Meanwhile…back at the ranch...

April 10, 2010

The Blue Angels

Jim, Abby,Bunny, Roger,Sue, Trevor, Nadene & Chuck



Meanwhile…back at the ranch…



While I was busy working away in South Carolina, Kathy was back in Key West, back at work, taking care of the house and pets and no doubt enjoying some time with the place to herself. She also managed to maintain the active social calendar during the week, joining friends for Easter Bruch, attending a concert by David Wilcox at The Studios of Key West and taking in the spectacular Blue Angels air show at Naval Air Station Key West.





Roger & Abby

Easter Brunch at Westin is somewhat of a holiday tradition, they feature a fantastic brunch right on the water overlooking Key West harbor. The food is plentiful and wonderful and we almost always join a nice group of friends. This year Kathy & her father Jim, joined our friends Nadene & Trevor, as well as Trevor’s visiting sister Abby & her boyfriend Roger and our friends Chuck & Sue for the holiday feast.

Jim

Abby & Trevor

Kathy & Jim

The brunch features free champagne & mimosas, a visit by the Easter Bunny and the fun of watching a huge Disney cruise ship come in and dock midway through the meal. Personally, I was sorry to have missed it, but Kathy & Jim had a great time.







Another event that I was sad to have missed was the visit by the Blue Angels to Naval Air Station Key West. I caught them the last time they were here, but would have liked to see them again as it is a pretty amazing show. Kathy & Jim once again filled in for my absence and they really enjoyed the air show.





Jim

The U.S. Navy’s oldest flight demonstration squad, the Blue Angels was formed in 1946 and has been performing tricky aerial acrobatics in front of millions ever since. The Blue Angels air show was actually held over two days and more than 25,000 people jammed into NASKW to take part in the festivities.

Blue Angels Key West

The air show actually included far more than just the spectacular Blue Angels, with all sorts of trick aircraft displays and aerial performances as well. Visitors could get up close and personal with the jets and the Navy flyboys who pilot them. The weather cooperated as well and even the traffic problems from their previous visit were resolved, all in all, the Navy put on a great show that was very well received by the local community.





Now I know there are more than a few residents who feel that the noise from the Navy Jets is a problem and others still who believe that shows such as the Blue Angels are expensive recruiting tools for the military establishment. Perhaps they have a point, but in my estimation the Blue Angels are still pretty cool and you can’t help but appreciate the precision and spectacle that are the centerpiece of their performance. I hope they return again soon.





Blue Angels

Myrtle Beach

April 9, 2010







Myrtle Beach

I spent an entire work week in Conway, working with Mary & Kris and attempting to take in some small portion of the work that they perform. It is amazing all the different facets of their job which I was previously not really aware of, but will need to quickly get up to speed with, as I will be taking over or sharing many of them. It was slightly overwhelming, but I feel pretty confident that we can accomplish the transition relatively smoothly and Mary can move on and begin to enjoy her well-earned retirement.

Mary, Michael & Kris



Mary, her husband Ralph, brother-in-law Thor and Kris all went out of their way to accommodate me and to also squeeze in some time for me to check out Myrtle Beach and enjoy the down time each evening. I was out every evening that I was there and got to take in the beach and the throngs of people who were also taking in the perfect weather to enjoy the last bit of Spring break.



Kris

Kris took me out to Broadway on the Beach one evening where we took in the shops and stopped in to a few of the bars. It is full of touristy shops, bars and restaurants. We also managed a repeat visit to the nearby Coastal Ale House. The bar is the local hang-out for the students at Coastal Carolina University, which is just up the road.

Myrtle Beach

The entire Myrtle Beach area is a wonderful area. The beach itself is wonderful, especially during the off-peak times when the crowds are less. I have spent a lot of time there over the years, going there off and on since the early 80s. This trip was more work intensive, but we did make it out to the beach once, heading to Myrtle Beach State Park, one of the last remaining areas that is undeveloped along the Grand Strand.



Kris & Mary



The State Park beach features a huge fishing pier and that is about it, the remainder left in a pretty much natural state of beautiful shoreline. We spent a nice evening there on my last night in town, taking in the beautiful scene and relaxing after a long week of work. After the beach we went over to the nearby town of Murrells Inlet where we had a wonderful farewell meal at one of the many waterfront restaurants that can be found there.





Ralph & Mary

The Dead Dog Saloon would be right at home in Key West. A nice, very popular waterfront restaurant and bar that features live music and a great setting that overlooks the inlet. We got a table on the outside deck and enjoyed a nice meal and looked both back and forward at the changes that are ahead for us all and for RPM.

Conway, South Carolina

April 8, 2010



Mary & Thor

Kris & Mary

Conway, South Carolina

For the past twenty-five years, my boss George has had the good fortune to have a woman named Mary Johnsen as his personal assistant. She has been through a lot with him over the years including handling all of the financial responsibilities for the Marine Archeological non-profit that he founded (and which is my employer), the RPM Nautical Foundation. Working from an office that she runs out of her home in Conway along with her assistant Kris, Mary has been a reliable rock for RPM.





Now she is set to retire and the plan is to distribute her responsibilities and me and Kris (who will most likely relocate to Key West) are planning on taking over many of the functions of Mary’s job. Mary & Kris have each recently visited Key West, but now it was my turn to travel to Conway for a week of work in her office to gain a better insight into Mary’s job.





Mary & her husband Ralph were gracious to invite me to stay in their home and I spent the better part of 5 days working in the office with Kris and Mary and attempting to get a better understanding of the myriad of functions that she performs with seeming ease. What I learned is that I have a lot more to learn and that replacing Mary is not going to be an easy task.





It wasn’t all work and each evening, I was able to get out and explore the area- either with Kris or Mary & Ralph or Mary’s brother-in-law Thor, all who showed me the sights around Conway and near-by Myrtle Beach. We watched the Butler lose the incredibly competitive NCAA basketball championship to Duke at the Coastal Ale House where my Butler jersey was well received and we headed out to the touristy Broadway on the Beach entertainment center to check it out as well.



Broadway on the Beach reminded me of the tourist centers in Orlando like Universal’s CityWalk or Downtown Disney. Shops and Bars all crowded together in one mega-entertainment center. Places like the Hard Rock Café, Margaritaville, the Kiss Café and even some of the old rides from the now defunct Myrtle Beach amusement park, The Pavilion.

Hard Rock Cafe

I also managed to get away one evening to meet my friend Paul Weber, who lives in nearby North Myrtle Beach. Paul is the father of my good friend Jody Selin and I had not seen him in years so I made sure to drop by while I was in the area. I was greeted by Paul and his beautiful dog Rex, given a tour of his beautiful home and the opportunity to catch up before we headed out for dinner at Flynn’s Irish Tavern in North Myrtle.

Paul

Rex

Paul seems to be doing quite well and we had an excellent time catching each other up on what has been going on. The food and service at Flynn’s was good and we had a great time. I still regret not visiting prior to the passing of Paul’s wonderful wife Ann, who is greatly missed. I want to thank Paul for seeing me on such short notice and hopefully it won’t be so long before we visit again.