Visiting "Old Stomping Grounds" With Friends

(Wauchula, FL) Hi 84 Low 65 --  We got up about 8:00 but we knew our friends, Linda and George,  got up at 6, ate breakfast, and worked out in the hotel gym.  They met us for our breakfast and we sat and talked for an hour or so then we left for a day trip of about 50 miles to Patrick AFB and the Space Coast area.  We were just there this past November, but the reason we wanted to take them was to show how much the area had changed.  We were stationed at Patrick AFB together in the mid-70's, and that's where we first met them.  Linda and I were both pregnant at the time with our second child.  When they got military orders to Travis AFB, CA we followed them to that same base a year or so later.  We followed them again to Scott AFB, IL.  They then transferred to Hawaii and, although we didn't follow them there, we were the best of friends by then.  We raised our kids together and our two families became, and remain, very close.  George and Jim retired from the Air Force within a couple of years of each other.  When George retired he and Linda bought a motorhome and lived in it for the past 15 years, working the summers at Yellowstone NP.  They recently decided to plant roots and bought a mobile home in Carson City, NV and gave up the motorhome.  We plan to visit them out there in the future as we expand our travels westward.  We’ve been through a lot together and we always treasure the times we get to see them, and really miss them when we have to say goodbye.

We had a good time driving around the Patrick AFB area and reminiscing.  So much has changed!
 
Here’s some pictures of our fun time today. (Click on pictures to enlarge)

George, Linda, Dee and Jim
Views from the famcamp at Patrick AFB


Some Florida Pelicans.  Jim said they must be retired like us, they're just sitting around.  :)

This is the beach that's about one quarter mile from where we lived in base housing.  We could hear the the surf when we had our windows open.  Ahh, those were the days!



The drawbridge crossing the Banana River onto Merritt Island.  It just happened to open when we came up to it. It turns instead of raising.


The sailboat that went through the open bridge
A view from the bridge

Driving north from the southern end of Merritt Island.  It's very narrow and the homes face the Indian River in the front, and their backyards are on the Banana River. So they're water"front" and water"back" homes.

  The Indian River comes right up almost to the edge of the road in some places.



It’s a gorgeous drive on Merritt Island.  Jim used to run these roads back when he trained for a marathon (in his lean and mean mid-20's).  We love this area.  It’s a lot busier and crowded since we were here in our military days, but it feels like home when we're in this area.

It was a wonderful day of sunshine for our best friends.  The skies turned dark and we had rain about the time we arrived back at the motel.  Now they have to head back to cold Carson City, NV.  It was nice to provide them some warm weather while they were here.

Thank you George and Linda for staying a couple days after your cruise to spend time with us.  We love you guys!