Karen at Fifty Four

Well, I finally pushed my luck a little too far... I got Covid 😭. This has to be the worst timing ever... I was getting the Covid test as a requirement for my upcoming trip to Portugal. Obviously, I did not go to Portugal. I was able to get e-credit for the airfare with Delta, but I think the rest of the expense is gone, none of that was refundable, especially less than 24 hours before going. I'm still making a post for my time in quarantine because it wasn't so horrible. I like my house and I had Mango to keep me company. It was kind of nice to have nothing expected of me but to stay put. For five days I didn't even move the car out of the garage. On the sixth day I did venture to the grocery store with a mask on, and the seventh day I went to CVS for another Covid test, which came back negative. Just ridiculously bad timing that this was the week I was supposed to be cycling through Portugal with friends from my bike club. Mango saying, hey, why am I locking indoors too?...

On my trip back to Boston airport for my flight home, I stopped by Plymouth to see where the pilgrims landed then spent a few hours at the New England Aquarium. I purposely booked a late flight home so I would have time to sightsee, but I should stop doing that. I'm a little over solo sightseeing. If I'm out of town for work anyway, I will definitely explore the town I'm sent to, but at the end, I'm always ready to come home. This time around I was also suffering from cold symptoms that turned out to be Covid!!!! Never again will I say, ah, it's just a cold. I would have bet money my sniffles were because I was running around in the rain last Thursday on my sightseeing day in Cape Cod. I hate to think how many people will now get sick because of me. But that's part of life, right? People have germs, and if we are going to be around people, we are taking our chances. Obviously I caught it from someone! Thankfully I am vaccinated and have the booster so the sympto...

I took one extra day on my work trip to get in some sightseeing and get another stamp for my National Parks passport book. Technically, Cape Cod is a National Seashore, not Park, but I got the stamp anyway. The weather was atrocious while I was out there and I suspect that being wet and cold for half the day is what brought on the cold, but no way will I let a little rain stop me! First stop on my tour was all the way to the tip, Provincetown (better known as P-town) and to a Portuguese bakery. I thought it was just funny they had a Portuguese bakery since I would be in Portugal in one more week.  Of course I had to try something! I selected the Bolas de Berlin (donut filled for Boston cream). The description said it was a Portuguese favorite. We'll see if there is such a thing when I actually get over there. Foggy morning on the water. Harbor towns are awesome. Love the atmosphere. Made me wonder how people survive the winters here... I was cold and this was June!!! Next stop was ...

Cape Cod was a work trip. Wow, what a location for work! I lucked out. Unfortunately, I also got sick so after day two I was suffering with a sore throat, stuffy head, and chills 😥. What a waste of a great location! I'm just praying it is nothing more than a cold!!! I did get some cool pictures before the cold symptoms kicked in.  The plaque outside of my cottage door. I love the NE coastal vibe! My cottage was the red one. Turns out these are all individually owned and just managed by the resort. They say the owners pick which weeks they want to use the unit and the rest of the summer they rent them out. Wonder what they cost and if they are able to collect enough from the vacationers to pay the mortgage. Pretty sweet setup. The cottages were right on the beach. The first two days it was rainy, windy, and cold. In spite of the weather (or maybe that was part of the charm), I loved Cape Cod. It as very green with beautiful flowers everywhere. The roads were small, the trees mature...

Thanks to my Veteran status, every year I get four free tickets to either Busch Gardens or Sea World. Last year I invited Donna, Gerald, and Leah to Sea World. That was smack dab in the middle of the Covid pandemic and what a night mare. 😱Or maybe Sea World is always a night mare, I'm not sure. The service was just horrible and the lines were hours long. It took us nearly two hours to get lunch and I swear, the employees were working in slow motion. It was like everyone had the Covid brain fog. Anyway... that as last year.  This year we went to Busch Gardens and it was the exact opposite. 😊It as storming in the morning so we decided on a little later of a start (plus I had to drive from Orlando). By 11:00 when we met, the rains had just about ended. The weather was overcast which was fantastic since that helped keep the heat at a minimum. The place was not crowded either. I think everyone was scared off by the morning storms, or maybe the Saturday after a holiday weekend is the b...

To round off a terrific weekend, I went to see the Rays play the Yankees with Mark and we won! Mark is a Yankees fan, but he was a very good sport and we had a wonderful time, despite the horrendous traffic... took us three hours to get there! I love our stadium, Tropicana Field, but eventually they will move. Since I now live in Orlando, it would be nice if they moved to Tampa. Hopefully they will get another indoor stadium... just too hot in FL, plus afternoon thunderstorms will mess things up. I heard talk of a stadium with a retractable roof, which would be awesome. Another selfie 😳

Wow what a great show!!! I was the lucky recipient of an extra ticket. My dad was suppose to go with my stepmom, Debbie, but she injured her neck and couldn't make it. Tough break for her, but lucky for me! We had a great time, dancing and singing. 😎😎😎 Me and Dad, preshow. Paul McCartney, still rocking at 79!!!

I'm still way behind on my posts, I'll try to catch up... promise! For some reason Blogger is not as easy to use as I remember it. I thought I was able to do a lot more formatting than I can now. Oh well, all pictures will be centered and anything I want to say about the picture will be right below it. Nothing fancy for this blog!    Here I am with Mark. He loves going to see a cover band called Classic Albums Live. What they do is take an album and play it from start to finish, then after intermission, they'll play the a bunch of that band's greatest hits from other albums. They always play at Hard Rock at City Walk (the entrance to Universal). It's fun, and I'm always amazed at how much the band sounds like the original artist. They don't do their version of a song, like some cover bands do, they learn to play the album to perfection.  On May 27th they did AC/DC. Wow, they were awesome. They brought in a new lead singer because, of course, they have to fin...

The Sunday after my birthday was a day at the airshow, hosted by the Valiant Air Command at the Titusville-Cocoa airport. I must admit, I was dreading it a little because of the heat and horrible flashbacks of airshows I was required to attend during my time in the Navy. I was actually impressed. Wow, what a great show! I really don't know my aircraft. Let's face it, I can tell the difference between a helicopter and prop, and a prop and a jet... but don't ask me the types! Even after all my years as a controller, unless there is a flight strip in front of me telling me what the type is, I couldn't tell you. If you have never heard of the Valiant Air Command, check them out. They have a museum with restored aircraft that, from the website, looks impressive. I'll visit one of these days. Home | Valiant Air Command Happy to see one of my old friends! Yes, the heat was horrible!! Thank goodness for a frozen lemonade that helped me through the day. The static displays w...

First post in my new blog! I had so much fun blogging in the past, that I thought I would do it again! My first blog was when I was living in KY and trying to figure out where my life was going and where I wanted to be. Well, that led me to quitting my job, selling my condo, joining the Peace Corps and moving to Uganda. My second post was all about my adventure in Uganda, and boy what an adventure that was!! Now I have been in Orlando for going on five years... or is it six??? Man, time flies! I enjoy my life here in Central Florida and am doing a ton of fun and exciting things. So many things as a matter of fact, I thought it would be great to document what I am up to each year. This blog will start with my 54th birthday and end the day before the 55th. Then maybe I'll keep it going or maybe not. No pressure.   On May 18th (my birthday), I rode my bike 54 miles to celebrate my 54th birthday. The day fell on a Wednesday so I took the day off from work and did a solo ride. I stuck m...