Florida Trip Part #7...Islamorada in the Keys...

Leaving the Everglades, I continue on Highway 41, the Tamiami Trail, and east I headed towards the outskirts of Miami, and then south towards Highway 1 and the Florida Keys...

I jumped off 41 at Florida 997 to avoid the traffic on US 1...a move I should have made on Friday's return trip....997 had plenty of major construction but was still a better route to pick up US 1 south of Homestead.


I still arrived at Islamorada before 3 pulled into a bar parking lot and begin to search for last minute

deals on places to stay via the phone...I finally found one, just down the road...a place call the "Drop Anchor".  This was a motel being refurbished … from it's 1950s styling.  I ended up taking the Internet deal for about $90 and heading down a back beach road, found the place...the guys at the desk announced they had "Upgraded" my reservations and gave me a lower floor room with access to the beach and pool through the sliding glass doors.  My only complaints about the place, were that the bathroom was small, and if I was any bigger than my 5' 10" 185 pounds, I would never have fit into the toilet area if having to take a #2...also the Beach was nice, but really had no access to the Atlantic...the water was there, but the beach ended and you would have had to climb down into the water...not a problem for me, I wasn't there to swim anyway, pool or ocean.  I was there to take some photos, drink some beers, and smoke a good cigar...Mission Accomplished!

I first visited Islamorada in 1997 or 98 while the family was returning from Key West on our first or second visit in those years.  It had attracted me, due to the movie "Key Largo" with Bogart, Bacall,

Hurricane 1935 Florida Keys
and Eddie G. Robinson, which had mentioned the 1935 devastating Hurricane, which destroyed much of the Middle Keys, including Islamorada, and left hundreds dead....the total will never known for sure, due to the train of veterans being knocked off the tracks and many bodies never recovered.  We had stopped at the Hurricane Memorial {top photo} and read about the story:  This Link covers it pretty well:

After Checking in at the Drop Anchor...nice but not what I would call a "Resort"...but hey the price was right and location was great.  I drove to the nearest Public Market and got some beer and groceries for the evening and breakfast next morning.  Returning to the motel I grabbed a glass, some beer, a cigar, and cameras, and went about the task of enjoying all of those …

Drop Anchor "Resort"

The seasonal sunset and sunrise were a bit off from where I would have liked them to be...but hey,

you have to work with what you are given, and many of the photos reflected what I had to work with...not perfect, but some came out pretty nice, IMO.

Part # 8 I will leave the Keys, head into some miserable traffic on Highway 1 into Miami, and then back through the Glades and finally on to I-75 and head north for the final portions of my trip.

back later>>>

Photos-{top} the 1935 Hurricane Memorial  {2} View from my Room...{3} View from the Beach...{4} There was a nice hammock, but Hell, I ever have felt safe in one of those, so it went unused by me...the rest of the photos{below} are from the various sunset {October 24} and sunrise {25th} from the room and beach, along with some room views.

Florida 3 weeks...part #6 Quick Trip Everglades...

Whenever I get to South Florida, I try to get some time and photos through the Glades....this year, even though I had nearly 3 weeks, I did not set enough time up...in a hurry to beat the Miami/Homestead Traffic to the Keys...I passed up on my usual side trips to Everglades City, and longer looks along and off the Tamiami Trail {US 41} through the area....I did jaunt down a few miles on Loop Road, but even then, not the entire route as planned...the time, I felt I needed, and the record heat {still going on as I write this on November 6th} that kept much of the wildlife hiding, kept my visit short by my usual standards.

Leaving my Sister and Brother-in-Law's place in Naples late morning{10/24}, I quickly hooked up on 41 and headed south and east....50 miles into the trip I found my favorite haunt in the Glades, Loop Road...although, admittedly, it's not the same since the Classic Old Tourist Trap, Monroe Station burned down a few years back, after sitting empty in all it's glory, for several decades.

I only drove about 5 miles south when I realized that the Gators and other Critters were just not out in force...the Hot, Humid, but Dry Conditions had them hiding in the swamp...so I stopped, relieved myself at the picnic area and turned around after snapping some Swamp photos and a Marsh Hawk lurking in the trees hoping for a rabbit, mouse, or some other small critter to make a mistake and become "lunch".  I headed back east on 41 I did stop and snap a few Gator Photos, along with some water birds....but for the most part it was a disapointment on my part, as I would not even make the planned trip down the 35 miles from Homestead to Flamingo, deep in the

Glades...Oh' Well, maybe next trip...maybe!

Instead I avoided US 1 as long as I could{I should have done the same on Friday Morning's Return Trip}...and then headed for my planned stop in Islamorada.  Looking back I made some mistakes in my timing...but all in all it worked out....those mistakes will be avoided in the next go around, which, God willing, I will make before I assume Room Temperature.

What I didn't really want to do was go all the way to Key West...as much as I enjoyed the crazy place with the family 20+ years ago...a solo white haired old white guy might look like or be mistaken for the many perverts and LBGT losers that hang there...my ego would not allow for that...so I decided not to make that trip this time around.  Islamorada and photographing the Sunset and Sunrise on both the Atlantic and Gulf was really what I had planned and I found a near perfect spot for that...that story up next.

Back Later>>>

Part #7...Islamorada in the Keys

More photo from the Everglades....{top}  The View Off Loop Road of the Swamp...{2} the Old Monroe Station from my visit back in 2006...it was torched {probably arson} a few years ago{3}Gator Eyes me...{4} a Gator cooling off in the creek along Highway 41...{5}the Loop Road Turn Around {6} a Gar Fish along the Ditch on the Tamiami Trail  {7}  A Marsh Hawk looking for Lunch...{8} and a Blue Heron, we have thousands up north here along Grand Lake, looking the same as his cousins, only a bit warmer in the Glades...

Part #5...13 Days in Naples

My assignment was to keep the house standing and the critters alive and well for nearly 2 weeks...That proved successful.  I also managed to get the kinks fixed in the Axle of the Jeep Wrangler, which had showed up on the way down to Florida.  I got some fishing in, albeit not as successful as I would have liked, plenty of beers down, including a 16 gallon keg that brother in law had left for me in the Lanai Bar....some good food fixed on the grill, and one trip to the beach, a couple to Wally World for supplies and to stock up the beer garden, etc.  For the most part however, with the exception of seeing my buddy Butch Mellinger and his Wife, Eran,  {who had lived near Venice, and was one year ahead of me at Venice Elementary and Junior High, back in the 50s and early 60s} at the Three Fisherman's in North Fort Myers, I stayed close to the house and did what I had traveled 1200 miles or so to do....kept the house and animals safe.

The Happy Wallet took care of my Axle problem{s}, as I had them go ahead and change out both seals, instead of just the leaking one, at a cost of $770, most of which I will {hopefully} get back, since I had bumper to bumper extended coverage on the Jeep....a move I had to make to justify paying what I had for a 10 year old Wrangler back in January, one with 64,800 miles on it.  Another problem would crop up as I neared home on the return trip...the right front ABS system alarm sounded...that gets taken care of tomorrow....again, "hopefully".

I spent much of the time, depending on rains, heat, and humidity, rotating between the living room, sitting at the kitchen bar, but mostly on the dock by the harbor, or the screened in Lanai, with a beer and hand rolled cigar in my hands....despite being alone for most of the trip, it was a relaxing time...if I do something like this again, Patricia will likely join me....but if Sis Kelly or Denmark Mike need me in a pinch...I am more than ready to head back down and do it all again.

Kelly and Mike returned from Denmark on Tuesday night October 22nd...I would stick around until Thursday morning, then head for the Everglades and Keys...not exactly sure how long or exactly where I would go....I missed a few opportunities, but with a storm coming, I was ready to work my way back north.

Coming Up Next part #6....Everglades, Loop Road, and Islamorada...

back later...  Photos{top} and 3rd Almost every night had a view to photograph at the Dock at Sunset....The pups, Belle and Alfie, hoping I would drop some steak their way in photo #2...the Rest....top to bottom:  A Medium Rare piece of meat I cooked up on the side grill where I enjoyed a "few" beers at the same time...a life worth living indeed...the Lanai Bar and TV where I watch mostly sports and enjoyed cigar and beer, most days.  Also The Birds, Sweet Pea, and Lola{whose name sounds like a girl but he's a guy}  :)  and Zowee the 21 year old cat, who game me no problems...and finally the view looking out of the Lanai, from the bar.

3 weeks to Florida and Back...part #4 Off to Naples

The purpose of my nearly 3 weeks in Florida was actually not vacation related...I had agreed to spend nearly 2 weeks in Naples and my youngest sister and her husband's place on the Harbor Channel, while they visited his homeland and family back in Denmark.  I agreed to keep an eye on their place and watch and care for the 2 small dogs, one old cat, and 2 birds...while I sat on the dock, drank beer and grilled out on their Lanai …  pretty simple work in the sunshine, mainly keeping the animals healthy and alive, and working on my tan and my Cigar Smoking and Beer Drinking Skills.

I also had listed some friends to visit...some I got done, others it just didn't work out, but all in all, even with the axle related issues with the Jeep, most of the trip worked out fine...

I left from Venice before Noon on Saturday October 12th  {damn has it been that long ago already?} and arrived early afternoon.  They were flying out for Europe on Sunday and I needed to get instructions, etc...I might note the weather the entire time was Hot and Humid, even for South Florida in mid October.  I did have 2 days of hard rains the second weekend, October 19th and 20th...but all in all, the weather, despite the heat, was enjoyable. I spent much of the time, especially in the early evenings, out on the dock and the large majority of time, after dark, at the Lanai Bar, watching baseball, football, and enjoying beers and a few good cigars.

The first Sunday {10/13}while Kelly and Michael were preparing to head to the airport across the state at Fort Lauderdale, I headed north to North Ft. Myers to the Annual "Nam Jam" for Vietnam Vets at the Old Shell Factory {a place my Grandmother Houseworth frequented many a time back in the 1950s }.  There I hooked up with my Vietnam Buddy John Claflin, aka:  "Johnny C" whom I was stationed with, but only about 3 or 4 months, at Nha Trang, but we became lifetime friends, and we finally got together last April at the Dayton "Sky Cop" Reunion I host...we hooked up again for a few hours at Ft

Myers, then after the "Jam" we went out to eat at the Gulf Side Bar and Grill called the "3 Fisherman's Restaurant"

Once done there I headed south to Naples, where I would begin my 12 days of "work"...

I would spend much of the next days lounging around the place, watching a selection of Westerns and other old movies on the tube that I could pull up at anytime...that was during the heat of day, as mentioned before, the rest of the time was near the water or at the Lanai Bar.

I also searched the local listings to find a good solid repair shop with same reputation to have the Axle Leak looked at and worked on...."Happy Wallet" was the place I chose and it worked out well...more on that later.

More on the Naples portion of the trip in Part #5...


Back Later.....

Photos...{Top} The Naples Pier...made one trip to here during the stay...the previous weekend storms had stirred up the usually Clear Blue Waters...{2} My usual evening/Sunset View...off the attached dock, where I tried, usually without success to fish...I did catch a few, but mostly damn Salt Water Catfish...not what I was hoping for...{3}Me and "Johnny C" ...at Fort Myers at "Nam Jam" and {4} 50 years, almost to the day earlier, standing on the roof of a local Steak House and Hotel in downtown Nha Trang, RVN, October 1969...we both, at the time, were working with the 14th Security Police …  Me in Law Enforcement, John in Security...in the 1969 photo he is on the left, while I'm on the right, just the opposite of the 2019 photo....{5, 6, 7}  From the dock and Lanai I captured this Big Guy hanging around the dock and shrubs, one of the Damn Catfish, I had to cut loose...and a nice big piece of meat on the grill....I used it {grill} on more than one occasion to fix "supper"...

3 Weeks to Florida and Back part #3

In the past I could leave my brother's place at Homosassa or Mom's Condo on Ormond Beach, and be home by late that night or early in the morning {1 or 2am} without a problem....well, here I was 50 hours already into this trip and I had not arrived at Venice, my old home town in the 50s and early 60s, on the Gulf of Mexico, as of yet...I was scheduled to stay at the Ramada on the 41 By~Pass, thanks to John Langley, fellow Vietnam Air Force SP...whose daughter was one of the movers and shakers at that location, he got me a great rate, and the room was outstanding, especially for $59 a night...my thanks again to John and his daughter for the kind gesture.  Arriving at about 1:30pm I had time before check~in and immediately headed for the Gulf and my old fishing haunt, the Venice Jetties {South}.

 

One of the few places that have not changed much over the 65 years since our family moved to South Venice back in 1954...the Jetties is pretty much the same...a few changes, better facilities, and of course the fishing is not what it was in my Dad's day...but I enjoyed stopping by and breathing in some old memories from those days of my youth back in the 1950s and early 60s...the place is still "Home" as far as I'm concerned...although I have not lived there since 1963,  and mom sold the house on School Street and Pineland Avenue, back in the early

1980s...she told me today she should have kept it as a retirement house...I didn't argue.  The current owners have done some nice landscape work, but the house, in general, looks much the same as it did in 1962 and beyond.

After some searching, since the Ramada is called the "Venezia" and has no "Ramada" sign in sight...I saw three cops at a mall snack bar, I stopped the Jeep and asked..."Where the Hell is the Ramada"?  One young officer smiled and pointed across the street..."They just don't call it that", he replied.

Once situated in my room{photo of my room at bottom} I called my old pal, John Langley, and he picked me up awhile later and we traveled through some of the old neighborhoods...everything has changed and grown, especially the traffic...proving once again, "You Can't Go Home" ...although I still consider Venice "Home", a visit is all I will do, even if the prices were cheap, which they are not, I would never be able to handle the crowds, traffic, or Summer rain and humidity.  So a visit on occasion will have to do.

John and I went out to the Cracker Barrel out by the I-75 exit...had a good meal and conversation, and he gave me several items for our Vietnam Sky Cop Reunion and Silent Auction, for next April at Dayton.

Dropping me off back at the "Venezia"...I walked across the By Pass US 41 grabbed a 6 pack of craft beer and prepared to watch some playoff baseball for the night, before getting up and heading for Naples after breakfast on Saturday morning.

Part #4 up Next....arriving in Naples...

Photos-{Top}~Sunset after a storm along Venice Beach {2} Me and the Jeep arrive at the South Jetties {3} The House mom and dad owned at School Street and Pineland Avenue, we lived there from 1958-63, when we moved to Ohio, mom sold it back in the early 1980s  {4} John Langley my old Vietnam Air Force Dog Handler buddy from Maine who has lived in Venice for some 30 years....{5} A good sized boat heads out to the Gulf to fish, between the South and North Jetties...and below, a look at my Ramada Venice Room and a link to their site:

Ramada Venice 

Back to Florida and Back in 3 Weeks, part #2

Dismissing that the leak in the rear axle was a major problem, at least at this point in the trip...I grabbed a 'free' Breakfast at the Hampton Inn where I was staying in Athens, Tennessee, and headed south...my plans on jumping on some back and old US Routes was now abandoned...I would stay on the Interstate at least until I cut off for Homosassa to pour some of my brother's ashes in the river there...not wanting to take a chance to need Jeep repairs out in the middle of nowhere.

   "Atlanta" After I retired from the Van Wert County Health Department in 2002, I quickly took a gig delivering Motor Home RVs throughout the country and Canada...for the next 5 1/2 years I traveled much of the time in 3 or 4 day stretches, except during Spring Baseball Season, when I worked the local and Regional High School Varsity Games.  Atlanta, along with LA, and Chicago, had to be the worst of the areas I had to drive through...this trip was NO exception.

The I 75 experience between 25 miles north of Atlanta and 25 miles south was not pleasant by any stretch of my imagination...and I've traveled that route on many occasions...and many times in the old Jeep Wrangler, so this was not a surprise, but unwelcome just the same.  I had planned to get near Gainesville, home of the Florida Gators, and travel west on the back routes to Crystal River and Homosassa the next morning...so despite the congestion and delays, I made it close to the I 10 crossing and stopped at a little dive of a motel, which, being only $49 served it purpose, Hell I only wanted to sleep there, not own the damn place {See Hamptons Inn}, so I grabbed a few beers, after filling up at the Shell across the way, and some snacks...I watched baseball playoffs and got a decent night's sleep....the Axle Leak appeared no worse...

"On to Homosassa"...Until moving back to Ohio in 2007 my brother Mike resided at a place called the Manatee Campgrounds...actually a small trailer park on the river, he became "Mayor" of the Manatee Pub...parked his boat there and traveled many places in the decade or so that proceeded his move back to Celina....the last couple of years were not that kind to him financially or physically, but in retrospect, it was, for the most part, a good time in his life...and after consulting with his daughters, my 2 nieces, we decided the Manatee would be a great place to pour some of his ashes into the river.

I jumped off I 75 near Gainesville, and took Florida 121 through "Old Florida" {not much of that left, especially in the south or near the coasts, in the Sunshine State.  I hooked up with  Highway 98/19 and headed to Crystal River and from the gas stop there {where it appears my Shell Credit Card was hacked} on to the Manatee Pub, where some of the Good Ol Boys and Mike's running mates were already downing beers at 10 in the morning...a beer lover am I, but even I can't do that...nor do I want to.

After talking to those guys and Jeff the owner, we deposited about 1/3 of Mike into the waters along the pub, which flow into the Homosassa River....Mike would, I think, found some peace there.  Now it was on to my old hometown of Venice, where we resided most of the 1950s into the early 60s...despite the mass changes, I still consider Venice as "Home"....that story in part #3 coming up next.

Back Later...with Part #3 "Arriving in Venice, the Old Hometown"

Blogger is screwing with my photo uploads, and only allowing me to post my "Rough" photos from my I Phone...so I give you the Jeep, leak no worse for wear sitting at the little Motel Dive off I 75 near White Springs, Florida...nothing special, but the price was right and it was clean.   {2} Outside Crystal River, on "Follow that Dream Blvd" where Elvis made the movie of the same name when I was still living in Florida, back in 1961....{3} Some of Brother Mike's Ashes...I have never dropped human remain ashes into the water, some float others make a mass and slowly sink...I'm sure my older brother didn't mind and would be pleased with the locations I chose for his final resting spots...

Looking Back at 3 Weeks in Florida

Just got back from 20 days and 19 nights traveling to and from Florida....12 of those "House Sitting". and Pet Sitting at my youngest sister's place in Naples, while her and her husband, Denmark Mike, were back in his home country for a visit there....the rest traveling around Florida and visiting old friends, and missing some I planned on getting together with....the time flew by, and I stayed busy for the most part....

The next few installments I will spend looking back at the trip, and showing off some photos of same.

    Day 1....Off I Go!

I, should in retrospect, be pleased with the final results of the trip...starting out on Wednesday, October 9th, I weighed myself, and came in at 190.4...this morning I am 187 straight out...so, despite the beers and good food, my calorie intake, and especially carb intake was at a level, along with plenty of hot weather walking, my 70 year old ass had lost a few pounds...and now, only 12 to go to get back to 175, a level I have not been at since around 1984...we will see if I can continue to slowly lose during the coming Holiday Season.

I left Celina at 9:30 knowing I needed to not be in Naples until sometime Saturday the 12th, to get my instructions from their departure for Denmark from Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday the 13th...so I had plenty of time, and by plan or not, I took it...driving a Jeep Wrangler 3500 miles over a 20 day trip will take it out of anybody, let alone someone "getting long in the tooth".

I took US 127 out of my place for the first few hours, before finally get on I-75 just north of Cincinnati...I did not know how long I was going to stay on the "back routes" but once on 75, I was pretty much done, until northern Florida, where I would cut west towards Homosassa, where I would deposit 1/3rd of my late brother Mike's ashes at his old stomping grounds at the Manatee Pub on the river.  The other portions would be set free at the Venice Jetties where we fished a lot as kids growing up in Venice and South Venice, Florida, on the Gulf....the rest of Mike at the Sister and Brother-in-Law's place on the Naples Harbor, off their dock on the channel...he spent much of his last winters there fishing and having a drink or 3 on that dock.

First day I got as far as Athens, Tennessee, located on I-75 between Knoxville and Chattanooga...I got a way to expensive room at the Hampton Inn, and went across the street to grab a bite a Ruby Tuesdays...one of the few "Dining Out" Meals I would enjoy....when your brother in law is a world class chef, and leaves you plenty of steaks and seafood to enjoy while cooking over the grill on their Bar/Lanai area on the water, why would you dine out and pay money? 

When I left Ruby's I crossed back to the motel lot and started to pull a few more items out to take to the room, I caught a glimpse of a leak on the right rear passenger side tire...Damn!  Here I was less than 10 hours and  435 miles and here was my first Jeep "Issue" …. time to contact an old friend, who knows much about vehicles....more on that later.

So Day #1 was in the Books....not the worst, but the leak had me somewhat concerned, I didn't need a long delay to solve that, but NO delay was what I really wanted....and it turned out to be that case...

Up Next  Day #2 on to Florida....

Top Photo...the Wrangler sitting at the Hampton Inn in Athens, Tennessee....leak not visible...turned out to be a Axle Seal Leak, ended up replacing both right and left while in Naples...2nd photo, the Jeep sitting in the Drive, as I prepare it and me for the 3 week adventure/working {well not really working} trip...

{Photo} Blast from the Past...

On occasion I come across a photo that I took in the past and think to myself..."Hey this pretty damn good, and I had forgotten all about this one"

So here is one from last September 1st, Sunrise on Grand Lake, complete with waterfowl and clouds.....

Back Later>>>>

Just Dropping In/Stopping By...

Just stopping by to keep the Blog alive....

It's been 12 years plus since the first of 1660 posts began in July 2007...lots of fellow "Bloggers", like me, have slowed down, and way to many "Old Guys", like me, have passed on....a Salute to Buck Pennington and Sarge Charlie in particular...others I still have some limited contact with, others have disappeared from the Radar totally.  And as you can see, blogging for me at least, has become a secondary entertainment vehicle.

But life at 70 remains busy....working at Honda when I feel like it, which isn't often...they would like me to come in more, but that isn't going to happen unless I outspend my resources...which hopefully won't happen. 

 On the agenda as Summer winds down...

...A few days with Hal and Family at Disney World in September...then the day after I return, it's off to Howard County {Kokomo}, Indiana, some 80 miles to attend another Vietnam Veterans Reunion, joining some 8-10 thousand other guys and families...while hunkering down at our "Boar's Nest" along the south fence line. I usually only stay 2 or 3 days....about all I can handle, camping in the back of the Nitro when not engaged in the usual partying...

Come Mid October, I head to SW Florida and take over youngest sister and her husband's place on the Gulf as they head back to his homeland, Denmark, for a couple of weeks....I will house, bird, cat, and dog sit, and take some time to do some photography work along the Gulf and down in the Glades...after they return, I will spend a few days driving the Jeep back through Florida and look up some old friends that now call my old State "Home"...Tom, John, John Harvey, GW, another John, and others....once home, a couple of weeks off, then off to Wisconsin with Patricia and Anissa, for an early "Thanksgiving" at her old hometown...then the Holiday Season will be upon us, as will winter...

So, that's it...retired or not, the rest of my year is pretty well spoken for....and hopefully I will get back here with some good photos and stories...just don't expect to much, to often.  

Back Later....just not saying when!

2019, Turning 70, and Moving Forward...

Turning 70...

I've got to admit that few males in my family, at least on dad's side have made it this far...over the years, going back through my Genealogy Research, I can maybe find a handful, maybe, that have reached 70...dad and brother Mike didn't, one of dad's brothers did, one didn't, only first blood cousin of that age group didn't...the other isn't past 60 yet...and back through the Ancestors, most of the men died in their 50s, if they were lucky to make it that far...only GGG Grandfather Israel Houseworth made it into his 80s and he was born at the dawn of the Revolutionary War in 1775...

So, last month I made the seldom achieved milestone...Welcome to 70!


2019.....

Not one to sugar coat anything, I look at the future of America, and thus by Proxy, the World, with a jaundice eye....I think we, as a country, are doomed...the influx of 3rd word trash, especially in the disguise of "The Religion of Peace", has doomed this Republic...there is no turning back..

Not to bemoan that truth however...we have brought this on ourselves.  The dumbing down of current and future generations,  thanks to public and some private education outlets, the declining birthrates of the brightest, while the least and unproductive continue to pop out bastard children at record rates and those going immediately to the Welfare and "Free Shit" Rolls...add this to the lies and misinformation from Hollywood, Pop Culture, and the Media, have put US on the fast track to 3rd world status....anything outside the Second Coming will not stop this slide..."Hold on to your seats, it's gonna be a bumpy ride".

Trump and TDS....

Anyone that has read this blog in year's page know that I say what I mean and mean what I say, at any costs...of late, the past 18 months or so, those costs have included being suspended from officiating Ohio High School sports in an official manner with the OHSAA, a suspension I have ignored at times...fuck them and the PC Agenda they push...I've also had my life membership pulled from the Vietnam Security Police Association, because I dared to call out a little brown Hispanic VP as a Gutless Racist and no "Brother" of other Vietnam Security Police who served in Vietnam...truth does bring out the worst in the PC crowd...and as I said "F~them"...I don't care.

I was not a Trump fan during the primary election season of 2016...I held my nose and voted for him...but since he was elected I slowly became a fan...is he a moron at times?  Hell yes, but he says, and it appears he is trying to do all the things I agree with...and pissing off the loons and louts on the left is as good as it gets...TDS [Trump Derangement Syndrome} is one of the greatest thing to come along since Reagan was elected back in 1980...

Looking Forward....

I have plans for the coming months...

Vietnam Sky Cop Reunion coming up in a couple of weeks at Wright Patterson AFB and Dayton...I have been a planner and the guy organizing this great event for the past decade, with plenty of help from guys that still help out and others who have passed on to their great and just rewards with our Lord...this year I will hook up with another old Friend from Nha Trang back in 1969..."Johnny C"  John Claflin will be, along with his better half, coming up from Central Florida to join us....he marks a handful of guys from Vietnam, Dover, and Griffiss, that I have managed to find, thanks to Social Media...one of the good things about the Internet, Facebook, etc...

Another Dual Sport Adventure is slated for Big Bend Texas the end of the month and into May...we will see how that shakes out.  Person, Clint Thompson, and me will, also in May head to Mesick, Michigan, for our annual Mushroom Hunt...mostly beer drinking and wishing we could find some Mushrooms....and Patricia and I have a couple of  Vacations planned....also Hal and family have a gig for us in September.

So there you have my first post in 2019...they are few and far between these days...but thought I would check in to let you know that, I'm still alive and kicking ass....

back later>>>.

photos-Top:  The need to get out on the Dual Sport Yamaha TW200 is still there, the body just isn't quite as willing, but will keep trying my best...the 'new" Jeep Wrangler purchased back in January...sure it's a 2009 but 'new' to me...first Wrangler I have owned in a decade...only 65000 miles on it...did I pay to much?  Of course, Wranglers always are overpriced...but Hell, it's likely to be my last...plus I still have the Nitro for comfort driving  :)

2-Yea no matter what you say, Trump is YOUR President...if we Conservatives had to put up with the fucking Kenyan born faggot and his "husband' Man~Chelle, you are stuck with Trump until he leaves...which looking at the Clown Circus running as Democrats, will likely be 2024...lol "Suck It" Suckers...

3-  The Vietnam/Thailand Sky Cops Reunion should have near 100 Guys and Wives for this event at WPAFB the end of April...

Looking Back at 2018

Have not posted in over 2 months...not the slowest of years on this page, but the past few months have been....been busy getting kicked off Facebook on 3 of my 4 IDs, as well as being banned from Twitter {forever}, which brought a smile to my face, I just wonder what took them so long? ..I am trying to stay one shot ahead of the Mark Suckerberg Storm Troopers....aka:  The Worshipers of Perverts and Other Child Molesting Leftist, Radical Islam, the BLM Bowel Movement, Pro Abortion Ghouls,  fake NWO RINOs, all things Obama and his husband Michael....Tranny Types, Euro Trash, and most of the world's garbage, including Border Jumpers and Carpet Divers....Did I miss anybody?  Just saying...2018 has been one Hell of a year for the agents against freedom of speech...

On a personal level?  Other than getting older {70 if I make it till this next March}, and some Vietnam Related Health Issues, so the VA tells me...I have had a great year...Wife, Kids and Grandsons doing well...soon to be 95 year old mom, back in Florida for another winter with youngest sister seems to be doing as well as anybody who manages to reach that age....so who can complain?

Sure the world is heading towards the "End Times", and fake Christians and their Co~Whore in the Atheist Media are oblivious to it all...the rest of us know the Book of Revelation is being played out in our lifetimes, and I hope to stick around for as long as possible and watch that grand show...if not, hopefully I will see you on the other {right} side of things....in the meantime:

MERRY CHRISTMAS and a Great and Happy New Year 2019!