Window Shopper

As an over-the-road trucker, I was expected to go into New York City from time to time. I ended up at the Hunt’s Point market quite often. Not your best spot to visit in New York, trust me. Dangerous. But I have been in all five boroughs in New York and I can tell you that it is a very interesting, if large, place. Having been in some huge cities, this one is very compact but lots of places to go, places to see. I simply did not have the time to do that nor could I leave the truck sitting so I could see things while there. I did find an incredible sub sandwich that I think they called a hoagie or a grinder, not sure which. Might be wrong there.

But I did see some of the sights that you see in the movies and the television shows. Most shows have some type of scene in Manhattan, for instance. But Broadway was not a place I could get to in a truck. I did see the General Post Office for quite a while one night and next morning. The post office still moves as slow as ever. Wow! I was going to say that you could see lots of the shakers and movers New York has in that fine city but that would be a lie. Most famous and important people have no clue where the post office is let alone how big it is. Sigh.

I saw Lady Liberty though. That was awesome. And I saw the Twin Towers as well as the Empire State building. Since I quit trucking in 1992, you can tell that I saw things that, sadly, no longer exist. But it was a great experience for me. To travel into one of the most important cities in the world was an honor even if I was just delivering produce and letters to the post office (not at the same time, of course).

As I am sure I’ve said, I used to be an over-the-road trucker. That means that I have been in 46 of the 48 continental United States. Nope, no trips to Alaska or Hawaii. (No bridges for Hawaii yet) But there are places I should visit just because I am an American. You know, the tourist traps. Let’s see. I recall seeing a roadside place in Florida that was some type of petting zoo. Well, not totally because they said they had alligators. Don’t want to pet those. Too many teeth. Bad breath. Scaly skin. Gross.

Then there was a wax museum. Now, that wouldn’t be too bad. Of course, they had all these life-like people in wax. Dead people. I’d be like that kid in Sixth Sense. “I see dead people.” “Of course you do, dunce head. It’s a wax museum.” No, I think I’ll pass on that one.

I have always wanted to visit the Grand Canyon. Big tourist attraction. I guess the closest I ever got to it was between Flagstaff, Az. and Kingman, Az as I went by on I 40. The only problem that I can see is that I do have this really bad habit of tripping and loosing my balance. Maybe I should just stay on level ground for now. Besides, I’ve seen it plenty of times in movies. Isn’t that good enough for now?

A lot of years ago, I lived in Florida. I know. Why would you do that? Because that was where we decided to park the car. Ended up living in West Palm Beach for a few years. Not bad. Of course, I really did not see most of the tourist stuff there. Who could afford this stuff? But we
lived south of St. Augustine, supposed to be the oldest city in the US. Could be. Looked like it, in fact. What I could see of it, that is.

Anyway, we had beaches near West Palm. Those I have seen….a few times. Do you know that the more you live in a place the less likely you are to visit the tourist stuff? Or the obvious places? I think in the four years or so that we did live there, we went out to the beach maybe 5 times. I could be stretching that. The dog liked it. We had a dog that was not in any way politically correct. If he didn’t like you, he lifted his leg…..on you. Yep. I believe that was his opinion, unsolicited and all. Once at the beach, he lifted his leg on an obnoxious German shepherd. The other dog just looked at him in disbelief. Never did do anything about it. Then our dog ran into the surf. He loved the ocean. Labrador retriever.

Well, sometime I really should visit these places or go back to them. Sometime.

Some years ago, when I was single, a friend and I took a trip that would end up in South Carolina where some friends of mine of many years were living. The family had actually been friends since about 1975 when I met them through a ministry I had gone to. It had been about 14 years since I had seen them because they moved to South Carolina when I still lived in Florida.

My friend and I decided to visit a couple of friends of hers in Tennessee first. We went near Nashville. I was pretty disappointed that I could not stop and see the Grand Ole Opry but we thought that the visit to the friends more important this time. After the stop there, we moved on into South Carolina. It was such a blessing to see them again. It has been so many years!

While we were there, we did some tourist stuff, of course. One of those little side trips was to Hilton Head Island. How beautiful that is!! Awesome. And you know, if I had not had a place to live in Missouri, at the time, I would very likely have wanted to seek out Hilton Head rentals to find a place to stay right there!! I could just see me living right on that little island, enjoying the wind and surf all day long!!

However, we did have to go back home in due time. I can tell you that I did not want to leave there. I missed my friends a lot and the scenery was beautiful. But we did head back. Remember my disappointment about the Grand Ole Opry? Yep, we stopped in Nashville, looked at the old Opry building, Ryman Auditorium and then traveled out to the new one. It happens to be at the Opryland theme park now. We stayed all day, got incredibly wet on a really fun ride and left for home the next day. I had a really great time.

Yes, I did say beaches twice. That’s what those are worth in January, February and March!! I do remember when we went to the beach in January in Palm Beach. It was great. The surf was up and there were less people about that day. We took the dog. He was a big black lab-looking dog with a huge opinion of others, both dog and human. I’ll get to that later. But Palm Beach in the winter is awesome. Not only is the beach a bit less crowded but the beach itself is awesome. Very pretty and when the surf is up, it’s breathtaking.

The first thing we always did was to head straight for the water. At the beach, why not? As I went in, I noticed some guy fishing up north of us. That wasn’t really registering at the time though. One of the first things that did register, after I was neck deep in water, was that my watch was still on my wrist. And, of course, it got drowned. Never worked again. BAH! I knew I should have had a Technomarine watch. Ever seen one of those things? Diver’s watch. I love it.

Then, I noticed that our dog went in with us. As I said, he looked like a black lab but was actually a combo of German shepherd and cocker spaniel. Do not ask me how that happened! He loved to swim with us and went in all the time. But sometimes, he decided to get out before we did. That’s when he would place his opinion on someone else. It was just a leg lift away. ACK! He targeted a German Shepherd who looked at him like he was nuts. Nothing else happened, thank goodness.

About that time, it finally registered about the fishing guy….when his hook got into my foot. OUCH! I got out of the surf, got my sis to get it out. I am certain that the guy thought he had a big fish on the line. Must have been a huge disappointment when all he got back was a line. We took the hook. That was the last time I recall that we actually went to the beach. I miss the beach!!!

Have you ever played the game…if I didn’t live here, where would I live? I admit, it’s not really a game unless you like the idea. But I have thought about this a few times. It’s sort of a tossup between heading for Texas, which is a place I really love, or going to Branson, Mo., where some of my favorites landed. I mean that I love country music and many country music stars have gone to Branson as well as Nashville. It’s awesome. Then I do have a favorite ministry there too. What a deal.

So, should I toss a coin here? No, I would rather talk it over with my husband. But just think of the things you need to know about. Schools, churches, gas prices (ACK!!! anywhere these days!), food stores and housing. In either case, we would be looking up these things, then we would visit each to study what is available. If we were to pick Texas, we have friends there who could scope out some great houses. If we picked Branson, we really do not know anyone there so the first thing I would want to do is look up Branson real estate agents to find out about the housing around there. You know, this is a really big deal. We haven’t moved in years. I don’t know. I guess we will have to do some heavy thinking about this after all.

For now, this is just a game to see what we could come up with. But some day, perhaps, we might just make such a decision.

My dispatcher told me that I had a load that went to Nevada. Then, I had only been in Nevada a couple of times. Apparently, the company I worked for trusted me to go there (They did not always trust drivers going into Nevada so those people did not get a money draw when headed in that direction). But this load was going to Vegas, baby!

I really do like Vegas. After a while, I do get bored though. At first, I loved every blinking light I saw, every casino, every wedding chapel around. Before that, I had only seen the Strip on television and in movies. It was amazing. The Vegas hotels were all over the place, up and down the street. If you did not know where you were going, you would get lost in the lights and signs. Of course, I stayed in a hotel with a casino. It had parking for trucks. Very smart of the owners. The hotel was really cheap because they wanted you to gamble and see the shows. I did. It was awesome. And when I left, I still had my money in my pocket because I decided before I got there just how much I wanted to spend. That was all. I was happy. I had fun.

Most folks will be traveling to destinations for family reunions or some type of get together. But not all people do that. Some are interested in going to Las Vegas or other places to have a good time with just a spouse or friends. If you are one of those people, you will need to get those Hotel Reservations in right now if you expect to find accommodations available to you then.

Hotel Reservations can set you up with hotel rooms, motels, those vacation rental places like a cabin and many more options. Headed for Miami, Reno, Hawaii, New York or possibly over to Italy, France, England? They will help you with all sorts of options like going places with your family this holiday season. What an adventure it would be to head for a place and stay for a couple of weeks. You might need a condo rental instead of a hotel. They can help you with it. Plus, you will get a special internet rate on all of the services they provide.

This year has been, to say the least, busy. I have wanted to find a way to go on a vacation for months but it was a “no way” to me because something always comes up. Ever been there? Yep, I sit in front of the computer, looking at all the places I could be going. Sigh. It’s not fair, is it? I can count on one hand the number of times I actually had a vacation.

But there is one tiny little difference between you and me. When I was trucking, I got to go to almost all the states in the U.S. plus Canada. It was awesome. The one thing I had problems with, especially when I was first starting out, was what to take in the luggage. And how much luggage do I take? Well, you learn quickly that you do not pack six suitcases when one will do. Why? Because you lug that stuff all over the country and then, when you get ready to unload and go home, all that luggage is still in the sidebox, having never been opened…even once. Oh, you learn all right.

Some years ago, my aunt and uncle moved out to California. None of us could believe that they even wanted to do that but they did go out there for a few years. As a kid, I believed everything I heard on the radio and television since I just “knew they wouldn’t lie”. So, I really did believe that my aunt, uncle and cousins would fall off into the ocean when the “big one” hit. That’s earthquake to those who have lived somewhere else for years.

But that never did happen. They ended up staying for quite a while and once in a while, they would send things to us about where they were living and places around them that would be great places to sightsee and places to stay. The one that I recall from somewhere is one of those brochures from a Mendocino bed and breakfast that sounded pretty cool. After all, you get your breakfast in bed, right? They bring it up on a tray. It’s full of goodies and stuff that anyone would love like candy, waffles, pancakes and things like that. I told you I believed what people said to me too, right? That’s what I was told by my cousins. Did they lie to me?

Travel has been part of my life for many years. It’s only been in the last 13 years that I have not done much traveling. But mine was around the U.S., Canada and Mexico. I have wanted to go to other countries as well but there never seemed to be a way to do that. London would be one of those places I would like to see. Of course, I would need to check out London accommodation near the attractions, right? One of the most interesting sights would have to be the Tower Of London. Someday I will get to see that.

I don’t know how long I would like to stay. Believe me, I would take a much longer trip than usual for this type of traveling. And I would probably want to stay in one of those great London apartments rather than spend a whole lot more in a day to day hotel. Possibly there would be some type of cheap hotels that could be less expensive so that I could go sightseeing and get to see the Royal Mews or possibly Buckingham Palace. That would be awesome.