Short one

Hi, this will be short and quick, as I haven't much new to tell you..........I visited the House yesterday it's a real disaster. there is mold all over the basement, can't go in there without a mask. going to be a real chore cleaning it out.........Pretty sure we will have some legal advice tomorrow, just waiting for a return call, they called me but as I am not a resident of Pa. they couldn't tell me anything. But they will tell Sue..........For those of you who care I will be headed back on Wednesday. I will be coming back, the southern route, instead of the northern route as I had planned, really don't want to get in the snow, it could take longer if they close some of the passes, as they have been known to do. Well, that's it for now. Will write more when I'm on the road as That's when adventures start.........Till then Take Care, Love The Dad..................................................P.S. I now know how to read your comments. I'm Just too cool, huh!

Better late than never.

Well, I've been accused of not doing my duty and writing a blog-a-day. I try to have something to say when I write, unfortunately I don't always have anything. I got the Veterans papers going so maybe we can pay for my uncle's care. I haven't heard back from the stone people yet, I think we are going to have a real problem there. I wish we had Jessie back here. We also have a call into a legal group of Pa. The message said it may be a couple days before they get back to us, they are in Philadelphia, Pa. the other end of the state. Haven't gone to see Uncle Andy yet I wanted to be over this cough I have...........I have to say how lucky we are living back there. Since I have been here, there has been at least one shooting a day except yesterday. Sure different from when I lived here. Sure we had our rumbles and gang fights, but not the killings that go on here now...........Sue and I still haven't run out of things to talk about, memories long forgotten, but remembered as if it was yesterday............O.K. this is a short one, just to catch you up. I will probably be heading back by the middle of next week, the southern route. Not looking forward to the snow. So you all take care, Love, The Dad

Pittsburgh

Well, you asked for it and now your going to get it..........Arrived in Pittsburgh Wednesday afternoon, found the key my cousin Sue hid for me and went inside. I have to tell you here in Pgh. the walls of houses, not just this one, but most all the ones I've been in are covered with pictures of Family. Going back as far as the great grandparents or farther. Something people back there in the west don't do much any more. I'm sure there's a reason for it but I don't know what it could be. I know everyone takes a lot of family pictures, but they don't display them. Anyway there are a lot of pictures to look at here in Sue & Jim's home. Plus a lot of antiques, as she likes them as much as I do. Eureka, the cat comes to me to be petted, last time I hardly even seen her, let alone petted her.By the way Eureka isn't her name, I don't know what it is, I better ask Jim...........One reason I haven't written since I got here was, I caught a cold or something and I just didn't feel like going to the Coffee shop, where there is WiFi. Also Sue and I had a lot to talk about, and still do. It's kind of sad, that I moved away and missed so many years of life back here. Don't get me wrong I love the life I chose and lived especially the family I have. I wouldn't change any of it, Welllllll maybe a couple things, little things, very little things, Oh Hell I wouldn't change anything except to keep in touch with the Tichansky side of my family more than I did. Sue's sister, my other cousin Maureen was here but had to leave two days before I got here. I really would have liked to see her. Remember this, Family is everything, keep in touch with them............For those in the know, and those who don't, my uncle Andy bought and paid for a new Grave marker, two years ago when Aunt Mary passed away. It was for my Grandma And Grandpa's plot, which Mary and Andy will share. It hasn't been put in yet. Monday is the day I get MAD at the stone company. It will be installed by the end of the week or I will have the money back and go elsewhere. No matter what the outcome I will be writing the Better Business Bureau and others.......... Well, I'm going to close, still not feeling real great, thought I was getting better yesterday, but having a relapse today. Don't give up on me, I will try to write as much as possible. So you all take care, Love The Dad.

The long awaited next one.

How-dee-do-dee. Well here I go, was going to write last night, but I was just so tired I pretty much passed out. So no blog............ Tuesday, I went to Quartzite, Az, and spent a couple hours looking over Jeff's collection of things he's found in the trash. I said it before and I'll say it again, the things people through away, just goes to show, we are a through away society. I think I have him convinced that he has got to sell off some things, he is just about out of room, even with a storage locker in Blythe, Ca. Which is pretty much full.............O.K. I finally got going to Yuma, Az. It's a great ride down there, the range of mountains on the left is kind of the end of the Rocky Mt. range, it kinda just quits. Jeff said if you climb the end of the range a great panoramic view opens up. Some day I would like to see it........... Got a motel for the night and rested up for my trip to the dentist in Losgodones, Mexico. Not sure if I spelled it right..........Wednesday up bright and early crossed the boarder and found the new office of my dentist. She took my dentures and ground and fitted them. She than had to take them to the lab, leaving me alone with one of her students who was also her friend. She knew about 7 words of English, and I know about 3 words of English. And she liked to talk. Well for about 30 minutes we chatted and made many hand signals and laugh a lot. But we did communicate and pretty much knew what we were talking about, at least I thing we did. For all I know she may have been calling me everything but a handsaw. Anyway after about two hours I was on my way..............The road I traveled was quite treacherous as it went up and down, steeply, and twisted and turned, snakelike, Finally I got to New Mexico, after dark, so I pulled into a Visitors area. It was quite and the stars were out, it just felt cozy, so I just spent the night there. When I woke in the morning, I was greeted with another incredible vista, of rugged mountains on both sides of the pass I was in, I couldn't see them in the dark. Damn I love the Southwest. ..............Well, I drove pretty much the whole length of New Mexico, again enjoying the view. nothing exciting happened all the way to Tucumcari, New Mexico. The whole main street of the town is on the old Route 66. All along the street are old abandoned ruins of gas stations and other buildings. Amazing how many service stations there was. It would have been the greatest trip ever to drive the length of Route 66, back in the day, when life wasn't rushed, but enjoyed. When you weren't connected every minuet of the day. When your mother yelled out the front door to call you for diner, not phoned you on your cell. Sorry a little nostalgia, I get a lot of it lately...............Anyway now we are caught up, as I spent the night there and didn't write. So today I drove through a part of both Texas And Oklahoma, to arrive here in Liberal, Kansas. On the boarder of Texas and Oklahoma is a town called Texhoma. There was a lot of construction coming into town, and I was just going around a big rig, at 43 miles per hour, the speed limit being 40 miles per hour. Next thing I know there are blue lights behind me, You all know the pit of the stomach feeling, well I got it. So out comes the officer, gets my papers, said I was doing 43 in a 40 zone, I know your thinking Holy Crap, 3 miles an hour over the limit, exactly what I was thinking. Well, after a little chit chat, he told me to slow down and let me go, and I did and I went on my way. The rest of the trip went on with no farther excitement. And here I am in Liberal, Kansas, spending the night in a very old, but very nice motel. So till next time, You all be good, take care, and enjoy life. Love The Dad.

Last Day in Blythe

How are you all? All well and good I hope.........I changed the color of the post because I was told it was hard to read, hope it's better...........Well tomorrow I head out for the next phase of the Trip. I already did a load of laundry when I got up this morning and this evening when it cools off I'll repack the car so I won't have to do it in the heat of the morning.............Jeff and I spent Saturday in Palm Desert, & Palm Springs looking for our friend Jim, but alas and alack, we had no luck. But we did have a Pizza at the old Shakey's Pizza Parlor where we both worked, not as good as we made it, but passable. Someday I'll have to tell you about checking the air conditioning!!!!! It was a great nostalgic trip of places we had forgotten about like coming out of Poppy's. Another TRIP I have to tell you about, Hee Hee Hee. All in all we had a great day, but Oh Damn was it HOT.............. Yesterday we watched the STEELERS win plus several other games. My brother has a wall with two 46" sets and one mucho big set in the middle. Needless to say we seen almost all, or at least parts of most of the games. I won't need to see anymore games now until the playoffs.......... While I'm With Jeff he tells me about all the stuff he finds in the trash. You see down here there is no separating recyclable from garbage, it all goes on a conveyor belt and is separated by several workers and they find a lot of good things as they separate the good from the nasty. I can't believe the things he finds. Things I could never afford. Jewelry, watches, etc. etc.. and all in perfect shape and working. I think none of the crew he has now eats any of the food that comes down the line, but the first time I was down here a couple of them ate off the conveyor belt. Hard to imagine. I guess that one man's garbage is another man's diner........... On that pleasant thought I'm going to close. You all take care. Love, The Dad.......... P.S. When I sign The Dad I mean it for all of you, not just kin.

Still in Blythe, Ca.

How is everyone, I Know you are a lot cooler than I am here in the heat of the desert, Everybody here says it's nice but It's just a tad to warm for my taste. Oh well, it's what your used to, at one time I was used to it and I loved it............ I haven't written the last couple days because I really haven't done much. Mostly been hanging out with my brothers and reliving old times, and cursing evil relatives with the worst Voodoo Spells we could hex a person with, some of then pretty inventive, Hee Hee Hee............ Also I have learned how my brother keeps his vehicles so clean, one thing is he never washes them, that's right never, but I don't think you could ever find any vehicle cleaner. You could eat off any part of his cars, but you wouldn't want to get caught doing it........ It looks like I have an appointment next Wednesday with my dentist in Mexico. I sure hope so, I am getting farther and farther behind on this trip........... Jeff & I are driving to Palm Springs this Saturday, I think I have found the address of our old friend Jim T. Hodgins. We all worked at Shakeys Pizza Parlor and hung out together the rest of the time, doing all the Sixty's things, those were some great times, at least the ones I remember, I'm sure even the ones I don't remember,whew. And even if we can't find him, It will be nice to see the place where I spent a lot of years......... Well till the next time, You all stay safe, Love, The Dad

The desert

Howdy You all, Well here I am in Blythe, Ca. After a Super day in Death Valley. I will tell you more about that in a minute, but first I have to tell you about the new car my brother got. He has a brand new Dodge Viper, Black on Black. Six hundred plus ponys under the hood and a six speed tranny. The reason he got it is because Christopher keeps threatening to race him and beat him. Got him so nervous, he didn't think his Cobra would beat him, by the way, he still has the Cobra. I would call that intimidation on Chris's part. OK back to Death Valley, I wish I could spend a few weeks there as it can't been seen in one day. The geology of the place changes every time you look in a different direction. The colors and shadows are constantly changing as the sun moves. I'm not real great with words, so it is hard for me to describe to you the beauty of the place, how it makes you realize that we humans are just a speck in time compared to nature. Trust me, if you care anything about nature and the Earth, make it a Must Do Before it's too late trip, to go there I guarantee you will want to go back. It was over thirty years ago I was there the first time, And I always said I would go back, and I finally did.Hopefully not for the last time. It would make a great trip on a motor cycle. Just make sure you go at the right time of the year, as it do get Hot Hot Hot. That's why so many places are named after the Devil and Hell. Well, that's it for the day, I hope somebodies reading this, and I'm not just writing. Actually this way I have an account of my own. Adios Be Safe, Love The Dad

The Day That Was

Here I am at Starbucks. One of the friendliest I have been to. Instead of making me pay ATnT, one of the girls signed me in on her account. This just might be a better day than yesterday. It started out by leavin' an hour and a half late. But that was no biggie. The 58 hwy. is a real great ride, it follows the McKenzie river. It was kind of misty, and Green turning to yellow. When I got to the top I had breakfast at a really old restaurant, the food was excellent and the price was even more excellent. I headed out again to clear skies. On the side of the road was a sign WRECK AHEAD. From my many years on the road I knew that was a bad sign. Sure enough 2 miles farther it was STOP. For as far as you could see, well over a mile was a line of cars and trucks. I checked my clock 2:08 PM. So we sat, every once in awhile we would move a couple spaces because of people turning around. At 4:46 we finally got going. I don't know what happened, but there was all kind of debris scattered for at least 1/4 mile. The vehicles were gone except for A twisted pile of metal that couldn't be identified as a vehicle. Enough on that, soon it became dark, and I was getting tired. I found a nice rest area and spent the night. This morning I headed south again. And seen a Starbucks sign. So here I am, and here I go. Till the next WiFi, take care, Love The Dad

Eugene, Or.

Well, Here I am back again, with tales of my time in Eugene. Yesterday Uncle Jack and I spent the day fishing. That's right the whole day. We were on the Willamette River. We were under a covered bridge, out in the country, surrounded by forest. The river so clear you could see the bottom. I told myself to always have my camera ready from now on. As for last night, we barbecued a salmon fillet. On a cedar plank. On the Weber. Over the fire. In the smoke. With the lid on. Till it was done. Than we ate it. It was yummy in the tummy. The rest of the night was spent consuming liquid refreshment. Oh by the way only one fish was caught, by yours truly it weighted about 12 pounds. Unfortunately, It spit the hook out just as I got it to shore. Alright, maybe it only weighed around 2 pounds, But it looked really big. So you ask what did we do today? Since you asked nicely, I'm going to tell you. This morning Jack and I went to a bunch of Thrift Shops, and Antique Shops. I found a one cup Coffee Maker that will work without blowing any circuits as I go down the road, cool huh? Then we went fishing again. What I am about to tell you about our day fishing is absolutely the truth!!!!! We caught nothing, that's right nothing, but the pleasure of sitting on the bank of a Beautiful river always makes it A-OK. Tonight, we went to an Italian restaurant WHOA super douper dinner. Unfortunately they had Creme Brulee on the menu, and since that is the only desert I ever order. I did, and it was, So Superb mmm,mmm,mmm. Well for now, I am signing off, as tomorrow I will be on the road to the next tale. All you All, Take Care, Love from The Dad

From Than Till Now

Well, Here it is, the long awaited 1st Posting on Travel with the Villain!!!!!! I want to tell you it was a nice day. Will write more tomorrow........................................................................HaHaHaHa got ya. Lets start from the beginning. The wreck that made me a week late has gotten taken care of . I will have to wait till I get back to have it fixed. So with that said, Back to this morning, I had every intention of starting very early. But other things slowed me up, things like snoozer alarms and just plain not wanting to get out of bed. So 5-6 hours later I finely got on the road, headed south. You Ask me how I knew it was South, I was told by the handy GPS that works on the Laptop, That's right a lady named Gwendloyn Piotee Smith talks to me and keeps me on the straights, and curves, and she tells me things. Thanks to Chris for getting it ready to go, ain't no way I'm gonna get lost, at least I don't think I will. I have to say not much exciting happened on the way down here. (Buy the way here is Uncle Jack & Aunt Mary place in Eugene, Or.) Unless you think an old Pickup pulling another old Pickup Backwards, with a couple off-road bikes in the back, they found out that that setup is not real good at fancy maneuver's caused by having to brake for a lane closure that they have had signs posted for TWO (2) Miles. Anyway they ended up on their sides along the side of the road, The good thing it looked as if everybody was OK . The clouds on drive down were like great billowing popcorn balls, but I thought they looked more like the cotton Electra pulls out of her stuffed toys. And I have to tell you, Applying Rain-X on the windshield is the only way to drive in the rain, also next time you need wiper blades buy the Rain-X brand, they are a little more but my oh my what a difference. I stopped in Portland and went to lunch with Genie, Joy, and Keith or was it dinner, No It was Happy Hour and the food was excellent the price was great too Next time your down in Portland stop in for some of the finest shushi you have ever had. Sorry I can't remember the name of the place or the street. OK OK if you want the name I will get it for you. Well, I'm going to close for now, I will probably leave early Friday Morning. Not to worry I will let you know I am doing around Eugene, Or. From Here to There, The Dad.