Our son, the Chef David....

https://youtu.be/P624mYyocz4

Letter to the Editor of The Hartford Courant that has a real ring of Truth...

Leaving Connecticut is becoming the necessary choice

HARTFORD COURANT |

SEP 18, 2019 | 6:00 AM

It was sad to read the article from the Vallos family concerning their forced move to New Hampshire [Sept. 15, Insight, “We didn’t leave Connecticut. Connecticut left us”]. Their story is becoming too familiar. The cost of living, working and retiring in Connecticut has become a significant burden, especially for those folks who don’t have the luxury of a state job or pension.

Many retirees who can afford it become snowbirds, heading to Florida or other warm states for the winter and returning here during the summer months, thereby avoiding leaving family and friends altogether. Many state retirees, like former Gov. Jodi Rell, become Florida residents and enjoy the best of both worlds. They have balmy winter weather, no personal income tax, low cost of living and plenty of tax-free pension dollars to spend on the grandkids.

Unfortunately, there are many people who do not have that luxury. After working in Connecticut and contributing to the local and state economy for years, they are forced to leave family and friends behind in order to financially survive.

Something has to give.

Diane Carney, Newington
_______________________________________
December 30th, 2019 update: https://www.courant.com/opinion/op-ed/hc-op-rice-leaving-connecticut-1010-20191010-3l2fgknsmbaevnfhf434oshj2q-story.html

Getting a bit introspective...

Well,it's a long story but I'll shorten it.  When I first came back from Vietnam in December of 1965 my first job was at Colts Fire Arms in Hartford (piecework, making the stock for the AR15).  I did good because i was young and gung-ho (still!) but realized it was not a life's avocation. My brother Fran (Spike) had a job at the Hartford Branch of the Hartford Courant, and I thought it might be a better fit...so I applied and was hired.
Long story short I made Manager of Branch 6 in West Hartford faster than anyone else had made the jump .  Company car, pension, nice office help...all good, but the money sucked, and I had a girl in the wings (my wife Alice).  SO, I had the opportunity to intern at Allstate Insurance and that changed my life and financial prospects.  Today I re-subscribed to the Courant for 6 months...I owe them a lot!

Heading home today from Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park...without our toad.

Click on photo to enlarge.

We arrived here on Sunday November 17th, and on unhitching our 2018 Ford Focus from the motor-home found out that the transmission had apparently STB...there was no reverse.  After a fashion we got the Ford dispatch service to come out and tow the vehicle, and it ended up at Gilbert Ford in Okeechobee which is about 35 miles away.  The State Park we're camping at is in the middle of the Prairie...very remote and we're lucky the tow guy found us at all.
Long story short, the dealer where the car was towed does not have a competent transmission man...nor do they have loaner cars.  So (and we're still negotiating who is paying for this) the car is being towed today from Okeechobee back to Ron Norris Ford in Titusville.  Their Service Manager has been a terrific help in sorting out this situation.
Buddy the hound has had a grand time.  He's seen deer multiple times and a flock of turkeys, and any number of crows.  Wild pigs have dug up an area behind where we're camping and he is fascinated by the different smells he's experiencing :).

Once we get home and have regular wi-fi (on the road we tether to the phone) I'll post a Google Album link to some photos.
 Link to https://photos.app.goo.gl/WeCKs2XzYS64x9mz9

We just got in from Alafia River State Park...

We were at Alafia State Park with friends John and Loretta for several days. https://www.floridastateparks.org/Alafia

It's a nice Park, but we got chewed up a bit by fire ants and no-see-ums.  Our bad for not putting on repellent earlier but....

Some snaps:

Columbus Day Weekend thoughts....

This is the weekend, back in the day, when we would have led our Good Sam Chapter Seaport Sams up to the Berkshires to Country Aire Campground for our "end of season" camping trip.  Often times the fall foliage driving down the Mohawk Trail to the campground was quite spectacular, and the trip itself was enjoyable as there were lots of "fall" activities.  Side of the road stands with cider and apple wine, maple syrup and candy and crisp wonderful to sleep in autumn air with a hint of the changing season. We always ended up spending a day in Shelbourne Falls with its quaint shops and old-time New England feel.  

That being said, in the back of the mind was the fact that this was the last camping outing before having to put the rig to bed...she had to be emptied and winterized before a hard freeze, only to be put back on the road again in late December for the jaunt South. It was bittersweet.

October remembrance....

So, here it is in October and we’re finally seeing a little coolness ...not much mind but at least in the 70’s at night and early morning and it's got me thinking.  Back when we lived in Connecticut and were snowbirds here in Titusville this is the time of year when we had to start prepping the rig (motor-home) for winter, knowing that a hard frost and snow was coming.  So, we’d blow out the lines, add a little antifreeze to the traps ...remove anything that freezing would raise hell with, and park her. In the meantime we’d have picked out a “packing corner” somewhere where the stuff that was going back IN the rig when we headed South would be placed, as we’d be heading out with the winterized rig somewhere between Christmas and New Year’s. Somewhere along the Mason Dixon Line we’d de-winterize so we had working plumbing...

Generally we arrived in Titusville at Manatee Hammock ON New Years Day, it being a good low traffic day for the last day on the road.  Then, in early April, we’d head back to CT and reverse the process. After four years it did get a bit old, as we got steadily older, and we can honestly say that our decision to root here permanently was the right one for us.

We don’t miss the sound of the oil truck backing up our driveway on Branch Hill Road in Preston, and we don’t miss driving the rig, with the car being towed behind, down an icy 600 foot gravel driveway.  Instead of putting the rig away we’ve scheduled camp-outs to Florida State Parks for all of the upcoming winter and spring months. For us, it just plain works :).