Traverse City and St. Ignace

Lakeshore RV Park Campground, St. Ignace, Michigan...

We leave behind nearly a week in Traverse City in idyllic weather so cool and pleasant and so different from summer in our beloved Texas. We really enjoyed our stay at Holiday Park Campground, one of the best-kept RV parks we've ever seen. Here are a couple of photos; I could have included many more:

I hadn't included this park on my "Best of the Best" page because its sites are not hard surfaced. However, the graveled sites are so well maintained and the grounds so beautifully kept, I'm going to go ahead and include it. We would happily stay here again.

We spent one day driving on Michigan 22, a scenic 'circle tour' of the peninsula as recommended by Eddie and Jan, and we lost count of the scenic views. Here are a few photos taken on West Grand Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan. I loved the calmness of the bay and the reflection of the sailboat's mast in the water which, by the way, was crystal clear:

 Here's a view of Traverse City from across the bay:

Traverse City is quite a picturesque town, nestled as it is on the bay, with lots of pleasure boats and parks with art displays, such as this one:

It would be very appealing to spend the summer here if you're looking to get away from the heat.

Of course, being foodies, we couldn't resist a stop at Cherry Republic in Glenbrook as we drove around the area; we snagged some delicious cherry goodies to take home:

And then, who could pass up Moomer's Homemade Ice cream in Interlochen?  (There is always a line out the door, no matter what time of day.):

For the day's whimsical shot, I just couldn't resist taking a photo of these gulls that seemed to have posed for me:

I have a thing for gulls. I really like how these birds always seem to be lined up in the same direction. Probably has something to do with the wind. (Or they may just have a little OCD; who knows?)

Saying goodbye to Traverse City, we decided to take the 130-mile drive up Highway 31, where we saw still more delightful towns and scenic views on our way to St. Ignace. As is customary, we usually stop for lunch after an hour or so, and we found a nifty roadside park where we had some hot dogs in a very cool breeze. In fact, Sandy had to go back to the bus and get a jacket, but it didn't detract from our enjoyment of this beautiful little park right there on the lake:

Our first and most impressive view approaching our new destination, St. Ignace, was the Mackinaw Bridge:

At five miles long, it is the longest suspension bridge in the U. S.  It is not clear why the bridge is named Mackinaw while the nearby  island of tourist fame is spelled Mackinac but pronounced Mackinaw. That probably falls into the category of things I will never understand nor spend much time contemplating.

We parked at Lakeshore RV Park, a functional but friendly place not far from the bridge view you see above.  However, our view here from Phannie was a little less impressive, but still, a view of Lake Michigan, nonetheless:

The orange thing you see above is a light underneath Phannie's right mirror that flashes when the turn signal is activated. I presume its purpose is for the benefit of drivers in a blind spot who would not wish to tangle with 16 tons of motorhome turning toward them. I, of course, don't want to do that, either; such a thing can get very expensive, to say nothing of dangerous.

We have several missions while we're here in St. Ignace, but those will appear in forthcoming posts. We were also intent to finding a Petoskey stone for grandson Pryce, who is a rock collector of sorts. This, of course, required a bit of backtracking--35 miles back to Petoskey. This stone is both a rock and a fossil, composed of fossilized rugose coral, supposedly 350 million years old, laid down only in the lower Michigan peninsula area during glaciation. When dry, it looks like an ordinary piece of limestone but, when wet, it displays the six-sided mottled fossilization of the piece. You can see the difference in the photos below:

Using skilled lapidary techniques, the stones can be made into some distinctive and unique jewelry which of course, Sandy would come to own as a result of our quest of that day. This was fine with me, as her birthday had just passed by and, as usual, we waited until she found just the right thing to be gifted for the occasion. A plus was that it is a unique souvenir that she will always remember from this trip, especially as it can be found nowhere else. By the way, it is also the Michigan state stone.

Well, that will do for now. It's off to Mackinac Island, from which our next post will be composed.

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; 

please forgive me if I fail to appreciate it each day as I should.

We don't stop playing because we get old; we get old because we stop playing. 

 ---George Bernard Shaw

"I get up every morning, and I just don't let the old man in." ---Clint Eastwood

We Head Up the UP

At Vacation Station RV Resort, Ludington, Michigan...

I suppose I had better begin posting about our trip up the Upper Peninsula before I forget the subjects of the photos I've taken. (You young people who still have your memories fully functional had better enjoy it while you can; you annoy me to no end.)

Gosh, where to begin? After we left White Pigeon with Phannie's new jacks, we made the fairly short hop to Montague, Michigan, for a brief stay before heading to Ludington, where friends Eddie and Jan were parked for the month. One of the first things we do when we get to a new location is look up the best places to eat. We found a real winner at Pekadill's Deli in Montague (pronounced Mont-ah-gyew), where we were actually able to sit outside and enjoy dinner in perfect 75-degree weather in the afternoon:

  
As we ate our oversized sandwiches, enjoying the fine weather and beautiful landscaping around us, unbothered by flies or other insects, it was hard to believe this was real. Such an enjoyable outdoor dinner would have been unthinkable in Texas in August. And the flowers! Oh my! Small-town Michiganers are serious about flowers, as you can see from the photo above. There will be more to come.

On the advice of Eddie and Jan, we made a side trip to Muskegon, for another outdoor dinner, this time at the yacht harbor. We just couldn't get enough of the amazing weather that allows this sort of thing as a matter of routine. For us, it was almost chilly here in the low seventies, and I don't think some of our friends in Texas, where there is a real heat wave going on, are speaking to us at the moment.

Then it was farther north to Ludington and Vacation Station RV Park, where we would finally meet up with Eddie and Jan. They are very special to us--fellow Texans whom we got to know through other good friends, Ed and Marilyn, mentioned in a number of posts over the years and also in just a few posts back. Eddie and Jan were extremely helpful in giving us suggestions for scenic drives and things to see in the area.

I should mention that this is one of the nicest RV parks we have ever visited, as you can tell from the photo above and the one below:

A plus about the park is that it is not overpriced, surprisingly enough. (I should mention that it is listed on the "Best of the Best RV Parks" page linked on this blog and has been listed there for a long time.)

Remember my mentioning flowers? Take a look at a few photos I took around Ludington. Many of these small towns are just breathtaking in the beautification efforts of their citizens:

Thanks to our hosts, we got an unexpected chance to see the S.S. Badger docked in Ludington. It is the only remaining steam-powered ferry on the Great Lakes. 

Built in 1953, she shuttles across Lake Michigan from Ludington to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, a distance of 62 miles, carrying vehicles and passengers, serving as an extension of highway U. S. 10. The voyage takes four hours and rarely cancels due to weather. Just as a bit of trivia, the ship burns 50 tons of coal each day, and the ash, previously dumped in Lake Michigan, is now removed from the ship daily, to be used as an ingredient in making cement.

By the way, here's some trivia about vessel nomenclature: Did you know that "S.S" preceding the name of a vessel indicates that it is a steamship? This is opposed to "U.S.S.," indicating "United States Ship" or "U.S.N.S.," indicating "United States Navy Ship," both of which are used to identify a ship operated by the U. S. Navy. There are many other of these identifiers in use among seagoing vessels, but I'm not going to list them here; that is probably enough trivia for this post.

We took a couple of day trips based on recommendations from Eddie and Jan. Highlights of these were a woodworking shop with some remarkable woodcraft for sale and an owner who was an absolute hoot. We also checked out Sanders Meats, a 90-year old meat market in the middle of nowhere--tiny Custer, Michigan--that had some of the best smoked meats and cheeses imaginable. Here is Eddie in one of the walk-in coolers along with a likeness of John Wayne. (This part of Michigan is not exactly a liberal stronghold.)

Of course, we couldn't leave without buying some goodies, so these were among my purchases, all of which were wonderful:

I'll have to say that finding little gems like the woodworking shop and Sanders Meats represent some of my favorite aspects of traveling in the hinterlands. You never know what kind of nugget you'll happen upon completely unexpectedly. I just love it!

As we drove along scenic Michigan Highway 22, we got our first really impressive views of Lake Michigan's blue waters--with no horizon visible, of course, making it indistinguishable from an ocean:

I'll leave this with something that really gave me a chuckle. We were all having lunch at a small roadside eatery just outside Ludington when I made a visit to the men's restroom. Hanging over the urinal was this painting of a rooster that provoked enough giggling from me that I, well, sort of forgot for a minute why I was there. Finally, my stream of consciousness returned, but I still laugh when I see this photo: 

Little quirky things like this bring to mind the reason I get so much enjoyment out of this nomadic lifestyle and the indescribable value to us of this blog, soon to reflect 15 years of our life with an RV from the very first trip in 2005. It also amazes me that, in all likelihood, it has had well over a million page views. (The Feedjit counter you see near the top of the right column started on zero only about six years ago. I set it at zero because I didn't know how many looks it had had in the previous nine years, but I''m guessing it would be over a million by now.) Many thanks to those who have followed along with this nonsense. I hope it has been as enjoyable for you as it has for me to write it. I get the feeling it helps exercise my memory, and there's something else that I don't remember right now. Anyway, we will relive these experiences via these pages long after we hang up the keys, and that will be worth it all.

So, stick around; who knows what we'll find at the next stop!

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; 

please forgive me if I fail to appreciate it each day as I should.

We don't stop playing because we get old; we get old because we stop playing. 

 ---George Bernard Shaw

"I get up every morning, and I just don't let the old man in." ---Clint Eastwood

Phannie Gets New Jacks; I Avoid the Funny Farm (For Now)

At Trailway Campground, Montague, Michigan...

The new jacks are done! I'll give you the details below, but first, a little background info:

I have put up with the infernal Atwood electric jacks that Tiffin--in perhaps one of its two worst engineering debacles--installed on some of its coaches in the mid-2000s; Phannie, unfortunately, was one of those. The other engineering catastrophe was when they installed plywood flooring under the wet bay during the same years; Phannie was one of those, too. I can't imagine who at Tiffin thought that was a good idea; the words "wet" and "plywood" should not even be used in the same sentence. To his credit, Bob Tiffin replaced every one of the plywood floors with waterproof material at no cost to the owners. That episode with Phannie is documented in this post.

I wasn't so lucky with the Atwood jacks. I suppose some owners had pretty good service with them, but I know plenty of others like me who had nothing but trouble. I suppose that, because of the difficulties, Atwood offered an upgrade kit a few years ago that consisted of replacing all the jacks and the brain with what was, supposedly, a more reliable and robust system. Due to my exasperation, I bought the kit and had it installed by Tiffin. For a year or two after that, things went fine. But then I started having trouble with them again and, by this time, Atwood announced that they were no longer going to manufacture the jacks nor were they going to make any parts for them either. I can't say I blame them, failed as they were, but the name Atwood will forever be a dirty word in my vocabulary from now on. So, there went $3,500 that I would much rather have given to family or any worthy cause.

As time went by and the troubles continued, these jacks ultimately became the bane of my existence. Fortunately, I was saved from the funny farm when both HWH and Bigfoot came out with a hydraulic jack retrofit system to replace the junky Atwoods. This was great news! If I get one of these, it can't possibly cost as much as psychiatric therapy, I thought. So, I carefully researched both systems and decided that Bigfoot offered what appeared to be the better designed and more robust product at a lesser cost than the HWH kit. And, fortunately, I had two friends who had the Bigfoot retrofit systems installed recently, and they are very happy with them. Thus, the decision was made and the appointment made with Bigfoot. As you may recall, the previous post left off with our arrival at the Bigfoot factory and parking for the evening.

The next morning, we had gotten up very early to make sure we were dressed and Phannie was all buttoned up and ready to go. Promptly at 0800, there was a knock on Phannie's door, and Jeff said we could go eat breakfast, as they would take it from here. So, we drove into downtown White Pigeon and stopped at Rachael's, a small cafe that appeared to be very popular with the natives. We had a very nice and leisurely breakfast, knowing there would be no need to hurry, as the installation would take 6-7 hours to complete.

After that, we drove back to the main office waiting area, where we relaxed and napped a while. Then we went to get some gas in the car and stopped by the local grocery store before returning to the Bigfoot office.  Soon after that, one of the guys came in and said, "We're all done; come on down to your rig, and we'll show you how to operate it."

I couldn't help but walk around Phannie and admire the shiny new jacks, upon which I had them install SnapPads, at an extra cost of about $200. Then we stepped into Phannie's cockpit to take a look at the new control pad:

Everything seemed pretty straightforward, and I was pleased to have a separate air dump capability, which I didn't have with the Atwood system.  

The Bigfoot system uses an individual extend/retract self-contained hydraulic system for each jack, controlled by a central brain. It will not operate and will alarm if the jacks are down with the engine running, so as to ensure no attempted driveoffs with the jacks extended. It can be operated with automatic or manual leveling, as desired, but the automatic worked perfectly.

Although photos are not allowed by customers during the installation, I told them the installation would be featured in a fairly widely-read RV blog, and they quickly offered to take photos for me, which I appreciated.  Here is a photo of Phannie backed up onto ramps to give the workers more room underneath:

Here is the last look at one of the Atwood jacks that would soon be extracted:

Here is the last Atwood jack, lying pitifully on the floor, as if ready to be picked up by a hearse. Good riddance!

Here is a worker, welding the new jack support in place:

The new Bigfoot jack housing is now in place:

Next, the jack's pump/valve control module and hydraulic reservoir are installed:

Two more pump/valve control modules and reservoirs are waiting to be installed:

After about seven hours, voila! The installation is done and we are hooked up and ready to go; we will make our next stop, Montague, Michigan by 1730.

Here is a photo of one of the jacks extended at our next stop. I love the SnapPads. I should never have a need for extra pads with a footprint like this:

Reaching Montague, we activated the system for the first time and oh, what a difference! After dumping the air, I pushed the auto button and the system activated almost silently and, after a few bumps, the leveling was done. Never before has that task been so quick and easy, and never before has the coach been so level and secure-feeling. To say we're happy would be a huge understatement. Looks like they will not take me away in a strait jacket after all.  Stay tuned as we travel up the UP in the next few weeks.

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; 

please forgive me if I fail to appreciate it each day as I should.

We don't stop playing because we get old; we get old because we stop playing. 

 ---George Bernard Shaw

"I get up every morning, and I just don't let the old man in." ---Clint Eastwood

A Layover in Elkhart; We Arrive in White Pigeon

At Quadra Manufacturing (Bigfoot Levers) overnight parking, White Pigeon, Michigan...

After a fairly tiring 435-mile trek from Hannibal, we settled in at Elkhart Campground for a day of rest before taking Phannie in for her annual service at Indiana Diesel in Elkhart. This was our first time to use Indiana Diesel, and we have mixed feelings about the experience. We sort of got off on the wrong foot because they weren't able to begin work on Phannie for more than an hour past our appointment time of 0930. Secondly, they didn't have on hand all the filters they needed, even though I had specified the engine and transmission types when I made the appointment. Thirdly, they didn't have a lift, so the mechanics had to slide around underneath the bus in very limited space, so I know that doesn't make for the best working conditions and requires a longer time for maneuvering. However, I kept an eye on the process, and they finally finished after taking almost the entire day--stopping from time to time to await parts deliveries and taking breaks.  Here is Phannie, apparently during one of those breaks:

We admit to being a bit spoiled by Bay Diesel in Red Bay, Alabama, a no-nonsense shop with motorhome experts where Phannie gets most of her service done. In my book, they are the standard by which all others are judged, and most of the others fall short in one way or another. I admit to being a bit obsessive-compulsive when it comes to getting Phannie serviced on schedule and with the best shops. But perhaps that is why the drive train has served us so well--90,000 miles now without a hiccup.

Indiana Diesel was not without a couple of bright spots, however. The techs appear to be experienced and sufficiently skilled in their work, and the owner is very personable and laid back--but maybe a little too laid back, judging by the snail-like pace of the work. The best part, however, was their pricing, which was quite a bit lower than I was accustomed to paying for an annual service that included transmission service. That helped make the all-day event a little easier to endure. Would I use them again? Maybe, if we were in the same situation where the service became due at the same time we were in the area. That's not very likely, however. 

One of the nice things about traveling through the upper Midwest is the occasional finds of roadside vegetable stands. We passed an uncountable number of corn fields and truck farms during our trek through Missouri and Indiana, so we are taking full advantage of the bounty of sweet corn, tomatoes, cucumbers and the like of freshly-picked vegetables. We will miss these, for sure, once the season is over.

 We couldn't help but make our way to Shipshewana while in the area, where we picked up some goodies from Yoder's Meat and Cheese shop, a favorite stop right there on the main drag:

Inside, I scored some jalapeno summer sausage and a big block of jalapeno and bacon muenster cheese that is, well, to die for. Outside was a fried pie truck that I was unable to pass up. We bought four cherry pies (they had sold out of everything else), and once we tried them, wished we had gotten a dozen. It was every bit as good as it looks:

We left Elkhart on the first rainy day since our arrival. The purpose was to be on time for our appointment in the tiny town of White Pigeon, Michigan to have our old Atwood jacks replaced with Bigfoot levelers. We were trying not to be smug with our Texas friends about the very pleasant temperatures in the high seventies here during the day and the low sixties at night. We even had to run the heater on one of the cooler mornings!  It'll get even cooler, of course, as we head north. It was a very short drive from Elkhart, as the Bigfoot complex is only three miles north of the Indiana/Michigan border. We were a little surprised at how small the facility is, and we went inside the sparse office and met several of the executives and employees, all of whom were dressed very casually in jeans and sport shirts. It is definitely a casual and friendly family-run business, and they clearly don't believe in spending lavishly on overhead like fancy buildings. Here is a photo of the main office:

We were directed to pull Phannie around to the back of an adjacent building where there were electrical hookups provided for three RVs. We were the only ones there, so we parked and prepared for a restful evening:

The installation will be done in the tan-colored building beyond Phannie in the photo, and our appointment is for 0800. This means we will have to actually set an alarm and get up at an hour we are rarely awake to see. I'm not sure how this is going to work out with such sleep deprivation. We'll have a complete report in the next post--whenever I can get rested up enough from lack of sleep to write it. 

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; 

please forgive me if I fail to appreciate it each day as I should.

We don't stop playing because we get old; we get old because we stop playing. 

 ---George Bernard Shaw

"I get up every morning, and I just don't let the old man in." ---Clint Eastwood

A Stop in Hannibal; Friends Who Gave Up Fulltiming

At Elkhart Campground, Elkhart, Indiana...

Since we were fairly close by in Lebanon, we couldn't miss the opportunity to drop in on our friends in the Hannibal area. These are folks we had gotten to know in the RV world, some as fulltimers. We had a great time with Ed and Marilyn, Denny and Jackie, Bob and Janet and Steve and Cathy, Bill and Deb. 

As Ed and Marilyn and Bob and Janet had recently come off the road and bought stick-and-brick houses, we were eager to see their new digs and, we must say, they seem to have come up with the perfect setups after making this transition. Below is Ed and Marilyn's new house; standing beside them are Jackie and Denny.

Bob and Janet bought and remodeled a house not far away, and their hard work paid off; it is beautifully done:

We occasionally ponder what type of dwelling and location we will choose when we finally hang up the keys. It would be hard to do better than these great examples, in our view. We know we want something small and simple to maintain, but that's about all we know. But we don't worry about it; we just think we'll know when the time comes and everything will fall into place. Meanwhile, we look at possibilities like these and make mental notes.

This was our second visit to Hannibal, having previously taken in the wonderful historical sites under the expert guidance of Ed and Marilyn and other great friends. You can read about those posts here and here. 

We couldn't help but take a few more photos--this one of the American Queen, which happened to be docked in Hannibal, as a must stop during its frequent cruises along the Mississippi:

For those interested in the details about the boat, the American Queen is the largest paddle-wheel steamboat ever built. Its paddle wheel does indeed provide propulsion via a steam engine, but it also has separate standby propulsion from two diesel-electric propellers, called z-drives, in case of emergencies or maneuvering difficulties. It has 220 staterooms, and cruise prices start at about two grand.

We also decided to go back to Lovers' Leap, a cliff area shown to us previously by Ed and Marilyn. It overlooks Hannibal and the river and is a fine vantage point to get an overview of an area worth a visit by anyone who would enjoy seeing the tales of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn come to life:

Above, Sandy is standing near the cliff where, according to legend, an Indian brave and the girl he loved jumped to their deaths because they were not allowed to marry. They wished to be together in Heaven forever, according to the story. A piece of stonework artistry at the site commemorates the legend:

And so it is with warm feelings toward good friends and the refilling of our memories of the rich history of this place that we bid a sunset farewell to Hannibal:

Our next stop will be Elkhart, Indiana, where Phannie will undergo her yearly maintenance service before we proceed to White Pigeon, Michigan for the installation of new jacks. We'll keep you posted.

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; 

please forgive me if I fail to appreciate it each day as I should.

We don't stop playing because we get old; we get old because we stop playing. 

 ---George Bernard Shaw

"I get up every morning, and I just don't let the old man in." ---Clint Eastwood

On The Road Again; the Psychology of Getting Back on the Horse

At Lebanon KOA, Lebanon, Missouri...

I have discovered I have had some mild psychological effects from my mishap in Fredericksburg and the aftermath of surgery and physical therapy I have experienced. Perhaps most evident among these is the realization that I'm feeling my age more than ever. While I have worked hard at doing my shoulder therapy as prescribed, and my progress has exceeded expectations, I am much more mindful of my limitations in motion that, unfortunately, have been creeping in, including the onset of arthritis that has shown up in my knee and hand. The cumulative nature of these makes me acutely aware that the seeming indestructibility of youth is far behind me, having been replaced with a running calculation of sorts--a constant risk assessment of whatever activity I might be contemplating.  Here's a hypothetical example:  I am standing alone on smooth ground, but close by is an area strewn with boulders, rocks, fallen tree limbs and other detritus that could be hazardous to walking without tripping over something. Suddenly, a gust of wind blows the hat off my head and well into the rough area. Do I walk into the rough area to retrieve it?  I think not; I can afford another hat. Before the fall at Fredericksburg, I probably would have gone after the hat.

This realization is something new; I never really felt old and vulnerable before the accident, and it's getting harder to push these thoughts aside as I recognize the decreased mobility and dexterity issues in several parts of my body. But push them aside I will, to the best of my ability; I refuse to "go gently into that good night," as Dylan Thomas wrote. I'm just going to try to be much more careful in my movement and wise enough to know my limitations.

Because of my desire to keep the old man out, as Clint Eastwood explains his vigor in old age, I was determined to carry through with our longtime plans to drive Phannie to meet friends in Missouri and then continue to Michigan. And so we did, departing Conroe as planned, except a little later into the hot summer than we had anticipated. The bright spot is that we got to spend more time than usual with the kids and grands! The trip was cleared by Dr. Hayes and the therapists, after I promised to adhere to the daily exercise instructions they prescribed until returning. 

As it turned out, there was no need for apprehension on my part, as I had very little difficulty with the physical activities involved with departure, driving, fuel stops or overnight parking and hookups. That's not to say that my shoulder is back to normal, as there are still some arm movements that are restricted, but I found that I can use it much more than I expected.  

So far, I have kept my promise about the exercises, and these workouts have now become part of my daily routine. Oddly, I almost look forward to these, as through doing so, I can see slow but steady progress in regaining mobility and strength in my arm. Once on the road with a couple of overnights behind us, things really began to feel more normal again. Yes, there were the little grunts and winces as certain of my movements reached their pain threshold limits, but it was so good to be "out there" again. 

Along with being thankful for the restorative care given me by medical professionals and especially by my dear Sandy, I cannot help but be more mindful of the vast number of people whose medical conditions are so much worse, circumscribing their ability even to walk, much less drive a motorhome around the country.  I never really appreciated what it might be like to lose a limb until after the fall when my arm could do nothing but hang limp at my side preceding surgery. I am so blessed compared to so many, and my heart goes out to those whose mobility is permanently impaired.

The following photo will give you some idea of my progress after a couple months' therapy after the surgery. Instead of my right arm hanging lifeless before, I can now reach up to Phannie's door lock with little effort. For those of you who have had this kind of surgery, you know what a victory that is...and it's getting better all the time:

 We were excited to meet up here in Lebanon with our Arkansas friends Carolyn and Larry, who are also gospel music fans. They are fun to be with, and we always have a lot of laughs:

The concerts have also been great. The Collingsworth Family, one of our favorites, was here, among others, and gave a fine performance:

We will be leaving here on Sunday and join other longtime RV friends in Hannibal, Missouri. Most of these folks have come off the road for various reasons, so we don't get to see them as often. This will be a very special time for us.

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; 

please forgive me if I fail to appreciate it each day as I should.

We don't stop playing because we get old; we get old because we stop playing. 

 ---George Bernard Shaw

"I get up every morning, and I just don't let the old man in." ---Clint Eastwood