Happy New Year 2020!

"Mike", cross country hiker

Just a short message wishing everyone a very Happy New year!  

I work tonight at the hotel. Tomorrow I have off which I will do some major vegging out. I need to do some serious relaxing.

This morning I spent about three hours on the phone with Apple Support trying to correct my Time Machine Error Code 92 problem. Sometimes folks, I am tempted to just toss all my digital age stuff out the window and retreat to my bed and read a book. Much less complicated and frustrating. However, I am hooked on all the convenience of the Digital Age so I will plow through.

Last night at the hotel I checked in a guy who had spent the last nine months walking across the country. His starting point was his home in Irvine California.  This is his website.Nice guy.  Very relaxed. Looked like a guy who had just walked across the country.  He was amazing, he had less "luggage" (back pack) for a nine month trip than I take for a week's stay in Philadelphia. And yes, I did wash his clothes after he stripped down to his walking shorts. I asked him "why?" he walked across the country. Usually people who bike or ride across the country are raising funds of awareness of an issue. His answer was "I believe it is the end of times and I wanted to see the country before that happened."  Oh, okay.  Nice guy though. No proselytizing or any of that boring nonsense some self righteous Christians lay on you. He said he knew that others have claimed end of times but "this is different."  We'll see.  He said he started his trip with a meal at an Italian restaurant and wanted to end his trek with a meal at an Italian restaurant. I told him we had an excellent Italian restaurant in Lewes, Touch of Italy. He went there and had a huge chicken parmesan dinner. He said he's going to visit a friend in Virginia and then take a train back to his home in California.  See the interesting people I meet at the hotel?  Memorable. And we'll see about that "end of times" thing.

I'm working again at the hotel tonight. Almost a full house. Dropping the anchor in Lewes at the Overfalls Ship, fun times. 

Happy New Year to everyone!

How Did Bill Do On My Week In Philly?

Bill in our garage where he waits for me to return from my trips

One of my favorite blogger commenters brought to my attention that I didn't mention how did Bill do during my recent week in Philly?

My first night in Philly, I got a call from our neighbor who told me Bill contacted him and said our house thermostat wasn't working.  He said I would have to call the service company to fix the thermostat.  I got that call just as I returned from our restaurant outing. It was about eleven o'clock at night.  I didn't want to call the service company at that time of night.  I was convinced that Bill had accidentally cut a wire while he was working on his doorbell project.

Bill couldn't call me because he can't figure out how to use his iPhone since his cognitive functions have declines and his sight being affected by macular degeneration. Thank goodness for our neighbor Bob, who already has his hands full taking care of his wife who has COPD.  

I asked Bob to check to see what was exactly wrong with the thermostat.  He said "the light wasn't on" which meant that no power was going to it.  He suggested that Bill turn on our fire place for heat for the night. I was going to call our service company in the morning. 

Next morning I received an e-mail from Bill stating "Good news", the light was on and the thermostat was working.  Thank goodness, what a relief!  I'm glad I waited. 

I tried to contact Bill but couldn't get through to him.  I had sent him an e-mail asking him if he accidentally cut the power  supply to the thermostat. I heard nothing. Uh oh, he's mad at me.  

Always when I'm away on one of my quarterly forays with Pat, I e-mail Bill daily. I didn't hear anything from him for the rest of my stay. I called him on his iPhone, no answer. I continued to send him e-mails daily, as I have during my past trips, as if nothing had happened and he was mad at me. I thought "I'll take care of his mad when I get home."  

When I got home (which is another whole story which I will write about in a future blog posting) I was expecting an angry Bill. He met me at the open garage door with a big smile. He wasn't angry at all. In fact he was glad to see me as he always is.  I asked him why he didn't e-mail me. He said his iPad wasn't working. He lives on that iPad.  I think the problem is partly the iPad is old and the battery is wearing out and he's more confused now using the iPad.  Also, his failing eyesight is part of the problem. But he did say he was glad to see me. What a relief because I don't want to upset Bill. He wants me to get away and have my quarterly holidays with Pat. He likes Pat, they also e-mail each other frequently. Bill knows that I enjoy these trips and like Pat's company. Bill love is true because he wants me to be happy. He's always said that as I have of him.  I would never be with anybody who is crazy jealous. My father was like that with my Mother. She was never allowed to have any friends.  My father was even jealous of her closeness with her sons, that's another whole story.  I grew up with that fact and vowed I would never be in a relationship like that. My very first relationship was with a nice guy named Jim Groh. We both liked each other very much but he was very possessive. That doesn't work with me and I ended that relationship. 

I ordered Bill a new iPad today from the Apple store. I hope that solves his difficulty in staying in touch with me.  My next trip (to Palm Springs) comes up in a short six weeks.

By the way, when I returned home I found out what happened with the thermostat. It was the fuse box insert that failed. Bill discovered that.  I wouldn't have know that.  So there I was blaming Bill for cutting a wire and here the power failure was a simple fuse box problem. So there was a little lesson for me, don't be too quick to blame Bill for any problem around the house.

There may come a time in the future when I can't leave Bill alone when I go away on my trips. But for now our neighbor Bob M. is keeping a watchful eye on Bill. Thank goodness for good neighbors like Bob!  

Am I Good Enough?

Me and Pat at The Cheesecake Factor, Philadelphia PA December 2019

Another Christmas has come and gone. 

Is it me or do they seem to come around each year with increasing frequency? The years do fly by don't they?

Last week I just returned from my annual winter visit to Philadelphia. Again, we had a grand time. When Pat and I get together for our quarterly adventures we always have a good time. A lot of that can be attributed to Pat because he is such good company and he is patient with me. And believe me I can be a chore to be with at times.

While we're in Philly we stay at the guest suite at my friend Don McK. cooperative. 

We visit with Don almost every day. Take in a few restaurants and go over all our physical ailments.  That's what old men do. We do this over a glass Don's apartment.

Our next trip comes around fast this time. Only six weeks away and we're in sunny Palm Springs. Normally we would be in Philly in the early part of November (my birthday) but the guest suite was booked up this year.

During these trips I occasionally think that for most of my adult life, when I did go on trips I traveled alone. Early on Bill went on a few trips with me but Bill doesn't like to travel. Bill is a homebody, not that there is anything the matter with that.  When I did manage to talk one of my friends to go with me on a trip, they took off as soon as we landed at our destination. They were more interested in casual sexual encounters than spending time with me.  I often assumed I wasn't good enough to spend time with.  Too boring. I can name names too.  Bob Murphy, Brad Corrill, Ed Cage and Bob McCamley. To a person, as soon as we landed in Provincetown, they were off in search of dick.  They're all gone now so I can speak ill of them. 

Other friends who I have suggested going with, never took my hint. What especially hurt one time was my friend Bob McCamley and his partner Jim were taking a cross country trip to California. Oh how I would have loved to go along. They wanted to see the tall redwood trees and Mount Rushmore. I suggested I could ride in the back seat of their very comfy Buick. They opted instead to put their black lab Lucky in that back seat.  Yes, they took their dog instead. I guess I wasn't good enough.  Too boring.

A former co-worker and friend is now traveling across the country. He retired early from his job after having made his millions before he was fifty years old. Several times I suggested that I would love to ride along. He never picked up on my suggestions.  Instead he sends me occasional texts with photos of his travels. Thanks Tom. I guess I'm not good enough

Growing up with a father who constantly belittled and humiliated me, I just assumed I wasn't good enough to be around proper company.  He never once took me to Cape May, New Jersey where he often went fishing with his brothers and, my cousin who just happened to be the same age as me.  Again, Ron wasn't good enough. That fact was ingrained in me because he never took me anywhere. Not even to a ball game (are you kidding?) or anything. That's why to this day I resent parents who go out of their way to attend their kid's soccer games or whatever.

In high school I was in a lot of activities.  I was in my high school marching band, concert band, chorus, school play, and track.  Never once, not once did he attend any of those activities. In fact no one in my family attended any of those events. When I graduated my Mother did attend my graduation. Perhaps the most painful and humiliating time for me was when I graduated from Basic Training at Ft. Dix New Jersey. I think every one of my fellow recruits had family members come from across the country to attend their graduation for Army Basic Training. But could my parents attend even though they were close by?  On no. To be fair they didn't attend my younger (middle) brother's graduation but they did attend my youngest brother's graduation.  Well, he was my father's pet. 

I don't remember if I wrote about this situation in my life before in this blog but I want to get it on the record before I pass on. As regular readers of my blog know, my blog writing is my therapy. Something which angers that troll who occasionally leaves a nasty comment (most of which I don't publish but I will begin publishing them because I feel sorry for her) when I write about my damaged upbringing. 

So many times during my teenage years then my adult years I envied those who had friends who they could go places with. Travel and other adventures.  What was I doing wrong? Not good enough. Boring. My father was right.

But then I met Pat. The last seven years have been a delight.  Pat is just about the perfect friend. He puts up with me which is no small thing. I admit I am not easy to get along with at times. But most of the time I think I'm good company. I've seen videos of myself and I look and act like a normal person. In fact, the first time I saw a video of myself I thought "He doesn't seem like a bad guy at all. I would like him."

I think the reason Pat and I get along so well is that we're a lot alike in personality. In fact we're so much alike people often mistake us for brothers.

The first time we were mistaken for brothers, we were both surprised because neither one of us think we look alike. Thus we were surprised when we were standing in line at the Nectar Restaurant in Lewes. Pat was talking to a fellow Canadian in line and the Canadian ask us "Are you brothers?"    That took us my surprise because neither one of us thinks the other looks like each other.

The next time we were asked if we were brothers was at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. A fellow tourist, after we were talking to him discussing the amazing views of downtown Los Angeles from the Observatory, "Are you brothers?"  We laughed and said "No, we're not brothers."  Noting the coincidence that two people from opposite sides of the country had mistaken us for brothers. 

Next year when were in Niagara Falls, entering an Indian restaurant, the owner of the restaurant, after doing a double take looking at us, asked "Are you brothers?"  Now this was getting serious. What was this all about?  Again, we answered in the negative.

Then, later in the week while we were walking down the street outside Pat's home in Toronto, he stopped to talk to a neighbor who asked about me "Is this your brother?"  

Okay, now this is getting to be a routine.  We've been asked this questions a few more times on our journeys.  Of course on this trip we were asked again, by a sales associate in a new building in which we wanted to look at a model condo. Yep, she asked "Are you brothers?"  Now I answer that Pat is my little brother.  Pat told her I was his uncle.  Seriously though, we told her we're often asked that question. But on this trip we got a new surprise, at the car rental counter, the sales clerk looked at me and then Pat and said "Are you twins?"  Well, that was a first.  

You know what folks?  I think I am good enough for Pat. And yes, he is my brother.

Christmas Morning 2019

Here we are, Christmas morning already.  

Today I don't have to work. 

Today I am relaxing. 

Today is a day just for me and Bill.

No presents under the Christmas tree, in fact we don't even have a Christmas tree other than several ceramic trees. But still, we always enjoy the quiet and solitude of Christmas Day.  Two old men at home, no screaming kids running around. All is quiet, just the way we like it.  

Tomorrow I will return to work. Not quite back to the regular grind because all of my favorite TV shows are on hiatus, reviewing the "Best Of" the previous year.  I hate these "Best Of" program fillers so I tend not to even turn on the TV.

Now is the time to just relax, and get ready for the new year.  And for me I'll be getting ready for my next trip which is in February.  Two glorious weeks in sunny, warm (except for the evenings which sometimes there is the chill) Palm Springs. 

While I love our quarterly trips, I have to admit my body is having a more difficult time keeping up with our adventures. But I'm going to keep on keeping on.  At least this trip to Philly I didn't fall. Couple of close calls but I was very careful.

Now to catch up on my mail that accumulated last week and to just relax.  So nice to be home again. That's another wonderful benefit of trips. Nice to get away and break the routine but also nice to get home.

Have a wonderful Christmas Day everyone!

Christmas Eve 2019

Just back this morning from a fabulous week in Philadelphia!  At work (hotel) now. I am exhausted. 

What a wonderful week we had in Philadelphia. Although it was colder than I had expected (I was warned), we still managed to traipse those historic Philadelphia streets to explore some new venues (which I will write about later in more detail).

For this year's winter holiday in Philadelphia Pat rented a car for our day trip to Hershey, PA.  Yep, we went to Chocolate Street.  

Pat wanted to visit the antique car museum. On the way from Philly to Hershey I made two pit stops. The first at the Brickside Grill in Eagleview, PA, nearby where I used to work at the Hampton Inn hotel. I love that restaurant. We weren't disappointed. 

I had hoped to meet my former boss and executor of estate but my notice was too short.  I'll try to give him more notice my next trip.   I also stopped at my brother's home for a short visit and to give him his old high school photos which got swept up in my taking of all of my Mother's old photos when we moved her to my other brother's home in South Carolina.

By the time we got to Hershey (4 PM) we only had an hour to visit the museum. But that was enough time before it closed at 5 PM. No crowds.

It was too late to return to Philadelphia, neither one of us likes to drive in the dark, so we checked into a nearby Hampton Inn.  A very nice place to relax.  We decided to drive into downtown Hershey to get something to eat. We drove by the famed Hershey Park, sparkling with multi-colored Christmas lights. Very inviting. But way too cold to imbibe.

After a relaxing night at our sumptuous and very comfortable room at the Hampton Inn, we departed early to get Pat's rental car back by 11:26 AM, lest he be charged an extra day's rental. Wouldn't you know it, just when you're in a hurry our GPS took us the wrong way back.  We were stuck on a country road in farm country behind TWO liquid fertilizer trucks.  Can you believe it?  We couldn't either. After many miles Pat was finally able to pass one truck, then another.  Looking in our rearview morrow we saw at least thirty cars behind us, stuck in the Cow Poop Caravan.

We got back in time to avoid an extra day's charge on the car.

The rest of our stay in Philly was me helping my friend Don buy his new iPhone X Pro.  I also spent time helping him with his iMac questions.

This trip in Philly I wanted to try some new restaurants. We really hit the ball out of the park by going to Ralph's Italian Restaurant in South Philly.  All the years I lived in Philly, I've never been to an authentic South Philly Italian restaurant. Well, I choose the best this time. Ralph's is the oldest Italian restaurant IN THE COUNTRY.  And the food and service is great!
Frank Sinatra and many others have frequented this restaurant over the years. Tony Bennett too!

All too soon our six day stay in Philly was over and I had to return to my hotel job her in Lewes, DE. I am at the hotel now, typing this blog. 

Sorry I didn't have a chance to write during my stay in Philly, just didn't have the time. Too many things going on. Restaurants, open houses (condos), visiting friends, computer instructions for Don, and just walking around downtown Philly. Both Pat and I LOVE Philly. Too expensive for me to live there just like it's too expensive to live in Palm Springs but at least I can go back for visits twice a year which isn't bad. 

Next up Palm Springs in February 2020!

Merry Christmas everyone on this Christmas Eve!

Philadelphia Tomorrow

This time tomorrow I will be on my way to Philadelphia for a week's stay visiting my longtime friend Don Mc. The video above is from the last time we visited Philadelphia this past spring. I was walking Pat to the bus station early in the morning on June 9th for his 24 hour trip back to his home in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Don lives in a co-operative in center city Philly (21st and Chestnut Streets).  They have a guest suite that I rent at a very reasonable price. 

Twice a year I visit Philadelphia, my former home and place of employment in my previous life. For many years I worked with Don at Girard Bank, then Mellon and finally First Fidelity Bank. 

I visit Philly in the spring and winter.  

My Travel Buddy Pat takes an overnight bus from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada tonight. 

My ride will pick me up here at my home tomorrow morning in Milton Delaware for the two and a half hour drive to Philadelphia. 

Of course my biggest decision now is what to wear. I always take too many clothes and end up wearing the same outfit for my whole stay.  Pat travels light, wearing only one change. I've tried to do that but still end up taking too much. 

For our stay in Philly this time we will visit our favorite restaurants and try a few new ones. We're also going to take a day trip to Hershey, PA to visit the antique car museum. Pat loves those old classic cars. On the way to Hershey I plan to stop in my hometown of Downingtown, which is a suburb  thirty-seven miles went of Philadelphia.  I plan to visit my younger brother Isaac.  I have his old school pictures that I had accidentally scooped up when I absconded with all of my Mother's old photos when we shipped her off to our other brother's home in South Carolina lo these many years ago. I also plan to visit my former boss Dave S. who I have named as executor of my estate.  Dave will  be responsible for distributing the millions of dollars of my estate to my twenty-four nieces and nephews (at last count, they're reproducing like rabbits lately, even my grand-nieces have children now).

As I always do on these quarterly trips I will take many photos and videos. Lately I haven't been sharing them as much on this blog as I have in the past. I don't know why, maybe I'm just too lazy. I actually take them for myself because I like to relieve those moments. I'll try to share more in the future, especially those short movie videos that I like to put together. 

What I love most about my trips is being with Pat and our always interesting adventures, which I record for posterity.  Wonder where those pictures and videos will end up after I'm long gone?  Something to ponder. Oh well, this blog will live on long after I am gone.  Maybe I'll have some grand-grand-grand niece or nephew who will find them of interest. 

Next blog post, Philadelphia!

Pat talking to Don at Don's apartment this past June during our last visit

Christmas Tree 2019

We don't have a Christmas tree here at home. I get my Christmas tree fix at the hotel where I work. This short video clip is of this year's Christmas tree, which I help to decorate. Puts me in the Christmas spirit. I hope it does the same for you.