TravelBlog » Jerry and Rita

Jerry and Rita - Welcome

Ahh...life does not always follow the plan. We are a happily married couple for 21 years. We had many plans for retirement. But alas, many health issues have crept into Jerry's life. Thanks to Rita's great company with very supportive colleagues, her request for a six month personal leave of absence was granted. We are now retired, albeit 'only' for six months. We will need to continue to deal with Jerry's health issues as we proceed - a new one just added the last two months - but with doctors' blessings for now, we are embarking to fulfill as much of "Jerry's Bucket List" as we can in six months. The list includes:
* Visiting kids/grandkids in Michigan at least twice
* Northwest - Glacier National Park, Waterton International Peace Park, Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, Kamloops, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore
* Southwest - Old route 66, Jerome Arizona, Sedona, and maybe see some friends in Colorado
* Florida - A visit to an old favorite - Disney World - and fulfill a long-time promise to visit fellow retired firefighters
* Aruba - rekindle the memories of our honeymoon 21 years ago
* Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - our annual two week condo vacation
* Home time sprinkled throughout - catch-up with cherished family and friends we will miss while traveling, get some things done around the house, and of course, stay in cahoots with Jerry's doctors
This is not a list ground in stone. Jerry reserves the right to substitute, change the order, and add or delete to the list at any time. As for Rita, she shares in Jerry's bucket list and adds only two - enjoy the journey, with both of us creating memories galore, and lose weight

- maybe even quit smoking! All we know for sure, is that we will cherish this very special time. Our site is intended to simply keep caring family and friends in tune with our nomadic adventures. We love you all and sincerely appreciate all of the support!! Be sure to stay in touch via the private message or public comments buttons. Give us feedback on our postings or just say hello - we'll be happy to hear from you when we are 'on-the-road.'

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Joined on: September 14th 2008
Last Login: September 27th 2009

Blog Entries: 41
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Blogs & Travel Journals

by Jerry and Rita, order by Date newest first.

By Jerry and Rita
March 13th 2009

Special Note to Non-Subscribers North America » United States » Wisconsin

A Note for Those Still Visiting Our Site Subscribers to our site know exactly what we have added via an email they receive. However, we know there are a lot of folks that are simply visiting periodically and thus, may not catch what is new. For your info, we are posting as if real-time and since we are currently catching up on our Route 66 trip, you will need to scroll past the Florida Adventure entries in order to get to the Route 66 entries we are adding every couple/few days now. Thanks for all who are still watching our postings. [View Full Entry]

By Jerry and Rita
January 21st 2009

Florida Adventure Day 18 and Summary North America » United States

Wisconsin Welcomes Us
Only Wisconsin would park a sign truck right in front of the Welcome to Wisconsin sign

Day 18 - Wednesday, January 21st - Normal, IL to Home We had seen the steadily decreasing temperatures the last two days and were not surprised as they continued to plummet the further north we went. We were surprised that we really did not see that much accumulation of snow until we actually crossed the Wisconsin border. It was humorous that just as we approached the “Welcome to Wisconsin” sign, accumulation of snow was very noticeable. Construction on the Illinois toll part of I-39 delayed what had been a very smooth drive (surprise, surprise). On [View Full Entry]

By Jerry and Rita
January 20th 2009

Florida Adventure Days 15-17 North America » United States

Cocoa Beach Sun Rise 1
It was barely light out at all

Day 15 - Sunday, January 18th - Cocoa Beach, FL to Orangeburg, SC We awoke to predictions of a sunny, warm day. It was a shame we’d have to leave on the warmest day since we’ve been in Florida. However, we were keeping a close eye on weather in the Georgia, Tennessee, and Kentucky regions and needed to get on the road in order to get through there in between predicted storms. There was some consolation in leaving Florida on such a nice, warm, sunny day - - it was only predicted to last one day before returning to the cooler, [View Full Entry]

By Jerry and Rita
January 17th 2009

Florida Adventure Days 13-14 North America » United States » Florida » Cape Canaveral

Rocket Launch 5
Credit: Christopher Miller, www.spaceflightnow.com

Day 13 - Friday, January 16th - Kennedy Space Center, FL What a great day in spite of the chill in the air. We toured the Kennedy Space Center facility and then caught the bus to take the tour of the LC 39 Observation Gantry, and the Apollo/Saturn V Center, and the International Space Center. In the end, we only did the LC39 Observation Gantry and the Apollo/Saturn V Center. The wind blew away our interest after the first two stops. Jerry was quite chilled and there was so much yet to see at the Space Center area. We recommend the [View Full Entry]

Cocoa Beach - In route to Kennedy Space Center

By Jerry and Rita
January 15th 2009

Florida Adventure Days 11-12 North America » United States » Florida » Orlando

Animal Kingdom Tree of Life
Note the detail of the trunk

Catching Up Well...we are actually in Puerto Vallarta right now and turning our travel pages back to catch up for those who have been waiting (at least they tell us they've been waiting). We'll finish Florida first and then back track to finish Route 66. Here's Florida Adventure Days 11-12. Day 11 - Wednesday, January 14th - Animal Kingdom & Hollywood Studios Animal Kingdom was really not on our top list of things to do in Orlando. However, my brother Charlie, our family's Disney expert, urged us to go. And then Rita's nephew [View Full Entry]

Animal Kingdom - Pangani Forest Exploration Trail 1

Animal Kingdom Forest Exploration Trail 2

By Jerry and Rita
January 13th 2009

Florida Adventure Days 8-10 North America » United States » Florida » Orlando

Epcot Entrance
Jerry is in this picture - that tiny dot on the scooter in the middle of the photo

Where We Are Well...we've started our trek home to arrive Wednesday (21st) depending on weather. We're currently in some place called Orangeburg, South Carolina. We know we're not doing too well on posting but you'll be glad to know that it's simply because we're having too much fun!! Here's days 8-10 - finally. And by the way, for those waiting for us to catch up on the Route 66 trip...well...looks like that will be in a couple of weeks when we are in Puerto Vallarta with lots of free time. Day 8 - Sunday, January 11th - EPCOT We headed [View Full Entry]

By Jerry and Rita
January 10th 2009

Florida Adventure Days 4-7 North America » United States » Florida

Ranch Arrival
Bob and Chris's house on the ranch - - a little piece of heaven

Days 4 through 7 - Trenton, FL What a wonderful few days with friends Bob and Chris in Trenton, Florida. Those two, plus Jerry, were all firefighters together, working for the City of Milwaukee Fire Dept. Retired now, it was great to hear all the stories (some heard before; others new for Rita) and to enjoy time together. We had thought there were other retired firefighters in the immediate area but learned they were actually many miles away in Florida. We were very content to stay with Bob and Chris and enjoy some special time. Trenton, along with surrounding t [View Full Entry]

By Jerry and Rita
January 7th 2009

Florida Adventure Day 3 North America » United States

Rain, rain, go away
This was one of the lighter points that we could get to show up on pictures. At least it wasn't snow or sleet

Florida Arrival Well, we had lots and lots of rain starting out this morning. All we could think was 'thank heaven it was rain and not snow or ice.' The rain came in waves - sometimes drizzle and other times near torrential. We were careful and got through all incoming rain and/or standing water. Luckily, we weren't anywhere near any flooding. Finally, early afternoon, we began seeing hints of clearing and actually quite suddently, the thermometer began to rise and the clouds began to clear. It was awesome to watch. Then, there we were, in full sunshine and [View Full Entry]

By Jerry and Rita
January 6th 2009

Florida Adventure Days 1-2 North America » United States

Getting Started
Couldn't help proudly displaying our front license plate bragging of the car having completed all 2448 miles of Route 66

On The Road Again!!! We are back on the road after a busy and wonderful holiday season. We took a lot of razzing about only having posted the first 8 days of our Route 66 Adventure when we were gone over 30 days. We are still committed to going back and finishing that trip for all. There may be some downtime on this trip in order to do so. If not, we'll for sure get it all done in Puerto Vallarta. Meanwhile, we'll try to keep up a bit better on this current trip to Florida. We'll be getting together with [View Full Entry]

By Jerry and Rita
November 23rd 2008

Route 66 Adventure Days 15-16 North America » United States

Grand Canyon AZ 32
One of Rita's favorite pictures!!

Day 15 - Saturday, November 22 - Holbrook, AZ to Tusayan, AZ We spend a little time this morning touring through Holbrook. We snap pictures of the restaurant we ate at last night, Butterfield Stage Co. Steakhouse. We remember it being very satisfying but had been too tired last night to notice the great Route 66 sign including the “Get Your Kicks on Route 66” verbiage in a heart shape at the top of the sign (see picture). The heart is actually new but the cowboy right next to it is original. We learn the sign was actually the old neon [View Full Entry]

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Jerry and Rita - Welcome

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