2007

Friday January 12, 2007 – Mexico Beach
Left home 10:40 am to go to Mexico Beach to see Brenda and Tom for my birthday next week (January 16th) I will be 75 years old! It seem like I should be about 50! It is 73° already and so sunny and bright that it doesn’t look real. 222 miles

Brenda and Tom’s new house in Mexico Beach had been completed. Brenda and Tom still lived in Blountstown but went to their Mexico Beach house every chance they got.

Tuesday January 16, 2007 – My birthday
75th birthday
Left Brenda and Tom’s house at 9:07 am to go home. Had a great time with Brenda and Tom. Great sunny, warm days. Cloudy and overcast today.
82° in Gainesville at 2 PM
224.8 miles

Sunday May 6, 2007 – Fort Tatham
Left Gainesville 6:16 AM heading for Fort Tatham, NC will stay in Anita’s Becks cabin for 2 weeks. Went home on May 20th
 
Sunday July 1, 2007 – Fort Tatham, 2nd Visit
Left Sunday from Gainesville to go to Fort Tatham for 2 weeks. Left at 5:50 am. Got gas for $2.72 in Georgia. Hot and cloudy at 7 am. (first stop in Georgia)
Second gas $2.71 in Georgia
 
Left Sunday July 15th to go home
 
Thursday August 16, 2007 – Michigan
Left for Michigan to see Aunty Betty, Bob and Ellie and other cousins, etc. Also to see Sandy and Dan and their children and grandchildren.
 
Milage: Thursday 543.30 miles
 
Gas $2.55 gal in GA       $22.00
     $2.57 gal in GA       $21.25    
                Total      $43.25
 
 
Thursday Breakfast         $12.61 + $2 tip
   At Cracker Barrel
   Lunch – Burger King     $7.15
   Supper Cracker Barrel   $16.68
     Knoxville, TN            +3 tip
                Total      $16.91  (note: 3 cent tip seems a little light)
 
Hotel Room
Quality Inn              $65.62 (Visa)
Knoxville, TN
includes breakfast
 
Very hot all day
Broke record 99°
 
Left hotel at 6:55 am after breakfast. Cool and nice
 
Gas in Kentucky
                $2.72 gal              $22.50
Ind.        $2.85                     $27.00
 
Lunch at Bob Evans         $16.31
(very good)                    $ 3.00 tip
                          tal      $19.31
 
Dinner at Wendy’s          $8.50
 
11,107 miles
Arrived at Bob and Ellie’s around 7 pm Friday
 
Saturday August 18, 2007

Bob, Ellie, Mom

Slept late. Took a ride around in the country, got fresh corn and peaches at a vegetable stand. Ellie fixed supper – chicken, mixed vegetables, sliced tomatoes. (we picked the tomatoes at their friends garden).
 
Sunday August 19, 2007
Went to Sunday school and church at First Baptist Church of Wayland (where the funeral of Grandma Schwander was held.) Bill and Susie joined us for lunch at Big Boys Restaurant in Wayland. Had a buffet. Then we went to Grand Rapids to go to the church where Sam preachers.
Rain all day and all night.
 
After church everyone was invited to Sam and Jill’s house for snacks. Rode back in big rain.
 
Mom was born in Michigan and many of her relatives still lived there. Bob Schwander is Mom’s mother’s youngest brother. Just a few years older than Mom and having the same birthday, her uncle Bob and his wife Ellie were always close, more like sister-brothers than uncle and mom never called him uncle. Mom’s grandmother, Ruby Schwander is Bob’s mother.  Bob and Ellies had three children, Jack, Susie and Jill. Aunt Betty is Mom’s mother and Bob’s sister.
 
Monday August 20, 2007
Visited Aunt Betty. Had steak done on the grill. Had Dan and Sandy for lunch. Betty brought Morris a birthday cake over.
 
Wednesday August 22, 2007
Went to the casino. Got to Dan and Sandy’s house about 10 am then he drove us over to the new casino. Well all won something. Had the buffet lunch ($11.00 a piece) Sandy paid for all of use (including Aunt Betty) Ellie, Susie and Jilly took Uncle Bob to the VA hospital at Ann Arbor, MI to have a hernia operation. They got back about 5 pm and Jack, Susie and Jill stayed and visited til about midnight.
 
Thursday August 23, 2007
Visited Aunt Betty a couple of hours. Morris B’day 81 years old.
Thursday evening Bob & Ellie and Aunt Betty picked Morris and me up to go out to eat at the Country Club Restaurant. Had a bad storm to go there
Had 20 to be there          $25.00 including tip
Good food
 
Friday August 24, 2007 – Back to Fort Tatham
Left Wayland at 7 am, cool after the big storm last night. Bob got out of bed to see us off. He looks better today. Ellie is missing her sleep, (she’s sleeping with Bob and Bob keeps her awake with his bad dreams).
 
Lunch, Bob Evans             $18.00 including tip
Near Cincinnati, OH
Arrived at Ft. Tatham about 10 pm – very tired
15 hours on the road
Spent Friday-Saturday-Sunday-Monday nights in Anita’s cabin.
 
Friday MI to Fort Tatham 660 miles
                                                    15 hours 6 am – 9:45 pm
 
Tuesday August 28, 2007 – Gainesville
Left Fort Tatham at 6:45 am
Got 4 boxes of tomatoes - $6.00 a box, pretty good.
Cool and overcast.
Gas at Commerce GA $25.00, $2.52 gal
 
Breakfast at Cracker Barrel
                $12.48
                    2.00 tip
 
S. Carolina peaches         $10.00
 
Gas Douglas GA $20.00, 2.61 gal
Douglas lunch at Burger King       $7.50
Hot here, 91°
 
Got home 9:30 PM
Milage 447.8
 
Wednesday December 26, 2007
Left our house at 7:15 am to go to Mexico Beach to visit Brenda and Tom. Kristopher and Carla flew in from Bakersfield, CA. Andrew and Jessica are here from Louisville, KY where Andrew is going to Southern Seminary training to be Southern Baptist missionaries. Jeremy in Chicago couldn’t come because of his job.
 
Had a good time here at Tom and Brenda’s home. Wednesday night Morris and me slept in a really neat motel ($89.00 a night). Carla and Kristopher left Thursday so we got to stay at Brenda and Tom’s after they left. Sunday we went to church and out to eat breakfast after church. After that we went to Dothan, AL to seek Kristi, Joe Frank and Dixie who was visiting K. and Joe F. What a beautiful house, yard, and barns where Kristi has 20 horses now. It turned cold and raining. It’s a three hour drive. We visited about 2 hours then left in a hard rain and dark. Got back at 6 pm. Played dominoes every night. I got the worst hands every time I drew.

I was quite surprised that Mom and Dad sold their cabin at Fort Tatham for they loved it so much and had been going to Fort Tatham since 1991 to escape the hot summers of Florida. They bought their first cabin there in 1994. They said it was getting to far for them to travel, particularly since Mom had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s. I think it also had to do with many of the old people they knew that also had cabins there had passed away including their best friend Billy Yawn although Betty still had the cabin.  Mom and Dad sold their cabin to Anita Beck who was a longtime family friend and Betty’s sister. (Helen Anita Dixon#FE044)