Barb and Friend`s Excellent Adventure - Pace and Cap

barb craven · 02-18-2009, 06:38 PM

At Ted's request, and because some of you have wondered what I have been up to lately, I'll tell you a tale.

Two friends and I decided to go down to Panama City Beach for the month of February. We drove down in a Honda Hybrid, which meant we had little room for more than essentials. Only two of us drove and we left Ontario in a snowstorm. After that the road were dry, but we did go through Kentucky right after that awful ice storm. The sun was shining that day and everything looked beautiful, but you could see the devastation behind the beauty. We had to drive through to Tennessee to find a place to stay because all the hotels were full with local families who had no power and a lot of them didn't expect to get power for a few weeks.

We had rented a condo right on the beach, brand new and if you like that kind of thing, very posh. That's what you can get when the economy's down. three of us sharing made it possible. Our adventure really began when one of our friends (no longer), the one with the car, decided that she didn't care to spend the whole month in our company and took herself off to the other side of Florida, not to return. The two of us, my friend Peg and I were left to find our own way home.

After picking ourselves up from that. we looked at alternatives and picked some brains. We had never been to Florida before and weren`t sure what was available to us. Ted was on his Caribbean vacation, so friend Richie P. did some looking around and got some dirt=cheap bus rates for us. We were all for that because we hadn`t ridden the bus across the country before, but Ted and Alison put their foot(s) down when they came home and insisted we fly. Alison is extremely good at finding cheap flights. People here in the condo offered to drive us to the Tallahassee airport and Peg`s son will pick us up in Toronto. Just like that!

That was last week. Now we are enjoying ourselves walking the beach every morning early and riding around to various places here in PCB on their extremely quaint trolleys. You can go all over on them for $3.00 a day. My only regret is that being carless, I can`t get over to one of the tracks. I really was looking forward to that.

We had a very unusual adventure yesterday. We had decided to go to Gulfworld, a marine park - by trolley of course - and had been waiting outside for it about 15 minutes. Peg was getting cold as there was a wind coming up, so when I saw an old couple pulling out of the parking lot next door, I went over and asked them if they were going our way, which they were and they were delighted to take us where we wanted to go. (People down here are just great!!) We just got out of their car and they were pulling away, when I discovered I had left my purse with my drivers license and camera in the back seat of their car.

I was expecting them to continue down the road and when I couldn`t get their attention, I crossed the highway (which fortunately for me was clear at the time) and was going to try to flag them down as they passed. The trouble was they turned in the opposite direction and were going away from me.

There was a man sitting in his truck close to me and without thinking, I ran up to him and asked him if he would mind following that car. He didn`t bat an eye. He said `hop in lady and we`ll see what we can do`.

We had to turn back the other way, and by this time the couple`s car was about 5 ahead of us. I had my head out the window trying to keep an eye out in case they turned off ,and all the while the man (I never did find out his name) kept saying don`t worry, we`ll catch them`. We went back about 8 miles before they finally turned into a shopping center. We pulled in right behind them, horn blaring. They looked startled until they saw it was me. When I retrieved my purse intact, and thanked them again profusely, the man in the truck then said he would take me back from whence I came. Wasn`t he wonderful!

On the way back I finally had time to think of poor Peg, who was back at Gulfworld not knowing what had become of me. When I got back, she said she had had visions of me being run over by a car or some such accident but wasn`t sure. She hadn`t seen me drive off in the truck. She had gotten all the staff to look for me there in case I had gotten in ahead of her. They were getting ready to call the police.

Everybody was glad I was safe and we were the talk of the place for the rest of the day.

Today we haven`t gotten into anything more attention getting than bringing home our groceries from the store in one of the store`s shopping carts (with their permission of course). We`re going to take that back tomorrow. Right now its sitting in our living room.

This way more fun than sitting at home in the cold and snow. If anything more happens before we leave (end of February) I`ll let you know.

Cheers!!

Barb

Bill V. · 02-18-2009, 07:41 PM

Hi Barb

Its hard to think that somebody could do that. When Rich
told me about you getting stranded down there I laughed it off.
Thinking nobody could really do that. Leave two sweet ladys stranded
I figured cooler heads would prevail. Theat lady could not really do that
I even joked to Richie, I can see it now Welcome home Ted, your mom is stranded in FLA.

. I apologize for never giving it anothet thought.
I just figure gaskets were blown and she would say she was sorry and your vaction would be safe and fun
Happy you checked in and filled us in on the story
have fun
wow

How about that?
Bill

barb craven · 02-19-2009, 05:23 AM

No need to apologize Bill. Most people are good and we`ve made a lot of new friends, aaand we`ve got a great story to tell when we get home. It`s a small village we ALL live in.

Barb

RichieP · 02-19-2009, 09:39 AM

Truth is very often much stranger than fiction isn't it??

La Dolce Vita Barb and Peggy!

For your pleasure:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LRND...eature=related

alydar_ David · 02-19-2009, 12:43 PM

I enjoyed your story, Barb. Hopefully, you'll have some more adventures..like finding a magic lamp on the beach or something.

azbacks · 02-19-2009, 04:26 PM

What an adventure!!!! Nothing like a little road trip to sort out your friends.

When I lived in the south I visited PCB several times. Very quaint and enjoyable.

As we all know, there are great people everywhere.

Pete

02-18-2009, 06:38 PM	#1
barb craven Grade 1 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Bobcaygeon,On,Canada Posts: 1,308	Barb and Friend`s Excellent Adventure At Ted's request, and because some of you have wondered what I have been up to lately, I'll tell you a tale. Two friends and I decided to go down to Panama City Beach for the month of February. We drove down in a Honda Hybrid, which meant we had little room for more than essentials. Only two of us drove and we left Ontario in a snowstorm. After that the road were dry, but we did go through Kentucky right after that awful ice storm. The sun was shining that day and everything looked beautiful, but you could see the devastation behind the beauty. We had to drive through to Tennessee to find a place to stay because all the hotels were full with local families who had no power and a lot of them didn't expect to get power for a few weeks. We had rented a condo right on the beach, brand new and if you like that kind of thing, very posh. That's what you can get when the economy's down. three of us sharing made it possible. Our adventure really began when one of our friends (no longer), the one with the car, decided that she didn't care to spend the whole month in our company and took herself off to the other side of Florida, not to return. The two of us, my friend Peg and I were left to find our own way home. After picking ourselves up from that. we looked at alternatives and picked some brains. We had never been to Florida before and weren`t sure what was available to us. Ted was on his Caribbean vacation, so friend Richie P. did some looking around and got some dirt=cheap bus rates for us. We were all for that because we hadn`t ridden the bus across the country before, but Ted and Alison put their foot(s) down when they came home and insisted we fly. Alison is extremely good at finding cheap flights. People here in the condo offered to drive us to the Tallahassee airport and Peg`s son will pick us up in Toronto. Just like that! That was last week. Now we are enjoying ourselves walking the beach every morning early and riding around to various places here in PCB on their extremely quaint trolleys. You can go all over on them for $3.00 a day. My only regret is that being carless, I can`t get over to one of the tracks. I really was looking forward to that. We had a very unusual adventure yesterday. We had decided to go to Gulfworld, a marine park - by trolley of course - and had been waiting outside for it about 15 minutes. Peg was getting cold as there was a wind coming up, so when I saw an old couple pulling out of the parking lot next door, I went over and asked them if they were going our way, which they were and they were delighted to take us where we wanted to go. (People down here are just great!!) We just got out of their car and they were pulling away, when I discovered I had left my purse with my drivers license and camera in the back seat of their car. I was expecting them to continue down the road and when I couldn`t get their attention, I crossed the highway (which fortunately for me was clear at the time) and was going to try to flag them down as they passed. The trouble was they turned in the opposite direction and were going away from me. There was a man sitting in his truck close to me and without thinking, I ran up to him and asked him if he would mind following that car. He didn`t bat an eye. He said `hop in lady and we`ll see what we can do`. We had to turn back the other way, and by this time the couple`s car was about 5 ahead of us. I had my head out the window trying to keep an eye out in case they turned off ,and all the while the man (I never did find out his name) kept saying don`t worry, we`ll catch them`. We went back about 8 miles before they finally turned into a shopping center. We pulled in right behind them, horn blaring. They looked startled until they saw it was me. When I retrieved my purse intact, and thanked them again profusely, the man in the truck then said he would take me back from whence I came. Wasn`t he wonderful! On the way back I finally had time to think of poor Peg, who was back at Gulfworld not knowing what had become of me. When I got back, she said she had had visions of me being run over by a car or some such accident but wasn`t sure. She hadn`t seen me drive off in the truck. She had gotten all the staff to look for me there in case I had gotten in ahead of her. They were getting ready to call the police. Everybody was glad I was safe and we were the talk of the place for the rest of the day. Today we haven`t gotten into anything more attention getting than bringing home our groceries from the store in one of the store`s shopping carts (with their permission of course). We`re going to take that back tomorrow. Right now its sitting in our living room. This way more fun than sitting at home in the cold and snow. If anything more happens before we leave (end of February) I`ll let you know. Cheers!! Barb

02-18-2009, 07:41 PM	#2
Bill V. The egg man Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Carlsbad, California Posts: 10,005	unreal Hi Barb Its hard to think that somebody could do that. When Rich told me about you getting stranded down there I laughed it off. Thinking nobody could really do that. Leave two sweet ladys stranded I figured cooler heads would prevail. Theat lady could not really do that I even joked to Richie, I can see it now Welcome home Ted, your mom is stranded in FLA.. I apologize for never giving it anothet thought. I just figure gaskets were blown and she would say she was sorry and your vaction would be safe and fun Happy you checked in and filled us in on the story have fun wow How about that? Bill

02-19-2009, 09:39 AM	#4
RichieP Grade 1 Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 7,014	Truth is very often much stranger than fiction isn't it?? La Dolce Vita Barb and Peggy! For your pleasure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LRND...eature=related __________________ "Grampy I'm talking to you!"

02-19-2009, 04:26 PM	#6
azbacks Grade 1 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 226	What an adventure!!!! Nothing like a little road trip to sort out your friends. When I lived in the south I visited PCB several times. Very quaint and enjoyable. As we all know, there are great people everywhere. Pete __________________ There's no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you. -- Will Rogers (1879-1935)

02-19-2009, 05:23 AM	#3
barb craven Grade 1 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Bobcaygeon,On,Canada Posts: 1,308	No need to apologize Bill. Most people are good and we`ve made a lot of new friends, aaand we`ve got a great story to tell when we get home. It`s a small village we ALL live in. Barb

02-19-2009, 12:43 PM	#5
alydar_ David Grade 1 Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 2,654	I enjoyed your story, Barb. Hopefully, you'll have some more adventures..like finding a magic lamp on the beach or something.