We were in Gainesville, FL for Paul's grandson Brenan's high school graduation.
We left on Friday and came back yesterday, Monday. The flights were into Gainesville from Elmira which meant we spent all day on planes. We left at 6 AM from Elmira to Detroit to Atlanta to Gainesville. . . . arriving around 4:30. We had planned to go to our hotel, but our plane from Atlanta left later than usual, so we left from the airport and went directly to Greg and Noi's so we wouldn't miss graduation. It was a very full day.
Brenan's school is one of the largest schools in the city, with 500 graduates this year. They held graduation at the U of F - inside the a/c'd field house. We sat waaay up high in the bleachers along with literally thousands of others. Cell phones are great - Noi called Brenan, so he knew where we were sitting and we could wave as he processed in. What did we ever do when we didn't have cell phones? Life certainly wasn't much simpler then! Now it is so easy to keep in touch.
Before we left, NeeNee and Brenan left in separate cars. So, the grownups: Greg, Noi, Jeff, Dorothy, Brenda, Paul and I went in Greg's van.
There was a lot of traffic snarled in and out of the campus. The parking garage was quite full, so it took us quite a while to get there and to get back. Noi says she refuses to go to a football game because of all the traffic. They watch games at home. I don't blame her.
Don't you find when you're away, time goes differently? We were busy the whole time. It was so nice to be with family. A lot of the time we sat out on the porch and talked. It was hot - but the fan gave us a cool breeze.
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I had my camera stolen on Saturday at Micanopy.. It was all my fault, of course.
The majority of the tourists were like us. Not the kind to do something like that, but it happened, so obviously there was someone there who fit the bill. Somewhere, some time, I put my camera down. We couldn't find it - we retraced my steps. We all looked and looked everywhere, but it was gone. I left my name, telephone number and Greg's telephone number also at several places. . . . just in case.
Of course I had tons of pictures with which I hadn't done anything. That's what I'm really sad about. Well, I just have to get over it. It is what it is.
The thing about it was - we were at such a nice place - Micanopy, a little old one-street Florida town with lots of antique stores that we could wander around in. You could see one end of the town from the other. We had a nice lunch outside on a covered porch of a little café. Between the two roads were large old oak trees with Spanish moss. Under the shade of the trees they had little benches to sit on and rest. I liked this town and I hope we do go back sometime.
For Brenan's graduation, his parents got him tickets to the World Cup in Brazil.. He got picked up at noon Sunday at home. We all saw him off and gave him a hug. He's going with three people: his friend, his friend's sister and his friend's father, who is Brazilian, and he'll be their chaperone. He's a seasoned traveler and goes to Brazil on business quite often.
Brenan got a complete lecture about Brazilian tourism safety and how careful he needed to be. Brenan knows about traveling outside of the United States because he has traveled to Thailand, China several times with his family, but he took notice about how different it is in Brazil. He better have. Note: Don't be like Grandma Jeanne and lose your camera or other valuables.
Sunday we went to a flea market at the neighboring town of Waldo. It was junky but fun. Lots of open-air buildings to poke through with lots of "stuff" to look at. We found some ice cream which we ate quickly. It was hot. They advertise they use God's air-conditioning.
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Monday we got up at 3:30 for our 6 AM flight out of Gainesville. And then the day went very much like Friday. We got home around 3, and went and picked up Gracie from our dog sitter. She was one happy dog to see us! She does loves it there.
Usually when we take Gracie anywhere, Paul drives. This time, I drove my car and he was the passenger and she sat on his lap. Well, Gracie couldn't understand all this. She had her tail down. As soon as I gave her my hand to lick, her tail came and curled right up. She is so attuned to certain things and that was not the way things should be.
I had an eye doctor's appointment this morning in Corning. It was a follow-up to one I had a week or so ago. He had me come back because I was experiencing double vision (when my eyes were tired.) Everything is okay. He gave me an exercise to do. The double vision is disappearing. I just have 74-year old eyes, he said. It's a good thing the rest of me isn't that old.
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