My Friend Jim - Age 81 - Is Flying From Florida to Alaska - He Will Be Here Tomorrow

I have a human interest story brewing - it is happening tomorrow. 

I have an 81 year old friend who lives in Alaska. He has been flying for 50 years. Last year the government pulled his medical certificate which means he can no longer fly as a licensed pilot. 

His solution was simple. He ordered a brand new Searey Sportsman plane. 

They are built in Tavares FL. You can fly them with a regular drivers license. 

My friend has been in Southern Florida practicing landing and taking off on water and land. 

Tomorrow he is making the Tavares to Tallahassee leg of his trip home to Alaska. The plane flies about 90 miles an hour. It has a range of maybe 350 miles.

He is going to be staying at my house tomorrow night. I will meet him at the airport and take him back the next day. They will fly to New Orleans then. He has either his grandson or great grandson with him.

I love airplanes. But there are so many neat turns to this story. 

Imagine flying a plane like that to Alaska ---- at 81 ---- as its first voyage ---- with the grandson or great grandson ---- after losing his license. 

I have flown with him in the past - he is a great pilot. 

Harry

Neighbors George and Joel Are In Iceland

We took George and Joel to the airport on Sunday morning. They were flying to Iceland for a week. They are going to do a full circle tour around the island which circles a big glacier. 

George took this little stool along for some of his photo sessions. Joel is enjoying one of Iceland famous hot dogs. They are crunchy. Iceland looks pretty green this tim elf the year.

Our other friends Joan and Curt Varner went along on the trip. Joans a nurse  :-)

Pip Rader Was One Of My Principals At The Panther Valley Middle School - To Say He Was One of the Best Is Like Saying "The Smart Kid in the Dumb Section"

Philip G. Rader

Philip G. "Pip" Rader, 73, of Nesquehoning, entered into eternal rest on Saturday, June 14, in the Mahoning Valley Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Mahoning Township. He was the husband of Elizabeth "Betty Ann" (Miller) Rader. They celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary on July 20, 2013.

Born in Palmerton, he was a son of the late Philip J. and Mildred (Haun) Rader.

He was a member of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Nesquehoning.Pip graduated from Jim Thorpe High School in 1959 and attended East Stroudsburg University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in English and Social Studies. He went on to earn his master's degree in secondary education from ESU and his principal certification from Penn State University.

Friday - We Went To See The Tesla in Casselberry - Lulu was blown away by this garnet colored beauty.

Lulu was blown away by this garnet colored Tesla with tan leather interior. It would be perfect for her 2 mile commute to campus.

To our surprise - there is a Tesla Dealer in Casselberry FL - not far from the Palma Maria. So we took a little side track and went to see this amazing car. It was only around 1 PM when we got there - so it was out of the question to wait until 4 PM for the Palma Maria to open. 

I had been to the Tesla dealer in Fort Lauderdale last month - but I wanted Lulu to see this beautiful car. 

Our 16 Hour Day in Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom

On Wednesday - Lulu and I drove the Prius to Disneyworld. We just wanted a "not business related" trip to enjoy together. For years we have been taking groups to Florida from Pennsylvania - and Disneyworld provides us with so many good memories. Now our grandkids are old enough to enjoy magic so we wanted to get a practice run in - before they returned to Florida. 

Lulu wanted a quick picture with Minnie. We did not want towait in line for face time.

We spent Wednesday evening on the Disney property having supper and visiting our old haunts. Bright and early Thursday morning - we got up and drove our car from our hotel to the Contemporary Hotel. We entered the property thru the back way avoiding the parking admission. Our car spent the day at the Contemporary Hotel. We were able to buy our Magic Kingdom passes at the hotel avoiding all the lines. We could not avoid the list price of $99 each. That was the price for one park for one day.

Granddaughter Kate loves Rapunzel and her long hair. Lulu had a personal chat with her - and told her that Kate was coming soon.

Disney After Midnight - Lulu and I on the Grand Prix Racers

Sent form my phone. More stories and pictures coming. We are home now.

Disney light parade

After Supper At The Grand Floridian in Disneyworld - 6 Hours To Go

Dole Whip - only Available at Dole Plantation in Hawaii and Disneyworld

9AM We Opened the Magic Kingdom - Will Be Here To 1AM

Lulu and I Are Spending Another Honeymoon at Disneyworld

The Polynesian Resort is building small cabins out over the water. I am guessing they will be very exclusive and high priced.

As we were on the Polynesian Resort Village  beach - a storm blew up.

You can see Cinderella's Castle in the background. Note the Grand Floridian Hotel and the cabins at the Polynesian Resort.

That's Lulu climbing the volcano. She was raving about the water ride inside the mountain. 

Lulu and I like to travel all over the world. But every now and then we return to our roots at Disneyworld. Lulu and I honeymooned in Southern Florida in 1971. In 1972 we returned to the Sunshine State to take summer jobs and visit the Magic Kingdom for the first time.Usually we travel when Lulu has business to address. But this trip is just for us.

Lulu was riding the volcano water slide when the thunder storm arrived. 

We left Tallahassee at 10 AM. It took us 4.5 hours to get to our hotel in Lake Buena Vista - Disney Village. We will spend two nights here and come home Friday.

Today - we drove our car to the Polynesian Resort - one of the two original Disney hotels. It still bears a premium price tag - but by today's standards it is a little dated. They are doing a major renovation - but they are still renting out the $300 and $400 a night rooms. The place looks a bit cluttered but will probably look very nice when completed.

We are back in our hotel for the night now at 9 PM. Tomorrow we will spend all day in the Magic Kingdom.  The park opens at 9 AM and closes at 1 AM. We plan to spend the whole day there - I hope we can handle it. There are quite a few new adventures we would like to see.

We will buy our tickets at the door - list price - which is just under $100 a person for a day. As a Florida resident - we could have purchased a yearly pass for $238 - but that would have included blackout periods. We seldom pay list price - this time we will.

Today the weather was nice - low 80s - after a summer storm it dropped into the low 70s. Weather report says tomorrow will be 90 here.

We will drive home on Friday.

My Friend Jim Walton From Alaska Is Coming To Town - In His Plane

You may remember Jim Walton. I met him thru my friend George Dawson. Jim lives in Anchorage and in 2004 I spent a week at his home - touring Alaska. He took me on the ride of a lifetime in his plane over the glaciers. 

Jim bought a new plane here in Florida. He has been here for a month learning to fly it. It lands on land and sea. It goes 92 MPH. It is in the Sportsman Class - which means you can fly it with a regular car drivers license. 

The big news is that Jim is flying it here from South Florida next week. He will stay with us. He plans to get home in Alaska in August after flying it around for his friends to see. 

Keep an eye on my page for pictures - etc.

"Jesus Is Watching" - Someone Tried To Rob Our House

The other night someone broke into our house. He had a flashlight. He was looking for goodies.

All of a sudden he heard - Jesus is watching - he spun his head around in shock.

Then he heard it again - Jesus sees you.

This time his flashlight spied our parrot.

He said to the parrot - did you say that?

The parrot said - yes.

He asked the parrot - what is your name?

The parrot said - Noah.

The burglar then said - who names a parrot Noah?

The parrot said - the same guy that names a pit bull Jesus.

- stolen and paraphrased from the net.

We Started A Building Trend In The Neighborhood

A new Art Deco House - going up in Woodland Drives on Seminole.

Just 2 doors north of us on Seminole Drive - another new home is taking shape. It is just across the street from our old home at 1607 Seminole Drive. 

Bill the Builder - the man who built our old guest house and pool - decided to build a home for an old friend. Bill divided his lot - and is building an Art Deco Palace for Sandy - an old friend. New is old. Sandy - a man - has been living in Hawaii for 50 years. But he was born on the lot between our new home and Bill's home. That birth house has been moved a little bit west - but it is still there. 

Sandy decided to move back home from Hawaii - he considered at one time buying our old home at 1607 Seminole. But when you are in your 70s - you want to built something special for yourself. You do not care what others think.

Sandy and Bill are building a 3 story concrete block edifice. It has round corners - fireplaces - balconies - and many interesting features. It has an elevator and a giant roof deck made of poured concrete. Bill has been personally laying all the blocks and pouring the concrete. Many of the fixtures and features were salvaged from mansions in Miami - like 10 foot high doors - 13 foot high ceilings - and ornate balconies. The round forms were build on the spot - then poured by Bill.

When complete - the first floor will be storage - like an above ground basement. The second floor will be living quarters. The third floor features a large crow's nest man cave. The entire roof deck will be concrete with a 3 foot high concrete block rail to prevent people from falling off. It is a long way down - about 35 feet. 

The roof is complete - it is closed in. Now they must put in the windows and doors. Finally - Bill will stucco the outside. all 3 floors are connected by an elevator shaft.

They expect to be done by Labor Day. 

Thanks to this house and our new house - the average home price in the neighborhood will rise. 

This is a view of Bill's garden from the roof.

At the end of that driveway your can see our old gray house.

The gray house is our old house for sale at 1607 Seminole Drive.

The roof is sealed. Now they will pour a 4 inch thick concrete slab up there for parties.

That is Bill Gwynn. The green house in the background is where Sandy was born around 1940.

Bill is wearing his block laying clothes. That is Bill's guest house in the background

From the roof you can see Bill's main house.

My golf cart looks far away from the roof. Note Quincie's pool.

FSU Boys And Girls Both Lost In The NCAA Playoffs Yesterday

Oregon beat FSU softball - and Georgia Southern beat FSU baseball. The girls were shut our 3-0 and the boys were shutout 7-0.

They are both down to their last loss now - one more lost and they come home. The girls are playing in the World Series in Oklahoma City. the boys were heavy favorites to win the regional playoffs here at home.

After these two teams - all that is left for this spring is the NCAA Outdoor National Track Meet.

Tamaqua District 11 Baseball Champ Two Years In A Row

From The Republican.

ALLENTOWN - First came the water cooler shower of Gatorade.

Then, moments later, a Matt Roberts-delivered shaving cream pie to the face.

As his team cheered loudly and watched with glee, Tamaqua coach Jeff Reading could only smile.

A total team effort had his Blue Raiders celebrating a District 11 Class AAA baseball championship for the second straight season.

Now Mimi Is In Canada

One of Lulu's former students - Dr Mimi Johnson - is in Canada at a library conference. This is her first visit to Niagara Falls. She says it is still pretty cold up there. She will be flying back to her professor job at the University of Alabama today. Mimi is an expert on school library media centers. She has completed 3 years as an assistant professor. Time flies. 

Who can forget the wonderful wedding scenes from "The Office" at the Falls. My niece Suzie - also had her wedding there on the Maid of the Mist.