August's Most Memorable Comments

 She: "My eight-year-old got her ears pierced yesterday and she now looks 41."

Middle aged man: "I sell software in my underwear."

The married couple of ten years was celebrating his birthday and I said it was more significant than me celebrating 39 years of marriage the next day.  He disagreed saying, "Anyone who suffers the pain and torture of a woman for that long, it's more." His wife added, "She may not be as bad as me."

I asked the man how old his youngest son was and he said, "6 and my other son is 12, my wife is 32 and I'm..." Me: "I only asked to see if he needed a booster seat."

"America" ordered the ride for her sister, who told me that "America" always wanted to come here from Costa Rica." She lives here locally and, "She's a teacher and her students call her Ms. America."

Woman: "When I came out as gay to my whole family, my 90-year-old grandmother said immediately, "I wish I liked women, men suck."

Married fifty years, I asked the couple, "What is the secret to a successful marriage?" He said, "You can't give up when the road gets bumpy."

Young guy early in the morning who hadn't slept: "I think you've been in a movie.  You have a very soothing voice-you can put a person to sleep-I mean in a good way."

The woman in marketing said, "When you get your 10,000th ride you should have firecrackers in your car-have your riders hold them."

The family from Connecticut told me what they named their dog. "It's an Aussie Doodle and he's Sir Oliver George Flat-White the First."

The woman from the northeast was frustrated by the service at a very nice restaurant. "The waiter did not stop talking to us and I was thinking, don't you have something better to do? At another place the bartender kept complaining it was so busy instead of just pouring my wine, it was frustrating."

Man from California, "I haven't seen anyone drive in the rain in so long. (Due to the drought) We could use two to three weeks of this." Me: "Do you want to take a picture?"

The Mexican man who loves making pizza said, "If you don't love what you do, do something else."

The retired IRS manager from Missouri, she said, "The three toughest calls I had to take were people who threatened suicide if I couldn't help them stop the IRS from taking everything from them.  We only do that after ten years if our efforts to get them to pay have failed. I don't sugarcoat it, I tell them like it is."

Woman from the north: "Getting used to the friendliness of people down here is exhausting."

Woman: "I do digital marketing and send out all the ads you get on your computer." Me: "So you're the one responsible?"

Him: "I'm a lawyer, which really stands for- a lot more work."

After agreeing to stop somewhere on the way, the two bartenders said, "We'll pay you some extra cash." I said, "I have a lot of trouble spending cash these days, people don't take it." Getting out of the car, she handed me a $20 bill and said, "Spend it and think of me." (She did not wink)

The nurse of 37 years was doing COVID testing for awhile: "I was raking it in, they paid me $44 an hour and were paying for mileage too."

Woman: "I try to throw out ten things each day in my house. When you throw things out you don't need, you feel better."

Male: "I've sold magazines door-to-door in 48 states and did very well, but it was a pyramid scheme and I lost everything."

Him: "People in the south are just living in a different time frame than people in the north. You may have five slow cars in front of you, because someone is looking at a cool bird."

Male recruiter: "Today, you have to convince people that having a job is a good thing to have."

She: "I want my son to visit all 50 states and we've done 15 now including Alaska." (10 year old son) "My Mom has been to all except Rhode Island."

When I told the female Immigration lawyer that the Ravenel Bridge was built to look like two sailboats in the distance, she said, "Where's the proof?" Joking with her I said, "You're pleasantly argumentative." She replied, "I pride myself in it."

I asked the young woman with bright, long pink hair if my hair was pink driving my orange car if it would clash and she said, "No it would look great, you can bleach it."

Red Sox fan: "I've caught about 100 baseballs at Fenway Park in my life."

Woman: "I've been drug free for four years and I've helped 15 other women with God's help remain drug free."

Male: "When I was 7, I went to Madison Square Garden with a large group of kids and we were waiting to say hello to some of the Knicks, but they ran right by us.  Magic Johnson ran across the court to talk with us and that's when he became my favorite player."

"My friend got tickets for the World Series game from Yankee Wade Boggs that Jim Leyritz hit the big home run in 1996 in Atlanta. We went back to the hotel and partied with the Yankees."

The successful doctor who grew up in Ireland and lives locally: "My wife and I are both doctors and we were trained here at John Hopkins.  We were the only two doctors who come from a working class background. I think we have an easier time relating to all of our patients."

She: "I don't like rain, because I don't have any control over it."

Sales manager: "I'm not sure where I got it from, but when I talk about enthusiasm I tell people that the "iasm" means "I am sold myself."

After telling the woman from Moscow about the Russian woman years ago who showed me her phone with Putin's picture on the back, she said, "One of my friends has a whole box of them and sells them."

She said, "What's been your best part of the week?" Me: "Right now, today's my birthday and I'm working." She: "Tomorrow's my birthday.' Me: "Can I sing you "Happy Birthday?" She: "Only if I can sing it with you." We did.

Jamaican proverb: "A little laughter is better than a quarrel."

Referring to her friend who we were picking up, I said, "Your boyfriend." She: "He's not my boyfriend, he's my stupid friend."

"My Uber driver said that when he first got here it was his goal to play all 100 golf courses and he did."

She: "My grandmother is a real spitfire.  She just turned 100 and she looks 75 and does a lot of independent things."

Female Red Sox fan: "My grandfather was a big fan, but he died six months before the Red Sox won in 2004. (after 86 years) I believe he was still rooting them on up there."

Sales manager: "I think if you do the right things the universe puts you in the right place for good things."

The woman from Highland Park, NJ.(Close to where I grew up) wished me a happy 39th anniversary and said, "You should get a gift, this is for you." She gave me a sticker from the restaurant she was just at-it's the thought that counts.

Male rider in Charleston area: "I've had a few difficult experiences with drivers. One fell asleep on the highway, one was "having fun by himself" in the front seat, and another had her boyfriend in the car. He said it was her first night driving and he wanted to make sure she was safe. He tried to sell me meth and was upset when I said, "no."

The two older women from Oklahoma, had a lot of trouble returning their rental car to the rental building at Charleston Airport. They didn't know where the rideshare pick-up was and after telling the driver who was picking up they couldn't find it, he canceled the ride. The woman's sister sat down on the curb and did not feel well. An ambulance was called and she was having a heart attack. A second Uber driver arrived and he was given $20 because they couldn't take the ride.  Within two hours she had two stints put in and was doing very well after getting a lot of good care.

Couple married 39 years: "Our family has been coming to North Myrtle Beach for 73 years. There were three brothers who made a pact that if they all survived World War 11, they would take a week vacation each August in North Myrtle Beach for the rest of their lives." Parts of their family have continued the tradition every single year.

"My grandfather worked for the Pittsburgh Pirates as an usher for 64 years. His friend worked until there until he was 98.  He was working in 1935 at Forbes Field when Babe Ruth hit the last three home runs of his career. The last one landed in the parking lot (Estimated 600 feet) and my grandfather said that he and another guy saw the ball roll under a car, but didn't realized what it was until later." (Ruth retired eight days later)

Retired man: "I invented the process of making colorful bark and it all started when my four-year old son asked me a question. We were feeding the dog and I poured water into the bowl of dog food and he said, "Why is the water red? I have a patent and the company I sold it too, does millions of dollars in sales."

The woman from Boston who is a Red Sox fan told me, "My Aunt is the biggest fan, she used to work at the Green Giant." I first thought she was talking about a supermarket or the vegetable company and then I said, "Do you mean the Green Monster?"(The famous wall in left field) Her: "Yes, oh, she would be mortified if I told her what I said."

He: "I worked three three years as a ball boy and in the clubhouse for the Pirates when I was in high school. Sometimes I worked 16 hours in a day as the attendant for the opposing teams.  It was really good money and I got good tips. When I was 16, I once drove Joe Torre around downtown when I just started driving."

Guy from New York: "We were at the pool at one of the hotels here and a guy was cooking some hot dogs and hamburgers for us and a few families.  He looked at the time and said, "It's one o'clock my shift his over.  He put everything down and just left.  The next worker arrived twenty minutes later."

SOME MORE COMMENTS

Young woman was lives in Moscow, "I wasn't really impressed with New York City."

He: "I was at a World Series game at Fenway when a foul ball was hit right to my good friend and he missed it. The very next pitch was a foul ball hit in exactly the same spot and I pushed him out of the way and caught it."

The pilot told me and showed me, "This a picture from the air I took of the Sierra Mountains in California when they were on fire."

Male: "I became an owner of a local public television station after I was asking if I wanted to manage it."

The General Manager of two car dealerships in Pennsylvania said, "We've done a pretty good job in getting new cars in, better than a lot of other places."

Manager from New York, he said, "I am enjoying every single minute here in Myrtle Beach."

Looking at a picture of my wife, she said, "She's gorgeous, beautiful. You tell her I said she's "Beautamiss." (A word her and her friend came up with in the past)

"I knew I wanted to be a Neurosurgeon when I was in 4th grade since my Dad was one. My residency is seven years and I'm done with the first one."

She told me, "You tell your wife that you met a very nice woman who is a retired IRS Manager."

Living here in the south, he said, "I don't do heat."

Young woman: "I've never talked to an Uber driver in New York."

"We had D. Lawrence of the Cowgirls come in recently with his family on vacation." (He plays football for the Cowboys and this guy is a New York Giant fan."

Woman from California about Myrtle Beach: "I love it here, but it's too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter."

Woman from California about Myrtle Beach: "I love it here, but it's too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter."

Woman: "I do digital marketing and send out all the ads you get on your computer." Me: "So you're the one responsible?"

Young woman: "I've never talked to an Uber driver in New York."

College student who has lived in many countries: "I loved living in Thailand because of it's culture and friendly people."

"The air is much better her in South Carolina."

She: "I'm hoping some of your positivity rubs off on my four-year-old."

She and her group from New York: "Can we take a selfie with you?"

The young woman said, "I like your vibe."

Woman: "You have the coolest set-up in your car, don't tell anyone about your ideas."

Graduating with a Sociology degree, she said about the book I'm writing, "I'd buy that book."

She said, "I love your energy."

AUGUST'S MOST MEMORABLE RIDERS

 BEACH WEEK-OHIO STYLE

The outgoing couple from Ohio have been married 39 years and they told me two incredible stories.  The first week in August is a special week for their family, because they come to North Myrtle Beach.  The family tradition started 73 years ago.  Three brothers who were in World War 11, made a pact that if they survived the war they would vacation in North Myrtle Beach the rest of their life. Their father bought ten small plots of land to build on that and it cost around $175 each. The three brothers were all golfers since growing up their Dad built a golf course around their house. The Dad knew that North Myrtle Beach would be a big tourist area and it was a great place for his family to vacation.

The second story I almost missed, because the first one was so interesting.  The husband is retired from an invention he patented in 1986. The idea came from his four year-old son.  They were feeding the dog together and when he poured water into the bowl with dog food, his son asked, "Why does the water turn red?" He had no idea since he told me that dogs can't tell color. He was no longer permitted to burn pallets and wood in his backyard and wondered if he could do something with it. He said, "I drove 100 miles to a dog food manufacturer and asked the manager if I could watch their manufacturing process and the guy thought it was the craziest idea he ever heard." He developed a process to make colored mulch and fifteen years later sold it to a large company that does millions of dollars in sales. One moral of this story is-listen carefully to your children's questions, you never know where it might lead.

WHAT WAS THE BEST PART OF YOUR WEEK?

After I asked the couple that question about their vacation, the woman replied, "What was the best part of your week? I said, "Right now and I can prove it." I told her that today was by birthday and I'm working all day. She couldn't believe it was my birthday, because her birthday was the next day.  I said, "Can I sing you Happy Birthday?" She replied, "Only if I can sing it with you." We sang each other Happy Birthday and had a lot of fun doing it.

89 WAS THE MAGIC NUMBER

Over three days I typically will give 65-75 rides, but there were a lot of short rides and I was over 85 in the final two hours.  I was also getting close to my money goal for the weekend and then I knew that my last ride would be ride number 89. I picked up four friends in their twenties from New York. There was one girl and three guys and the girl had long, very bright pink hair. It was striking, so I complimented her on her hair and asked, "If my hair was pink and I was driving this orange car, would it clash?" She said, "No, it would look great, you can bleach it."

The ride was two miles long and we did a lot of laughing. The three guys were from Staten Island and I recited many of the high schools that I visited while working early in my career. When I went to drop them off, the girl asked if they could take a selfie with me and we did.  My bright red shirt and her bright pink hair made for an amazing picture.  I'm hoping she still sends it to me.  As I pulled away I realized I was $6 short of my weekend goal and then I got a tip from my last riders of $8. It was a very generous thing for them to do since the ride only cost $4. I would have told them I was going to write about them and post their picture, but I'm still waiting for that picture. It's the closest I'll ever come to pink hair.

50 YEARS TOGETHER

The day before I celebrated my 39th wedding anniversary, I drove a couple who just celebrated their 50th anniversary earlier this year. I asked them what the secret was to a successful marriage and the husband said, "You can't give up when the road gets bumpy." They both taught in special education for a combined total of over 60 years and he also taught high school football for 40 years. They have children and grandchildren who are following in their footsteps. The wife said that when she earned her degree over three years there were times that she studied at night, slept two hours and went to school in the morning. Although she is still working part-time as a substitute, they have been doing some traveling and enjoying life together.

I'm Still Having Trouble Spending Cash

I know it sounds ridiculous, but I'm not getting any better at this. Last weekend after I told a rider I would make an extra stop for them, she said, "We'll give you some extra cash." I was just being honest and I told her that I have difficulty spending cash these days.  I was surprised and grateful when she handed me $20, but I was worried also, how am I going to spend it?

I feel better today, because my wife and I went out to dinner to celebrate our upcoming 39th anniversary on Sunday and I paid cash. I was a little nervous that they wouldn't take it, you never know these days. Just so you know, I really did spend $80 and here's the proof below.  You'll notice I just spread the bills out, they did not have to be all right side up or facing the same direction-that's just me.

It's not always easy.  Just a couple days ago I went into a convenience store to buy a Slurpee. It was $1.69 and I had two dollars, but I didn't spend it. When the cashier scanned it, it came up that it was on sale and she gave me $1 back. I left shaking my head.

We did spend cash on our trip in Colorado, but it wasn't easy there either. This problem I'm having is not a "southern" thing. I went out to pick up a pizza, but there was no street parking. I had to go into a large parking deck and I was thinking maybe someone would be in a booth and I could give them cash? No chance, not only wasn't there a person in a booth, there was no booth and it was a free parking lot! 

The biggest surprise was at Coors Field, the Colorado Rockies baseball stadium. I had cash and was ready to spend it, but the sign said outside the stadium, "No Cash Accepted." Do I need to go into therapy for this? There has to be others who are experiencing the same problem, maybe a support group for people who can't spend cash?

Mountains and Majestic Scenery

 With this post I'm pretty much finishing up blogging about our ten day vacation out to Colorado.  I've saved some of the best pictures and scenery for this blog. Let's start off with a few mountains:
 

 

The Royal Gorge Bridge & Park is an amazing please with some incredible views. It is located in Canon City, Colorado and was built in 1929. The bridge that we walked over is suspended 956 feet above the Arkansas River. You can go over it in one of these red gondola's, but I was not going to. Everyone else would have made the trip, including three dogs who would have passed on it to if they knew where they were headed.  Fortunately, or unfortunately, the wind picked up and they said it wasn't safe, which of course I knew after one quick look at it. Everyone had to walk back over the bridge instead of the easy way on the gondolas.

Red Rocks Park& Amphitheatre is located in Morrison Colorado and it is one of the best know places in Colorado.  It opened in 1941 and it does not look like it is 81 years old. Built out of the rock surrounding it, this is a very popular place for concerts. The top row is 6,450 feet above sea level in case you were wondering. It is estimated that the surrounding rock took 200 million years to form.  One of the most famous concerts here was on August 26th 1964, almost exactly 58 years ago.  The Beatles performed here on their American tour and this was the only concert that did not sell out.  The mountains here are very large and what a view!

The Garden of the Gods is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  This is an amazing photograph and if you are wondering how could I have taken it, well, I got it off the computer because it is really great.

The Garden of Gods is a collection of red rocks that dominate the 1,334 acre park that has two million visitors a year from around the world.  How did it get it's name?  Legend has it that two land surveyors 

in 1859 saw the formations and said, "This would be a capital place for a beer garden." The other one said, "Beer garden? This is a place fit for the Gods too assemble. We'll call it the Garden of the Gods."

This below picture has an unusual explanation. They call this part "Kissing camels", because in the middle on top it looks like camels kissing.  I can see the side on the left, but the right one I'm not buying into it.  Just outside the park is a housing development called, "Kissing Camels." I'm not buying into it either. I can just hear someone asking, "Where do you live?" I'm not saying I live in Kissing Camels, although it does have some incredible views.

One final amazing site came in St. Louis, yes, St. Louis, Missouri. The St. Louis Arch really doesn't compare to mountains, but it is a site to behold.  The 630 ft. high monument is 57 years old. It was dedicated to The American People and it memorializes the Western Expansion of The United States. It is the tallest arch in the word and it is surrounded by a very large park that was beautiful to walk through. Below, I am pointing to it and saying, "Yes, it's an arch, not an ark." (I once misspoke to a rider and called it an ark) The second picture is really unusual since it looks like a building that is vertical, but I got it at a different angle.

Some Things You Normally Don't See

While on vacation, I do make it a point to look for unusual things and I already told you about the female mannequin with the sign that said, "Don't Fake The Funk." However, not too far from that house, on top of a hill there was a large, fake chicken. I'm not sure what it was made of and I don't know if they had a sign too, but why would people put a fake chicken on their lawn? Do they sell eggs or are they advertising for Chick-fil-A? I think I've see the same large chicken on a lawn somewhere before.

Another oddity out in the west was the number of "Antique Malls" that we saw advertised.  Pennsylvania is known as having the most antique places in the country.  On a list of the top 15 places in the country for antiquing, Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa, made that list from the mid-west.  However, on the highway, we kept seeing signs for these antique malls, one of which looked like an overgrown storage unit.

Here are some different pictures, the first one is a very unusual rainbow which was at Royal Gorge Bridge&Park in Colorado:

From Coors field is a picture of three cameraman, one standing on the ground, another on a pallet and the one further away is standing on two pallets for some reason.

Also, from Coors field is one empty seat which is always empty. It says POW-MIA on it and the plaque says that 92,000 Americans since World War 1 are still missing.  The plaque was dedicated two years ago.

One of our first stops on our trip was in a mall where there was a McDonalds. I took Odin for a walk and when he saw himself in the window he was barking continuously.  Did he think it was another dog like him or did he know it was him? I have no idea, but he was barking too much. Maybe he was barking because he saw me in the window?

This next picture is pretty awful looking.  It was a sign that I found at one of the scenic mountain views which is called "Garden of the Gods."  We did not see any of these ants, because fortunately they live underground in the southwest. The next time you see some bug or fly in your house, remember, it could look a lot worse.

I know that people hang stuffed deer heads in their house. Some people like seeing fake or formerly real animals around their house, but would you feel comfortable looking out into your backyard and seeing this thing? It is not for me, but it was in a very nicely decorated backyard.

Finally, It was very noticeable to me that there weren't as many gas stations in Colorado as I'm used to in Myrtle Beach or in New Jersey.  However, Joe's Barbecue in Kansas City, Kansas, in addition to having great barbecue, they also had two gas pumps, one which was working.  It had a good price to, so we filled up on barbecue and gas at the same time. The barbecue cost more and tasted better. (I'm guessing)

Getting COVID and Getting Rid Of It

          INTERRUPTING MY ENDLESS BLOGGING ABOUT OUR COLORADO TRIP:

They say that sooner or later everyone will test positive for COVID, so you could say I was due. I worked daily as a courier wearing a mask for 15 months making deliveries to many places including almost daily to two hospitals. As an Uber driver I took off 10 weekends at the outbreak of COVID and then wore a mask while giving maybe 4,000 rides.  A number of riders said they had had COVID and several said they had it twice.  One young woman did scare me when she said she had it three times, which made me wonder what she was doing and how quickly I could get her out of my car.

I've had the two vaccines and two boosters, the last one was the week before our trip to Colorado.  After returning from Colorado later Thursday afternoon, I did my normal Uber driving Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  You would think after driving 1,800 miles over three days, I would not drive another 1,000 miles the next three days, but I was looking forward to it.  It was a good weekend, very busy, and I had no problem heading home early Sunday evening.

Where I got COVID I'll never know for sure, but the odds would be in favor of me getting it over the weekend in my car. It could have been going into a bathroom or on the way home from Colorado, but I'll never know.  Later Sunday afternoon, I had a few long rides and did a lot of talking and was clearing my throat.  I thought it was from talking a lot, but when I went to bed that night it seemed more like a cold and I had a slight runny nose. I'm rarely sick, so I could tell it was something.

Monday I definitely felt like I had a little cold and took a test at home that said I was positive.  I'm always positive, but this wasn't the right positive.  I got a test from a Walgreens and was waiting for the results when I reached my doctor's office.  They would not get me any medicine until I had confirmation that I had COVID and a short time later I called them back to confirm the results.  It took more than 24 hours for them to get the order for medicine in, probably waiting for a doctor to okay it.  I'm pretty sure up north I would have gotten better service.  If my doctor's office is lucky, I won't be in there in the near future to complain about their service.

DAY 1: Very mild symptoms throughout, my appetite was not what it usually is. I had a small chicken dinner which tasted great.  Since my taste buds were different on Day 2, I can only assume chicken is stronger than COVID, but I could be wrong. I started wearing a mask in the kitchen and staying away from my wife to protect her.

DAY 2: All symptoms were worse and I think I had temperature too.  Took my first of ten doses of medicine late afternoon.  The salmon at dinner did not taste normal, it was a little off.  My taste buds weren't gone, but different for sure.  

DAY 3: My symptoms reduced and I slept well but I did not feel like a slept well.  I wasn't really tired, but didn't feel rested. The taste in my mouth was very strange and changed during the day, appetite was light, but I ate.  

DAY 4 - Day 6: A headache from time to time, stuffy nose was gone, but still the taste in my mouth was not right.  Food and drinks seemed to be about 80% of their normal taste. Just a little bit of a cough remained.

DAY 7: Finished the 10 doses of medicine and took a test at home and I was still positive. It was frustrating because I'm feeling good and by the end of the day my taste buds seemed better.

DAY 8: Taste buds seem normal, even when I ate salmon.

DAY 9: I'm free, I'm free at last. Ok, I'm thrilled. My negative test came through about 10:15 am and the first thing I did was give my wife a big hug. I've got to get a bunch of those in today to make up for the last 8 days.

I did go out early this morning for a half hour walk and I did get some other exercise indoors during my time with COVID. I mowed the lawn on the first day and I'll be mowing it again Wednesday or Thursday. I'm all caught up from being away for ten days also. Lastly, on the way home from Colorado, I was trying to figure out how I'm going to find more time to work on my book and well, mission accomplished. I've done a lot of writing the last nine days, back to driving on Friday morning.

Chick-fil-A Only Sells Chicken? Really?

Sometimes my wife is surprised when I don't know something that most people do and sometimes I'm surprised that most people know something I didn't know. However, I admit, this one is ridiculous. If you've been reading my blogs, one of the consistent themes throughout is that I love chicken and it's my favorite food. I have literally had a number of rides with strangers where we "talked chicken."

It would be an easy conclusion that I love to eat at Chick-fil-A, doesn't everyone? Before this past year of traveling I had probably only eaten at Chick-fil-A a couple times and it was good, but it wasn't unforgettable. And their menu wasn't unforgettable and that leads to my important discovery when I was on vacation recently.

It all started with a sign. My wife was sleeping early in the morning and I saw the Chick-fil-A sign that said, "All Roads Lead To Chicken." (Spelled correctly)  I laughed at the sign, because I was thinking: wouldn't that be great if any road you went on led you to chicken? I understand the meaning of the sign and it's clever, but I was driving on a lot of roads and I had been eating more chicken than normal.  The sign below was not the sign I saw, I was driving at 70 miles per hour.

A few hours later we had to stop somewhere and my wife picked Chick-fil-A. It might have been the third time on the trip. Since I had had a lot of chicken I figured I'd get something different and that's when my wife said, "They only sell chicken?" At first I thought she was kidding, but she wasn't. I figured like Burger King, McDonalds and Wendys, there were some other options. I got my chicken sandwich, but I still could not get over the fact that they only sell chicken.

I asked Mr. Google and this is what I found: "Chick-fil-A doesn't sell hamburgers because they would stop being known for being the best at the one thing they are known for: chicken sandwiches." Logically, I don't buy that at all. McDonalds is still known for their burgers, but they have other options. Chick-fil-A actually started in 1967 in Atlanta when I was 7 years old. I think their advertising has a way to go if I can see it for 55 years and not know that they only sell chicken!

S,. Truett Cathy was the founder of Chick-fil-A and his first restaurant started in Georgia in 1946 and it was called, The Dwarf House. There are still 12 of those restaurants around and they specialized in hamburgers and steak. (At least he started with the right idea)

The "A" at the end of Chick-fil-A stands for "Grade A", if you didn't know. If you thought I had a problem with loving chicken, what about all these people in line at the Chick-fil-A drive-thru window? They are all waiting just for chicken! I could understand it if it was chicken parmesan, or barbecue chicken, or fried chicken, or... You get the picture, I finally learned a valuable lesson- Chick-fil-A sells only chicken. Maybe one day there will be a sign that says, "YES-WE ONLY SELL CHICKEN".

Take Me Out To The Ballgame-Coors Field

I've been a baseball fan since I was five or six years old, or around 56 years. I still remember my Dad  taking me to Yankee Stadium for the first time.  Walking up the subway steps and finally seeing this massive building and then seeing the baseball diamond inside, is still unforgettable. I can't tell you who won that day, but my Dad used to take me once a year to see the Yankees play and I can still recite what happened on a number of those days.

When we planned our visit to Colorado I did check to see if the Colorado Rockies were going to be home during that time and they were.  I've only visited a couple other stadiums in my life, so this seemed like a good opportunity.  I've been to the old Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Camden Yards in Baltimore twice and the old Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.

There were five of us going to the game on a Sunday in Denver, my son and his fiancee, my youngest daughter and her boyfriend and myself.  It was a hot day, but we lucked out with seats at the very top of the stadium in the shade. Below are a couple pictures early in the day:

The Rockies were playing the Dodgers, one of the best teams in baseball. There were a couple home runs and some nice defensive plays, but the Dodgers won easily. As you can see it was a beautiful day and we had a great view of the ballpark and everything that happened during the game.  I walked around the stadium and got some other views.

Lastly, I took a picture of the waterfalls out in center field, a close up of the scoreboard, and a picture from the parking deck of the city of Denver.  We had a great time and yes, I did have a hot dog at the game. It was not Yankee Stadium, but it was a beautiful ballpark and a great experience.

Attitude Determines Your Altitude, Unless You're Visiting Colorado

There is a very famous success phrase that your attitude will determine your altitude in life.  It's not 100% of course, but having a positive attitude not only is good for your career, but also your health.  When we were planning our trip to Colorado I looked up and found out that the Denver area is one mile above sea level and it is common for people visiting to temporarily get "altitude sickness." This occurs when there is lower amounts of oxygen at a higher altitude.  I wasn't worried about it, but my concern was that it might be a problem for my wife.

I had spoken to a number of my riders who either lived in Colorado or had lived there in the past.  They said it probably would not be a big deal and to drink extra water and just be aware if you have some trouble breathing.  We drove three hours into Colorado to our daughter's house and had dinner and was up for a number of hours before going to sleep the first night.  

I didn't think about altitude sickness until about two hours later when I woke up and could not breathe.  I'm used to sleeping with a fan on above us at home, but I was now in the living room comfortably sleeping on a couch.  I knew there was air, there just wasn't much of it.  I went into the bathroom and found some. With the door closed, the air that had come from the air conditioner was still in there and I inhaled every bit of it I could.

Coming out of the bathroom I looked at my situation: I wasn't in my house, I didn't want to wake anyone up and it appeared that the air conditioning was not on. So here's the conversation I had with myself:

Positive Jeff: "It's going to be okay. You're tired, you'll be able to fall asleep."

Negative Jeff: "What if I pass out? Should I go outside and get some "fresh air"?

Positive Jeff: "Keep drinking water, relax, this is normal."

Negative Jeff: "You are 61 and you do have motion sickness, maybe this will be serious?

Positive Jeff: "I could spend more time in the bathroom, I know there's air there and I'm going to be peeing for awhile after I finish this whole water bottle."

And, that's when the air conditioning went on! I looked across from me and there was a large vent on the wall a few steps up the staircase.  I walked up there and stuck my face right in front of it and sucked as much air in as I could.  Pictured below was my new best friend:

As it turns out there was one chair at the kitchen table that had air blowing on it, so I sat there for a little bit. Then, I sat down on the couch, put my feet up and could still feel the air when I fell asleep.

The pressure on my head lasted about 30 hours which is normal and I kept drinking as much as I could. I felt much better outside during the time of my altitude sickness.  My wife? She was fine and had no trouble at all.  So, when visiting Colorado the first time and probably any time, for some people-it's the altitude that will determine how you feel.

The Picnic We Finally Had

When I was kid and we went on vacation by car, we would typically pull into a rest stop and have lunch on a picnic table. My mom would make sandwiches and sometimes they would attract flies and bees, especially the egg sandwiches. For some reason, I've always had fond memories of these times, although fighting insects for lunch wasn't fun.  Possibly the most memorable picnic I've had was when I took my youngest daughter to the local park in Edison when she was around 8 years old and we put down a blanket and I think had McDonalds.  She recalls it as "Picnic at The Poop Park." I do remember a lot of geese(?) walking around and trying to sit somewhere that was clean, however I may have ruined picnics for her.

Going on a picnic has been a running joke with my wife for a long time, because she doesn't really like picnics. Naturally, while we were doing six road days and 3,6000 miles with a dog, the idea of  a picnic seemed a lot more reasonable and possible.  There were a good number of rest stops and parks we stopped at that would have been nice and here are a few of them:

The third one had a great view of a mountain if I had taken the picture from the other side.  The first one was just a great park and the last one was a beautiful rest stop where I almost took a picture of a couple having a picnic, but this is a nicer picture.

The good news is that we did have a little bit of a picnic and it was in an unusual place-McDonalds. It was odd, but behind the McDonalds in the left corner were these two picnic tables and we did sit there for a short time. I was not chased by flies or bees and there was no sign of poop either, and there was no shade and also no scenic view.  Still, a picnic is a picnic. Maybe next time...... 

Driving 54 hours in Six Days

It sounds like a lot of hours. It was about 9 hours a day and 600 miles each day.  We did three days out to Colorado, four days there, and then three days back to Myrtle Beach. I did do all the driving, but as a longtime driver and with a couple hours of breaks during the day, the driving was not a problem.  I was looking forward to driving through the mid-west for the first time and I was not disappointed. Here are some highlights and some pictures(my wife and I took) as we went through South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado.

It was very different driving than going north on Rt. 95 towards New Jersey.  We had only one delay of twenty minutes which is far less than traveling North.  There were more trucks, but we did notice a lot  more trucks going east when we were coming home. There was considerably less traffic also which was great.  One of our only location stops was a very nice local park in Spartanburg, S.C.

The mountains and winding hills in North Carolina and Tennessee was the only difficult driving. Arriving in Lebanon, Tennessee, right before Nashville, we barely got inside before this storm hit. It didn't last long, but it was a heavy rain which we're used to in South Carolina.

One beautiful sunrise for you.  I took this picture from the garage of our hotel in downtown Kansas City, Kansas. This picture doesn't look real, but it is. It was amazing to see and I was lucky to be loading the car at the right time.

People always say that between Kansas City, Kansas and Denver there's really nothing to see, but I don't agree. I saw flat lands, farm land, beautiful skies and the wind turbines that are blowing all over as you drive out on Rt. 70. Below is a picture of the wind turbines as we drove alongside them.  On the way home some of the blades were being transported and this is what it looked like as we passed it. They are very large and very important also.

One of the terrific views is below when you finally reach Colorado and about an hour later you start seeing some mountains. Before you know it, mountains are everywhere and I will blog about some of the best mountain views we had.  As I requested, when we entered Colorado, my wife played "Rocky Mountain High", by John Denver. His song is one of two state songs that Colorado has.

The sunrise leaving Colorado was spectacular. I was driving, but this was one of the most beautiful sights we had traveling and there were no mountains.

It was some of the most fun I've ever had driving, even better than the hurricane I once delivered newspapers in or the blizzard I once drove home from work in.  I highly recommend the drive.

DON'T FAKE THE FUNK

We had an amazing trip out west and saw some beautiful and incredible scenery which I will tell you about in my next blog.  However, the most unusual and unique thing we saw was a real fluke that we actually saw it. We were driving up a winding road which was a mountain, when I glanced over to a house that had a mannequin in the front yard. I just barely saw it, but my wife said it was a female mannequin wearing a yellow dress and blue hair. You would think I would focus on that, but next to it was a sign that said, "Don't Fake The Funk." 

I laughed at the phrase, but first thought it was a safety sign that was saying something like, "be careful on the turns." It didn't make a lot of sense, but I was puzzled as to what it meant and why someone would put it in their front yard.  And, what did the mannequin have to do with it?

Unfortunately, I could not get a picture of this and since I am "technically challenged", this is the best I can do below.  Use your imagination and put the blue hair on the mannequin and the words on the sign. This will drive the techies in Colorado and New Jersey and the graphic artist in Highland Park, NJ., absolutely crazy.  They could have put this together in about five minutes.  Just imagine what we saw:

DON'T FAKE THE FUNK

 

We did get a glance of it again on the way down the mountain, but could not get a picture.  Could it be a song? There are a few songs with this name and also some quotes online too.  Here are some of the definitions that I found: 1."You're either cool or not, you can't fake it."  2.  "To perform below one's abilities". 3. "To promise more than you can deliver."   But, here's the one I like most of all:

"To act with a false ethos surrounding yourself  in an attempt to win respect from a certain influential party. Antonym: keep it real."  I agree that we should be who we are, authentic.  However, that still leads to a puzzling question: what did the mannequin have to do with the sign, or did it at all?