Welcome to my grand nephew Theodore Armand Tubridy. He was born on the 22nd to Kariline Bringe & Carl Tubridy. The next generation of the Tubridy family begins ❤️. Theo is the seventh generation Tubridy since our ancestors immigrated to the US from Ireland in the 1800.
Our family got together for the annual Winter Solstice event hijacked by Steinfeld. Following the pagan traditions, we attended Cocoa Beach’s World Famous Surfing Santas on Friday and then decadently imbibed and played a crazy gift exchange game on Saturday in a nod to the fable of the baby Israelite. The highlight was a family Zoom call with the newest Tubridy – baby Theo – born on the 22nd (122221 – how cool is that?). We paid a visit to Mom’s grave, told the same stories over and over, and laughed a lot. I love my Fam ❤️.
When Kari & Carl surprised me with the news they were expecting their first child (Baby Uno) they told me by asking if I would make a bassinet for them! Of course, I replied, and here is the result along with some pictures I took during the build. The build was fun and I expanded my skill set with the rocker legs and double mortise and tenon construction.
I found an excellent design on YouTube from Matthew Cremona. The walnut came from a cabinet Dave & Lisa had that was damaged in the hurricane that destroyed their home. Thanks to Armand and Mary Jo for offering to drive it to Wisconsin!
My nephew Carl married Kariline Binge in 2020. They met in Washington where she was finishing her residency in Orthopedics and Carl was working for an airplane equipment manufacturing company. They relocated to La Crosse Wisconsin near her family farm where she works at a Mayo Clinic and Carl works at a refrigeration equipment manufacturer nearby. They are expecting their first child – and the first Tubridy Grand baby – the end of the year.
Kari & Carl’s Living Room. Back row Adam, Lisa, Kari, Baby Uno, Carl & Mary Joe. Front row Myhra, Rick, me, Dave and Armand.
Dave, Lisa and I arrived on Thursday and stopped at a local bar near the airport for lunch. The waitress asked Dave what kind of beer he wanted and he replied a cold one. She replied that she would bring him a shitty light beer. Boy were we surprised!
We hung out with Carl on Friday while Kari was working and toured the local sights.
On the way to the farm we stopped at Goose Lake to watch many different types of waterfowl on their way south.
The Baby Shower was on Saturday at the Bringe Farm near Viroqua Wisconsin. While the women celebrated with Kari the guys drove the tractors!
Video of use driving the Combine HarvesterKari’s Father Armand with Carl & Dave at the Bringe Farm
We had a great time visiting and handing out candy at Kari and Carl’s house on Sunday with Armand and Mary Joe. It was a wonderful time and I look forward to visiting again on the 2022 Excellent Adventure coming soon!
We headed home after a great visit in Fort Collins.
Cross Country
First stop was WaKenney Kansas. Essentially an exit off of I-70 surrounded by vast fields of something or another! We saw a killer sunrise in the morning before heading south to Oklahoma.
Kansas Sunrise
We stopped in Oklahoma at a park near Tulsa. That night we got a good rain storm so we didn’t get to see much of the area although what we did see looked nice. The area was a lake off of the Arkansas river and obviously popular with boaters.
On day three we headed east through Arkansas to finally end up at a KOA just north of Memphis. It started to rain hard again so we hundred down for the night. We discovered one of the two main interstate bridges across the Mississippi River was closed for repairs and the advice to get on the road early!
We headed out at 5AM to drive about 2 miles before getting stuck in a 1 1/2 hour traffic jam. Seems a semi flipped and burned right where I-55 and I-40 come together. No wonder given the huge numbers of trucks and their (the truck drivers) mind-numbing idiocy when it comes to driving fast in heavy, rain-soaked traffic!
Memphis Truck Traffic
After that it was a day of crumbling infrastructure and numerous traffic jams trying to get through Memphis, Birmingham and Montgomery. By the time we got through all of that mess it just rained consistently all the way to Panama City. After 14 hours driving my butt was numb and my back was killing me!
Back in Florida
Back in Florida
However – we arrived safely back at brother Dave’s in Panama City. We spent 3 nights here with Dave & Lisa – took in a Rock the Dock music from his nearly completed back porch, played with the pups and relaxed.
Next stop Cocoa Beach – exactly 7 weeks from our launch date! The Excellent Adventure – Part 1 – is quickly coming to a close!
