Throwback Thursdays - A Trip Down TBN Memory Lane

[15AGAIN]

What a great trip we had, and so many friendships were started on that trip. I often wonder what my retirement would have been like if I had not decided to make that trip to Florida. glad that Paul has started the Throw Back Thursdays!!!! I have both of the Caravan pictures and I also have another one from the event, do you still have this one

Destin Attendance.jpg

[5bird7]

Dot is correct with all except Sally, she was not in that caravan. She came with us from Georgia.

Sally caravanned with us on that first trip to Destin. She wouldn't have come if we hadn't encouraged her to come and she only came because she wanted to caravan with us.

Did you read the right Thursday question?


While i was checking to see what other photos I had taken, I also found a journal I had made of the trip and what we did each day on the caravan and at Destin. Too bad I didn't make more of those journals at other events we went to.

Here's my first entry in that journal with Day 1 on the road:

October 17, 2002 Thursday

Departed home at 6:40am heading to meet with Sally Wisdom (redbirdsal) and her friend, Brenda, by 8:30 on the other side of Dallas. Arrived at meeting point at 7:40 - no morning tieups on the freeway - what a relief. Had breakfast at the Waffle House while we waited for Sally. She arrived at 8:15 at the Texaco where we topped the tanks and headed East along I20 for our next rendevous. Time was doing so well along the freeway that after Shreveport, LA, we got off the freeway and traveled US 80 where there was hardly any traffic. We stopped at a little cafe in Arcadia for lunch, hoping to get some cajun food but none to be found in that area. At the rate we were going, we may have been able to make the meeting spot around 3:15 but Bill called us just as we were crossing the freeway near Calhoun and said they'd be hitting Tallulah in about 25 minutes. We decided to hop back on the freeway which would still take us about 40 minutes to meet up with that group.
We arrived at the Love's Gas stop at about 2:45, gassed up, took photos of the new additions to our caravan and headed on out. Bill Green, Gary & BJ Himes, and Paul & Rosetta Thomas were the "new additions." We now had 3 red cars, 1 black and 1 Thunderbird blue.

[5bird7]

Here's the dialog of the start of the 2nd day of that caravan. It also describes the two photos posted of our caravan. As I recall, Sally and Brenda had already wandered off to find the ladies room after the caravan in so missed the 2nd photo with the rest of our group coming in - the white cars. The ship museum was in the morning, we arrived in Destin in the late afternoon.

October 18, 2002

Our planned departure was 8am in the morning. With a contin'l breakfast courtesy of the motel, we just had to wait for Gary and Laurie to show up, so George headed across the street with the t-bird to the Walmart to pick up a couple of items (at 7:00am) 45 minutes later, he finally gets back. Seems that it took him so long because of the car. It attracted a group of cars and people while he was in the store and he spent 15 minutes in the parking lot showing them under the hood, inside the car and the trunk. He thoroughly enjoyed the attention. We were finally on the road at 8:10am heading for the next rendezvous - at the USS Alabama memorial just outside of Mobile, Alabama. Timing went like clockwork. We arrived at the ship at about 11:30, took some pictures and were heading for the ship museum when the rest of our caravan showed up - Mark (mark501) & Laurie Ray & Charlie(sixpac) & Margaret Cain in their white 02s. Some more pics and then we toured the facility. George, Bill and I decided to explore the upper decks of the ship. Woe to me as my legs weren't used to the steep stairs of a ship and I don't like heights so coming back down them stressed my leg muscles out to the point they hurt for the rest of the weekend and stairs & curbs became a real pain. After the tour, another photo session and then we headed back for the freeway and lunch - now 7 cars strong.

After lunch, then on to Destin!

[2K2BIRD]

Nice journaling, Dot. Sure beats trying to remember how these things played out so many years ago.

Thank goodness we were able to have Pappasitos weekend this year. Otherwise it would have been the first year since 2002 we didn't have a TBN event. It's looking like it may be the only thing we get in during 2020. Sure hope things turn around for next year.

Yes, Bill, we still have our certificate like the one you posted.

[15AGAIN]

I would add to Dot's comment that Dot delivered a cooler that she had purchased for me. The cooler was a narrow one that would fit behind the seats. Thanks Dot.

[5bird7]

I would add to Dot's comment that Dot delivered a cooler that she had purchased for me. The cooler was a narrow one that would fit behind the seats. Thanks Dot.

I don't remember the cooler hand-off but do slightly remember our emails about getting one for you, Bill.

I also have our name-tags from that event and the certificate. AND found that photo of the George & I in our car from a previous Destin memory on this thread. I even found the entry in my journal for when those pics were taken (that had been hazy memory for some on the previous memory test from Paul on this thread).

October 20, 2002 Sunday

Up early again so we could down breakfast at the resort before lining up for the caravan to Seaside and the car show. Looks like everything went like clockwork. We lined up in 3 sets of lines and Joy positioned herself to take photos of each of the cars as they left. Later that day, she printed them all out to give to each participant.

[DavidA]

Sally caravanned with us on that first trip to Destin. She wouldn't have come if we hadn't encouraged her to come and she only came because she wanted to caravan with us.

I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote that. For some reason I mixed up Sally with Julie. Sorry about that.
Here's a pic of our Georgia group at a rest stop on the way to Destin
1st day to Sandestin 033.jpg

[5bird7]

I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote that. For some reason I mixed up Sally with Julie. Sorry about that.
Here's a pic of our Georgia group at a rest stop on the way to Destin
1st day to Sandestin 033.jpg

I don't see Julie in that photo but do see Judy and Jeannie, and is that Joy in the sunglasses with Hel behind her(next to Judy)? Nice to see your caravan photo. Recognize others in the photo, Marty and Tam, Tim, Spence (hiding behind you). the others I don't remember.

[DavidA]

I don't see Julie in that photo but do see Judy and Jeannie, and is that Joy in the sunglasses with Hel behind her(next to Judy)? Nice to see your caravan photo. Recognize others in the photo, Marty and Tam, Tim, Spence (hiding behind you). the others I don't remember.

Hel & Joy is correct, man kneeling is Kent with Marylynn standing in Pink, I don't remember the other couple. As for Julie, she didn't join until Lake Lanier, so she wasn't at Destin at all.

[2K2BIRD]

Today's item was given out at a smaller, but extremely cool event. Immediately after that event some of us went directly to another.

Here's the item with the event name removed:

20200630_230001.jpg

Here are the trivia questions:

1. What was the name of the event?

2. Who did a lot of the planning of the event?

3. Who had the cooler made for the attendees?

4. What event did we go directly to from this one?

[2K2BIRD]

This one must really have people stumped.

[15AGAIN]

I was driving Red Bus in Glacier NP , but I think you and Gary were involved on a mountain in AR

[5bird7]

Today's item was given out at a smaller, but extremely cool event. Immediately after that event some of us went directly to another.

Here's the item with the event name removed:

20200630_230001.jpg

Here are the trivia questions:

1. What was the name of the event?

2. Who did a lot of the planning of the event?

3. Who had the cooler made for the attendees?

4. What event did we go directly to from this one?

That cooler makes me think that Steve Legel had a hand in this event. I'll have to check my photos from that time period since it's n 2005. Seems there was a Wixom tour involved. After it was over, some of us headed to Carlisle for their All-Ford event

1 - Wixom Finale June 1 2005
2- Joanne with Steve helping some.
3 - Steve Legel
4 - Carlisle All- Ford event June 3-5, 2005

[2K2BIRD]

Of course Dot is correct. The Wixom Finale was a great little event that allowed a few of us to see the cars on the assembly line during the very last days of production. It was our first chance to see an Inca Gold and an Inspiration Yellow side by side. We also learned that the number tags for Cashmere were pulled randomly out of a box to be attached to the glove box door. So there is no real correlation between the VIN or the day of the build and the limited edition number.

As Dot indicated several of us traveled from there to Carlisle, PA for the All-Ford Nationals. Bob Moss, RiP, was primarily responsible for hosting that event. It was the first time I got to meet some of our New England and Mid-Atlantic TBN friends. Rosetta wasn't able to attend as she was still working then. I had a Public Health Service Symposium to attend in Philadelphia that next week so it all worked out great for me.

20200630_225723.jpg

[94mcd]

Paul, Ford Nationals was my first event with my 2004. I didn’t know anybody but did meet Spence and also recognized Dot Lang. Bob Moss and I became friends at that event and along with Skip Panowitz went on have the TBN event Keystone Thunder. Great memories!