Meanwhile on the other coast...

No rush this morning...the five remaining meet at 9AM for breakfast in the mess hall. This is the best deal ever, they have everything one could conceive of to eat and this morning I spend $1.55 for oatmeal and yogurt. This would have cost $9 on the Dulles trip!
Peggy and Jake are off to drive to her home in Jupiter. Tony, Gene and I are flying to his home in Stuart, FL. We meet our aide, James Diroff at Base Ops and leave the cars with him after bidding him a fond farewell. Gene says James is the movie start version of an Air Force pilot and he is right! So good looking and definitely has the swagger, but he has taken great care of us on our visit.
I am nervous about all the birds around and glad when we reach an altitude high enough to be away from them. We stop by Lake Okeechobee on the way to let Tony practice landings and we have lunch there. Then on to Stuart.
Judy DeSantis and her friend Rachel Schmidt are having lunch at a marina and we join them there. Judy is a singer and she and her partner had a performance that morning, hence the late lunch. Rachel is visiting from Richmond, VA and I am instantly taken with her. She is interesting and interested and very, very funny.
We are staying at the DeSantis home until Thursday when the air show hotel rooms become available. Their very spacious home has the St. Lucie river to the back and loads of room with all the Florida accoutrements: screened pool, hot tub, boat and dock. Also wonderful tropical landscaping. After resting, we regroup for a nice dinner with great conversation and then Rachel departs to spend a few days with another friend in the area.
On Tuesday, the men go out to fly for Tony's training. Judy and I do mundane things like laundry and grocery shopping. That night we have a lovely steak dinner and on Wednesday the men again go out to train. Occasionally we hear and see the plane go over the house. I spent my time reading and knitting head bands for the craft show I will do soon after our return home.
Tony and Gene arrive home about four with Jake and Peggy. Peggy has been wanting me to see her home in Jupiter so we leave with them and head south. First stop is an outdoor Tiki bar on the water called the Square Grouper. It has a great atmosphere and view. Peggy says Perry Como used to live right across the inlet from it. We pass what formally was Burt Reynolds' theater and then go to Peggy's house.
Wow! It is a small home in a cookie cutter neighborhood, but she completely remodeled it and it is a stunner! (Photos 2 and 3) It is so warm and so well put together. She has a wide circle of friends who were scouting for good deals and she scored some amazing purchases to put this place together. She has prepared a delicious beef stew for our dinner along with all the sides. The four of us never lack for conversation and laughter and after dinner we repair to the pool enclosure to continue the fun until we run out of steam.
Thursday morning, our hostess with the mostess cooks us a wonderful breakfast complete with Benton's bacon imported from Tennessee. Then we head north to move the plane into position and get rental cars and motels. At the motel we are joined by my sister and father who have come down from Orlando. Gene and I join them for lunch and I go with them to their hotel to check in and spend the afternoon while Gene does other things with the airplane. I also spent most of Friday with them.