Category: family

20 years! 

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Happy Anniversary

        jimsjoint!

And how about a shout out to the Original Jim’s Joint!?  Grandpa James Cornelius Hurley along with my uncle Jim Hurley behind the counter at Jim’s Joint in San Francisco circa 1924.  Just a small general store.  You can see the Butter Fingers and Baby Ruth behind the glass at the counter. Family lore tells us that there were illegal card games and booze (prohibition) in the back room when the store closed for the night.

This picture is around 100 years old. Based on my mom’s birthday and how much older uncle Jim was than her.

It was used on the first jimsjoint post 20 years ago.

So Happy Anniversary all around

The 18 months we spent on Kate and Frank’s ranch were so special. Parker time all the time. 24 x 7 x 365.  He is the reason we are here. We drove him to and from school everyday.  Just the normal conversations in the car were priceless.  We spent all our time together and the quiet times were the best. This picture was taken shortly after we arrived and after a long day. Quiet time on the couch with Grandma. 

Man. 2024 is here. Its been on my radar forever. This is the year that I turn 65. My retirement year.  Medicare, social security, no more work, life of leisure,  all that.

2024 has been on all my retirement paperwork throughout the years of working. my small hp pension comes available this year, and I had seen that March 2024 date on every benefit statement that received since I don’t know when. When we met with Fidelity reps to discuss my 401k the first question always when to do plan to cash in. 2024!   When we decided to pull the trigger and move to Florida, it was all with the goal of getting to 2024 so we could retire comfortably.  I distinctly remember sitting in the hot tub back in Fremont talking to Barb about possibly moving to Florida.  A lot had to happen to make that possible, most notably was selling our house for enough to cover our debts and pay cash here in Florida. The other meatball hanging out there was to find reasonable work (medical insurance) for the next seven years.

Seven years of the great unknown. I had never been without a job, but after a few months enjoying life with Barb and Parker and Kate and Frank I started looking. When I was lucky enough to land a state job with the Florida Highway Patrol I figured I was set. Then, fortunately and unfortunately,  in 2018 we found our forever beach home. Unfortunately that now I have a daily 160 mile commute. Fortunately that we had a great house with fantastic neighbors.  Additionally, we lucked out big time because if we wanted to move to this neighborhood now we could not afford it. Strangely and luckily enough for us, our house’s price has almost doubled since we moved in. Insane but I’m so glad we are on the better side of it. 

Giving up that job at FHP was very hard to do. I was happy there and the people we so good to work for and with.  Luck of the Irish came through and I got the job at the local liquor store that got me to the point.

So where from here?  Been spending some time getting my ducks in a row. Signing up for Medicare, SS, pension. annuity so they all kick in relatively close to each other and hopefully by my birthday next month. 

Goals : Blog, stretch, walk, ride, mediate, read, cook, grandparent, live, breath, laugh and love. Not necessarily in that order.

In my mind its always been about February 2024.  And we are almost there!!

Let the fun begin!!

For all intensive purposes, jimsjoint went dark three years ago.  The last regular post was April 2015 at our Tahoe family reunion.  A great trip! And a great post, if I say so myself.  Not sure what happened after that, other than general laziness, otherwise busyness, political correctness,  and (mostly) Facebook taking over as the way of keeping people apprised of daily goings on.  DAMN YOU FACEBOOK!!  DAMN YOU!!! 

I KNOW we kept on doing stuff worthy of blog posts, Facebook reminds me every day with “memories”!!    After awhile I just forgot about posting it all together. I threw up a couple of random posts here and there. Mostly out of guilt but also to capture a couple of important things that were jimsjoint worthy. Three years is a long to go without posting, but I never gave up completely. As time went by I always thought in the back of my mind that if I ever get back to it I’ll have a lot of catching up to do!

 If anything, jimsjoint has been the “go to” website to search anything and everything Flaherty Family from February of 2004 to April 2015. Ten years of somewhat regular posting made for a pretty good record of family history. For those of you keeping track, that’s 845 posts, 1012 comments and a whopping 105454 page views! Not bad for a blog that is read by 6-12 people.

With our move to Florida, jimsjoint isn’t “our life and times in the wild wild west” anymore.  That part of our life is over. But a mere memory. And up until now, only a Facebook memory. But that’s changing.  I’ve decided to reach back, way back, and document anything and everything that happened between that great Tahoe Family reunion in April 2015 and the October 22nd 2017,  the day we set foot in Live Oak Florida to start our new adventure. A new chapter of our lives. I may officially retire jimsjoint  at that point and start the “papa diaries”, or “Live Oak Life” or something else fitting and witty.

Stay tuned

 We had a blast in Ft Lauderdale!   Cindy and Jim (Barb’s cousin and hubby) opened their hearts and house and cars and boat to us for our extra-long weekend stay.  They also cooked some great meals and provided us with some great times and memories.

We left SFO  (Thanks team Vandy for the ride to the airport) on a Wednesday night red-eye and after a short layover in Atlanta, we touched down in Ft Lauderdale mid morning. Cindy picked us up and took us back to their place. Beautiful home in the Coral Ridge neighborhood.  We settled in, took a shower and were ready to take in all that southern Florida had to offer. Turns out it has plenty to eat and Drink. Auntie Irene came over and we all went out to lunch. I should say that Cindy’s Jim was out of town with his mom so it was just me and all the women for a couple of days. 

Had a great lunch at Seasons 52. Real food and real good. They had just put the “autumn” menu out.  Cindy ordered a flat bread for appetizer that was fantastic! I orderd a bowl of white chicken chili soup and a side of carmelized brussell sprouts with bacon. Yummers!! The only thing that made this meal better was the mini pecan pie “shot” for dessert. Back to the house for an afternoon swim and to get to know Abaco, the family dog. Big Golden-Doodle, about two years old and full of fun!!  Abaco swims in the pool like a champ and even has his own pool lounge! To see this curly haired beast swim into/onto his lounge is really funny! To watch him jump in it from the side is comical. Then when he gets settled, he expects US to fetch his toys for him. Afternoon floated into evening and it was dinner time! Auntie Irene came back and so did Kellie and her Kids. Kacy is Cindy’s son. Kellie and Kacy are married and have #1 son Stone and darling daughter Sage.  Need a program? Can’t tell your players without a program!  Cindy made “build your own” burrito dinner for all of us!! Auntie Irene made some of her famous salsa and some other dips. (She also spent all afternoon looking for gluten free tortillas for Barb, and found them).  Good ole Auntie Irene, came through for her favorite niece. Kacy came by after work and we all ate a good dinner and spent lots of time catching up and visiting.  Life is good.

Friday was a lazy day. Come to think of it, every day was a lazy day!  Hung out around the house in the morning and then met the crew (Auntie I , Kellie and kids) at Coconuts for lunch. Cindy used to the hang out at this place during her single days.  The coconut shrimp I had was great but the highlight of the meal had to be the coconut cheese cake!! Off the hook!!  The sweet and crunchy no-bake crust along with the cheesey coconutty goodness moved it into my top 2 best ever cheese cakes!! So good in fact that we went back a few days later and bought three more pieces, to go! Back to the house to chill a bit. Take a swim with Abaco, and get ready for dinner.

Friday night was dinner at the club.  There is a  yacht club near their house that Cindy and Jim joined so they can have a place to go for fun. It WAS fun!  We met up with the usual crew  (Auntie I , Kellie and kids. Kacy went hunting)  and sat outside so we could enjoy the evening. The outside menu was bar food which was fine with me. Hot dog and fries please!   Luckily for us we were at the club on the evening of the butterfly release! Nature time!  At the time of the release, we all gathered around while the butterfly lady  handed out these small envelopes, each with a single butterfly carefully waiting inside. She had about a hundred of these butterfly envelopes.

 When the time came, we all opened the envelopes and let the butterflies fly free!!  It was nice. After dinner and before we went home, Cindy gave us a little tour of the place. Mostly the inside dining room and bar. We couldn’t go but a few steps without the social elite of Coral Ridge stopping to talk to Cindy.  We met all her and Jim’s gang! They all loved Cindy, thats for sure! We had to drag her out there to get her away from her many admirers.

Saturday  was Everglades day.  We picked up everyone (Auntie I , Kellie and kids) and caravaned west towards the everglades.  City turned to suburbs, Suburbs turned to farmland, and farmland stopped at the Everglades. We were at Everglades Holiday Park. Home of the Gatorboys!  We already had our tickets so Cindy went and checked us in. Ten minutes later we were loading into the airboat.  The air boat was powered by two HUGE fans that blew out the back. There were about 15-20 people on the boat as we made our way out into the glades. Our captain opened it up a few times and we were flying over the water! It seemed like we were going pretty fast. We slowed down and stopped at some parts so captian could talk about the history of the glades and the wild life that lives there. We saw some cool birds and even a couple of gators just cruising in a couple of open areas. And those were just the ones we could see. It was auntie Irene’s idea to do the everglades boat ride and I think she NAILED IT. Most definitly a fun part of our trip.  Thanks Auntie Irene.

Of course no day can pass without eating! We stopped on the way home from the glades at the  world famous Rustic Inn. It started as a crab shack in the 50’s and now is an institution. The place is huge but we got a window table with a view of the water.  So many famous people have eatin there. Sinatra was there! I was so full from three days of eating that all I had was a bowl of chowder and a side salad. Good thing I was eating light because I need to save room for dinner.  Jim finally got home from being a good son on saturday evening.  We had a great meal.  Jim’s pasta pomodoro is something I remembered from our last trip. He puts prosciutto, pancetta and onion in the sauce.   Whatever else is in there makes it very VERY good. It turns out I made a great descision in going light on lunch. I was able to enjoy the home cooked specialty of Jim’s.  (Cindy prepared this dinner while Jim unwound from his long trip) It was great that Jim was home.  Finally some JIM TIME!!  We spent the rest of the night hearing about Jim’s adventures with his mom while he caught up on all the fun we were having.

Sunday morning woke up and Jim was making breakfast. English muffin bacon and egg sandwiches! Today was going to be a good day. Late morning we headed over to where Jim keeps his boat and headed out on the intracoastal waterway. Jim has this nice 35 ft dual outboard motor bad piece of ass boat.  He uses it for fishing and fun, but today (and most weekends with Cindy) we used it to cruise nice and slow on our way to lunch.  But getting to lunch was what it was all about. Cindy made of batch of bloody marys and we cruised and drank our way along the intracoastal. Listening to country music while we made our way through some of the most beautiful and expensive water front homes I’d ever seen. Only thing that made it even more opulant was the yachts parked out front.  I was in awe but it was just another day on the water for Cindy and Jim.  We eventually made our way to lunch at the Quarterdeck restuarant at Dania beach. Jim (skipper) and Cindy (little buddy) secured the boat and off we were to lunch. The Miami Dolphin/ Oakland Raider game had just started so the place was hopping. They had about 50 TVs spread all over the place, inside and out, broadcasting all the games. The restaraunt is built right out over the water. We have a great view looking north along the coast, watching the boogie boarder and sand skimmers do their thing.  The boat ride back home was just as nice as the ride there. Slow and easy and all is well in the world.  Back at the house it was swim time, Abaco time and time to relax from all the relaxing we have been doing. Sunday football is great when you are on the east coast and on vacation. Games start at 1pm and 4pm! Sunday night football at 8:30pm!!!  Of course us west coasters are used to our 10am and 1pm games. 

Monday was our last full day in Florida. We made the best of it.  Up early and said our goodbye to Jim who was off to work. Barb, Cindy and I then went for a walk on the beach. Beautiful morning as we stolled along the sandy shores of the Atlantic. After our morning walk, it was a quick drive back home to grab our suits. Then it was back to the beach for a dip. The water of the Atlantic ocean on the Florida coast is NOTHING like the Pacific ocean off the northern California coast. About 30 degrees warmer in Florida!! It was great to just float around for a while. After the swim, we dried off, changed clothes and did a little souvinere shopping in Lauderdale by the Sea. Then to lunch at a nice little beach side Organic Cafe. Right in Barb’s wheel house!  Cindy gave us a nice little tour of the area on the way back to the house.  The final dinner was a feast fit for a king. Grilled rib-eye steaks with and out of this world gorganzola cream sauce. I’m not sure what exactly it was but it made that steak taste soooooo good!! All the crew was there for dinner, so we got to say our final good byes to Kacy and Kellie and the Kids, and our dear sweet Auntie Irene.  Can’t wait to see them all again!  After they all left,  we spent some final quiet quality time with Jim and Cindy and Abaco.

Tuesday was go home day. I hate go home day!!   And that’s all I’m going to say about that. We arrived back at SFO around 5pm. Downing (thanks John!) did the airport pickup and dropped us at home to our waiting and very happy pups. The pups were happy because Marie took such good care of them while we were away. All in all a great vacation. Thanks to Cindy and Jim and Auntie Irene for the hospitality! We love you all.

click here for pictures

I miss you bro – How about one of my fav pics – Mike with Kate

We should have done this 29 miler the day before on our 29th wedding anniversary!!  On our anniversary ride we decided to mix things up  and go on  bike ride to Bay Front Park in Menlo park the next day. It was a beautiful morning as we made our way to Coyote hills then around the back way to Don Edwards park and the trip over the bridge. First picture here is looking west from the pedestrian walkway that crosses over highway 84 at the toll plaza.  One of those places that you drive by a thousand times but rarely experience yourself.  You can see the bridge way out there and even the park we went to on the other side of the bay.  Its always fun to ride your bike on a bridge. The height, the water down below, the traffic zooming by you all make for a fun ride. Second picture is Barb at the top of the bridge and county line.  The ride over Dumbarton bridge is a good one. Easy peasy uphill and nice slow coast going down the other side. 

So once we got on the Menlo park side of the bridge, we crossed highway 84 and got on the bay side trail that would take us all the way to Bay Front park. The last time we rode our bike this way, Facebook was not around.  Today they have headquarters right there on the bayfront in the old Sun Micro Systems buildings. Whenever we drive by Facebook HQ these days, there is ALWAYS at least a couple of people there taking pictures of themselves in front of the Facebook sign.  I would say that it is a full fledged tourist attraction. Sure enough, when we got there at around 9:30am, there was a family of about 10 people taking pictures. We decided to get in on the act and take a couple ourselves.  Then the oldest guy in the bunch said he would take our picture.  Thanks old guy!  It turned our GREAT!

The rest of the way to Bay Front park was nice. Flat trail, little wind, nice sun. We have never been to this park before, so while Barb was in the restroom I found a map that showed there was a 2.3 mile loop around the perimeter of the park. Perfect!  There was also a sign that said that the park was built on top of the old Menlo Park dump. There was also an old sewage treatment plant and methane gas extraction facility on the back of the property.  Garbage and sewage and gas. OH MY! So we rode about half way around the park and there was a spot that we could climb a little hill. I wanted to see if we could see the bus stop and flag from this side of the bay. No such luck, even with the binoculars.  We were going to take a break here but decided to go back to Facebook and take a break there. GOOD MOVE!  Facebook did some nice work on the bay side trail that goes around the back side of their company property.  We had a couple pieces of fruit and shared a gluten free granola bar.

We made our way home the same we went went out, and by the time we were rounding the corner for home, the odometer was coming up on 29 miles.  I would do this ride again but maybe wait for rainy season when the hills are green at the park.  This ride is great because for all but the couple miles to took us to get to Coyote Hills, the whole rest of the way is on bike path. If you think about that its pretty cool.

We spent a quiet day together on our 29th wedding anniversary.  Leisurely morning around the house. 23 mile  bike ride out to Coyote Hills and then back home for a little hot tub soak before we went out to dinner for two at the Fish Market in San Mateo.  We decided last minute to go out to dinner and I’m glad we did. We really like the Fish Market. We sat outside since it was such a beautiful day. By coincidence we saw our cousins Suzanne and Alicia Short there having dinner. They were on their way to a concert at Shoreline and stopped in for dinner.  Small world!!  I have a lot to be thankful for when it comes to my marriage. Here’s hoping the next 29 years are as good as the last. I love you babe!

50+ years apart