Keep Your Powder Dry

Gasparilla Day in Tampa was approaching and we were doing the best we could to hold off the Buccaneers.  Cheri and I arrived on Thursday, well before the attack, and headed off to Zephyrhills to bunker-down with Dad.  Dad’s friend RuthAnn (a part of the neighborhood team of “RuthAnn and Harvey”) along with her daughter Annette picked us up at the airport since Dad had dialysis that afternoon.

As usual following his dialysis treatment, Dad was a little washed out.  But with our arrival he seemed to pick up a bit, and he perked up even more as the evening progressed.  Dad had supper going for us in his crock-pot, so it was nice to arrive to the smell of home cooking.  We did manage to stay up to a reasonable hour and spent the time visiting and watching a little TV—including the Celtics’ disappointing loss.

The next morning Dad and I headed out with a group of his friends from the Park for breakfast at the Golden Corral.  Cheri accuses me of not telling her, but this was a group of men and women—Cheri stayed back in bed thinking it was only the men—who get together every Saturday morning to have breakfast together.  This was obviously Friday morning, but since the Buccaneers were attacking on Saturday the breakfast date was moved.  I probably ate more than I should have, but it was an enjoyable time.

Fortunately, when we got back to the Park Cheri was up and had already eaten.  We waited a little bit to let everything settle and then we headed up to the walking / running trail next to the hospital—Dad stayed back at the Park to take his morning break.  Everyone else on the track was in long sleeves or sweatshirts, but Cheri and I had our running shorts and t-shirts on while we ran around for a couple of miles.  We finished off with a couple of walking laps as well, so it was a good way to burn off some energy—and the Golden Corral buffet breakfast.

Getting back, we decided to have some lunch and then head out for a couple of errands.  Since Dad spends several hours at dialysis three days a week, he thought it would be nice to have a portable DVD player to help pass the time.  The center does have individual TV’s, but the selection of shows isn’t always the best and there are sometimes problems with the headphones.  Cheri and I tagged along to make sure he picked out a good unit.

We went to h.h.Greggs, an appliance and electronics store where Dad bought his new TV, and they had a very good selection.  Dad was able to find a nice Panasonic on sale—all of the h.h.Gregg prices seemed good—and he picked up some better headphones to go with it.  This set up seems like it will help the time pass—he does enjoy watching movies—while undergoing his treatment.

The timing for getting back to the Park worked out just right since we were able to take a little siesta between the errands and heading out for supper.  Cheri and I had told Dad ahead of time that we wanted to take RuthAnn and Harvey out to dinner to thank them for all they do for Dad—they treat him like a brother…in a good way.

There was a little mix up with the pager while we were waiting for a table.  They had said it would be a 25 minute wait and after 40 minutes I asked them where we were on the list…and they didn’t have us on the list.  So they then seated us right away.

We left the choice of restaurant up to the three of them and they decided on the Texas Roadhouse.  Peanut shells on the floor, tall cold beer, and good steaks…it worked for me.  Sorry the picture is of their backs, but you can see the Roadhouse ahead of them (and the Texas sign over the door).

For most of us the meal was very good, only Dad ended up with a tough/gristly steak, so the manager came by and took the cost of his meal off the bill.  Fortunately, we had started the meal with a baby blooming onion and some rattlesnake bites (jalapeno fritters) and the sides along with the meat were all enough to ensure no one walked away hungry.

The attack of the pirate ship Gaspar into Tampa occurred the next morning with the ship sailing into port and the Mayor giving the pirates the Key to the City.  As a result pirates parade through the City tossing beads and candy to the bystanders on the route.  This also seems to be a good excuse for beer drinking and festivities throughout Tampa.  Many years they have had in excess of 400,000 people attend, but the rain kept many away this year…too hard to keep your powder dry!

Gasparilla Day was not in our plans for this trip so we stayed away from Tampa.  When we sent Dad off to dialysis we instead headed for Groveland, FL.

Our trip took us to visit with an old (old as in the 34 years we’ve known each other not old as in our age) friend from the Academy, Joe Bradfield.  I was in Joe’s first wedding 30 years ago, he is happily in another for the last 12 plus years.  We wanted to take the time to visit him (since we haven’t seen him in 30 years).  He is now an Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon and has a great practice in Central Florida.

We were fortunate to spend time catching up with Joe and remembering the times he use to come up to NH with me to go skiing.  His children were home as well so we were able to hear about all the events going on in their lives.  We had a great time.

Dad was a little washed out when we got back, but he rallied as I put together a pork loin for supper and Cheri made up the apple sauce and quinoa for sides.  After dinner Dad had another second wind and we visited and watched some TV into the evening.

Jumbo Strawberry Shortcake! The price is right, the servings are huge, and we like to make it a part of our annual trek to Florida.  We want to do our part in helping the economy and this is our form of an Agriculture Stimulus Program.

The next morning we got Dad to Church in time for his choir rehearsal and then we met up with Deb in the Narthex to go to church together.  Afterwards it was back to Dad’s for a brief siesta before we all headed to Parkesdale in Plant City, FL.  The photo may have caught Cheri by surprise, but you can see in the signs behind her the reason for going to Parkesdale Groves.

Deb headed back to Lakeland after our treat and we went back to Zephyrhills.  We seemed to time things right since we were too full to have supper when we got back, but it wasn’t too long before we felt ready to head over to the Park’s Ice Cream Social. 

This event celebrates the current month (and some of the off-months since most Park members don’t stay there year round) birthdays and anniversaries.  We were able to take part in the cake and ice cream part of the event and there was a nice skit put on by some Park members.  A very enjoyable afternoon and evening.

The next morning we were up early and ready to head back to Connecticut.  We caught a 10:50 am flight direct to Manchester and had a pretty uneventful flight.  When we landed I received a text message from Dad that let us know he had made it back home and that it was raining…probably no shuffling that afternoon.

The trip was fun and another great Adventure for the Swensons.