I've been gone so long, I might as well be new. :) ( Archived) (11)

A shout out to all my CS friends ! "I'm back !"

Despite any rumors of the contrary, I am alive and well and FINALLY back home in NJ.

I left Florida on Tuesday and spent several nights at various friends & family members on the way north. I had to apologize to everyone along the way, that I couldn't stay longer than a night or two, because I was gone from home for over 2 months. Geez, I HAD to get home.

Nonetheless, I spent Tuesday night at my cousin Guy's with his family in the western part of SC. Guy has 3 daughters, the youngest is 18. I got caught up on what everyone is doing, while sharing breakfast with everyone and was back on the road at 3 pm on Wednesday. I had to promise Guy, that I would stay much longer next time. He promised a tour of the waterfalls in the area then.

Next, I drove to my cousin (really 3rd cousin) Cindy's place in VA Beach, VA, where I spent both Wednesday & Thursday night. There we both mourned the loss of my mom and her brother, Mike, who died last weekend. We spent Thursday walking around a VA arboretum, where we met some newscasters, who were doing a show on the bald eagles, that are nesting on the property. It turns out that she knew the broadcaster, as she was in a Vanna White look alike contest, which he emceed.

The bald eagles currently have 3 eggs in their nest. What was extra cool, was that, they have a CAM hooked up just above the nest, so you can watch in the visitor center or even online 24/7. I have a brochure for the place at home, but am at the library now. Thus, I will give you the link in the next few days. I also got to see my aunt (really my 2nd cousin) and one of my other cousin (really 3rd cousin), George. Wednesday night we watched The Bridges of Madison County, as it is one of Cindy's favorite films and she said that I remind her of Clint in it. I guess this is because of all the outdoor photography I do. I didn't ask her if she "felt lucky, punk". lol Cindy wanted me to stay much longer, but I was back on the road again on Friday afternoon.

Next stop was at my friend Robin's home in northwestern VA. She is someone I met a decade ago on AOL. We have shared a wonderful friendship since. She just got engaged on Valentine's Day and I wanted to stop by and congratulate them both in person, which I did. They still had their XMas tree up, so I took some pictures of the two of them holding hands near it.

After sharing breakfast together in the morning, I was back on the road again travelling though VA, WV, MD and PA. In PA I must have seen 40 red tail hawks soaring or perched and stopped long enough to take a few photos. Lastly, I stopped by a Designer Outlet mall in Lancaster PA and did some shopping. I got some great deals from Nautica and Wilson Leather.

Finally, I made it home on Sunday night. Ahhhhhh. My own bed ! "There's no place like home. There's no place like home." I don't have the phone or the internet on yet. I am currently in the local library on my laptop, where they have wireless internet access. Yipee.

I went to turn the phone back on yesterday via a payphone call and Verizon screwed up. Grrrr. I instructed them to turn my phone off TEMPORARILY, as I was going on vacation for a long while. Instead, they turned it off permanently. Grrr. Luckily, no one took my phone number, while I was gone. Whew ! So, I will get it back, but I won't be able to use the phone, until about the 10th of March (or perhaps a bit sooner). So, here on CS will be the best way to contract me, for those who had my number. Regardless, look out, "I'm back !"

Great to see you Jim...sorry about your mom and uncle....

Glad to see you back, Jim.

Sorry to hear about your uncle, and my sympathy to you and your mom.

Glad you made it home, though! I know it must feel good.

heyyyy

welcome back

welcome home..

Thanks people.
Actually, it was my (third) cousin, Mike, not my uncle.
But, it's difficult even for me to keep up with my convoluted family. Sorry for the confusion.

Welcome back! Sorry for your loss and nice to meet you

Welcome back Jim!

Hello Jim. Sounds like you've had quite an adventure the past few months. I came in while you were gone, so I am glad you found your way back home!