Hello, all!
To quote the late, great Cajun chef, safety engineer, philosopher, and raconteur Justin Wilson, “How y’all are? I’m so glad for you to see me some more, I ga-ron-tee!”
I've told you several times about my upcoming high school class reunion. Well, it happened this past weekend. I have so many stories, so many memories…
One development that came about a month or so before the event was that Lisa, our lovely and talented chairperson, elevated me to co-chair. So I have that going for me. Which is nice…
I suppose I’ll cover things in several separate posts. I’ve started to write a post several times. However, each time, it started to enter into “writing for me” territory and began to verge on some stuff I wasn't comfortable sharing publicly. Oh, I’ll probably share them with the individuals involved, but I’ll only share them publicly if they tell me it is okay to do so. Otherwise, it stays between us as a special memory. Fair enough?
I have to say this up front—South Carolina, you should be embarrassed by the absolutely horrible condition of I-95. If I had to get a urinalysis after the drive down or the drive back, I’m sure there would have been blood in my urine due to the pounding my kidneys took. Traffic was backed up on my way down around Walterboro—they were patching, yet again, the cracked and broken concrete. Oh, and it is 20 years beyond the point where it needed to be widened to three lanes each way…just sayin'.
I won’t even touch on how bad I-26 is between I-95 and where I live. It is under construction, sure, but what they’re doing now will be obsolete by the time it is finished.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
The trip was a double dose of “You can’t go home again.”
I stopped in Daytona Beach for the night last Wednesday—I’ve taken to splitting my trips to South Florida this way, since it breaks up the trip and allows me some time to look around at my “other home town”. I was last there in 2015 on my way to a trade meeting. And it was quite different from the previous visit in 2008. As Florida goes, things don’t stand still for too long before they erect scaffolding, roll bulldozers, and plow whatever it is under—only for a new something to spring up in its place…
My landmarks are gone. The Barnes and Noble book store across from the Speedway is gone. We used to park behind it when we would go to see the Rolex 24 every year. Replacing it is a sort of shopping village anchored by a Bass Pro Shops. Across from Turn 4 used to stand a Holiday Inn (later rebranded as a Ramada) with a neat little restaurant, Dr. BJ’s (later a Pizzeria Uno). I told you about some of this a long time ago. Well, those are also long gone, replaced by a group of eateries that includes a Bahama Breeze, an IHOP, and a Cheddar’s. Even the Olive Garden next to the Hampton Inn is gone, replaced by a Houligan’s—I knew about this one, since it was under construction in 2015. The old Casa Gallardo/Rio Bravo Cantina has been replaced by an Outback Steakhouse. At least the Hampton—built in the early-mid 1990’s—remained much the same as it was every other time I stayed there…
I stopped by the Embry-Riddle campus. As I drove around looking for a Visitor parking spot, I got so turned around that I got lost. Three times. I used to call this campus home, but only three structures—the pool, the racquetball court, and one of the original dorms—are the last structures I recognize. Everything else is long gone, replaced by new structures…
I finally found a visitor’s spot, went inside the new Student Union (which is a phenomenal structure, but lacks the charm of the old John Paul Riddle University Center, the UC), and obtained a visitor pass. I was headed to the Alumni Engagement Office. It is across Clyde Morris Boulevard, next to the ROTC center. This is another new area of the campus for me, but after a short search, I found the office. I got a chance to chat with some of the folks there, but was reminded that most of the others were in Oshkosh for the EAA Fly-In. Oh, well, I did what I wanted to do…
A short drive around the immediate area made me glad I didn’t live there these days. It seems Florida is home of the 10-minute traffic light cycle. I spent a lot of time sitting at red lights…
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Did I mention that Florida is now Wawa territory? I didn’t stop in at the Daytona location, but I did stop at one of the Jacksonville and the Ft. Pierce locations. I’ll have to compare them to the QuickTrip stores that are popping up around here…
Oh, yeah--Daytona Beach also has a Buc-ee's. When I drove by, I figured you needed a full tank of gas to drive around in circles until a fuel pump became available. Interesting concept, and once the new is worn off it ought to be fun to visit. (For my SC peeps, there's also one on I-95 up towards Florence...)
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
I exchanged text messages with Lisa, who lives nearby, once I left campus. She had to rent a van to haul a lot of the decorations. She asked for a cargo van, but got a 16-foot box truck. I asked if she needed help loading, but she said her husband was almost done and that she would see me the next day in Ft. Lauderdale. Free to roam, I did a quick trip down to the beach—it is every bit a concrete canyon that Miami is. Hungry, I was trying to decide whether a visit to The Oyster Pub or Ocean Deck was in order, but after the day’s drive I settled on another Florida favorite, Pollo Tropical. Chicken and black beans and rice are a nice recharge, especially when the chicken is *that* good.
The next morning, I had breakfast at the hotel—and I don’t recall Hampton Inn ever doing breakfast like this in the past. It was good--if they had those killer cinnamon rolls, I would have mistaken it for a Holiday Inn Express. Eggs, sausage, potatoes, juice, waffles, and danishes were on the menu. Not too bad. Some eggs and sausage were enough to hold me until lunch. After touching base with Lisa, I got back on I-95 South…
I had not been south of Daytona Beach since 2013. I already knew what I would see—more construction and houses butting right up to the Interstate. These stretches of road used to be wide open, nothing to see but the occasional group of cattle grazing. Now? All along the highway was nothing but one housing development after another, more examples of the zero lot line neighborhoods that seem to be pervasive throughout Florida. As I got further south, I realized that my landmarks down there were gone, too…
I had a lunch date with some friends. We chose a South Florida standard—Lester’s Diner by the airport in Ft. Lauderdale. That place is a bit of a time capsule. The food is still very good, and it wouldn’t be the only time this visit where Lester’s would provide the sustenance…
As I passed by on the way to Lester's, I noticed that the old Runway 84 had been gutted. Supposedly, they're updating it and it will re-open. They had great food back in the day. Along those same lines, the Pier 66 hotel was likewise an empty shell. I'm told they hope to reopen in the next year or so. That's a common theme, too--the hotel where the reunion was centered, the B Ocean Resort, used to be the Yankee Clipper. Built in 1956, the ownership changes hands--in the 1990's, it was a Sheraton property. I only experienced the ballroom, but it appears that a good deal of renovation and modernization has taken place. My friends who stayed there can add their experiences it they wish...
I had hoped to be able to stop by the airport to see some old friends, but the reunion duties called…
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
I may pick the story up here the next time we meet. For you tl;dr folks out there, it goes like this: When you are on an event committee, two things to remember—don’t expect much spare/"me" time, and everything you have planned and scheduled takes at least half again (if not twice) as long as you planned. But a key point to remember is that you need to organize a great bunch of volunteers to spread the work out among many hands. All of you who volunteered, I cannot thank you enough. I know, I know, I thanked you profusely during the reunion, but you earned my undying affection. You guys and gals rock!
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Speaking of thanks--I have to once again thank Lisa for planning a surprise for me on Friday evening. The parties involved know who they are, and they all know how appreciative I am—even though it was a mean, dirty trick. You almost (almost!) made me cry.
To be sure, I did my fair share of laughing and crying over the space of the two days we were all together. And I'd do it all over again tomorrow. And the day after that, and the day after that. I love all you guys, whether I got to spend 10 minutes or 10 seconds with you. And I missed everyone who, for whatever reason, was not in attendance.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
I think I’ve said this before, but for 99% of the people I saw last weekend, it was the first time I saw them in person in at least 40 years. That’s far too long. While we can’t have a blowout like we did last week all the time, we can get together individually or in smaller groups. I know some plans for some gatherings are already afoot, and I hope they pan out. And in case anyone asks, I am more than happy to lend any assistance I can.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
For my usual readers, I don’t have much to report. The reunion planning and the regular job took up most of my time since I last made a report from the bench/studio (or whatever else you want to call the place where I hack plastic).
The VTANG F-16’s are still underway. The two 1/48th scale models are ready for the paint shop—more on that later. I still need to buy some 5/16” acrylic rod for the one being displayed in flight, and I still need to start working on a base. This one will call for something more substantial than the EPS foam and basswood sheeting that I’ve been fond of for the last year or so. I’m thinking plywood, at the very least, with an appropriate veneered edge. It should be an interesting project-within-a-project.
The 1/32nd scale kit has had the panel lines re-scribed on the fuselage and vertical tail. The wings and horizontals are next on the hit parade, and that shouldn’t take long. I am debating whether or not I should drop the flaperons and bump the leading edge flaps to the +2° position, the standard configuration for an F-16 on the ground. Knowing me, I’ll do it, because, well, why not?
The rest of the 1/32nd scale kit parts are in various stages of prep/cleaning, and will be installed in short order. I imagine it won’t be too much longer before it is also ready for finish.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
As far as the paint hunt goes, the last time we talked about it I was pretty much settled on Tamiya—and will probably still go that way. But I love the convenience of grabbing a “ready-mix” color off the shelf. The answer to my particular need, again, is the Mr. Hobby (formerly GSI/Creos, formerly Gunze Sangyo) Aqueous line. But my attempts to get the H-3XX line in the States has come up empty, and I really don’t feel like paying the freight to get some from overseas. The current U.S. importer is the former Bluefin Distributors (now Bandai Namco), and it doesn’t appear that they particularly care about the paint end of things. Unless one of the other distributors (Mega Hobby, Andy’s Hobby HQ, Free Time Hobbies, Douglas Models/Sprue Brothers, the new Squadron, Spraygunner, etc.) decides to step up, it seems we’re stuck. So, I guess I’ll dash off an order for a few dozen pots of Tamiya acrylics in the next day or so.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
That’s all I have for now. Thanks for reading, everyone.
If you’re new to the blog, browse around. As I said a year ago, the original intent was to have a place for all sorts of topics, but I am an airplane and scale model guy. It’s what I do, it’s what I’ve done since I was a kid. “Write about what you know”, you are constantly told. So, it should come as no shock that my little corner of the interwebs is largely skewed towards those topics. I’m doing better at opening up and writing about other things, so stick around.
Be good to one another. As always, I bid you Peace.
Comments