Hi, Thanks for sharing

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Old Fire Fighter

Old Fire Fighter

New Member
Location
Bayou Chico, FL
As a 75 year old, active, retired, happy, somewhat healthy, US Marine, retired Fire Fighter, wonderful family and friends, plus a perfect Spousal Unit of 32 years, now living on a bayou, with our own dock for our 46' sailboat we lived on and cruised for 19 years, after a very satisfying life of bicycle racing, pedaling across the USA and Canada in 1985, (4,062 miles), sailing across the Atlantic, we are too busy helping others...

Wait! That is what we are here for, isn't it? My 30 years as a Fire Fighter in Southern California was all about helping others. I am still a Marine until death or dishonor and we help others.

We have just returned from SoCal from a visit to walk Granddaughter #3 down the aisle, visit old FF friends, family and to see our first Great Granddaughter. Wow! We are blessed.

I do not intend to get too wordy n my first post, so - More Later. If anyone wishes?

Tom on Bayou Chico, FL
 

Hello Old Fire Fighter, I hope you and your spouse find a lot fun here with us. Our group comes from all over the world, so we talk about anything, and everything. We'd love hearing your travels ,and the many thing you learned from those travels.
Ina from Texas.
:hatoff:
 
Hi Tom, welcome to the forum, and thank you for your service. Congratulations on your first Great Grandaughter too! :welcome:
 

Glad you found us Tom. Welcome! Thanks for your service!

a848_1_2244_1.jpg
 
Welcome Tom. It sounds like you and your wife have a very busy and interesting life,
so tell us more about your travels and adventures.
 
Welcome to the forum, Old Fire Fighter...and a Big Thank you for your service! Hope you post about some of you and your wife's adventures in your travels...would be Very Interesting. :)
 
Hi Tom. I am familiar with the 'once a Marine, always a Marine'. My father, brother & first husband (35 year marriage) were all Marines. They all are very proud of their service, as every Marine should be. Thank you for your service, Tom. And it will be a pleasure to find you here among us as a member of the Senior Forums.
 
Raven said:
Welcome Tom. It sounds like you and your wife have a very busy and interesting life,
so tell us more about your travels and adventures.
Click to expand...

Thanks. We love to share our happy life's adventures. I have always enjoyed bicycling and sailing and living in Southern California allowed me to maximize the pleasures. As a Fire Fighter, I was required to be physically fit and aerobic exercise was necessary. Early on, I rode to keep fit, but during the first oil embargo and as the price of gasoline kept rising It just made sense. A friend introduced me to this nice lady who also enjoyed bicycling and sailing. It was love at first sight.

We met at his home in Newport Beach in early Feb. 1982 and were married aboard my 46 foot sailboat May 15, 1982. While I was 14 years older, she could not keep up with me on the bike, so we had a custom tandem bicycle built to our dimensions. We continued to ride our solo bikes, but spent many wonderful hours on the tandem racing and cruising. We set a goal of crossing the USA in 1985, so prepared our tandem for long distance cruising with front and rear panniers, spare parts and even a 2 meter HAM radio, since we both had our Amateur Radio Licenses.

May 1, 1985 we left our boat in Alamitos Bay Marina, Long Beach and rode away with several friends accompanying us for the first few miles. We averaged 86 miles each day at a speed of 16.2 MPH, which is easy on a tandem. Some nights we camped, others stayed with family and friends or in a motel, if the weather was threatening. We had our trip planned to visit family in Phoenix, AZ, 118 degrees F. where Bobbie learned to take her biking jersey off, soak it in an irrigation ditch and get it back on between passing cars. Then we rode east to Oklahoma City and Tulsa to visit family and south to Tupelo MS to visit my parents. My ancestors had immigrated to this part of the USA in the early 1800's from Holland. I left there in 1955 when I enlisted in the US Marine Corps, another story.

Then we pedaled north to Columbus, OH where Bobbie had been raised and educated, CCAD graduate. We continued north to Manchester, Michigan to visit more of her relatives. We crossed the bridge into Canada in Detroit and rode along the beautiful north shore of Lake Erie to Niagra Falls, NY, then down the Hudson River to visit Uncle Jack and family in upstate NY for Independence Day. We completed the trip on July 6 at New Haven, CT where Bobbie's ancestors had landed from Sweden.

It was a wonderful trip and we intended to - someday - complete it by riding west across Canada to the Pacific and back down to SoCal, but ... IN November of 1985, we flew to Spain, met good friends and sailed back across the Atlantic in their 50' boat. This maxed out my vacation and leave time, so back to work and preparation for our dream retirement in 1988.

More later, if desired and pix.

Tom & Bobbie, (Barbara) Vandiver, Bayou Chico, FL
 
Sounds like you and Bobbie have a wonderful and active life together, would love to hear more and see some pics when you get the time. :)
 
Old Fire Fighter said:
Thanks. We love to share our happy life's adventures. I have always enjoyed bicycling and sailing and living in Southern California allowed me to maximize the pleasures. As a Fire Fighter, I was required to be physically fit and aerobic exercise was necessary. Early on, I rode to keep fit, but during the first oil embargo and as the price of gasoline kept rising It just made sense. A friend introduced me to this nice lady who also enjoyed bicycling and sailing. It was love at first sight.

We met at his home in Newport Beach in early Feb. 1982 and were married aboard my 46 foot sailboat May 15, 1982. While I was 14 years older, she could not keep up with me on the bike, so we had a custom tandem bicycle built to our dimensions. We continued to ride our solo bikes, but spent many wonderful hours on the tandem racing and cruising. We set a goal of crossing the USA in 1985, so prepared our tandem for long distance cruising with front and rear panniers, spare parts and even a 2 meter HAM radio, since we both had our Amateur Radio Licenses.

May 1, 1985 we left our boat in Alamitos Bay Marina, Long Beach and rode away with several friends accompanying us for the first few miles. We averaged 86 miles each day at a speed of 16.2 MPH, which is easy on a tandem. Some nights we camped, others stayed with family and friends or in a motel, if the weather was threatening. We had our trip planned to visit family in Phoenix, AZ, 118 degrees F. where Bobbie learned to take her biking jersey off, soak it in an irrigation ditch and get it back on between passing cars. Then we rode east to Oklahoma City and Tulsa to visit family and south to Tupelo MS to visit my parents. My ancestors had immigrated to this part of the USA in the early 1800's from Holland. I left there in 1955 when I enlisted in the US Marine Corps, another story.

Then we pedaled north to Columbus, OH where Bobbie had been raised and educated, CCAD graduate. We continued north to Manchester, Michigan to visit more of her relatives. We crossed the bridge into Canada in Detroit and rode along the beautiful north shore of Lake Erie to Niagra Falls, NY, then down the Hudson River to visit Uncle Jack and family in upstate NY for Independence Day. We completed the trip on July 6 at New Haven, CT where Bobbie's ancestors had landed from Sweden.

It was a wonderful trip and we intended to - someday - complete it by riding west across Canada to the Pacific and back down to SoCal, but ... IN November of 1985, we flew to Spain, met good friends and sailed back across the Atlantic in their 50' boat. This maxed out my vacation and leave time, so back to work and preparation for our dream retirement in 1988.

More later, if desired and pix.

Tom & Bobbie, (Barbara) Vandiver, Bayou Chico, FL
Click to expand...

Yes, pix desired! :)
 
Still Working Eight Days a Week & it's fun

After retiring, the first time, in 1988 and roaming some of the Seven Seas until 1996, we settled on Bayou Chico, between Pensacola and Naval Air Station. We love it here even with the weather. We have three seasons, Too hot, June - October, too cold, December - March, and too Perfect, April, May, June, November.

You may look us up at Latitude North 30 degrees, 24.329, West 087 degrees 15.767.

Satori.jpg This is our Cal 46 sailboat in the olden days, racing from Newport Beach, CA to Ensenada, MX
in about 1983. The same boat we cruised and lived aboard from 1988 to 2007.
Life is good!

More later,
Tom Vandiver
 
Acting my age?

Time flies! We enjoy a busy, active life with a few "time outs" for health issues. We really enjoy this group, but have been too busy. I am down to working only six days a week. I have had two Docs ask me "When are you going to start acting your age?"

My answer is when I am planted over in "Tombstone Orchard", plus I have never been 77 before, so am not sure how I should be acting. Anyone care to share? Why should we act our chronological age if we don't feel our age?

Post here, send a PM or come on down to Bayou Chico. We have a guest cottage, (physically challenged friendly) so come visit if you are ever close to Pensacola, FL. There is a lot to see and do in this area, beautiful white sandy beaches, great downtown historical area, Marine Air Museum, (some refer to it as the Navy Air Museum), we will take you on a bayou tour, go fishing or just sit and chat while we release some of those spirits that have been imprisoned in those green bottles.

This is the view of our 200 year old Live Oak tree and the bayou. Then when not busy repairing boats and diesel engines, I build these crosses from Cedar and Cypress wood. I have gifted 44 since December 2015 to family, friends and local Churches.

4 18 16.jpg4 crosses.jpg

Life is good.

Tom & Bobbie Vandiver
 
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