Dem Changes (with apologies to Buddy Miles)

So I'm back from my travels. Obviously I didn't do too good a job blogging while on the road and really I have no excuse other than blatant laziness and busyness. We even had WIFI at most of the places we stayed. Traveling out of necessity is sometimes a boorish business and this was no pleasure trip. So let me recall it in the order in which it occurred as that seems to make the most sense.

We left Pittsburgh on Tuesday evening, March 13th, headed for Philadelphia. We had tickets to see the King Tut exhibition at the Franklin Institute Science Museum the next morning. Trying to save a few bucks (as wise travelers always do), we made a reservation at the Navy Lodge at Willow Grove, PA, which is about 20 miles north of Philly. Hubs and I both have military IDs since he's retired Navy and we love staying at the best and safest hotels on the planet...(LOL)...actually, this is very true. We got to Willow Grove around 10:00 PM and were surprised by the newness of the lodge and how beautiful it was. Quite swanky. A king-sized bed big enough to fit us and several others awaited us and we fell asleep pretty quickly.

Next morning after a quick Egg McMuffin at Mickey D's, we drove into downtown Philly and with some good directions from the people at Navy Lodge we were able to park right in the museum's parking lot. Keep in mind, Philadelphia is an enormous city and it's very easy to get lost.

King Tut was everything I expected. If you're into antiquities like I am and love all things Egyptian, this collection is the stuff dreams are made of. Upon entering the museum, this is what I saw:

It's good old Ben Franklin in all his splendor. When I was a child I always loved to read about Ben Franklin and all his amazing accomplishments. I think one of his greatest accomplishments must be the establishment of the public lending library, something I make very good use of...LOL..anyway, back to Tut. I'm not going to include much in the way of spoilers in this post since I think you should go and see it for yourself. I will say this - - it's a lush, gorgeous collection, rich with mystery and beauty. The collection oozes history. All the facts surrounding the discovery of Tutankhamun's undisturbed burial chamber in 1922 by Howard Carter are presented for background. Every item is authentic, with lots of gold, alabaster and many semi-precious gems in appropriate period environments. The exhibit rooms occupy two floors and as you wind through the exhibit halls, you have a sense that you have actually walked into Tut's burial chambers. At points the rooms become almost totally black allowing very little light, and this weird Egyptian snakecharmer music subtly chants in the background, simulating how Carter must have found many of the anterooms at that initial discovery, sans the muzak. It's weird. Creepy. Awesome.

I was captivated.

Unfortunately as is the case with most things ancient, you weren't permitted to take any photos. The rooms were so dark most photos probably wouldn't have shown up well anyway. Of course, no visit to see Tut would be complete without the obligatory exit into the GIFT SHOP....HA HA...lots of Egyptian stuff there, of course, but the only thing I purchased were a couple of postcards as keepsakes. It's a brilliant exhibit, really.

Once we were done at the Institute we decided it was time to head south since we had a long drive. Jumping on I-95, the mutha of all interstates in the East, we headed for Alexandria, Virginia as we had some business in town. One of the things we found in my father-in-law's personal effects after his passing was a CB radio. We decided to take it along for the ride since we are always looking for new ways to amuse ourselves while driving. One can only listen to the same ten or fifteen CD's before road insanity ensues. We figured listening to truck drivers might be fun for a change. It was. Being somewhat of a lady, I can't repeat many of the things I heard during our travels, and at times I found their idle chatter both funny and sad. I think the life of a long distance trucker must be terrible. Constantly on the road and away from their families for days at a time, the mind and soul looks for ways to occupy itself. They remind me alot of a soldier away at war - they have a job to do and they do it well, but the inherent cost is plenty. Many spout religion, some tell dirty jokes, calling each other names like DRIVER and GOOBER. Many know each other by name. All look out for one another, letting truckers in the opposite directions know when a "smokey" has a "customer" or taunting the police by yelling out "there's a Dunkin Donuts at exit 54!", when they see them taking off after one of their pals. It's a spiritual network and like brothers in arms, they each protect the other.

After two eight-hour days of straightahead driving, we arrived in Jacksonville. Again, we stayed at the Navy Lodge at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, which is a town in itself. I love that place. The Commissary and NEX are grand and I'll be doing most of my shopping there since the house we bought is only about 15 miles away. We bought another house. It looks exactly like the other house with one exception: this one has a covered back porch. We decided to do it up right this time since this is hopefully the last house we will ever build. It's on the westside of the city wedged between I-10 and I-295. Jacksonville, for those who don't know, is the 17th largest city in America and it's a city in transition. Everything runs off the interstates. This is new to me. I lived in suburban sprawl and the plan we are bulding in is abit away from the sprawl just yet. That's a good thing, we think. Let the sprawl catch up to us in say, about ten years....LOL...we have all the amenities we need - shopping centers, hospitals, etc. It's gonna be nice.

The plan is called Hunter's Walk. Here's a picture of me walking Lot #57, which is where our house will eventually stand. It's just alot of sand right now.



Here's what the house will look like. Imagine a red brick front and a porch out the back. It's called the Grand Teton.

This is the model so the French doors will actually be replaced by a double garage door too. It's 1960 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. We opted for the sitting room off the master bedroom (see floorplan) so we lose the fourth bedroom. The size of our bedroom will be something like 20X30 ft. Yep - it's gonna be a gigunda room.

Naturally building a house from the ground up means it won't be ready by the time we get to Florida at the end of next month. We're renting a house nearby so we can watch the progress. Sort of like watching a new baby being born. A real BIG baby, that is....

The trip went well. Plans are underway, things are changing, and we're finally moving forward after nine months of stagnation. Florida is beautiful, the weather was lovely, balmy, bright. I'm happy to be moving, abit nostalgic about leaving a town I've lived in all my life. It's time for a change. And everyone knows change is always good.