Wednesday 25Mar20 Bobby Lee's birthday
Day 69
Got up this morning at 7 and took the dogs to the beach. I saw one man walking in the surf. I think he may have been the father of the down syndrome boy I saw playing in the surf yesterday.
As I was boiling some water for breakfast a police officer pulled up. He came to the door and said that someone had reported me camped there. He was a nice guy and said it wasn't a big deal. He said that where I was parked was a commercial development area so there wasn't a problem but I should be aware that there are protected areas that I should not park on. He was a dog person and really liked Pete. One of the rules of boondocking is to arrive late and leave early. Due to all public beaches being closed I broke this rule and stayed at this location for over a day. I will have to be more careful in the future.
After he left I secured everything and drove on to a Walmart before I fixed breakfast. While I was there I noticed a bunch of people standing around in the parking lot. Come to find out they were there to watch the Blue Angles practice. Apparently the base they are permanently stationed at is close by.
While I was watching them a migraine came on so I went back to the RT and took some aspirin and laid down. That seems to work best for me to get over a migraine as soon as possible. I wound up staying there until after lunch.
Today is my oldest Nephew Bobbly Lee's 46 birthday. I remember the day he was born. I was on a deer hunting trip with my best friend Jimmy Blackwell in Eastern Oklahoma. That was the only time in my life I ever hunted deer. We didn't even see a deer on that whole trip but it was a lot of fun. I actually called in sick one of the days I was there. I had a job at Buchanan's Supermarket in Moore Oklahoma as an apprentice meat cutter. When I went back to work the store manager called me into his office and asked me if I was really sick. When I told him no that I was actually deer hunting he fired me. That was the end of my career as a meat cutter. I don't feel bad about loosing the job but I did have a lot of fun working there.
During the time I worked there the store caught on fire and was closed for several months for repairs. Most employees lost their jobs during that time but a few of us got transferred to one of the other stores in the chain. My friend and co-worker Charlie Coulter were transferred to a store on 74th street. Charlie and I had a great time while we were there.
When the repairs to the original store were finished there was a big Grand Re-Opening. During that Mom won a grocery cart full of groceries but because I worked there they weren't going to allow her to keep them. After she told them she had been one of their faithful customers for years before I worked there they changed their mind and let her keep the groceries. I think that may have been the only thing Mom ever won.
A lot of great memories from my time working at Buchanan's. A lot of great people worked there.
I wish I could be there in Oklahoma to celebrate Bobby's Birthday with him. I have had so much fun with him over the years. We played a lot of ball in the big front lawn of the farm. Bobby is a great guy. He was in Desert Storm.
After recovering from my migraine I got on the road heading east. Realizing I would need fuel I found a Sam's Club in Fort Walton Beach which was along my route. Fuel there was the cheapest so far on the entire roadtrip, $1.71. After getting fuel I went inside the store hopping to score one of their All Need Quarter Pound Hotdogs but sadly the deli was closed due the the Coronavirus.
I got back on the road planning to stop at Panama City, however about 12 miles before Panama City after I just crossed a long bridge iI came across a dirt road that circled off the highway back to the support structure of the bridge I had just crossed. The dirt road dead ended at the Waters edge under the bridge. There were a couple of vehicles there with their owners fishing. It would have been a great place to camp if not for the loose sand which I got stuck in. I had to dig myself out a couple of times and wound up having to back all the way to the Hiway. It was bad enough with the RT but if I'd had a bigger motorhome or even worse a truck and trailer it could have been disastrous.
After that I got back on the road and drove to a Walmart in Panama City. I set up camp there and cooked some rice topped with canned fish in Louisiana hot sauce. Very tasty.