May 21st -C:This is Blog Day! Flagstaff

 Just in case you are wondering why I have a B and a C blog today, I'm on my boat in Florida and it is very hot. After venturing out, I decided to work on the blog in air conditioning. Had a great 4 days on the water and now just relaxing. I'll drive to Fort Lauderdale tomorrow morning.

I once again flew into Phoenix and rented a car to drive to Flagstaff. The original plan was for me to visit Tom in April. Pat, Linda's brother, would visit in May. Unfortunately, Pat had triple bypass surgery at the end of April. Fortunately, he is doing well, just cannot travel yet. I said I'm fine with visiting in May on my way east and north. I'll be gone most of the summer so seeing Tom again was a good idea anyway. And then Pat and Warren can go in June or July.

I stay with Rob and Medge, lifelong friends of Tom's, who live 5 minutes from Tom. They are wonderful hosts and Medge is a great cook. Medge always sends food with me and/or brings it over to Tom's. This trip I got to meet Debbie. Debbie worked with Tom as a nurse for 20 + years and is a good friend. She was visiting and also staying at Medge's house.

My RV quarters

I ended up staying in the RV because Debbie was there. The RV is very nice and comfortable. Of course all I did was sleep there because as usual we talked into the night. There are always funny stories to share about Tom!

Very comfortable bed with three blankets,
 no heat, 40 degrees outside, great for sleeping

Tom, Medge and Debbie

Debbie, Medge and I spent some time in the morning with Tom. Tom told me that Debbie has become an accomplished "Horse person." She is now raising horses. This is the only picture I have of Debbie. (Sorry her eyes are closed but oh well!)

One of my goals at Tom's was to get a hospital bed brought into the house for Tom. He stays in the family room on a twin bed because he likes being there, looking out the windows at his ducks, geese, birds, etc. Medge found an almost new hospital bed someone was giving away. They not only gave it to Tom, they delivered it! They put it into the garage 3 weeks earlier. I checked it out and it was quite heavy. Especially the end where the motor was. I thought we might need to take it apart. Fortunately, Sunday was Mother's Day and Nate, Santana's brother was coming for lunch. Santana's husband, Jurell, who helps take care of Tom, is very strong and so is Nate. They carried it into the house!

Tom likes his new bed. It is almost like a reclining chair. One of his three dogs, Chewie, is in the picture. Chewie is very protective of Tom but eventually he allowed me to get close to Tom. Then Chewie came by to get his ears scratched every time I sat down!

When we arrived at Tom's, I noticed he was wearing the Gecko T-shirt Wendy and I made for him a couple years ago. He wore it for me. I was impressed and sent Wendy his picture. Nice to know he still likes it. He said it is his favorite t-shirt.

Tom at Lake Mary

I took Tom to Lake Mary again. It's a beautiful reservoir and it was a beautiful day. 

The Mother's Day lunch was a feast. Barbecued pork, sausages, hamburgers with salads, fruit vegetables and Medge's chocolate cake.

While I was in the family room I saw this old poster from Tom's retirement party. That is Tom in the middle. I never saw Tom look like that! Obviously a long time ago!

After a good visit, I drove back to Phoenix Sunday afternoon. I knew traffic would be heavy given it was Mother's day. What I didn't know was that US17 was closed. That is the only highway between Phoenix and Flagstaff. That meant I had to drive through side roads in the mountains and then through the major tourist area, Sedona. It is a beautiful drive, but not one you want to do on Mother's day when US17 is closed! 

I decided that I wasn't really on a tight schedule because I wasn't flying out until Monday. It took me 4 hours instead of 2&1/2, but the scenery is breathtaking.

I had a pretty good flight itinerary from Phoenix to Fort Lauderdale. Leave at noon, change planes in Houston, and arrive in Miami at 10:15 PM. (With the time change it would be like 7:15 PM for me.) My hotel was just a short drive. However, when I got to the airport my flight to Houston was delayed for an hour due to weather. Not too worried, I had a 90 minute layover. Got to Houston and my next flight was delayed an hour. About half of the flights out were delayed due to weather. I finally made it to Miami at 12:15AM. I thought the rental car place would be open? It was! I had called the hotel from Houston to tell them I would be arriving very late. Got into my room at 1:15AM. Long day but at least I made it. Checkout was noon so no problem sleeping in. I got up the next morning and had a nice drive to Marathon and Yesterday's Dream. Mychael met me to drop off the rental car and took me over to pick up my little Nissan Sentra. He had put a new battery in it and made sure all was good. It was great to be back on the boat. Mychael had everything in top condition. The next blog will cover my time in Florida.