Still at the SKP park in Bushnell through today’s forecast thunderstorms. Spent most of the day doing more research on potential places to visit. Ran across this statement and laughed so hard I had to share it.
“Visitors using GPS or internet mapping programs from Hwy 441 or Hwy 98, please follow the brown state park signs.”
We’ve driven by so many things our GPS said we were about to come to that it’s almost not funny anymore. Almost.
TTYL,
Linda
They mostly don’t build things the way they used to. So when I saw this McDonald’s in front of the Super WalMart in Bushnell, Florida, I had a strong urge to show it to those of you who may not understand where the term “golden arches” came from. They all used to look like this. Even before they had dining rooms attached to them they had golden arches. Not just those puny things you see on their signs nowadays, either. Real arches. Like these.
See how old I’m getting? I’m telling stories of how it used to be back in my day. When McDonald’s was a new thing and we thought it was cool to go to a drive-in and get such skinny hamburgers. Of course, we didn’t think of them as skinny–just affordable to kids who didn’t have much money. I’ll try to stop now and not tell you about the time some driver broke the door off our friend’s car at McDonald’s or all the time we spent hanging out at Porky’s.
TTYL,
Linda
I am officially old. I applied for Social Security yesterday. I still can’t believe how easy it was to do.
I started by filling out their on-line application at ssa.gov. That takes awhile because they ask for a lot of information but it was all stuff I knew so it wasn’t difficult. The only thing I had to look up was what was the last year I worked.
I know, I know. How can I not know the last year I worked? My last job was as a free-lance writer. I wrote as topics occurred to me and stopped when I couldn’t get around well enough to do the research anymore. Why would I want to remember when that was?
Anyway, I filled out the form and sent it on its electronic way.
Last night I got a phone call from a lady at Social Security in Kansas City. She wanted to verify my information and talk about me filing under Dave’s earnings rather than my own. I already knew I wanted to do that since he worked a lot more and earned a LOT more than I did. I took a lot of time off to be an Army wife then raise our daughter in addition to retiring very early. When I did work for pay it was mostly part-time. So my benefits weren’t going to be wonderful if they depended solely on my own earnings. Fortunately, Dave and I have been married more than four times the required ten years for me to qualify to file under his earnings and he told them that back when he filed for his benefits so they already had a record of that.
So, the lady and I talked awhile, then she and Dave talked awhile, then she said she had everything she needed. I don’t even need to go into an office with any of my official documents like Dave did when he applied about six month’s ago. I get to just wait for my first payment to show up in our bank in September. Isn’t today’s technology marvelous?!
TTYL,
Linda
When my mother was a child, I think she and her twin sister slept in a twin bed. I remember Mom telling me that when one wanted to roll over both had to roll over.
When I was an infant, my father got me a 6-year crib. So, I slept in it for six years. You’d think I’d be embarrassed to be going to school and still sleeping in a crib but I don’t remember that being so and I have memories going back to age two.
At least, I didn’t have to share my crib. Except once. My cousins came to visit after my brothers and I were already asleep. So Mom and Dad tucked me into the the foot of the upper bunk where my brother, Wayne, was asleep at the head. They put my cousin, Karen, who looked a lot like me except she was three years younger than me in my crib across from the bunk beds. When Wayne woke up and looked down at my crib he started screaming, “Mom! Dad! Come quick! Linda shrunk!”
I slept alone until I got married. As a new couple we had a double bed. Which is not quite as wide as two twin beds. In fact it’s about as wide as two cribs. Good thing I had lots of experience sleeping in cribs, huh?
When we bought our first house, a mobile home, it came furnished with a queen sized bed. I felt like royalty.
Now I have a memory foam bed. It doesn’t seem to be helping my memory, though.
TTYL,
Linda
Leaving Hickory Landing we went just a short way south to see Fort Gadsen. This was a challenging trip in our RV so I don’t recommend anyone else try it in anything bigger than a pickup truck. If it has been raining, you’ll want four wheel drive.
Fort Gadsen had been in existence in many forms for many years before the actual Fort Gadsen was built. This location on the Apalachicola River was a strategic one for everyone who lived here.
You can still see some remains of the fort.
Heading on south we passed Tate’s Hell State Forest. According to Wikipedia: “Local legend is that a local farmer named Cebe Tate went hunting in the woods in this area. He went into the swamps hunting for a panther that was killing his livestock. Most stories end with Tate being lost in the forest for 4 to 7 days until he finally came to a clearing near Carrabelle. There he stated “My name is Cebe Tate, and I just came from Hell!” He then died.”
We pulled off by bridge for lunch. I used the packet of sour cream that came from Lambert’s Cafe to make dill dip to go with baby carrots. I’m still eating from that $12 meal back in Alabama. Would I go to Lambert’s again? You bet I would.
Our next sightseeing stop was at Forest Capitol Park in Perry, Florida.
There we learned more about the making of turpentine.
We also visited the Cracker Homestead Interpretive Site there.
Florida “crackers” lived in rural areas of Florida from the mid 1800s through the early 1900s. One of the possible sources of this nickname is the cracking sound of the whips they used to drive their cattle and oxen.
The house consists of two good-sized rooms with a dogtrot between them and big front and back porches.
The main room was where Ma & Pa and the newest baby slept.
The other room is where Granny and all the other kids slept unless there got to be so many kids they had to add rooms off the back–one for the boys and one for the girls.
Activities of daily living went on in both rooms, both porches, outbuildings, and the yard.
This family had everything they needed for daily life including the above cane grinder and syrup kettle. Aren’t you glad we don’t have to make our own sweeteners today?
TTYL,
Linda
