Miles to Go----and Stops Along the Way: A Travel Blog: Orange Park, FL

Our trip through the south would have been incomplete without a stop at cousin Fran's in Orange Park. I last saw Fran in early 2002 when we traveled together from DC to Philly for our Aunt Bea's funeral. At the time, I was working on a project at the World Bank and Fran was visiting her son, Ray and his family in Northern Virginia.

We were overdue for a rendez-vous. Though I haven't yet been able to convince Fran to visit us in Canada, I think she may now be ready!

Fran has a big family of her own, and it was fun to hear of all the developments with her clan.
It was good to see Jim and Tim and to meet their wonderful families.

We drove to St. Augustine to see some of the sights. We had lunch at the Conch House Restaurant, with views of the bay.

Following lunch, I tried to find Pete Wills, a schoolmate of mine from Philly. I had a bad phone number for Pete, but I found an address for him at the White Pages on-line. It wasn't too far from the restaurant so we drove over there to find an RV park at that address. I enquired at the office and the receptionist told me that Pete lived there but that he was out on the road. She gave me a cell phone number so I called and talked to Pete and he turned out to be in Palatka---about 45 miles inland---and would be there overnight.

As Peg and I were departing for New Orleans the next morning, we didn't have a chance to see Pete, but it was nice to talk to him. After a career in sales, he is now a minister and chaplain, and tends to those who need help. Good move, Pete.

Fran was amazed that I was able to track Pete down!