Even a blind nut can find a squirrel….3!

 The problem I’m having with this new incarnation of the blog is I’m not taking enough pictures.  So, for example, this post will probably have none because I didn’t take any pictures from Friday noon to Sunday noon.  But anyway…. Getting to this cruise involved a lot more planning than usual - mostly because we were trying to accommodate some of Cpher’s preferences and he wasn’t the best about providing them or making decisions (in fact he got ‘charged’ extra because he couldn’t make a decision about what cruise and missed a deadline to get a free drink package…..so he had to pay for it).   The air travel had two choices - either LAN-ORD-Florida or DTW-Florida.   At one point Cpher and Madi were pushing for the LAN option but cost and the concerns about delays with the extra leg made DTW the choice.  Plus it allows for upgrades for Suzanne and me.   Turns out this was exactly the right choice since a huge winter storm hit Fri/Sat and American cancelle...

 Friday my friend Rob texts - his Dad isn’t/doesn’t go to Steeler night games anymore, would I be interested in coming down and going to the Wild Card game Monday night.   It wasn’t an immediate yes - it’s a long drive, the Steelers suck, etc.  But, in the end, I haven’t ever been to a Steelers playoff game and there’s always hope (“Hope is a good thing” - Shawshank).   So on Sunday I start driving down to Bethel Park. I decided to take the 3; 1) because we don’t use it nearly as much as the Y and 2) I thought I would take advantage of having the FSD on it during the long drive.   And the FSD was handy at times when I was eating in the car or wanted to check out my phone.  But….the FSD for me is the most annoying thing in the world.  I don’t know how to explain it, many people rave about it, but when I have tried to use it (at home on the drive to work and this drive) on the interstates it just does things I can’t stand. - it doesn’t seem to know the c...

Saturday in Tennessee was a trip to the Smalleys and then dinner in Franklin .  We will see how many pictures I can surreptitiously take of the proceedings for this blog :) Many posts in the third version of this blog have this new format; I type a little to begin (to create a post) and then document during the day.  It’s because the interface of blogger has improved enough that I can blog from my phone, so, if I start a post I can add photos and text pretty easily throughout the day. Went out for breakfast at Ruby Sunshine - this morning cocktail was a highlight. After breakfast we stopped at The Factory - really liked this repurposed stove-then-mattress factory.  Mom looked at all the stores while I gazed at the infrastructure. After lunch we drove to Smalleyworld Yahtzee and Oreo (Oreo - for a 17.5 yr old cat he looked great…Marino at his age was a hump-backed hair-loss shell of herself…Oreo looked like a normal cat) We hung out at the house for a few hours - way too ...

 Friday am:  Current 50/50 (50 states after 50) status:  31     West:  WA, OR, CA, NV, CO, MT, AZ, UT, AK, HI (10)     South:  TX, LA (2)     Midwest:  OH, MI, IN, IL, WI, MN (6)     East:  FL, GA, SC, MD, DE, PA, NJ, NY, CT, RI, MA, NH, ME (13) One of the nice things about this drive - and I don’t mind the stops for charging in the Tesla - is that, well, we don’t have those stops.  We’ll be in Gaye’s Edge - 9K miles (purchased after Gramps fell in late 2023 as he wanted Gaye to have a new car if he passed…).  The drive up here from Nashville was nice in that regard. The drive south will be…longer.  Coming up I started in a hotel near the Nashville airport, Christine brought the car and Gaye to me.  Initial drive time was 7 hours 48 minutes - we avoided the traffic in Nashville and made great time.  The trip back has some complications….we have to go by DTW to drop a Tesla to grab after w...