Tag Archives: Family Life

Hope in Humility

29 Mar

Guest Post

Rebekah Lyn

Reblogged from Rebekah Lyn’s Kitchen

Yesterday we celebrated Palm Sunday, and today is the start of Holy Week. Only a few days passed before the same people who sang “Hosanna in the highest!” changed their cries to “Crucify Him!” What a difference! Yet, if we look at Jesus himself, He didn’t stop loving those around Him. He didn’t stop teaching and healing. With His disciples, He spoke plainly of His impending death and resurrection, yet even then they didn’t understand.

One notable difference, though, came in His response to the vendors and money changers in the Temple. They’d been there every other time Jesus had visited, but this time he turned over their tables and called them out for the conniving robbers they were. This wasn’t the first time Jesus had seen these vendors in the Temple courts, yet this time He rebuked them. Mark 11:18 says, “The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at His teaching.”

As I thought about this post, pondering why this visit to the Temple was different, I realized this act of condemning those profiting off the tradition of blood sacrifice, the same tradition God Himself first began by slaying animals to provide coverings for Adam and Eve after they first sinned, foreshadowed the events to come.

The religious leaders, up to this point, have been skeptical. They’ve attempted to trip Jesus up in His teaching, and I’m sure there were some looking for ways to get rid of Him long before this event in the Temple. Despite the parables Jesus spoke in, I have a feeling they recognized when Jesus was referring to them negatively. Some may have felt shame and conviction, but most felt their power threatened.

Finally, on the first day of Passover, Jesus dined alone with His disciples. The meal had already started and yet Jesus stood up, wrapped a towel around His waist, and began to wash the feet of the disciples. This was an act performed whenever someone entered a home. If the owner was wealthy, a servant would perform this task. As you can imagine, feet got pretty dirty walking along dusty roads, dodging piles of animal droppings.

Jesus doing this for His disciples is a beautiful picture of love. One that particularly resonates with me because, as a child, I loved washing my grandmother’s feet, cutting her toenails, and bandaging her corns. I didn’t recognize the symbolism of it then, but as I’ve grown deeper in my relationship with Christ, I can imagine the compassion He felt for those men who had followed Him for three years. He had forged deep relationships with them and loved them deeply. He had created them, yet He humbled himself to serve them in a personal way. He even washed the feet of Judas, knowing this man would betray Him within hours.

Jesus chose to be born of humble parents, in the lowest circumstances, the polar opposite of what He deserved as the Almighty King. Through his three years of ministry, those closest to Him were of the working class and looked down upon by many. He walked from place to place rather than riding in an expensive carriage or on the shoulders of slaves. Despite all this, thousands flocked to listen to Him, to understand His message, and to receive His healing.

It was this humbleness, though, that kept many from believing, including the religious leaders who should have known the prophecies about the coming Messiah. With their knowledge of the Torah, they either failed to see or failed to accept that Jesus fulfilled every one of those prophecies.

If you aren’t a follower of Christ, spend time this week considering your life. Are you willing to accept this is the best you will have? When you die, you will not cease to exist, but spend an eternity in darkness and fire. All it takes to change that outcome is a change of heart, a shift in perspective that allows you to see Jesus for the conqueror He was. He entered the Earth humbly, but He lived blameless, the only perfect life. Yet He gave up His life willingly as a sacrifice for the sins of all humanity. Not only did He die for us, He rose again in victory. Come back next week for more of that story.

Don’t forget to check out the resources page I am developing with content I have found encouraging, has taken me deeper in my walk with God, and generally builds my hope.

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Memories of My Mother-Repost

17 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Last week, I did a repost of my big brother, since it was his birthday.  Well guess what – today marks my Mother’s birthday – just one week after my brother’s!  She would have been 111 years old today.  She died when she was 80 years old.  But I would like to repost what I wrote about her some years ago.  We bloggers wrote a “Mother’s Day Collage” one year, and this is what I wrote about her.  I would also like to include what my brother Bill, wrote about her that day.

Here are my thoughts:

How do I describe my Mother?  She was so unique in all her ways.

One of the most unique things is that she met, fell in love with, and married a man who was 20 years older than herself.  And yet, the marriage was one that I hoped to emulate with my marriage.  She created a loving and secure home for her husband and her children.  She was heart-broken when her husband died.

She loved to sing and to play the piano.  She had a great alto voice.  She had a good ear and would just go and sit down at the piano and begin playing.  I’m still frustrated that I can’t remember the names of the songs/hymns she played.  My brother and I tried to remember them, and have them played at her funeral, but neither of us could remember.

She was a good cook.  She made a pot roast that would just melt in your mouth.  And that’s something I’ve never been able to duplicate.  I never learned her technique.  My Dad used to tease her by saying “this meat is no good – it just falls off the bone!”  She made the best cherry pie.  She made home-made peach jam from the peaches in our back yard.

One time, as she and I were sitting in the living room watching TV, we heard a terrible sound!  We both ran to the kitchen – only to find that the pressure cooker had “blown” out the pressure valve and pinto beans were all over the ceiling!  What a mess!

Although I suspect she would have loved to be a stay-at-home mom, she worked as an accountant at Kirtland AFB, to make money for “extra” things in our life.  She bought a new piano for our house. 

But one of the best things about her working there, was that she would find young military personnel – usually men – who were away from home and homesick, and bring them to church with us on a Sunday, then home to Sunday dinner.  She kept in contact with many of them throughout her time there.  One time she broke her ankle and couldn’t climb the steps to her office upstairs.  The officials were so insistent that she not “retire” that they placed a desk and lamp under the stairway just for her.  They really liked her work.

When my Dad retired and money was tight, Mother bought a Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio, trained for the job, and set to work.  She had a really good, strong work ethic.

Oh my………so many more memories, but these fill my heart and mind.

I miss her still.

And here are Bill’s thoughts about her:

Thank You Mother

My mother was such a great influence and inspiration in my life.  She taught me that God loved me and wanted to guide me every step of my life, if I would only ask Him.  She taught me to be a gentleman in every area of my life.  She taught me to learn all the details and to never take anything for granted.  She taught me to always give the other person the benefit of the doubt, and to do to others as I would have them do to me.  She taught me to be observant, to work hard and to be patient with others, and to always be kind and loving.  She taught by example and there was never any question about her love, acceptance and forgiveness toward others and me.

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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My Brightline Train Trip-Part 4

13 Mar

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

New Years Day (1/1/2024 Continued)

After we had boarded the train and found our seats, we discovered that the Brightline train is being used by a lot of people as a commuter train for the stations between Miami and West Palm Beach.  There was a large passenger exchange at our station, as well as at the Boca Raton and West Palm Beach stations.

Photo Credit: https://www.istockphoto.com/people-waiting-for-train/

By the time we got to the Melbourne area, the sun was setting, and it was hard to see outside with the reflection of the lights in the train car.  I did notice, however, that the train whistle was not sounding as often heading north in the dark as the one did heading south in the daylight.  That seemed a little scary to me, when I thought of the many vehicles that have been hit by these trains since they started traveling this route at these higher speeds.

Photo Credit: https://www.fox35orlando.com/brightline/crash

The speed was slower heading north (Average 76 mph) thru the more congested areas, and we were able to see a few things we recognized.  We were able to see the big Cocoa water tower, and the SR-528 overpass as we turned west and passed under the highway.  Once the train was on the straight-away, parallelling SR-528, the train’s speed increased to about 125 mph (not much to see along this stretch) and before we knew it, we were pulling into the Orlando Airport Terminal “C” Brightline Station and the end of our New Year’s Day train trip.

Photo Credit: https://www.rail-tech.com/brightlines-orlando-station/  

Billy walked me to the Wally Park shuttle pickup area where we said our goodbyes.  I called for a shuttle pickup and Billy found his car and headed home.  It wasn’t long before the Wally Park shuttle pulled up.  The shuttle driver had other passengers to pick up at the different airlines, so it took almost 20-minutes for him to deliver me to my car at the Wally Park parking area.  I had forgotten to write down my parking “Row” and parking “Slot” so it took him a while to find the right “Row” and “Slot” and my car (How could I have forgotten to do that?).

Photo Credit: https://www.google.com/search=Wally/Park/Shuttle

Once we found my car, it was a familiar route home to Titusville via south on SR-436 and east on SR-528 approximately 35 miles.  This route runs right along a portion of the same Brightline Train track we had just been on.  By the time I arrived home, DiVoran had prepared a great “Welcome Home” supper for me and had it waiting.  She and that home-cooked supper were a welcome site after this long day with Billy to Fort Lauderdale and return on the Brightline High-Speed train.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

That brings to a close the adventures of “My Brightline Train Trip” with my son, Billy, on New Year’s Day of 2024.  I would have to say that this was a very interesting once–in-a-lifetime experience that I enjoyed sharing with my son, and am looking forward to doing it again (with Billy) once Brightline has finished the Orlando to Tampa leg of their system.  In the meantime, I think I will continue to do my trips to the south Florida area by car (Road Trips).  Thanks for joining me for this short one-day Brightline train trip.  It’s been fun!  See you next time.

Image Credit: https://www.dreamstime.com/illustration/goodbye/

—–The End—–

ill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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My Big Brother

10 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Repost

Today is a special day in my family’s life – it is my big brother’s (Bill Lites) 86th birthday!  In honor of him, I would like to repost this that I wrote about him in 2013:

There’s a lot I don’t remember about growing up in New Mexico.  I remember my best girlfriend (down the street….through the neighbors yard….down the alley to her back yard) and some of the good times we had.  She now lives just an hour-and-a-half away from me, and we see each other occasionally.  She tells me that she probably wouldn’t be a believer today if it weren’t for my parents picking her up every Sunday morning to take her to church with us.  I have no memory of her in our car.  I remember her at the church and at the functions we did together.  But not picking her up.  Very selective brain I have, don’t I?

Photo credit – Google search

I do remember that Bill and I used to fight like the proverbial cats and dogs.  Nearly drove our mother to distraction sometimes.  I’m sure he didn’t care to have his bratty little sister trying to tag along very often.

Of course, all that changed when he grew into the age that – all of a sudden, GIRLS were a VERY interesting phenomenon to him!  He would ask me what I knew or had heard about that particular girl.  And what about this particular girl – what do I know or have heard about her.  I really don’t remember many of his “girlfriends” until DiVoran came along.  But that’s another story unto itself.

Thanksgiving 1956 – Bill and DiVoran – photo credit Jessie King

I have a couple of pictures that still make me chuckle every time I see them.  We were both a couple of cut-ups in our day, and these pictures prove it.  Weren’t we cute?  I came upon these pictures many years ago, and had them blown up and sent them to Bill as a Christmas present one year.  I think I heard him laughing all the way from Florida to Virginia!

1949 – Albuquerque, New Mexico – photo credit Agnes Lites

1949 – Albuquerque, New Mexico – photo credit Agnes Lites

I have a couple of pictures taken at Bill’s 10th birthday party – and once again, I wormed my way into the festivities.  Looks like none of the boys were paying any attention to me.  But then, what 10-year-old boy pays attention to a 6-year-old girl?  Some of these boys were neighborhood friends, some were school friends, and some were church friends.  And Bill still keeps in touch with some of these boys.  Those life-time friendships are treasured.

March 10, 1948 – Albuquerque, New Mexico – Daddy inside the front porch – photo credit Agnes Lites

March 10, 1948 – Albuquerque, New Mexico – photo credit Agnes Lites

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BIG BROTHER!  I LOVE YOU!!

From your (formerly) bratty little sister

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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2023 Road Trip-Part 20

7 Feb

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 20 – August 3

: After breakfast this morning, I got my things together and met Billy, who was already waiting for me in the lobby of the motel.  I had wanted to visit a couple of museums in St. Petersburg today, but Billy told me he needed to be home by the early afternoon, so, we would have to save those museum visits for another trip.  I asked him if he had had his breakfast and was ready to start today’s activities, and he said, “Yes, let’s get going.”  We headed east on SR-688, across the Howard Frankland Bridge (SR-60), to pick up I-4 (east) for 25 miles to visit the Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum in Plant City, FL.  This museum is housed in the original 1909 Union Station Depot building and displays antique railroad artifacts and memorabilia.  Museum visitors can view passing trains up-close from the museum’s Viewing Platform located adjacent to the museum.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now we continued east 25 miles on I-4 to visit the Fantasy of Flight Museum located in Polk City, FL.  This amazing aviation museum has 50+ beautifully restored civilian and WWII military aircraft that all fly.  The owner of this museum, Kermit Weeks, has restored most of these aircraft over the years and flys one of them every day that the museum is open.  After landing, he will sit on the wing and tell his visitors the complete history of that particular aircraft.  Some of his tour guides are dressed in vintage costumes as ‘Rosie the Riveter’ and ‘Gracy the Wing Walker.’  Best looking tour guides I’ve seen at any museum.

     Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/fantasy+of+flight+museum/  

Continuing east another 30 miles on I-4 we wanted to visit the Warbird Air Museum located in Kissimmee, FL. but when we arrived at the address, adjacent to the Kissimmee Municipal Airport, we discovered the museum had been closed and all the aircraft moved to somewhere in South Carolina.  That was quite a surprise!  So, since it was almost noon, and we were in Kissimmee, I asked Billy if he would like to have lunch at the Columbia Spanish Restaurant.  DiVoran and I had enjoyed lunch at the Columbia Restaurant (located at the St. Petersburg Pier) back while we were on vacation there, and really liked their food.  I had their Pork Chops with black beans & rice and plantains, and Billy had Ropa Viejas with Spanish rice and plantains.  It was excellent!

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After that delicious dining experience, we took our ‘Take Out Bags full of leftovers and continued north on I-4 thru downtown Orlando traffic (not bad at this time of day) for about an hour to deliver Billy home in Orange City.  Lisa was glad to see us and told us about her trip back from Atlanta.  After a bathroom break, I headed east on SR-46 the last 55 miles of my 2023 Road Trip to my home in Titusville, FL.  The first thing DiVoran said was, “Where did you get that beautiful red van?”  I hadn’t told her about my troubles, because I was afraid she would worry about me.  After helping me unload the van, she cooked me the first home-cooked meal I’d had in almost three weeks.  Yummm!

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Of course, I had to tell her the whole van breakdown story, and when I was through, she said, “You know I have always wanted a red car, but I never expected to get one this way.”  We laughed about that, and I told her I thought I had earned the ‘Old Things R New’ (our blog website) ‘Most Adventurous’ award for this trip, and that I didn’t think I would ever plan another trip this long again.  It was just too long.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

This brings to a close the narrative of my 2023 Road Trip.  I hope you have enjoyed reading about my adventures (most of them) as much as I have enjoyed remembering (most of them) and writing about them.  Join me again next time as I explore new areas of our wonderful country and visit new historical places and museums.  Keep your eyes on the road and drive safely.

Photo Credit: https://www.clipartmax.com/cartoon-driver-waving/

—–The End—-

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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And Yet Another Cruise-2

4 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

We’ve been on the four older Disney ships many times, and were looking forward to sailing on the Disney Wish this time.  We had heard great things about it.  So let me just say …it is a COMPLETELY different ship than the others!  The Disney Wish, the Disney Treasure, and the Disney Adventure are the three newest ships in the Disney Cruise Line, and are in a different “class” from the four older ships.

We found that it’s the “little things” that make up the difference.  

        1.  The four older ships have the “Cabanas” on deck 11 – most cruise lines would call that the Lido deck.

Photo credit – Judy Wills

It is a buffet for all three meals each day.  On the Wish, it is called Marceline Market.  If you know Disney’s story, you know that his family lived in Marceline, Missouri for a while, and Walt loved that town.  The Cabanas has a “beach” feel to it.

The Cabanas – picture credit Judy Wills

Marceline Market has a lot of wood and separate areas for seating.

Marceline Market – picture credit Judy Wills

In the Cabanas, I can help myself to what I want to eat – in the Marceline Market, it is handed to me.  There is a lack of “freedom” there that is strange….not bad, just different.

            2.  All four of the older ships have similar three eateries – Animators Palate is on all four of the ships, and the Enchanted Garden is on at least two or three of the ships.  

Photo credit – Judy Wills

Photo credit – Judy Wills

There is usually a more “formal” restaurant, such as the Royal Court or RoyalPalace,

Photo credit – Judy Wills

 but it is different on each ship.  It is not as formal as Palo or Remy, which are the high-end restaurants whose cost is extra, but has the feel of “formal.”

            3.   On the older ships, on deck 11, there is the huge screen where there is constantly showing either a Disney movie, or something “Disney.”  That is the same on the Wish.  That is also the deck where the pool is, so one can sunbathe, swim, eat – whether snack or a full meal – and watch a movie all at the same time.

Photo credit – Judy Wills

On the older ships, whenever I wanted a soft-serve ice cream cone, I could just go and get it – as many as I wanted.  On the Wish, someone gets it for me and hands it to me.

Photo credit – Judy Wills

Again, the lack of “freedom” is there.  I guess I’m spoiled in that respect.  Fred suggested that it is a “health” or “cleanliness” issue.  I’ll go along with that.

Okay, I’ll stop whining now.  The Wish is a great ship, and we did enjoy our cruise.  The stateroom seems to be just a tiny bit larger than the ones on the older ships.  Not much, but enough to be apparent.  And we did have the split bathrooms again, so that was nice.

There were some fascinating things about Marceline Market – the “dividers” between the eating sections had glass cases that held such things as very antique toys, clocks, and one had a metronome in it.

Photo credit – Judy Wills

 Others had bakery goods – bread loaves, etc.  One had different types of cookware in it. 

Photo credit – Judy Wills

One off-shoot from the main eating area was a bit small, and held small round tables just for two people.  We never ate in there, but it looked cozy.

Photo credit – Judy Wills

We liked the place they arranged the glassware (actually plastic glasses) where we could grab a glass and get our own drinks from a machine.  Look closely in this picture and you will see the area half-filled with glasses.

Photo credit – Judy Wills

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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2023 Road Trip-Part 19A

31 Jan

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 19 – August 2 

(Continued) The drive from the MOSI Museum to downtown Ybor City only took us about ten minutes, where we wanted to visit the Ybor City Museum located in the historic 1923 Ferlita Bakery building within the Ybor City State Park, but it was closed.  However, we did find out that the building was used as a bakery until 1973 when it was refurbished and taken over by the museum as part of the Ybor City State Park.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

As we toured the Ybor City State Park, and its many restored buildings and casitas (workers’ cottages) dating from the 1890s, we noticed the many colorful chickens and roosters scratching and crowing most everywhere we looked.  Then we saw a ‘Warning’ sign telling us not to feed the chickens, and that they were protected by the city.  What an interesting old city tradition that is!

Photo Credit https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;Ybor+City+roosters

 After that interesting stroll thru the history of Ybor City, we drove into downtown Tampa to try to visit the Tampa Police Museum, but it was closed.  Since we were in downtown Tampa, we drove a few short blocks to visit the Tampa Firefighters Museum.  This museum is housed in the original 1911 Fire Station #1 that was restored in 1974, before becoming the Firefighters Museum in 1978 when the new Fire Station was built.  The museum’s centerpiece is their beautifully restored 1927 American LaFrance fire engine and the museum also displays a variety of antique firefighting artifacts and memorabilia dating from the 1800s.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Since it was getting late, and our motel was in Clearwater, FL this evening, we decided to head that way to make sure they didn’t give our room to someone else.  I gave Greta (my Garmin) the address of the motel and she took us right to it with no problems.  When we checked in with our reservations at the motel, the desk clerk told me, that as a ‘Platinum Member’ our rooms had been upgraded to Suites (that hadn’t happened before).  I thanked him and when we arrived at our second-floor rooms, we were both shocked to find large two-room suites with kitchenette, dining area, two TVs, and with balconies overlooking their central garden.  Billy said, “WOW, some upgrade!”

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/Clarion+inn+Clearwater+Beach+fl

 After we got our things in our rooms, I told Billy that I would like to eat at Crabby Bill’s located in Indian Rocks Beach (DiVoran and I had eaten there once during a vacation) and I knew he liked seafood.  He said that was fine with him.  By the time we arrived at the restaurant, the entire dining area was jammed with people, but luckily, we found seats at the bar.  I had their fresh Frog Legs plate served with sweet potato fries and their special seafood sauce.  It was great.  Billy had Blackened Fish Tacos with Creole Remoulade sauce.  We traded bites of each other’s dish and we had to say they were both excellent.

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/frog+legs+crabby+bill’s+indian+rocks+beach+fl

 After that great dining experience, and before we left the restaurant, asked a waitress to take our picture with Crabby Bill’s mascot, “Crabby Bear” to remember the occasion.  Billy wanted to walk off some of his dinner with a walk on the beach, so we ambled down to the beach, and enjoyed a moonlight stroll among the sea oats with the gentle sound of the waves in the background.  Relaxed from the day’s activities and all the good food, we headed back to the motel for a good night’s rest.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

 

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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And Yet Another Cruise

28 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Recently, Fred and I took another cruise.  I really enjoy cruising.  I can’t really verbalize just why that is – is it because I grew up in a land-locked state?  Is it because I like the motion of the boat/ship in the water?  So many questions with so few answers.

I think the first time I was ever on a boat, it was a sailboat.  We were living on Tyndall AFB, Florida (Panama City) at the time, just preparing to move to another base.

Photo Credit Google Search

 We had spent an entire week cleaning the apartment we’d lived in for five years, and were exhausted. 

Photo Credit Judy Wills – our half of the duplex

A fellow worker in Fred’s unit had use of a sailboat for the owners, and had the permission of the owners to take it out any time he wanted.  So he took our family and two single men from the unit out our last day in town.  It was wonderful!  The sail was up, the wind was off the Gulf of Mexico, the sun was out – and there was no sound other than the wind and the waves.  Peaceful and quiet.  Just what we needed.  Our Janet was an adventurous little thing in those days, and she was allowed to “steer” the boat at one point.

It took a while for me to convince Fred to just try cruising.  His parents wanted to take a sea/land tour of Alaska, and wanted the family to go with them.  The cruising part was only for three days, but that was enough for Fred to realize that today’s cruising was not anything like the troop ship he was on when he was a teenager.

And so, once Fred was able to experience “cruising”’ – he fell in love with it as much as I had.  We have done some sailing with other cruise lines – Holland America (one of our favorites – especially the one to Alaska!) and Norwegian Cruise Line.  We sailed to Bermuda with Holland America for our 50th Wedding Anniversary, with both daughters and their families with us.  That was a great cruise!

However, we’ve discovered that our favorite cruise line is Disney.  A major decision is that there is no casino on board the ship!  No smoke-filled room one must walk through to get anywhere else on the ship!  Yay!  We like the fact that the children on board have activities that can keep them occupied nearly all day – and they love it!  Disney ships have two smokestacks.  Only one is actually a smokestack – the second one is built specifically for a place for the teenagers to be entertained.  Amazing!

This most recent cruise we were on was our 10th with the Disney Cruise Line. 

Photo credit Judy Wills – The Disney Wish

The fact it was our 10th Disney cruise kicks us up into a higher category of Disney travelers.  We get a few more “perks” from now on that we didn’t have before.  Just a few:  we can check-in quicker and earlier; we have a free meal in Palo – one of the high-end restaurants on the ship that we normally avoid because of the cost.  There are others, but I forget what they are at the moment.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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2023 Road Trip-Part 19

24 Jan

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 19 – August 2:  

After breakfast this morning, I packed up my things and met Billy in the lobby of the motel to start today’s museum hunt.  We headed south out of Valdosta for 35 miles on US-129, across the border into Florida, to visit the Old Jail Museum located in Jasper, FL.  This museum, also known as the Hamilton County Historic Old Jail Museum, is situated in the original old 1893 two-story jail building that served as Hamilton County’s only jail until 1984.  This museum displays antique jail exhibits, artifacts, and photos to help visitors get an idea of how prisoners lived at the turn-of-the-century in rural Georgia.  The building was originally designed, as many jails were in the 1800s, to house not only prisoners but also with living quarters for the local Sheriff (Warden) and his family.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now we continued south another 20 miles on US-129 to visit the Live Oak Union Passenger Depot Museum located in Live Oak, FL.  This museum is situated in the old 1861 Savannah, Florida & Western Railroad (SF&W) freight depot and was restored in 1885 to serve Live Oak and the surrounding Suwannee County area’s expanding railroad business.  The museum displays antique railroad artifacts, photos, and memorabilia related to the influence the railroad had on the growth of this area in the mid-1800s.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After leaving Live Oak, we headed southeast about 25 miles on US-90 to just west of Lake City, FL where we picked up I-75 and turned south.  We had gone about 35 miles south on I-75 when ‘nature’ called, and we pulled into the nearest Rest Stop.  After that refreshing stop (we needed some exercise), we noticed this sign for the Snake Wall, and checked it out.  It turns out that it is an inclined walkway that is described as “A unique piece of functional art (curving 325’ long) that successfully combines protection of the surrounding ecosystem and the roadway” and also provides access to the Payne Prairie Overlook.  An impressive design, and it gets your blood pumping at a good rate, all at the same time (sorry, but the info marker was weathered).

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now it was another 45 miles south on I-75 to visit the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing located just south of Ocala, FL.  I had visited this museum on another road trip, but Billy hadn’t been there, and he wanted to see all the racing machines.  We spent a long time looking at the 90+ drag racing machines and another 50+ beautifully restored antique cars in the Antique Car building.  WOW!  What a collection!  We learned that they race R/C model drag racing machines at the museum once each month, and Billy and I are planning to visit that event as soon as we

can.  Sounds like a lot of fun.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Leaving that amazing museum, we continued south on I-75 another 15 miles to visit the Florida Carriage Museum in Weirsdale, FL and the Florida Pioneer Village in Dade City, FL but they were both closed.  So, continuing another 35 miles south on I-75 we visited the Mission Base Museum & MOSI located just west of Thonotosassa, FL.  This hugh facility Is a scientific playground for all ages, with 100+ hands-on activities including the Mission Moon Base Lunar Colony, VR Simulator and a planetarium.  It was obvious from the number of kids in the lobby that school was out, at least for this bunch.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

 

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Christmas is Coming-Part 6

7 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Even though Christmas has come and gone – as has the New Year celebration – I would like to continue describing my Christmas decorations – around the house, the neighborhood and our church building.

Therefore:

Here is the kitchen counter, and the decorations I have there.  I have taken to attaching the Christmas cards we receive to the top counter.  We receive about 100 cards, and it’s difficult to find other places to put them.  I usually have a candle in either this snowflake holder or a swirl – either a red or green candle.  As for the “gingerbread” man – It was full of some kind of candy when given to us years ago, but now I have it full of red-hearts (hot cinnamon candies).  I think it makes a cute decoration.  

As for the white candle, it was made by a very good friend, and given to us one Christmas as a present.  Since our grandchildren (now adults) used to come to visit us at Christmas time, that white candle, wrapped in greenery, was always out.  And so our granddaughter came to associate Christmas at Granny and Grandpa’s house with that candle.

One year, I decided to just place the greenery around what I usually have in that spot.  When our granddaughter came in and saw that, she exclaimed:  “that’s just not right!  Where’s the white candle???”  So I put away the other item and got out the white candle.  And it’s been on the counter every Christmas since.

I guess the main item in the family room is the entertainment center.  Here’s a picture of the top of it, which is the only part of it decorated.

As you can see, I have used the gold tinsel garland to top it off.  The two trumpeting angels I purchased  a few years ago, and delight in them each year.  The center multi-colored pyramid I purchased while we were in Germany.  Many of the glass balls have broken through the years, and I have purchased others to take their place.  

On either side of the entertainment center are our two stereo speakers.  We purchased some candle holders while in Germany, which I treasure.  We put them out – with candles – every year.

Next to the entertainment center, is a bakers rack that I call a “birdcage” – don’t know why I call it that, just seems like one to me.  

In previous years, I wrapped greenery around it, but like this “candy cane” look much better.  The top shelf supports a Disney count-down “calendar” that we purchased from the Christmas store at Disney Springs a few years ago.  I try to change it out each morning.  The second shelf supports a figurine from the same place – just because I liked it.  the two Disney plates I purchased from a lady here in Hunter’s Creek who was selling them.  One is from 1997 and one from 1998.

Going down the hallway is this little gem.

Some years ago, when our daughter Janet was working for Disney, she gave us this set of Disney characters.  I always wanted some way to display them.  A man in our church is a master of wood working, and he made this shadow-box for me.  The figurine on top is of Mickey perched on top of his “house” as it was in Magic Kingdom years before, and was given to us by a good friend who worked with Disney.  Just a short garland on this one.

This little decoration tickles my fancy when I put it up.  I saw it in a magazine many years ago, and purchased it.  “Up On The Rooftop” comes out every Christmas, and I get a kick out of seeing it every year.

Next time I will post the decorations around our neighborhood.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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