device in the wilderness is busted, so we need to use the cigarette lighter in the van which could mean Vinny may not rev-up and start like he usually does..so we need to think about that until we get the new inverter. But wouldn’t you know it, where I heard cell coverage was the worst is the Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge Parkway, we actually can access a website with our phones. But during our two weeks at Fernandina Beach with J’Bo the whole testing of cell strength with and without the booster was quite the process and there was a day where three of the 4 J’s became quite competitive on whose phone was uploading and downloading faster. We had heard Verizon has the widest coverage area, so John got booted off the AT&T Family plan and got a new phone with Verizon. Then of course there is the process of securing the telescoping pole to the Vinny which could be easily erected and removed, and this was an experiment that included coated wire tie, magnets and foam packing corners for pictures among other things. I also thought diversification was the key, and tried a T-Mobile hotspot which was returned because it was so inconsistent in comparison to the hotspot available from our phones.

Always some time for an Egan Creek hike to see the statues hidden in the grass as we walked

Lots of testing hours, but there was much accomplished as we became more familiar with the area of our new address and the J’Bo household, and our pseudo home sweet home with our bestest friends, Bo and Julie.

Playing new songs old songs, playing a gig at the American Legion and the local senior citizen center,

Lots be of good wine and food and of course the Tennessee Salted Carmel Whiskey was responsible for John’s laying around all the next day as Bo and he solved all the world’s problems until 3am the night before at there fire pit. John calls Bo the big brother he never had. We so enjoyed their Lanai that looked out to parkland.

We had such an easy time being with J’Bo even though I turned one end of the kitchen bar into a connection testing station for two weeks. There will be a lot of next-time next year when we return as the area is full of things to do and I have already acquired Florida Camp reservations for 2024.

Well the reason that title this blog post is “Friends of a Lifetime ” is because during one week, I covered just that and there are more to come as we traverse the east which is where many of the more mature ones reside. On our way to the Smoky Mountains, we stopped and visited a friend from my first decade of memory where I grew up in Wilmington Delaware.  One of Ma’s best friends, Christine, had relocated to Columbia SC to be near family, and this was a perfect stopping point for us as we reconnected after not seeing each other for some 25 or 30 years.  We also got to see her daughter Jenny and husband, John. Christine is a real world connection to Ma, and it was incredibly wonderful to see her, and hear her familiar enthusiasm when she speaks, not to mention reminiscing about old times. 

There’s more..D’Ann and husband, Brian, live in a town right outside the Smoky Mountains and since we decided the last time we saw each other was when Jazmine learned to walk (1997) and that it had be 26 years. D’Ann and I had shared an apartment when we got our first jobs working for BASF in Parsippany NJ in 1984. We had become great friends as we practiced our German in the ride to work, arrived at a campground in New Hampshire in a police car, and tried to find the Matterhorn as we toured Europe with friends, Mary and Scott, (they are both on our future itineraries as well). I tried to teach D’Ann golf, but after the experience she said, “Never Again” but somehow she didn’t hold it against me and look how young I look as her bridesmaid.

 We spent many weeks together in 1997 as we were living in Germany for the summer while John returned to Max Planck and she lived in Switzerland, just two hours away.  This time we had five kids to entertain, luckily she had a van, so the activities included the incredible German playgrounds and wandering around the Swiss countryside.

One of the best parts of retirement is reconnection with old friends, especially ones you haven’t seen for decades. D’Ann promised that they would keep the Frog Level Brewery in business until we come again next year. John now ranks this among his favorites, as he enjoyed several pints of their Coffee Stout as we tried to spy the frogs in the stream that flows by the outdoor seating area.  

The aesthetic factor at the Frog Level is certainly a step above the Flightline Tap Room in Ridgecrest. Maybe he will find a position teaching Chemistry and then he can bantor with his students like he loved to do at Flightline.

D’Ann and Bryan have incredible house/office/apartment dwelling unit(s) with several levels of windows that provide an awesome view of the Smoky mountains. The above photo is the deck to the office space. and we can’t quite decide if the this is more appealing than their two dogs, Maggie and Jake.

Vinny is very comfy at their home too. We be back !!