On the Road to Tampa

We got on the road from the Black Forest at 4:30 in the morning.  We got up and decided to get going so we could arrive in Tulsa at Melanie's house and we could get in a good visit.  We arrived at 4 PM.  We talked and then went out to dinner with Melanie. 

 Her dogs entertained us as well.  Stormy weather came to Tulsa as darkness fell, but we were safe and dry at Melanie's house for the night.  We hit the road again at about 9 am and headed for Cherokee Village, Arkansas to stop and see Bonnie. 

Bonnie had arranged the blind date between Barb and me back on April 9, 1966.  Barb had not seen her junior high school friend for over 40 years and it was good to see Bonnie again.  We had a lot of catching up to do.

 We were entertained by Bonnie's critters.  Bonnie has two dogs, two birds (one is hilarious as he, Ozzie, talks about all sorts of things) and three ducks.

Bonnie teaches at Ozarka College's Ash Flats campus and she is a beloved instructor.  She has a PhD in Business Psychology and teaches almost anything that is needed in the business department.  She had an eight o'clock class to teach so we got an early start towards Paris, Tennessee and a visit with Mick and Mary on Kentucky Lake.

Mick and Mary have a wonderful home on the lake.  The cottage had been in the family for decades and it was a favorite summer get away.  When the property became Mary's, she and Mick remodelled and expanded it into a very comfortable year round home. 

We left Mick and Mary on their wedding anniversary at 9 am and drove through Clarksville, Chattanooga, Atlanta (traffic jams), Valdosta, Ocala, three storms (two of them severe) almost 800 miles to Tampa.  We arrived with 2003 miles on the trip meter at just past midnight.  We let ourselves in and we were asleep in minutes.