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Monday, July 15, 2013

A Little Of This, A Little Of That

Just the usual summertime activities, keeping busy despite being “landlocked” at our South Carolina “Home”.  The good news is that may change soon.  Keep reading.

Our campground has a nice fishing pond.  Not that I’m an avid fisherman, by any means, but Andrew and Owie love to fish.  Since we’ve had very little (as in no) luck with fancy lures, bait fish and other flies, we decided to resort to the favorite age old bait…worms.

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The worms worked extremely well, except for one small problem.  They didn’t attract any fish.  But man, did they ever attract turtles!

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We tried moving away and around the pond in different spots, but to no avail.  The turtles were hungry, and the fish were not.  :c(

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We had to give up, I didn’t want to have to try and remove a hook from a turtle.  We’ll try again another time.

Next we hopped in the car for a two day car trip to NJ.  It was for a couple of reasons.  One was to see Anabelle. It’s been a while since we were with her and it was time to visit again.

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She is quite a bundle of energy, and she is so much fun to be with.  We’ll be staying here in NJ for about a week or so.

Another reason we came up was to use a special Father’s Day gift that Amanda and Corey got for me and my father.

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Yep, tickets to a Yankee baseball game in the new Yankee Stadium. 

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The last time I was at a Yankee game was over twenty years ago, and it was with my dad, Corey and my other son, Ryan.  It brought back memories.

The stadium is very nice, well laid out.

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It took a while and some serious scanning to find our seats.

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Thankfully, they have maps to find your way around!

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There were some interesting items to view on the way to our seats.

A custom New York Yankees motorcycle.

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Even the wheels had the Yankee emblem on them.  I guess you wouldn’t want to ride this bike in Boston…  :cO

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Old time pictures of days gone by.

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Other kinds of art.

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We found our seats and watched the Yankees play the evil Minnesota Twins.

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Sadly, our Yanks went down to defeat 10 to 4.  :c(

But we had the food stands to cheer us up, $6 hotdogs, $5 peanuts, $5 waters.  They have to pay those player’s multi million dollar salaries somehow!

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A great day, despite the $13 toll on the George Washington Bridge and the $35 parking tab.  Since it seems we only do this every twenty years, it doesn’t seem too bad!  ;c)

Now for some really good news.  The VA “troubleshooter” that I met with has indeed performed a miracle and delivered as he promised.  The paperwork for my case has been located, brought to the top of the pile, and I now have two exam appointments scheduled for examinations on my service connected injuries, August 2 and 27. 

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Once I have those exams completed, that will finish what I have to do and the VA will then look at the results and decide what, if any compensation I will be awarded.  Finally we’re almost out of the tunnel! 

Some days you strike out and some days you hit a home run.  We sure are happy it was our day to hit that homer!  :c)

Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.

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20 comments:

  1. OMG! The VA sure is FAST! LOL! Thank goodness you finally found someone to help you. Hope things move faster now.

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  2. The visit to the ball game was worth twenty years of memories. But boy that news from the VA is about the best news ever. Need to bring those boys out here to Montana. Jim's been bringing in some nice walleye.

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  3. nice day at the stadium! too bad your team lost but time well spent is worth it all in the end!

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  4. Well once they give you clearance to leave port, you can put Dogpound North on your list of destinations and we'll gladly show you where our own personal Mount Everest is. Sounds like things are coming together finally.

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  5. Too bad about those hungry Turtles but I think the boys probably still had a lot of fun.

    I'd love to go to a game at Yankee Stadium - that was a great Father's Day Gift.

    Your granddaughter is a real cutie.

    btw: I've returned my comments to regular blogger mode...a very short, ill-considered experiment.

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  6. It's not going to be long before you'll need an armored car to go to the ballgame. Glad to see you still have your navigational skills to find your seat.

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  7. You ought to take JB up on the invite. You could probably get there in about a day and a half!

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  8. Glad to hear you finally got some response from the VA. I hope you get everything resolved quickly and back on the road.

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  9. Sounds like things are beginning to come to an end!! Hope those appointments resolve the issues and you can get your release papers:o))

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  10. At least you are getting to spend lots of time with the grands:) I lived in the Bronx for four years and I still have never seen Yankee Stadium:(

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  11. Despite the fact that you've been "land-locked" you've been pretty busy and having a great time too. With all that family fairly close by you aren't needing someone else to entertain you. Getting those appointments at the VA is huge news. Hopefully, they will be favorable appointments and decision come quickly. I'm sure you'll be on your way someplace once September arrives ... maybe Missouri?

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  12. Woohoo! About time :-) Been afraid that the Journey would put down roots soon!

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  13. Looks like a great day at the ball park. Glad they got you moved to the top of the pile.

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  14. Nice that these things are finally coming around for you.

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  15. I think you scored a home run on both things this time around! Too bad about the fishing though :(

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  16. Wow! A Yankee game! Lucky you. And to top it off, you are on your way with the V.A.

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  17. What a terrific gift for you and your dad. That's some son and daughter-in-law you have. Glad to hear there seems to be an end in sight for your need to hang around S.C. because of the VA. Good thing you've been doing some small trips so the Journey doesn't get itchy tires.

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  18. Woo Hoo on your scheduled VA appointments!! That should make up for the small fortune you spent on parking and refreshments at Yankee Stadium. Although time spent with Corey and your dad is priceless!

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  19. Great blog today Paul. Things seem to be heading in the right direction. You can't go wrong by going to a baseball game with family. (Although it was the Yankees!)
    Hope to see you blogging soon about new adventures on the road.

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  20. I just need to comment on the Yankees game...GO CARDINALS!

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