Cousin Joan

Cousin Joan and I met on the internet a few years ago through another cousin Fran who lives in Houston, another future stop on Brent's Travels.

Joan is in her late 60's and recently diagnosed with nonhodgkins lymphoma. She has had other physical challenges in her life and I would expect her positive attitude will help see her through this hurdle too.  Joan and Fran have the same grandfather and my grandfather was a brother to theirs.  We also share the fact that their grandmother was a sister to my grandmother.  Yes two brothers married two sisters.  It's like being double related.  To toss some more confusion into this picture.  Our great grandfather MacAloney lost his wife and our great grandmother Parmenter (our combined grandmother's mother) lost her husband and our great grandfather MacAloney married our great grandmother Parmenter.  

Confused?  In summary two brothers marry two sisters and the parents married each other.  I don't know what you call these cousins but it is more than just cousin.

Joan lost her husband 2 years ago and moved her to be near family.  I would move for the weather.

Because of her current medical sitiation she can't do everything she likes so she has taken up sketching people.  Here is an example of her sketching.  This is her family.

Joan was the president of her condo block until recently.  She has a lot of nice friends that live in her unit.  I got to meet a couple of them earlier.  One had a Scandanavian accent so we briefly talked and she is from Sweden.  I worked in Copenhagen Denmark for 3 months back on the early 1980 and had taken a tour of Malmo while I was there.

Joan starts her chemo in the near future and I wish her the best as she fights the cancer battle.

Day 8 - 1/24 travel & visit

Here is my postcard to all from West Palm Beach.

Today I left Leesburg, mom and aunt to head south to visit cousin Joan.  It was cloudy in Leesburg as another cold front was passing south.  I drove the Florida Turnpike all the way from Leesburg to West Palm Beach. With the exit less than one mile from Joan.  On the way down I drove back through the warm side of the front and got into clear sky.  When I arrived after my 3 hour ride it was just about the high temperature for the day of 70.

Joan and I visited all afternoon talking about the MacAloney Family.  Then some dinner and more visiting.  

On the way down the SunPass did not work and I got the red light and a photo of my license plate.  I will have to call them as I bought the tag & registered it and put $25 on it.  Sometimes I think it is only me but the SunPass system has a number of flaws to it.  The instructions said to wait to use it until the day after the day you register.  I registered it on Wednesday and used it on Friday.  

I will see if I can have the photographed billing added to my pass so a bill isn't sent home when I am not there.

Day 7 - 1/23 Sick Day

Ever since leaving MD I have been fighting a cold and Thursday (yesterday) I was not wanting to do anything.  Frustrated in not doing any work on the camper I just figured since I am retired there is always tomorrow.

I did accomplish getting a SunPass for the Florida Turnpikes, since Friday I head south to visit cousin Joan.  

Now I will have to see how this works.

I also went for a 4.5 mile walk, but felt so lousy that when I got back I took a nap.

Last night I started to feel better and went outside from 9p to 9:20 to watch a rocket launch but didn't see it.  I found out this am that it was delayed 40 minutes, and by then I was looking at the back of my eyelids.

I haven't even thought of interviewing anyone feeling so lousy and most of my voice was missing.  I would have scared people off.

I have been thinking about the weather as I was going to go to the FL panhandle in about a week and it is currently too cold there right now for me to want to head there.  Here's to sending the artic air mass to Canada.

Day 6 - it's cold so I am told

My Uncle Frank died in 2005 and I flew down to see him a month before he passed but never got to see where he was buried, having not returned for the funeraI.  I drove my mother and my aunt the 1/2 hour to the Florida National Millitary Cemetary.  To see all the graves row on row, acre after acre my heart sank thinking of all the brave men and woman who served our country. THANK YOU!

There were three funerals going on the short time we were there.  Each had Millitary Honor Guards and one with a Legion Band.  

After driving through the Cemetary we arrived at the columbariums and row D1 we found Uncle Frank's vault.  He was a good man and a fine uncle.  I was lucky to have spent some wonderful times with him growing up.  When I was just 16 I had just received my drivers license and we went to visit him & my aunt on Long Island he gave me his car keys and said to me to go for a ride.  I drove out to Jones Beach and back, being so careful not to have anything bad happen.

Frank was a Fire Chief like my dad and yea, me too.  

The rest of the day included taking mom & aunt to Walmart and then dong some small things on the camper.

Day 5

Tuesday was a 12 hour travel day from Wilson, NC to Leesburg, FL to drop off mom with her sister for the rest of the winter.  We got going at 8 AM and morning travel was great.  I think this was the first time I didn't stop to see Pedro  at South of the Boarder for even a bathroom break.  I snapped this lousy picture driving by.

The weather changed when we stopped outside of Beaufort, SC for lunch.  The cold front had caught up with us.  The clouds and wind rolled in.  The wind was gusty making my little high-profile vehicle more tedious to drive having to keep a tight grip on the steering wheel for much of the rest if the trip.  As we entered FL there was some heavy showers through Jacksinville that luckily didn't cause any accidents.

In fact we only saw one accident and that was in NC where a tractor trailer drove off the road on the northbound side and road the center guardrail for at least 500 ft crushing it, coming to stop on the northbound side.

There is no straight way to get to Leesburg from I95 so from Jacksonville we went I10 to US301 to I75 to Florida's Turnpike.  This isn't a bad way but there are many towns where the speeds are reduced.

I didn't see any sign that the Florida's Turnpike was a toll road but I soon learned that I was on one of Florida's poorly planned toll roads.  Those that have driven in Florida know of the system they use.  I come to the exit and they want $1.25 in quarters only.  These are unstaffed tolls.  So now I am riffling through my pockets for quarters.  I find 5 and I'm good to go.  NO.  I put the coins in and the toll is not happy.  I am looking around and there is no notice on the machine.  I just have a red light.  Finally I see on the front passenger side of the car a post with "you paid $.75.  There is no one to argue with so I riffle my pockets again for two more quarters and put them in and finally get the green light.  It took 2 minutes and the whole time no one ever came behind me.  I guess they know to avoid the toll.

My aunt told me there are envelopes to take and mail in your toll.  There were no words to this effect on the machine but there were envelopes.  I don't know how you track your money to that toll.  She also said that if you don't pay they will send me a bill.  A bill that goes home would not be paid for about 4 months if it waited for me.  I guess in the meantime if a FL police stopped me I would have an unpaid bill.  This is not a cost issue but one of process that is flawed.  I will be looking for a Sunpass at CVS or Public stores to eliminate the FL aggravation since I will be traveling through the state for over a week. FL gets a poor on customer service for their Sunpass system.  We arrived at 8PM.

For the night I plugged into my aunt's and although cold for them since the front came through it is mild from where I came.

Camper Gas Milage

A number of folks have asked what I get for gas milage.  

The trip from Westminster to MD the camper averaged 12.7 mpg.  This was 4 adults and their luggage.  The average high speed was 65 mph

Today's travels I only have one fill up in lower VA and paid $3.149 per gallon and got 13.6 mpg.  I then noticed when I stopped today that I had the heat on bi-level and this includes running the A/C so with that off it may help.  Of course this leg of the trip there are only two of us so I am sure that this helped the milage too.  On the negative side the speed limit was mostly 70 mph today and this didn't help the milage.

If anyone has questions let me know.

Day 4 - Get Out of MD Before the Snow & Cold

I planned to leave MD for FL on Tuesday AM, but the impending 3 to 6 inches of snow here in DC was enough to get me to leave earlier than planned.  Denise & Jayne were flying back this evening so mom & I packed up and headed south.  

Mom & I did make it to Wilson, NC about 8  and will spend the night in a motel.  We will drive to Leesburg, FL on Tuesday. 

We need to get up early Tuesday and get on the road before the precipitation and cold makes it here during the day.  It will also be a long day of driving.

The good news is that it was a good travel day.