Bob and Theresa

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Purdue "Back to Class"

Every year in Feb, Purdue Alumni descend on Naples.
Goes back to when Jack Mollenkopf was head coach and some wealthy alums invited him for a golfing weekend.

The University holds "Back to Class" sessions where we can increase our knowledge and/or skills in vital areas.
This year, I went with Dan Ross, Purdue's pro, to Tiburon Golf Resort for a group lesson on pitching and sand shots.

It's tough!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Friends, Yachts, and Fish Stories

Vince and Mary Birleson!

When we left Purdue in 1969, Bob's first job (as an engineer) was at Texas Instruments in Dallas. We quickly discovered that true Texans were a rare breed indeed and that most of the engineers were from the Big Ten schools! Vince was assigned to the same project as Bob and we soon became great friends. Mary and Theresa hit it off well. We were in the same boats economically and family wise. Vince taught Bob how to water ski and it was a given that Saturdays were spent at Grapevine Reservoir. We get an opportunity to see them whenever we come to Florida and look forward to our visits with eagerness. They live aboard their boat, a 58 foot long Hateras Long Range Cruiser but also own a house nearby which they graciously turned over to us!

Mary jokingly had Vince don this "Surfer-Dude Hat" with a full head of hair.

We drove to nearby Stuart for a stroll on the docks to visit some of their boating friends and then the downtown area which is filled with shops of all variety of thing you might want (including a gelato store run by an Italian who made terrific gelato - Italian soft ice cream!)

Look closely and you'll see that the second story "windows" are actually murals!

Dinner at the Tiki Bar in St Lucie.
(I'm sorry, I had the hamburger and it was very good indeed!
You can only be good so much ;-)

On Wednesday, the wind had died down quite a bit and Vince asked the "magic" question "Wanta go for a boat ride?" Silly question!

Mary cast off the lines and brought in the fenders and then joined Theresa on the focsle (forecastle to you lubbers).

Vince is in his element when steering a boat, whether it is an 18' ski boat or a 58' Yacht like the "Betty B" (named for his Mom)!
He is extremely thorough and cautious, double checking everything and taking nothing for granted. You always feel safe with Vince at the helm!

Vince and Mary's boat is about as big as two people can handle, but there are even bigger yachts in the basin!
BTW: The boating market is depressed right now so you can get some great buys on some very nice boats!

It is a nice 15 minute drive to the Ft Pierce inlet and the open seas.
The bridge in the background is one we'd drive over many times but this gave a whole new perspective.

As we transited the inlet, we could see surfers and kite surfers on the beach.
Fishermen line the edges of the channel (too close for comfort sometimes).

There are some nice homes along the way. This one is close to Vince and Mary's but theirs is not on the water, so the "rule of ten's" comes into play. A house on the water will sell fro approximately 10 times what it would even a block off the water.

Pelicans are everywhere. These two were enjoying a nice siesta when we disturbed their rest. They looked for moment as though they would take off but finally settled for staring us down!

Later, we went to Harbor Branch Research Institute (part of Florida Atlantic University) for a talk on "farm raised" fish (aquaculture is the correct term).

They advised they would have snacks afterward, so we sat close to the door!

The two Profs that gave the talk used a staged dialog format, pretending they'd met at a coffee house to discuss the pros and cons of aquaculture. I don't know if it's because Harbor Branch is big in aquaculture or not, but they seemed to think it was great.
Later they had a "show and do" where she showed ow to identify and pick put fresh seafood.

The "reception" was a bust (one not very good cookie) but the staff was there to answer questions and the displays were great.

This deep diving unit delivered two divers to 700 feet and allowed them to go out, swim, return and then surface. The unit then acted as the decompression chamber on deck!

In front they had some great sculptures that were appreciated by a number of birds looking for dinner!

Tomorrow, breakfast with Vince and Mary and then off to Naples for the Purdue Molenkopf Weekend.

Cocoa Beach - Super Bowl!!

Cocoa Beach

First allow me to apologize for no posts for a week!
We were in places where our only internet access was through our phones! (Not conducive to more than just checking emails and FaceBook once in a while - certainly not to upload files, etc.)

We bid adieu to Orlando (a week ago as of this writing!) and drove to the Atlantic Coast to meet and stay with our friends Paul and Helen Volk. They spend every February in Cocoa Beach and have, for the past two, been in this nice high rise condo.

It sits right on the beach and has a heated pool which is quite popular

Bob rode his bicycle up and down the streets but a number of folks used the hard packed sand.
Theresa and Helen walked the beach while Paul jousted with AT&T trying to get a handle on a new MyFi toy (which he eventually did, but through no help from AT&T!)

This was not an uncommon sight - the family that computes together, stays together?
Somehow doesn't sound quite right, does it!

Sunday morning after Mass, we drove to Patrick AFB for their wonderful Sunday brunch.
It is more than omlettes, eggs, waffles, Champagne, etc. - they have roast beef, sliced ham, ribs, etc - a full meal!

On Sunday evening, we gathered with some other snowbirds from Indiana for a Super Bowl Party. Helen consoles the lone Steelers fan. I was ambivalent until Green Bay scored with 2 minutes left and I learned if no one scored again, I'd win the pool!

We had a great time and felt (slightly) guilty winning the pool!

Monday - on to Ft Pierce!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

A Great Day In Orlando!

Tuesday in Orlando
While our poor friends in Indiana were being covered in a layer of ice, we enjoyed a fabulous day. We felt guilty - for about ten seconds!

Daily Mass at Mary Queen of the Universe

We happily returned to Mary, Queen of the Universe for noon mass in the chapel.
On one wall is a niche with a wonderful depiction of the Blessed Mother's appearance to Juan Diego in Guadeloupe, Mexico. This appearance predated Lourdes and Fatima by hundreds of years! Our Lady of Guadeloupe is the patron saint of North America

The chapel is gorgeous - the stained glass window is a field or stars and is a fascinating background for worship - a reminder that God is God of the Universe, not just our little BB flying through the ether.

A visit to Mickey's Kingdom!

After a nice lunch at Panera's, we headed to Disney World!
We've learned some tricks over the years and drove to Shades of Green (where we'd stayed several years ago). We knew that we could visit the pro shop for the golf course without any hassle. Once parked there, we could roam the facility.
Shades of Green is a Disney Resort Hotel but is open to active, reserve, and retired military. Walt Disney was an avid supporter of the US Military all his life and that support remains his legacy to this day.

The Disney golf courses are phenomenally well kept and are available at a greatly reduced rate to military members on a Space A basis 24 hours in advance at a greatly reduced rate.
The course next to Shades of Green is Magnolia and is the best of the five Disney courses.

The oldest Disney Hotel is the Contemporary. The Monorail runs through the center of the hotel highlighting the futuristic concept of the hotel. Keep in mind, this was designed in the late 60's!

One of the most beautiful resort hotels is the Floridian - a reminder of a delicate and elegant era of fine hotels in the south.

In the expansive atrium of the Floridian is a grand piano.
This young man was wonderful playing first modern music then classical with equal ease and skill.

The Monorail runs to all the hotels and links at the Transportation Center with another monorail to Epcot.

All of the transportation system on Disney is complementary - no charge to ride.
The little boats travel to the resorts including The Flordian, Polynesian Village, Frontierland, and the Contemporary as well as a stop at Magic Kindgom.

A old looking "river boat" travels back and forth from the Transportation Center to Magic Kingdom. We rode it over, caught a Monorail to Epcot and then headed back across.

While we rode the ferry, we struck up a conversation with a young man who worked for Disney World. He said he was taking his girl into Magic Kingdom and he could take us in too as his guests! So we did! We have not been to Magic Kingdom since our kids were small - probably 25-30 years!

Main Street still ends at Cinderella's Castle!

We came down Main Street in time to see a staging of a combination of a bunch of stories.

Walt Disney is fondly remembered throughout the entire facility.
For those of us who remember him personally introducing the Mickey Mouse Club, Spin and Marty, and all the other Disney shows, we remember that smile!