Tom's National Park Adventure

I ended up leaving Panama City Beach around 8:30PM Thursday evening and drove through the night arriving in Plantation around 6:30AM Friday morning.The drive was pretty uneventful until about midnight. I was driving on some smaller highways in an effort to avoid all the people who had evacuated from the Tampa area in advance of Hurricane Milton. My goal was to avoid the crowds for as long as I could. The concept was sound and I was making good time until I came around a blind corner and hit a deer that was in the middle of the highway.

Ethyl turns out to be a pretty tough old motorhome. The front grill is damaged and the bumper has a dent in it. I was able to verify that Ethyl was still roadworthy. There wasn’t any damage to the radiator or fan. I was incredibly lucky. I continued on and arrived early in the morning on Friday.

I couldn’t check in to the hotel until 3:00pm, so I found a parking spot close to the hotel and slept for five hours.

My first reunion activity didn’t start until 6:00PM. I met with one of my sister’s best friends, Cindy Schussler for a drink.

Cindy ended up being my personal tour guide around Plantation. The sleepy little town I remembered from my youth had dramatically changed in the last 52 years.

The reunion was interesting. It was nice to see some people who even remembered who I was! it was equally nice to meet some new friends too!

I turned in pretty early, it had been a long 24 hours.