Welcome

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.'

Special Note to Non-Subscribers

North America » United States » Wisconsin March 13th 2009

Jerry and Rita

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. We hope you enjoy the rest as we get caught up. Jerry and Rita... read more

Florida Adventure Day 18 and Summary

North America » United States January 21st 2009

Wisconsin Welcomes Us

Jerry and Rita

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). Once we got through the construction, getting home was a breeze. It was nice to get in early afternoon, just in time to have a couple of beers with friends who literally welcomed us with open arms. As we headed home, we ... read more

Florida Adventure Days 15-17

North America » United States January 20th 2009

Cocoa Beach Sun Rise 1

Jerry and Rita

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, cloudy temperatures. So, we enjoyed the warm morning, taking our time packing up and leaving the hotel, and hit the road. We were up early, probably still affected by the excitement and awe of the ... read more

Florida Adventure Days 13-14

North America » United States » Florida » Cape Canaveral January 17th 2009

Rocket Launch 5

Jerry and Rita

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 bus tour to anyone going and further recommend you leave plenty of time - a few hours at least - in order to thoroughly appreciate the various information points at the three areas. It is ... read more

Cocoa Beach - In route to Kennedy Space Center

Florida Adventure Days 11-12

North America » United States » Florida » Orlando January 15th 2009

Animal Kingdom Tree of Life

Jerry and Rita

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 Brian told us we simply HAD to go. Well, after that, we had to make time for it and wow, are we glad we did. As we proceeded into this Disney park, it was not hard to miss the Tree of Life. Pictures ... read more

Animal Kingdom - Pangani Forest Exploration Trail 1

Animal Kingdom Forest Exploration Trail 2

Florida Adventure Days 8-10

North America » United States » Florida » Orlando January 13th 2009

Epcot Entrance

Jerry and Rita

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 to Epcot late morning. We were almost there when we realized we forgot the camera. We both just looked at each other, totally befuddled how neither one of us remembered. Too late to go all the ... read more

Florida Adventure Days 4-7

North America » United States » Florida January 10th 2009

Ranch Arrival

Jerry and Rita

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 towns and counties, is horse country (some cattle). Bob and Chris own a horse farm. They have a very nice home on enough acres to very comfortably house their seven horses with Scooby, their dog. We learned ... read more

Florida Adventure Day 3

North America » United States January 7th 2009

Rain, rain, go away

Jerry and Rita

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 75 degrees, wishing we had shorts on instead of jeans. At least we could shed the shweatshirts. The rest of the ride was like summer time and we arrived safely in Chiefland (southwest of Gainsville) this evening. We ... read more

Florida Adventure Days 1-2

North America » United States January 6th 2009

Getting Started

Jerry and Rita

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 some of the firefighter retirees, two special ones - Bob and Chris - and others as possible. Our plan is to head straight down to Trenton where Bob and Chris are (near Gainsvilled, FL), and ... read more

Route 66 Adventure Days 15-16

North America » United States November 23rd 2008

Grand Canyon AZ 32

Jerry and Rita

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 sign from the Western Hotel. There is also a long Route 66 map mural on the side of the building. There were old hotels including yet another Desert Inn, Route 66 cafes, and let’s not ... read more

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