Nov. 11, 2008 Pensacola – Lake City
After an impressive Veteran’s Day service, we left Azalea Trace at 2 p.m., and drove 300 miles in 5 hours. We spent the night at the comfortable Best Western.
The trip was not without a little excitement! At our first rest area, it was my turn to drive. The engine would not start, but with a little prodding it started. It was then that we decided we would keep the engine running all the way to Lake City.
We took turns using the restroom while the other one stayed in the van. It worked!
Nov. 12, 2008 Lake City – Ft. Lauderdale
The Best Western was an exceptionally good choice. We had a good night’s sleep + after a hearty breakfast of cereal, yogurt, juice, coffee + donut (a no-no), we left at 8:30.
Bert was the driver on the first leg of the trip on Rt. 75, then I took over + continued on Rt. 75 until we reached the turnpike at Wildwood.
We filled the tank for $34.00 as gas was a bargain at $2.07 + it was at least $0.20 more on the turnpike.
The turnpike driving was a dream, little traffic + no trucks to speak of. The cruise control was set between 70-75 mph and it was smooth sailing until Ft. Pierce where we got off the turnpike and took I-95 because it was cheaper. (The toll was $10.50.)
If we had it to do over, we’d probably paid the turnpike fee and opted for it rather than battle the I-95 heavy truck traffic.
We had sporadic heavy cloud bursts + I happened to be behind the wheel, so we were glad to exit at 33 and head for our night’s lodging at the Hampton Inn.
Our accommodations here are very nice – two queen size beds, plenty of towels, a computer desk + wi-fi equipped, so we had no complaints.
We cruised around town looking for a new journal + this is the best I could find at Office Depot. The paper is a little thin, so I’ll just write on one side.
Dinner tonight was across the street at Duffy’s Diner where the lasagna servings were too large. Would you believe we brought enough of the leftovers home + Hampton got us a refrigerator for our room. What accommodations.
Mileage now is 653 from Pensacola – 353 miles today.
Nov. 13, 2008 Ft. Lauderdale
We took advantage of an easy schedule today by sleeping in till 7 am. Had a filling breakfast, then read the U.S.A. Today. Bert discovered he was reading the wrong schedule for our meeting so we hurried to John Knox Village where we were a half hour late. It was a good meeting with Bennett Lapier in charge.
We broke for lunch which was quite good – Shepard’s pie, peas, corn + sherbet for dessert. Back to the conference room where we learned about various CCRC’s throughout Fl. After hearing from various speakers relating their fees, etc. we decided we have the best deal at Azalea Trace.
After our meeting we adjourned at 4:30, returned to our hotel, Hampton Inn, Ft. Lauderdale, which is just about 4 or 5 miles from John Knox Village, Pompono Beach.
We’re glad we came down for this meeting + we look forward to tomorrow’s meeting which will be over at 2 pm – too late to take off for Jax.
Nov. 14, 2008 Ft. Lauderdale
Our busy day started at John Knox Village at 8:30 after a Continental Breakfast here at Hampton Inn.
The chapter delegates were seated on the stage and there are eight regional directors of Flicra [(FLiCRA/Florida Life Care Residents Association)]. Bert represents region one + he had a good report on what it involves. We have 92% of our residents who are Flicra members.
Amendment 5 is dead, and we had to spend $40,000 to defeat this. What’s coming next? The bed tax, and this we’ll remain neutral. AARP also remains neutral, and this includes Medicaid + they get money from the federal gov’t.
Bennett Napier is our executive administrator, and he talked for one hour explaining the purpose of Flicra’s importance of CCRC’s relationship with management.
There are 71 CCRC’s in Fl. Only 44 have Flicra chapters. Although Azalea Trace has 92% of members who are Flicra members, we’ll strive for 100%.
Lunch was served in the dining room + Marian Johnson, the Exec. Director of Fl. Chamber of Political Institute gave an interesting account of Fl’s election results.
We heated our left over lasagna in the microwave for dinner + got organized for our trip home tomorrow.
Nov. 15, 2008 Ft. Lauderdale – Jacksonville
Our day began as usual at 8:30 after a delicious breakfast and packing for our trip to Jax.
Traffic on I-95 was much lighter than coming down Thurs.
Other than the rest areas, we made few stops – one at Vero Beach to get some grapefruit and to fill the tank for the low price of $1.99.
At Titusville we had lunch at MacDonalds, then made a call to let the kids know what time to expect us.
Following I-95 really got us to Jax ahead of our expected time. In fact, we had to call them on our cell phone to let them know we were here. They were shopping, but gave us their combination number + we came through the garage and made ourselves at home.
For dinner we went to Brucci’s and had a delicious 16” pizza which we shared. It was a real treat because we seldom get pizza at A.T.
We switched clothes because a cold front + drizzly rain have changed from the warm sunshine + tropical breezes of South Florida!
Nov. 16, 2008 Jacksonville
This was a relaxing day spent with Kent & Tamiko. After lunch in the German restaurant, Schnitzel Haus, Tamiko and I went shopping, but first I should mention what I had to eat. It was a large helping of German potato salad, sauerkraut – tasty but sour and 2 bratwurst – enough for two meals.
Tamiko + I checked out Bealls. She bought a nightshirt, but I couldn’t find anything. Then we went to Drapers + Damon’s where I found $100.00 worth of clothes for $80.00 – some deal!
The guys watched the Jaguars – Tenn game. The score was? The Titans won big time.
Nov. 17, 2008 Jacksonville – Pensacola
We got away at the usual time 8:15 our time. Nothing unusual happened to report. It was “smooth sailing” all the way home + people were glad to see us. Somehow they seemed to think I just made the trip to Ft. Lauderdale to shop. I really enjoyed the meetings and learning how all the CCRC’s work. It was good to get back home to A.T. after our 1300 mile trip!
