Remembering 1971

Ted. Judy and I are currently in Cocoa Beach, Florida to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of our friends, Doug & Carolyn. 

This morning, I walked up to the beach and had a flash back to my first visit here.

In January of 1971, I was typical 18 year old freshman at Purdue University in Indiana, dreaming of spring break in warmer climes. My friend, George and I decided to hitch hike to Florida. By January 30 we had made it as far as Cocoa Beach and spent the night sleeping under some palm trees. 

The next afternoon, we stood among a huge crowd and watched the launch of Apollo 14. I still remember that the ground actually shook! 

50 years later, another Atlas 5 rocket is teed up at Cape Canaveral as you can see from the photo below. In a couple of days, it will carry supplies to the International Space Station.

Around 1935, Werner Von Braun predicted that the first man to walk on the moon had already been born. My fellow Purdue alum, Neil Armstrong was born in 1930.

Lemonade

 

Judy. Ok—when we first found out we couldn’t come back to the house we’d previously rented in Athens (it was already rented out), I was bummed. We’d really settled in there, as much as we settle anywhere, and we were close to Leslie and family. Sigh. 

But, as Ted says, “Ok, what does this make possible?” Well, quite frankly, a LOT! 

Dear friends Carolyn and Doug were going to be out of town for the summer, so they offered their lovely home in an over 55 community. The house overlooks a pond, and the swimming pool is just the other side. It’s not far from the old neighborhood we left in 2015, near our church and longtime friends, and halfway between Leslie’s family and Stefan’s. So here’s what we did this summer:

Our view!

Dinner with students who've become friends

Party with family

And grandsons

Celebrate birthdays

With a gift from Theresa for Parker

Accept dear friend Sally's invite to a yin yoga class

And visits with friends

Been a long time since I saw Kris

Karen keeps me smiling

Sheila was one of my first friends in Snellville

Gail and Shelly invited us to join them for lunch

Hanae fed me an incredible 
Eritrean meal

At 90+, Mavis still dances

Linda stopped by on her way home to Augusta

On pins and needles

Ted. Judy and I are anxiously awaiting our next journey. While we try to enjoy the anticipatory pleasure of another trip, it is tinged with some uncertainty. 

Every country in Europe is tippy-toeing into opening up. Even though we are both vaccinated, it is possible that we may face lengthy quarantines. 

We will definitely fly to Seattle in early August to visit our friends, Terry and Sue and then join our kids in Denver for a Colorado rendezvous. At present, we will then fly to Europe for three months, returning in time for a Georgia Thanksgiving. 

That’s Plan A. Do we have a Plan B? Since early 2020, we always have a Plan B! As our last two trips to Europe have been cancelled, it is hard to think about an alternative but we are convinced that the second half of 2021 will be wonderful, no matter what God (and the EU) has in store for us.

Hanging out with grandson #1, Parker