Nolan Getaways    -- Happy trails from Lewis & Betty Nolan

 

Shorter Trips Within United States 2010 - 2011

 

 

 

Click on underlined trip description  below to go to desired travelogue.

 

2011:

 

·         Late June trip to Sacramento, Calif.,  for 50th Reunion of Lewis Nolan’s High School Class

 

2010:

 

 

Lewis and Betty Nolan of Memphis, Tenn., both retired, continue their travels. For accounts of shorter trips taken between 1993 and 2009, please click Getaways 1993 - 2009.. For travelogues of their longer journeys to Alaska, Germany, Ireland, France, England, Hawaii and other distant destinations, go to Nolan Major Travels. (Page updated July 27, 2011)

Nolan Getaways

Second Decade of 21st Century

Spring Getaway for Gulf Shores and Trapp Farm Visit

-Page Updated July 19, 2011

 

Return to Nolan Travels Home Page (travelogues and photos of major trips)

By LEWIS NOLAN

 Long Drive to Gulf Shores, Ala. – April 9, 2010, Friday

With Betty handling most of the driving in her Ford Focus station wagon, we pulled out of the driveway at our East Memphis home about 9 a.m. But first we were delayed for a few minutes when we learned that the dog of our new neighbor, Cara Lyons, had somehow become stuck again in the gate to her backyard.

 

The previous morning, the dog, a part-Labrador Retriever named Pogo, was frantically barking. Another neighbor, a fellow animal lover by the name of Kitty Boren, called us to report that the stuck animal had tried to nip at her when she attempted to maneuver its head through the gate space. We gave her Cara’s work telephone number at Wright Medical, where she is director of advertising and other duties of the devices manufacturer.

 

We later learned that Cara is single and is age 40. Cara told Kitty that she would be home quickly and deal with the stuck animal problem.

 

Betty and I went next door to see if there was anything we could do to help. Oddly, Pogo somehow extricated himself when he saw his owner arrive 15 or so minutes later. The dog ran around the garage to greet Cara. Later, she arranged for a contractor friend to install some black mesh over the lower section of the gate. She was very appreciative of our efforts and those of Kitty to comfort and free the animal.

 

However, the next morning we again heard frenzied barking from next door as we were loading our luggage and supplies into the car. Upon investigation, we found that Pogo’s head was again stuck in the gate. We again called Cara and she said she would immediately return home to deal with the problem, assuring us that the matter would be taken care of so we could proceed with our travel plans to begin our all-day drive to Gulf Shores, Ala. We also alerted Kitty to the situation. Again, Pogo somehow extricated himself from the gate we were glad to learn later.

 

Thankfully, it was a delightful spring day, with lots of sunshine and the temperature expected to rise into the 70s. So we drove off on our usual route on Interstate 55 south to Jackson, Miss. (We later and happily learned that Cara had arranged for the welding installation of heavy-gauge wrought iron filler rods between the spaces of her iron gate to prevent her much-loved, sweet-dispositioned pet from repeating the stuck-in-the-gate drama.)

 

Once through town and on Interstate 55 heading south, we found that traffic was a little busier than usual, possibly due to it being Friday and people heading out of town on a beautiful day for driving and favorable forecast for the weekend ahead.

 

We stopped at a McDonald’s restaurant just outside Jackson, Miss., to purchase a small box of Chicken McNuggets and a fresh salad. We ate both as we continued our drive through Jackson and also enjoyed soft drinks and granola bars we carried with us from home. (click Continue Travelogue to keep reading travelogue)