Friday, June 12, 2009

Ode to a father...


Father’s Day 2009!
Street market Nogales, Mexico 9/2000

Dear Dad,
Well yet another year has come and gone. And I still have not been able to figured out how to give you a vacation somewhere, being summer and all. Well, travel just isn’t what it used to be.
The picture above is a glance at the market place in Nogales, Mexico in 2000.
Nogales was a day trip for Doug & I from Tucson. We saw houses hanging on the hillside and donkeys on the street. The market or shopping area was actually the bottom floor of a large building that took up a whole city block. The streets were blocked off on either side of the building. . It was an experience to say the least.

By the time I was old enough to remember car trip vacations, the travel entailed taking Rick or Carl back to base. These trips seemed like “Day” trips in my mind. I remember a couple a 3 day marathon trips to Paris Island, SC. Drive all night (I still have not figured out how you did that drive all night thing) drop Rick off and catch some sleep and be back for work on Monday. All I really remember was Paris Island was hot and sticky. The Spanish moss was fascinating. Wondering Spanish moss can grow without dirt! And sleeping in the back end of the station wagon while you drove. Rick & Jan’s wedding in Quantico I think was the one time we weren’t in a hurray to get him back to base. We just wanted to get there for the wedding and see the sword detail. And in the later years there were Kansas City trips in August, talk about hot!

Carl’s graduation from basic training I remember as being real cold for spring at the Great Lakes Navel Yard (Chicago I think). Carl returns usually involved only a trip to the Greater Cincinnati Airport in northern Kentucky. He always seemed to be stationed out on the west coast. That meant standing on the roof on the concourse, watch for him to walk to the plane and watching all the planes take off.

Well no one needs to go anywhere, now Rick & Jan have been coming here. He used to do that drive all night thing too! So did Marty, must be a Dad thing.

So instead of a vacation ticket, hope this helps you celebrate summer and Father’s Day.

Hug and kisses,
Gina

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