Gators Won

Gators won.....11:20 PM safely at home in Tallahassee......more in the morning.

We Scored Tickets Early at the Swamp

So far our trip to Gainesville has been nearly perfect. The Noles men and women won their basketball games last night. And we landed a nice pair of tickets early.

By the number of "professional" ticket buyers on the streets - it appears that tickets are going to be tight and expensive. So this morning while Lulu enjoyed the Oak Mall from 9 AM to 11AM - I stood along the highway out in front of the mall and held up two fingers. In the 2 hours I shopped for tickets - only 2 cars stopped to talk to me. The first car thought I was selling tickets. The second car had 2 tickets for sale. It was a mixed couple - a Gator and a Nole. They had season tickets for 20 years.

He offered the 2 tickets to me for $100 each. I looked on my map and they were good ones - in the end zone just 6 rows from the field. While I was peeling off some 20s - I asked him how about $80 each. The wife said fine. So we had 2 great tickets - g hours before game time. We could relax for the rest of the day.

We drove into town - and found a great (and legal) free parking spot just 4 blocks from the Swamp. We are parked under a giant live oak tree. To top it all off - there is free wireless here. I am able to update my blog - and Keith is using his computer and our slingbox to watch other games on the TV from home. Lulu is busy scanning the local newspaper - and reading game news.

It is a pretty day here - 75 and sunny with a little breeze. Our tickets are in the south end zone - so the sun with be behind us - staring at the tumor in the other end zone.

The stadium does not open up until 3:30 - so we will sit here and tailgate for another hour or two.

We are spoiled in Tallahassee getting great tickets for $5 and $10. We have not paid this much for tickets since paying $125 for tickets to the Sugar Bowl in 1996. That was the time the Gators slammed us for the National Championship. Let's hope we have different results today.

Gainesville seems to be more of a college town than Tallahassee. Maybe it is just the big game atmosphere - who knows. Here is hoping the Noles get the trifecta today - winning 3 games against the Gators in 1 weekend on the road.

Men and Women Basketball Teams Sweep Gators on the Road

So far our weekend in "Gatorland" has been perfect.

It started out at 11 AM - when a guy drove all the way from Sopchoppy to buy my truck for $4300. What a nice way to start a weekend. Then we went to Tully Gym to watch the Lady Noles beat North Carolina - 3 games to 0.

Then we drove to Gainesville - and the flea bag hotel that Lulu booked turned out not to be that bad. While resting in our new home - we enjoyed some left over turkey sandwiches and watching FSU women's team beat the Gators on TV.

While driving to the arena for the Men's game - we noticed a lot of "ticket buyers" - amateurs holding fingers in the air and professionals with their printed "need tickets" signs.

I dropped Lulu and Keith off at the arena to scout out tickets while I found a place to park the car. I drove to 20th St and 4th Ave - found an emplty space just behind another guy that pulled in. We were both looking for "no parking" signs - when I asked him if he had extras. He said that he had two extras and wanted face value for them. I called Lulu to see if I should buy them. She screamed into the phone that tickets were going for $75 plus and I should buy anything I could.

So I bought the two tickets at face value - $18 each. By the time I got to the arena - Lulu bought a third ticket for $18.

We got to our seats and the place was sold out. But luckily there were 3 empty seats next to Lulu and I - and Keith came over to sit with us.

FSU fell behind 7-6. Then they shot out to a 10 point lead - and were leading by 15 at the half. The Gator fans were angry - and fell behind as much as 19. Then with about 6 minutes ot go - you would have sworn that Moses came to take them to th epromised land because most of the fans got up and left.

After the game - the traffic was light - and we got back to the hotel by 10 PM. Keith went out to celebrate with some of his FSU buddies.

Let's hope the good Seminole luck continues tomorrow. I have a feeling tickets are going to be more expensive.

Greetings From Gainesville

We had a nice trip from Tallahassee - about 150 miles.

Keith drove most the way - Nancy slept about being up at 4 AM for shopping.

Before we came here - we stopped by Tully Gym to see the Lady Noles beat UNC in volleyball - 3 straight games.

We are staying in the Days Inn - along Interstate 75.

Tonight's basketball game is at 8 PM - tomorrow's football game is at 5 PM.

It is 5:55 PM and already dark here.

We are going to Gainesville for the FSU at UF game Saturday

The Trailing Spouse has lived in Tallahassee for almost 4 years. My friends all tell me that you aren't a real Seminole until you have followed them to the Swamp in Gainesville. Well tomorrow I am going to do them one better. We are going to Gainesville to see the Seminoles play a basketball game and a football game - without tickets.

Two of my family are FSU alumni. Lulu got her doctorate here in 1990. At the time we came here for a sabbatical - which is fancy language for "taking a year off with pay." We pulled the boys - who were 10 and 11 at the time - out of school up north and forced them to attend Cobb Middle School and Moore Elementary School for a year. It was a great year and turned the 4 of us to Noles. Even though the boys went to college at Duke and Georgetown - their feet have been firmly planted in the red clay soils of Northern Florida. After countless trips through the Atlanta airport to Tallahassee and bowl games - they have earned at least honorary helmet spears.

My son Keith got his masters here in 2005 - he now works in Washington DC - but it does not take much arm twisting to get the prodigal son to return for a Noles game or two. This trip he came early enough for the Maryland game last weekend and stayed on to drive to "Gatorland" with us for the 2 games.

I always wanted to say this so here it goes - "being retired and on a fixed income" - we seldom buy games tickets in advance. I like to stand outside the stadium holding fingers up to purchase spare tickets. We have been very lucky. I must look pretty pathetic because often times people will offer me free tickets as they go through the turnstile. A great example would be last Saturday at Doak - we got 4 tickets on the 50 yard line for a total of $30. To be sure - you never know where you will be sitting - but 99% of the time you get great seats at low prices.

Back in 1988 - when we lived in Tallahassee for the year - my sons broke their piggy banks and bought season tickets to the Seminole games. They thought Deion Sanders was the greatest player ever - and I do not blame them. My sons are 29 and 30 now - and a trip to a Noles game is not complete without them throwing a football as we tailgate with friends.

Lulu worked really hard on the Internet and finally got a hotel room in a one star hotel not too far from the stadium. We will leave Tallahassee tomorrow right after the volleyball game at Tully Gym and be "eastbound and down" to Hogtown.

Check on my blog at - www.harry.everhart.com - for pictures from the game and trip - and find out how lucky we were. If anybody has some extra tickets - let me know.

American Airlines returns to Tallahassee

From the Tallahassee Democrat.

Tallahassee air travelers will get a new option for travel to Miami and beyond beginning in March as American Airlines returns to the market with two daily sets of round trips.

Formal announcement of the new service is expected from both Tallahassee Regional Airport and the airline later today.

“This is exciting because this gives us a link to American’s Miami hub,” said Philip Inglese, deputy airport director.

The two sets of roundtrips are set to begin March 2, the announcements will say.

One set of flights will originate in Tallahassee at 9:10 a.m., arriving in Miami at 10:30 a.m. and return at 6:05 p.m., arriving in Tallahassee at 7:25 p.m.

The other will depart from Miami at 7:15 a.m., arriving in Tallahassee at 8:45 a.m., departing Tallahassee at 4:10 p.m. and arriving in Miami at 5:40 p.m.

“We are fond of saying Tallahassee is one stop away from anywhere,” Inglese said, noting this makes the step a shorter one, since it’s to the nation’s largest airline’s hub.

Check Tuesday’s Tallahassee Democrat for more details.

Feeling Smug on Monday Morning

It is 6 AM - I just got back from a 15 minute trip to the airport. One of my favorite students - Steve - spent a 4 day weekend here with his old science teacher.

Steve was a rowdy 7th grader about 18 years ago. He had a quick reply back then that hasn't changed much today. I should have expected it - since his Dad was in my first science class back in 1970 - and Dad had the honor of being the first student of many to elevate my blood pressure. But even then one could recognize greatness - even in the Ritalin infested classroom of today.

Steven went on to college. He got a bachelor's degree in biology and a masters in environmental science. Not bad for a coal cracker kid that had no choice but to be in my earth and space science class because every kid in town suffered the same fate for 33 years. Steve likes to brag about never taking a computer class in college. He says often - within my limited hearing zone - that the only computer class he ever had was from his favorite science teacher - Mr. Mac.

On the way to the game Saturday - my friend Wayne tried to get some dirt out of my former student. Steve blew him out of the water with, "No other person has had a greater influence on my life that Mr. Everhart." Insert tears here.

To speed up the story a bit - Steven somehow parlied his few hours on a Mac Computer in my classroom to being the Head of the Technical Help Desk at the Federal Aviation Administration in Washington DC. While working for the feds - he went to night school at the University of Maryland and got an advanced degree. He now is earning about double my last teaching salary and at least once a year another firm tries to steal him - and the FAA keeps his loyalty with cash.

Being a retired teacher living far away from his roots in Coal Cracker Land - it is weekends like this one that keep my life in perspective. Yes - FSU beat Steve's Terps this weekend - we had a great party and even better game seats - and Bobby Bowden won his 300th game for the Noles. But on this Monday morning Steve, "Bobby Bowden is not my hero."

Friends and Family Enjoy Visit and FSU victory Over Maryland

Saturday was a long day and it started early.

It was 3AM by the time we got to bed after picking Keith up at the airport and gabbing during the Hawaii/Nevada game on TV. It seemed like the 8AM alarm went off just as my head hit the pillow. But we had to prepare for the big tailgate party at 10.

We had taken a couple cars and stuff to squat out our spot near the stadium. Then - George -Joel - Wayne - Shirley - Steve - Keith - Lulu - and I all piled into our van and drove to the stadium. Our little tailgate party has grown to 20 people. Some folks even just come for the party for the food and good time - then go home for the game. I think one homeless fellow just attends because we are in his spot. The folks around us are paying $20 a spot to park - but we somehow have 6 slots for free - even our own "job johnny" and electrical outlet.

The party ended around 11:30 with Shirley doing tequila shots. Then we walked to the our favorite ticket scalping spot - no real Seminole would attend the game paying for a $45 face value ticket. The Noles are 7-4 this year - and good tickets can be had for a few verses of the warchant. All 8 of us got tickets for $10 and under. I landed 3 great tickets on the 50 yard line - row 34 for $10 each. I gave the tickets to Lulu - Keith - Steve - and waited for a free one for myself. By the time they got to their seats in the stadium - I was sitting there waiting for them with my free ticket - which was even better than theirs - but I ended up sitting with there in an empty seat right next to their blanket.

At kickoff - we were in the sunlight - and enjoyed the Coast Guard helicopter flyover. I do not know why they flew over with 3 giant "gator orange" choppers - but at least the crew was doing the Seminole Chop.

FSU jumped out to an early lead - and the game was never in doubt. Even though most fans stayed until the end - traffic was extremely mild after the game - we were home in 10 minutes by 4:00 PM. We all proceeded to pass out and snore to the other college games on TV.

So FSU is 7-4 now. Next week Keith - Lulu - and I will drive to Gainesville for the FSU/UF game. Nancy somehow scores a hotel room for Friday night - so we will attend the FSU/UF basketball game on Friday night - then stick around for the Noles/Gators football game on Saturday. We have never been to a game in the Gainesville Swamp. Let's hope the Seminoles can drain the swamp before we are up to our eyes in Gators.

Just another typical fall day for the Trailing Spouse.

Keith and Steve are Here for the Maryland Game

Keith's plane arrived late this morning - about 1 AM. Steve Simchak's plane arrived Thursday at 5 PM. Both live in the DC Area now.

My son Keith works in Washington for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Steve lives in Laurel and he is in charge of the computer help desk for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Keith got his masters at FSU - Steve got his masters at UMD. So when the Terps take the field today - Steve will be wearing his red "Fear the Turtle" outfit and Keith will have on his garnet and gold jersey.

We took the truck over to the stadium last night to mark out our "squatters" area for the tailgate. Today at 10AM - Steve - Keith - Harry - Lulu - George - Joel - Wayne and Shirley - will pile into the Honda Van with our our goodies and make the 2 mile trek to the stadium.

It dropped down to freezing here last night - and the cars at the airport had frost on them at 1 AM - but it is expected to be around 70 at game time.

Tangent - last night Keith and I caught the end of the Hawaii/Nevada game at 2 AM. Hawaii is one of the two last teams that is undefeated. Nancy teaches there in the summers. Just last week I was at the Nevada campus in Reno - they were all excited about the Hawaii game coming up. Nevada went ahead with just 3 minutes remaining - only to lose by a last second Hawaii field goal. I wonder what the BCS is going to do with Hawaii?

Harry Meets His Long Lost Cousin

About a year ago – I started writing a weblog for the Tallahassee Democrat. Then a young lady wrote to me asking me if I were related to Arthur Everhart. Little did I know where this story was going. She said she found my Tallahassee Democrat Blog on the Net.

I wrote back to her saying that Arthur Everhart was the brother of my grandfather – my dad seldom mentioned “Uncle Arthur.”

I never met Arthur Everhart or my grandfather Roy Everhart. Both spent some time working in the Anthracite coal mines back in Schuylkill Country, Pennsylvania. My Mom used to say that I had “gypsy” in my blood – I guess she was referring to the Everhart Boys.

Roy and Arthur Everhart both married – but decided that being a coal cracker was not in their future. My grandfather Roy left his wife and four kids – in a coal company house in Coaldale, PA when my Dad was 7 years old. When the coal company decided to evict them – it was agreed that the family could stay in the house on the condition that my Dad would work in the coal mines when he finished school. In 1934 – when Dad graduated he turned down a free ride to Girard College in Philadelphia and fulfilled his promise to worked as an “indentured servant” deep in the bowels of Schuylkill County for 25 years. Needless to say he never spoke well of his father.

The story goes that Uncle Arthur Everhart ran off and married Julia – a young Indian girl. The family disowned them and they moved near the reservation in upstate New York along the Canadian border by Montreal. We never heard from Uncle Arthur again.

My Dad used to say, “Don’t ever have your family tree dug up – you’ll pay $1000 to uncover the roots – and $100,000 to cover them back up.”

The rumor was that Roy Everhart – my grandfather – joined the Merchant Marines to see the world. He supposedly died in World War II. It seemed like a noble ending to me. Again, my Dad was very tight-lipped.

When I moved to Tallahassee to follow Lulu here to FSU – everyone asked me if I were related to Lee Everhart. They seemed to admire him so I said I was a distant relative. They would smile. Since my two sons are the only other Everharts I really know – it would not hurt to have a “local” relative. The only other Everharts I heard of were Angie Everhart – the supermodel – and John B. Everhart – a fella that was on the FBI most wanted list for several years.

It turns out that Lee Everhart was at one time the mayor of Tallahassee. He was very civic-minded and would have been a good Everhart to add to my familyc – he also had passed away before we got here.

About a month ago – I got another e-mail from this young lady who claims Arthur Everhart as her grandfather. She said she is a musician and she is coming to Tallahassee to play at Shenanigan’s – an Irish Pub north of town on Thomasville Road. She said she wanted to meet me.

Keeping this information secret from my friends and family – I asked a group of them out to dinner. Last night – we had a wonderful time. Cindy Ross – the manager of Shenanigan’s reserved the best table for us by the stage. When we walked into the dining room – I was a little embarrassed by the big sign with “Harry Everhart” on it – displayed at the table. We all sat down.

On the stage was a very pretty young lady – dressed in Irish garb – getting ready to perform. She is a fiddler by trade - http://www.fiddlerwoman.com/ - she does historic musical presentations at festivals and schools. Her group – she and Lute Glick – are called The Lowlander Highlanders Fiddle and Drum. That’s what it says on her CDs. They play historic Irish music from the Appalachian Coal Country. She must have the “gypsy” Everhart blood in her for sure.

After a wonderful Irish dinner – great music - and maybe too many beverages – we had a chance to talk with my cousin - Beverley Conrad – the fiddler woman.

It was not a myth – Arthur Everhart did runoff and marry a Mohawk Indian. In those days – they still “encouraged” mixed Indian kids to go to Indian School. Beverly’s mother spent her formative years at the Carlisle Indian School near Harrisburg, PA. This is the same school which boasts Jim Thorpe as one of their alumni. Yes – Jim Thorpe – the guy that won Olympic gold medals in Sweden – played professional baseball – and was the first president of the NFL. When they gave Deion Sanders the Jim Thorpe Trophy for playing two sports – this is the guy they had in mind.

Back to Beverley. Her Mom is living in Umadilla, Florida. Her Mom is 85 and still driving her car. I must meet this lady. Beverley says her Mom looks just like me. You can see some pictures of Beverly from last night’s performance at -http://www.olary.com/shen1/

My cousin Bob had a picture post card of Arthur Everhart that he sent to his “Bro Roy” when he was station with the Army in West Virginia. Beverley said that he Mom never saw her father – so Bob gave her the post card. It is one of her most valuable possessions.

Beverley is playing at a music festival in Brooksville, FL this weekend. She gets a chance to see her Mom.

Recently – thanks to the Internet – I did found out the true story about my grandfather Roy. He did join the Merchant Marines. His ship – the Norlandia – was sunk in the Caribbean – not far from Florida on July 2, 1942. The Germans keep better records of this than we do. His ship took a torpedo in the engine room where Roy Everhart was the fireman/water tender. 13 survived the sinking – while they were in the life boats – the German sub surfaced – gave them brandy – and pointed them to land – and submerged.
Almost everyone on the ship was in their 20s – ecept Roy Everhart who was 55. Maybe he wasn’t such a bad guy afterall.

I was never at Shenanigan’s Irish Pub before. But it is a great place. They were so nice to our party. The decorations were great – the food outstanding – the music very special – and the bill so reasonable that I picked it up. It was ironic that there I was watching my part Indian cousin playing Irish melodies about mining coal back in Pennsylvania while Seminole Bobby Bowden was on the TV screen in the corner doing his talk show with Chief Osceola and Renegade prancing around in the background. So now I have Indian Heritage from my old sod and new home.

Thomas Wolfe once said, “You can never go home again.” He was wrong. The Trailing Spouse is home again – in my new home – in Tallahassee, Florida. Lulu and I love this place. If it wasn’t for Shenanigan’s Irish Pub and the Tallahassee Democrat – I would never had this special evening. Thanks to all of you for sharing it with me.

Goodbye Reno - Hello Tallahassee

We are in the Reno Airport using free Internet. We will leave here
3PM eastern time and arrive back in Tallahassee around 11 PM. We have
a short stop in Houston. Of course we will try for "bumps" - which
might extend our trip but give us free tickets for future flights.

It has been a fun week in Nevada. We have visited Reno - Virginia
City - Carson City - Lake Tahoe - Truckee - and the Donner Pass. We
did a little gambling - way too much eating - and a lot of driving.

I think Lulu likes this convention (ASSL) better than all the others
- it is just school librarians and some school library professors. It
seems that she knows everyone that was here.

Ou hotel - the Harvey - sits directly on the California/Nevada line.
This morning the temperature was 36 degrees when we woke up in Lake
Tahoe. Temperatures were as high as 75 on the first day we were here
in Reno. It snowed last night at about 8000 feet and the mountains
has a fresh coat of white stuff.

I am posting these messages to my weblog via email - that is the
reason there are no pictures. Pictures will follow later.

Harry and Lulu Survive Donner Pass

It was 30 years ago - when Lulu, Harry, Drew and Dad - drove across
the "USA in their Chevrolet" Chevette pulling a Scamp trailer.
Imagine 4 people in a little Chevette with automatic transmission and
no air conditioning pulling a 1000 pound travel trailer up over the
Donner Pass. Well - we made it in 1977 - and we made it today.

The Donner Party was not so lucky.

The Donner Pass is the place where the Donner Party tried to reach
California after they left Illinois for the hope of a better life.
They had to cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains and chose the pass that
would later carry their name. They started out with about 70 people
in the party - and got snowed under by 22 feet of the white stuff.
The party was eventually rescued after the winter of 1846-47 - but
not before half of the party died and members survived by eating the
flesh of those that died during the ordeal.

Several transportations routes still go through Donner Pass. The
Union Pacific Railroad - Interstate 80 - and US Route 40. Usually by
this time of year the old road through the pass is closed from snow.
It was October 24, 1846 - went the Donner Party was snowed in.

While meandering up the Old Donner Pass Road - you really can
appreciated the beautiful extremes. The giant trees and rocks stick
out like Disney movie props - except the road have few guard rails
and the cliffs are very high. There is so much sky in all directions.

Tonight we will spend in our hotel on Lake Tahoe. The lake can be so
quiet and clear. You can almost hear Fredo saying his "Hail Mary's"
while fishing here. Tomorrow we will wing across the country and
spend Tuesday night in our bed back home in Tallahassee. It took the
Donner's 12 months it make it but we will be home a few hours - and
hopefully no one gets eaten.

Lake Tahoe in the Morning

We are sitting in a quaint little breakfast place on the shore of
Lake Tahoe. It is sunny and 48.

Monday mornings are very quiet here too. It is weekend time in this
area right now - between the hot summer retreats and the skiiers.

Yesterday was really great in Virginia City. There is a lot of
history there with Comstock Lode mining and all. Incredible money
came out of that town in the 1870s. there were 40,000 people then -
now it looks like about 2000 live there. The desert air has kept some
of the buildings in great shape - most of the other were torn down
for firewood.

Some of the saloons in Virginia City have small casinos in them.
Lulu walked by, dropped a dollar bill, won ten, cashed out and
continued shopping. She bought something special.

Then we drove through Carson City - by the Capitol - and oven the
mountain to Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is 22 miles long - about 12 miles
wide. It is about 6200 feet above sea leavel - 800 feet above Reno.
The water form this lake flows thru Reno in the Truckee River.

It's supposed to take between 4 and 5 hours to drive around the
lake. It should be a nice day in our van with heated seats.

Comparing Reno and Tallahassee

Visiting Reno during a "librarian's convention" my not be the
greatest time to judge a city. And five nices in a luxury hotel do
not expose you to the real flavor. But things like that never stopped
me before. So here I go.

Reno and Tallahassee are about the same size. One is a state Capitol
- the other is 20 miles from the Capitol. Reno is split in two by
I-80 - the transcontinental railroad - and the Truckee River.
Tallahassee has I-10 and Cascade Park.

Reno has an arid climate and gets less than 10 inches of rain a year
- while Tallahassee is closer to tropical - with lots more rain. We
have experienced temperatures from 35 to 75 here - Tallahassee
probably has had 60s to 80s. Tallahassee would win the tree wars -
from the top of its Capitol you can't see the city for the trees.
Reno has lots of nice trees in town - but outside the town you can
see for 30 miles because of the lack of tall trees. We have not had
anything that could be considered precipitation here.

Reno thrives because of legal gambling - they even have legal
prostitution outside the city. If you have seen "Reno 911" on the
Comedy Channel - you can see that Reno does have an inferiority
complex to Las Vegas. Reno is to Vegas as Tallahassee is to Orlando/
Miami.

The poor people in Reno lose their money to slot machines and black
jack table while the poor people in Tallahassee waste their money on
the lottery and the dog tracks.

Reno was settled in the area when the railroad came through from the
east and west. Tallahassee was settled when they couldn't make their
mind up whether to put the Capitol in Pensacola or Saint Augustine.

Reno has the University of Nevada Wolfpack and Tallahassee has the
Seminoles.

Right now Reno has the Trailing Spouse and in a few days he will be
back home in Tallahassee. On to Lake Tahoe.

Touring Nevada

Happy Nevada Day!

While Lulu is busy at the convention - I am enjoying the site and sounds of Nevada.

Reno sits in the middle of nowhere - it is desert and mountains in all directions. Historically - it was very important because the national railroad crossed right through town. In the 1920s - folks traveling west had to stop for a break on Highway US 50. Today I-80 passes thru on its way from New York to San Francisco.

In 1977 - Lulu - Drew - my Dad - and I stopped here for a night while crossing the country in our first camper. Drew was about 6 months old - but we all enjoyed the trip in a Chevy Chevette with no air conditioning and our Scamp trailer. the main attraction at that time was Bill Harrah's Car Collection. Yes - in the middle of July I suffered Nancy through the tour of 1400 perfectly restored cars in museums without air conditioning.

Yesterday - I revisited some of that collection. When bill Harrah died - his company auctioned off most of his car collection. They donated 220 cars to a non-profit company in downtown Reno. The cars are still perfect and for $9.00 - you can wander through the air new museumon the Truckee River right in downtown.

I was surprised to find the river flowing so fast in the middle of the desert. It runs west to east form Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake - a distance of maybe 30 miles.

Pictures that interested me -walking along the banks of the Truckee River - a little town called Panther Valley about 5 miles north of Reno - my first car was a 1956 Volkswagen Convertible like this one - and a small scooter soild in the 60s called the Centaur. It went 40 MPH - got 100 MPG - and folded up into a 90 pound suitcase.

I am typing this from my car parked in Carson City on Nevada Day. There is a big parade here - lots of guns shooting off - plenty of whiskey drinking on the streets - and a few flyovers of old planes.

It is a tough life being a trailing spouse - now I must drive back to Reno Convention Center - pick up Lulu after her "show" - go back to the hotel and cheer for the Noles against Duke. I am worn out.

Tell All the Guys in Reno - the American Association of School Librarians is in Town

Lulu is the new sheriff in town. You can see that Reno is not too busy at 8 AM. What they don't realize is that it is lunch time back in Tallahassee - time for some steaks.

What a beautiful day it is - temperature about 70 - not a cloud in the sky. It is amazing how far you can see out here. This place gets less than 10 inches of rain a year.



This is a picture looking west from our room. We are on the 19th floor of the Silver Legacy Hotel on the main street - Virginia.

This morning we went to a great buffet for breakfast at Harrah's. I try to watch my weight - but you know how hard it is for me not to try to get my money's worth. There were so many nice dishes for brunch - all made to order. But the show stopped for me with "all the New York Strip Steaks you could eat." Fruits - desserts - omelets - lots of meats - beverages - all for $9. I still can't believe the strip steaks. I will probably visit that place often.

After that brunch - we had to walk it off a bit - so we toured town. Then Lulu had to go to a meeting and I decided to try black jack. The cheapest table I could find was $3 a hand. After the moths cleared my wallet - I laid a $20 bill on the table. The dealer gave me 20 silver dollars. It was just $3 a hand for quite a long time - but then the chips started piling up - first red - then green - all under one dealer. When the dealer walked - so did I - $143 to the good. Do I have to claim this income? Probably not - because I will lose that and more before we go home.

Being the trailing spouse of a member of the American Association of School Librarians is pretty neat. I get to follow along on these neat trips - and Lulu is busy - so I can do what I want. If I want to sit in the room and type on my blog - fine - just as long as I don't visit the Bunny Ranch.

On the Way to Reno

Drew said that there is nothing more boring than someone else's travel pictures. So for your snoring pleasure - here are mine.

On the way to LA - we passed over White Sands, New Mexico - a big test track in Arizona - the Colorado River - the LA fire - and our GPS helping our way thru the smoke to land in LA.








More bore later.