Home Again

Tuesday, April 12. It feels very good to wake up in our hotel room when we want to and not have to rush to meet our group. A leisurely Shoney's breakfast is obtained within walking distance and we call Joe to pick us up. We are so fortunate to belong to such a dedicated group of people who will do what ever it takes to keep the wheels greased and turning.
Joe arrives and he and Gene solve all the problems with aviation on the way back to Shelbyville. He offers a tour of his place and we eagerly accept. Joe moved down from Connecticut three years before. His wife is working up there so actually they go back and forth. Joe has a grass landing strip on 40 green acres. Living quarters are in a large metal structure. The living area is neat, clean and well decorated. A door in the foyer leads to a huge hanger in which are housed his two airplanes. There is also a workshop/workout room and a bathroom. There is an apartment on the second level. A bit of paradise for a pilot.
Joe then takes us to the airport to get our car which cranks immediately in spite of its long rest. We head for home, but take a break in Bell Buckle. Gene goes to the ice cream shop and I to the antique shop. I have been craving a piece of vintage mattress ticking for a long time and finally succumb to temptation. Instead of sitting in the rockers out front and watching Gene eat, I go to the Bell Buckle cafe and get Blueberry salad to go. Blueberry salad is like a dessert and to die for. After our snack, we hit the road and are home by supper time.
Things look green and overgrown. Thanks to neighbor, Kathy, the fish are healthy and fed. Azaleas and iris are in bloom. It is good to be home. The trip was good. We made new friends and bonded with old. We are tired but would do it again in a red hot minute. The closeness of our traveling band was amazing. Gene will go again on a shorter trip to Tulsa, but I will stay home as is involves riding a pass to Dallas and back again.