Goodbye Tamarac, Florida... hello Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Well we stayed in Tamarac for three contracts (nine months).  Lane really liked the hospital there and we liked living there, but it was time to move on.  After all, she is a Travel nurse.  You may remember Lane's friend and travel nurse Anna from some posts from our time in Dallas.  They knew each other when they both were staff nurses in Wake County, NC, and Anna's first travel nursing location was in Dallas, partly because Lane was there at the same time.

While we were in Tamarac Anna had worked a three month contract at a level 1 trauma center in Myrtle Beach.  Anna was thinking of extending for a second three months if Lane came there too, so we decided what the heck... we could stand some time in Myrtle Beach.  I mean we already had some nice beach chairs and an umbrella, and I had spent nine months perfecting my House Boy suntan.

So Lane signed the contract for the new assignment and we were going to have a week off between contracts and spend that week at home in F-town doing some much needed home maintenance/repairs, and then head to Myrtle Beach.  But that was not to be.  Around three days before we were due to leave Tamarac, the hospital in Myrtle Beach sent word through the travel company that we either had to advance the new contract by a week (no week off between the assignments) or delay it by two weeks (two weeks off between assignments).  We chose to advance rather than delay.

I have found it is difficult, sometimes close to impossible to find an apartment that will lease to us for just three months, so we had already decided that for the first time we were going to use company provided housing rather than try to find and secure housing ourselves, so we did not have to deal with that issue in regards to the last minute change of start dates.    We planned to leave Tamarac on a Thursday, heading north, spend one night en route, and arrive in Myrtle Beach on Friday.  Then Lane would begin the new assignment the following Monday.  But it turned out the company providing the furniture could not advance their delivery by a week and could not deliver the furniture until Wednesday of week one of the new contract, so the company had to put us up in a hotel for five nights until the apartment was ready for us. In retrospect that was a bad omen.

The hotel they put us in at Myrtle Beach was sort of a dump.  And a travel nurse, her House Boy, and two dogs living in a hotel room is pretty cramped.  But we managed.  Lane began her orientation on Monday, and on Wednesday morning, after dropping her off at the hospital, I started getting us settled in the new apartment.  It was the same apartment complex where Anna had been living and was really nice.  It was also really close to a grocery store and I ended up walking to do shopping many times, which was nice.  In addition, for whatever reason, they had put us in a two bedroom apartment, which was really nice.  It even had a screened in porch.  The furniture arrived and I got all our stuff unloaded and put away.

Then the bad shoe fell...  after Lane's orientation ended and she actually began working at the ER she was absolutely miserable.  All I will say is she hated it there.  She was so unhappy with the way management operated the facility I thought she was going to break the contract and just quit the first week.  But she managed to stick it out somehow.  We have been married 30 years and I have never known her to so dread going to work before.  It was a really dark time for her, but I am proud of her for managing to stick it out.


"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there."

Brian Hallman

May Visitors

In late May Lane's sister and niece Tammy and Bailey came to visit for a few days.  We spent a full day exploring the Miami Beach area.  After getting parked we went for an open top bus tour to see the sights without too much walking.

Tammy and Bailey

The Travel Nurse and her House Boy

A little later we ate a great lunch at a sidewalk cafe.  Great food and loads of people watching too.

Bailey and me

The two sisters

And a portion of Miami Beach

Lane found some interesting sights alright,

The crew on Miami Beach.

A few days later we all loaded in the truck and drove the four or so house to Key West.  This was Lane and my second trip to Key West, but this time was much more fun.  Susan, who is a good friend of Tammy's from high school days, has lived at Key West for a while, and we met up with her and she gave us a really nice guided walking tour.  .

Tammy and ....

... Bailey look so much alike is is spooky.

Susan suggested we sample some of the seafood at some of the favorite places where the locals like to eat, and of course we agreed.  Our first eating stop was at the Conch Republic Seafood Company.

Susan, Tammy, and Bailey

Susan and Tammy

Bailey is in deep concentration.

Lane was enjoying the sea food too.

A little later we wandered over to the Eat It Raw Half Shell Raw Bar for more great food.

More great seafood.

And we explored lots of local shops.

I guess I could switch from being a House Boy to a Cabana Boy.  Probably pays the same.

Eventually we walked over to mile marker 0 of US Highway 1.

After walking off some of the delicious seafood we make it to the Key West Key Lime Shoppe for some of their famous key like pie.

They have really good deserts... for those who deserve them.

After a great day at Key West we said good by to Susan and headed back to the main land.  On the way back we stopped to take in the really beautiful sunset.

"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there."

Brian Hallman

Our trip to Walt Disney World

Lane had definitely been wanting to make a trip to Walt Disney World  while we were here in Florida, and that finally happened in February.  We had been there quite a few years ago when our children were in their early teens.  We went with Lane's sister and her two children and spent a full week.  We had a great time, but the focus of the time spent was on the kids having fun.

Jeremie and Katie are some long-time good friends from North Carolina.  Jeremie and I worked together and shared an office for many years before I retired, and Katie had been a roommate of Lane's niece.  They first met at one of Lane's brother's big family & friends cookouts years ago and have been together ever since.

Katie and Jeremie let us know they were going to be vacationing at Walt Disney World, and that was all it took.  Lane quickly worked scheduling out and we made the necessary arrangements.  And much to our surprise and pleasure, we were able to meet the somewhat loose definition of Florida resident to be able to get a significant discount on a vacation package that included a really nice hotel room on the grounds, park(s) admission, and the dining plan.

Jeremie and Katie

I won't bore you with endless narratives and pictures here.  Suffice it to say we had an absolutely wonderful three days and two nights there.  The weather was a little cool the first day, but it was February.

This trip Lane and I got to focus on seeing quite a few of the many wonderful shows that are available.  We also had some really great meals.  

The Indiana Jones Spectacular

The Lion King show

Finding Nemo the Musical

Katie, Jeremie, Lane, and me, hanging out with Mickey.

So glad we got to spend time with Katie and Jeremie,  And really glad Lane and I got to have a little vacation at Walt Disney World.  She works so hard... she deserves some play time.

Till next time...

"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there."

Brian Hallman

Whirl-wind trip to F-Town

While we were exploring the Florida Keys I had gotten a phone call from our LP gas supplier for our permanent residence back in North Carolina.  It seems they had gone to fill the LP tank and found it completely empty.  Their conclusion - a leak has developed somewhere in our system.  They filled the tank but locked it off.  They are required to perform a leak test to find and fix the leak before they can turn the gas back on, and we (or someone) have to be there for them to do the test.     Blahhhh.

We follow the weather in North Carolina and were quite aware they have had a particularly cold winter this year.  Fortunately our house there was originally built with electric baseboard heat, which we left turned on low enough to be an emergency back-up heat for just this kind of emergency, to keep pipes and fixtures from freezing and bursting.

Its a minimum 12 hour trip to get there from Tamarac, and I did not relish the thought of making a "quick" trip there and back by myself, so Lane did a slight rearrangement of here schedule to allow for three days off in a row.  Leave on Sunday, meet with the gas people on Monday, and return to Tamarac on Tuesday.

It turned out we had no leak.  They had simply let the tank run out.  Their super-smart computer miss predicted when we would need gas.  A lot of wasted driving, wasted gasoline, and wasted time.  Ugggg.

On the way back we had a nice rest stop at one of Florida's scenic rest stops.

A Travel Nurse "On Top Of The World."

Moss hanging from a large, old tree.

"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there."

Brian Hallman

Key West

In the first week of February we did as we often do on one of Lane's days off - we all piled in the truck and headed out to explore.  We packed a pic-nic lunch and headed south.  Our initial half-plan was go to Key Largo and have lunch, which we did.

Lunch in the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

After lunch we kept exploring south on US 1 and several hours later ended up in Key West.  I guess we were a little (or  lot) naive in our expectations of finding a quiet, tranquil, secluded island paradise.  Not hardly.  It was way to crowded and developed for our taste.  We parked at the extreme southernmost end and got out to walk a little and elbow our way to the famous marker.

At the Southernmost US marker in Key West

I could not believe there was a long line of folks waiting to take their pictures at the marker.  It was way more crowded than I expected it to be.

Sun set at Key West

We arrived home than night quite tired from all the riding, but were glad we had been to see Key West.  It was one of the things on our check-off list.  Seeing, exploring, experiencing.  Having a good time on this traveling adventure.



"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there."

Brian Hallman

New Bikes

While we had been in Dallas, Texas we often talked about how we really should get some bicycles to ride as recreation.  We spent a lot of time window shopping, both at stores and on-line.  The bikes at the big box stores like Wal-Mart were very affordable, but always felt flimsy and "cheap."  The nicer bikes in bicycle stores did not seem so flimsy, but neither were they cheap (inexpensive).

I still had my 30 year old Schwinn 10 speed in the garage.  It needed work, but I decided to give it a go.  I had brought it back with us to Florida after our January trip to North Carolina.  Lane was definitely against  putting any money into the old bike, but I wanted to do it anyway.  I had two new wheels and tires put on it, and I cleaned it up really well.  Looked great.  It was a little more uncomfortable than I remembered it having been when I was a teenager. But so what.

We bit the bullet and bought Lane a new Electra Townie.  It is a very nice bike.  Very sturdy, and fits her well.  On one of our first trips out, however, she was still getting used to riding again, and had a little crash into a grassy median.  She was pretty sore for several days, but recovered.

A little banged up and sore, but nothing broken.

After she recovered from her little tumble we headed out to try it again.  This time we stopped at a Chic-Fil-A for a snack and drink.

Lane's Electra Townie and my Schwinn Varsity

Later that same day disaster struck again, but this time it was with me.  I guess the $50 a piece wheels I had put on the Schwinn were a lot cheaper than I realized.  While mounting the bike the rear wheel buckled under me.  The wheel was ruined.  The Schwinn original wheels must have been a lot stronger than the $50 after market wheel.

Oh Noooooooo.

As much as it pained me to, I admitted to Lane she was right and I never should have even tried rehabilitating the ole' Schwinn.  Rather that throwing even more good money into it, I gave up.  It was eventually returned to the garage storage.

With no bike for me to ride too, Lane stopped riding.  So I realized I needed to do something, so we eventually got a bike for me.  Another Electra Townie.  But this one is the "tall man" frame size. Very comfortable and sturdy.  And the Electras have a lifetime warranty on everything except rubber (tires, tubes, and break shoes).

My Townie during a lunch pick-nick outing.

Lane's Townie

Looking forward to may fun days on bicycle outings to come.





"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there."

Brian Hallman

January 2015 - A Late Christmas

Christmas day came and went as it so often has done for one or both of us - working.  Lane's first contract here came to an end near the middle of the month, and she arranged for a short break at the beginning of the second one.  We used that break for a trip back to good ole' North Carolina to have a little time at our house there and also see our family for a belated Christmas.

One of the first things we really wanted to do when we arrived back in F-Town was eat at our favorite restaurant there - Fat Buddies.  If you ever get a chance to eat there, you should.  Great food. The original location is in Franklin, and they have a second location in Waynesville.

Carolina Chicken Tender Salad...   So delicious.

After a brief stay at the house in F-Town we boarded the girls there and headed east to visit with family.  We celebrated Christmas with daughters Jen and Kath and Jen's husband Zach.

A happy Travel Nurse with our daughters.

We really enjoyed getting to see and visit with so many family members during this trip.  But all to soon it was time to return to F-Town, pick up the girls, close up the house again, and head back to Florida.  I do have to say, the cold North Carolina winter weather was quite a shock for us after having been spoiled by the moderate winter weather of south Florida.  I have commented several times now, I understand now why many folks spend the winter in south Florida.



"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there."

Brian Hallman

December 2014, Part Two: Christmas Lights; Rock N Roll Ribs; Good Food

We have not forgotten our goal of at some point getting a 5th wheel camper trailer and using that for our travels rather than renting apartments. Every so often we go window shopping for them at various dealers.  We have begun to focus our attentions on the Open Range brand, and on the 16th we rode the hour or so north to West Palm Beach to a big Open Range dealer there.  After several hours there we went through West Palm Beach to, of course, see the sights.

Lovely tree-lined streets

Of course we needed to eat too, so of course we began looking for somewhere we have never been before.  Lane had us headed toward one restaurant when we both saw another that immediately captured our curiosity.  

Nicko McBrain, the drummer for Iron Maiden, and his business partner Mitch Tanne opened Rock N Roll Ribbs, "Where BBQ Meets Metal."  

Nothing fancy.  Just a basic place to eat, with interesting decor, and great food.

I promise there were more of these appetizers when the plate arrived.  I just forgot to get a picture 'till after I started eating.

I went for the cheese burger.

Lane opted for the ribs.  She absolutely loved them.

We definitely want to return to the Rock N Roll Ribs again.

After dinner we went to see the Christmas Lights at a nearby park.  You pay a per-car entrance fee and just drive through.  For anyone familiar with it it is similar to the Christmas lights each year at Tanglewood near Winston-Salem.

Santa chats with visitors waiting to enter the festival of lights.

Santa's Train Station

We are pretty restricted on how much "stuff" we can carry with us as we do this travel-nurse thing, so all the Christmas decorations and such had to stay at our home in North Carolina.  We did get a very small, compact tree for the apartment, though.  How could we have Christmas without a tree?

One of the days we were out shopping and exploring, we, of course, needed to eat.  And that always means looking for something new and different.  We had seen this place several times, and it is always very busy, so we had to give it a try.

Fast Food, but very tasty.

Lane was off on Christmas Eve, and had to work on Christmas Day, so she fixed a super great Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve.  I do a lot of cooking, but she does the really important stuff.

Roast turkey and mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, cole slaw, and tomatoes and dinner rolls.  Yum yum.

Lane made lots of goodies to take with her to work on Christmas day for all the staff to munch on. They included sausage balls, reindeer food, chocolate covered Ritz Bites, and chocolate covered peanuts.  I didn't get any pictures, but I did get to eat lots of samples.  They were great.  

When I picked her up at the end of the night she said there were several staff there that had never experienced the delight that is a sausage ball.  I guess these Yankee transplants have been missing out on real, good food. I'm glad Lane got to educate them a little and introduce them to a true Southern delight.

Merry Christmas to all from the Travel-Nurse and her House-Boy.

"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there."

Brian Hallman