Taking it Easy in Key West

Hola,

Just sitting here checking out the view and waiting for mom to bring me my margarita - just kidding! But the first place dad and mom headed to was the Hogfish bar( where they ate some hogfish - really!). When dad saw the sign he knew he was coming back tomorrow!

Can you believe they didn't take me - and look who was sitting next to them, that's just not fair!

The main reason we drove all the way down the Florida Keys was so mom and dad could visit the Dry Tortuga Island National Park (again, without me I must add). Mom had made a reservation for the seaplane months in advance. We all got up very early the next day and they were just getting ready to leave when the phone rang, telling  them that it was too windy for the plane to take off, and there was not another flight for several days. It was even to windy for the ferry, so they were very disappointed. 

So, instead they took off for a tour of Ernest Hemmingway's house. 

It was a beautiful home. He lived and wrote here for over ten years.

 In the 1930's there were no king size beds and Hemmingway was a big man. So he laced two twin beds together and  brought a gate from Spain for the headboard. 

Inside and outside the house are over 40 polydactyl (6 toes) cats, all descendants of Hemmingway's orginnal polydactyl cat. The cats had the run of the house and garden areas. Hemmingway named all his cats after famous people, and that tradition is carried on today. They met  Clark Gable and Charlie Chaplin and Zane Gray.

There is even a pet cemetery where they paid their  respects to Marilyn Monroe and Zsa Zsa Gabor.

Here is the studio where Hemmingway wrote the majority of his books.

and in the corner was his trunk from WWI

 From there, dad had to stop for a beer at the last bar on Highway 1

and mom and another way to document the end of Highway 1.

From there they toured Harry Truman's  Little White house. They had a really good tour, but were not allowed to take any pictures, The house is 95% original, including the poker table where Truman enjoyed many evenings and Colin Powell used when he conducted international peace talks. Many presidents have visited and stayed in the house and it was fully of fascinating history,

The next day they took me with them and I got to visit the beach.

I love to run on the beach

I was headed to the southernmost point of the continental USA!

The last night we headed for the beach to see the beautiful sunset.

Before we headed for the Keys we stopped to visit mom's cousins, Rob and Maylene Root.

 Of course, I was much more interested in meeting Ginger. She was one smart cookie! Madison made her show me all her tricks, I was impressed!

We had a great dinner with them.  The pictures on the right side of the wall were done by mom's dad!

Now we are off to Miami and the Everglades.
Adios, Yuki

Georgia On My Mind

Greetings from Georgia!

We have been on the road for a while now, but I have not had a spare minute until now to get to my blog.

The day after we got to Albany, Georgia for the Monaco International RV Rally, mom and dad got up really early on Sunday morning and drove in the dark on small county roads to Plains, Georgia to hear President Jimmy Carter teach Sunday school at the Maranatha  Baptist Church.

Amy Carter's  fourth grade teacher, Jan Williams was in charge of all the tourists in line. In her booming teacher voice she let everyone know that she was in charge and that the Secret Service said she was too dangerous to carry a loaded gun! She made sure everyone understood all the rules and kept us entertained until President Carter arrived. 

Williams passed the mahogany offering plates that Carter made and she pointed out the new wooden cross hanging behind the choir loft that Carter also made.

She went through the procedure for staying after church to have their pictures made with the Carters. "Whatever you do, do not attempt to shake his hand unless he extends his first," Williams said. "People, he's 89 years old. How do you think germs are passed?"

Williams pauses in her list, lowering her eagle-stern stare on those present.

"Do not think that you can leave this church after Sunday School, go on down to Mom's Kitchen to eat and then attempt to jump back into my picture line after church."

No - pictures with the Carters are only for people who stayed for church.

"And whatever you do, do not applaud when he walks in or after the lesson," Williams said. "He hates that. 

What a thrill when President Carter walked into the church. Mom and dad were in the third pew so they had a great view.

He began by going through the audience asking here people were from and then gave an update on current world events from his perspective before giving his Sunday School lesson, which was on Genesis 1, the beginning. 

President Carter reminded us that he was a physicist and he could not deny the scientific evidence and the Big Bang, but it did not deter him from his faith. Then he said with a twinkle in his eye, you have to wonder who started the Big Bang! 

President Carter and Rosalynn are active members of this small church. They sat in the pew across from mom and dad during the sermon. After church, mom and dad lined up to have their picture. 

After the service the visited they small town of Plains Georgia, population 750. Jimmy Carter lives right down the street in the olny home he has ever owned.

They also visited his High School, which is now a National Historic site.

The next day they took me with them and we visited Andersonville, another National Historic Site, the former Camp Sumter, a Confederate prisoner-of-war-camp. Such a  tragic reminder of the senseless deaths and horrors of the Civil War.

After the Monaco Rally we joined our friends in a caravan to Perry Georgia for the Family Motor Coach Association Rally.

 

When we were at this rally, mom and dad really surprised me with a new home! Actually, it surprised mom too, but dad has had this on his mind for some time now. Oh well, there goes my inheritance!

They traded our 38 ft. Monaco Cayman for a 42 ft. Monaco Dynasty, which is a much upgraded model, and  more comfortable for dad to drive. The inside is much nicer too! Dad's pictures don't really do it justice.

What you see on the right side next to the mirror are the doors of our residential Maytag refrigerator! 

The cabinets are cherry wood, corain counters, tile floor and leather sofas and chairs. A large TV drops down from the ceiling in front of the driver and passanger seats.

Mom even has a washer and dryer - no more laundromats!

And now with a King size bed, there is plenty of room for me!

We are on our way to Florida!

Adios, Yuki