An Unexpected 50 Year Reunion

Before leaving for Cozumel I got a call from an old Navy buddy, Paul Clasen from Minnesota. He and his wife Cynthia were traveling down to Galveston, TX to escape all the snow and cold weather up north. Turns out they were arriving the same day we got back from the island. We had already made plans to visit our friend Suzy Wheat in Houston on Saturday that weekend. We met her on our dive trip to Roatan, Honduras in December 2022 and wanted to get a visit in before leaving the area. Paul and I thought it would be fun to get together on Sunday.

So Saturday, March 25 after spending the day before unpacking and cleaning scuba diving equipment, we ventured out yet again to head south. Suzy was tied up with commitments until the evening so we headed to the Lone Star Flight Museum.

We have a Harvest Host reservation there for Friday, March 31 and I wanted to see it up close and ask their staff some questions about our stay. Our granddaughter Morgan aka Milo is flying from Sacramento on Saturday, April 1 to spend a week traveling with us during her spring break. The air museum is a short drive from Houston Hobby Airport and I wanted to make sure we could detach the truck from the trailer, leave it there to drive to the airport and pick her up. Thankfully, they were accommodating and no problem with our plans at the Lone Star Flight Museum. We spent the rest of the afternoon driving to the Houston Space Center to check it out and then headed to Suzy's place.

And what a blessing we saw her! I have had severe allergies since returning to Texas and I was at a loss what to do. Besides being such a fun and gracious person, she is also a Nurse Practitioner and she knew what to do. She informed me that many Texans suffer from "Cedar Fever" in the Spring due to the high pollen counts. To mitigate the symptoms she recommends a natural remedy from Allergena called "Texas Trees, Weeds and Grass". It is a Homeopathic remedy for 100 allergens in drop form. After a nice dinner out she took us to the store to get some. I've been using it since and what a relief. The next morning we walked to a taco deli for breakfast and coffee and I felt much better.

From Suzy's place we drove south to Galveston Island. First to Galveston Beach State Park to check out RV site #017 we booked for Wednesday and Thursday, March 29 and 30. We will be a stone's throw from the Gulf of Mexico. Looking forward to falling asleep at the sound of breaking waves and sea birds again!

Karen and I and drove to the other end of Galveston Island to meet them at their hotel.

It is amazing to think that 50 years ago, January 23, 1973 we met at Navy Boot Camp in Company 030 at NTC Orlando, Florida. We later attended Fleet Sonar School in Key West, Florida from March 1973 until May 1973. After 'A' school he got orders to Midway Island and I got orders to Adak Island, Alaska. We'd only see each other twice in 50 years. Wow, I still can't believe how the years have passed by. Our wives met for the first time and then the stories started. A lot of catching up to do after fifty years! We picked up some deli sandwiches and headed back to the state park to eat. We walked and talked, but barely scratched the surface after so many years. Paul and Cynthia are retired now and have a home on the shores of Lake Superior in Wisconsin. We talked about keeping in touch. It looks like a trip with our rig to their home is in the future.