Home

  I don't usually buy many souveniers.  This blog is really my way of remembering my trip.  I printed the first five years of it a while ago so that it can't disappear into cyber space.   This is the first time I have written it completely on my IPad.  I appreciate your tolerance of the typos.  I have a much harder time with the tiny keyboard.  I love to go back and read about our trips long after we are home.  I regret that I didn't journal some epic earlier ones.  Thanks again to Arik for telling me how to star a blog and encouraging me to keep with it.  Thanks to all of you for making this a conversation with your many comments.

   I learn so much when we travel.  This trip I saw and identified eleven new birds.  I learned that Spanish Moss is neither Spanish nor moss, but it makes the huge live oaks look even more majestic.    We learned a bunch about the Key West and the Cuban Missile Crisis.  We learned about fishing in the shallow water off Coral Gables.  We tasted alligator - didn't we Kellen?!    Kellen found put that he likes  to ride a bike and on Sunday, at home, he took off on a solo ride.  Stella discovered that a swimming pool is much more fun than a bathtub.  Carter learned about sea shells and that many of them have creature still living in them.  Bennett found out that he likes to swim in the ocean and that he is quite a good fisherman.  Rick had the experience of steering a 105' sail boat!

     I missed my camper.  I am tired of hauling my luggage in and out of motels and sleeping in a different bed every night.  I like my own clean bathroom, my lawn chair outside after a long day in the car, and I like not worrying that I have left something behind.  But, driving 2000 miles home would have taken more than four days towing our car, so it all balances.

     I started planning this trip more than a year ago.  I thought of it often during my surgery and recovery.  I am so grateful that it all came together.  We had fun at various times with sixteen members of our family, had no injuries or illnesses, no fender benders or tickets, no time lost to bad weather, just fun.  But I'm happy to be home.  For now....

Redbud Roadway

    The good thing about going backwards through the season is that we are driving through the coming of spring again and can enjoy the hillsides covered with redbuds all across Tennessee and Kentucky.  Beautiful.  The rest of the day was just tiring.  We spent an hour going about four miles due to an accident where a truck had gone off the road and partway into a river.  Dozens of wreckers and rescue equipment working for hours to try to pull the truck back up the bank.  While we crawled by.

     We probably won't drive all the way to Key West again, but I would really like to come back to this area.  Maybe a tour of Tennessee whiskey distilleries or some camping in "The Land Between the Lakes."

     It has been an epic trip.  So much time with family.  I just love it.  It was a great way to get out of Minnesota during the endless transition from winter to spring.  I saw on a web cam that a lot of ice is off Lake Mille Lacs so soon it will be cabin time. I'm thinking of all the fun in store for us this summer. 

     For now though, we're tired.  We have completed 1500 of a 2000 mile drive home.  Rick has been snoring since eight although he hangs on to his IPad as though he is reading.  I look like I've been "rode hard and put away wet."  I need a haircut, a night's sleep in my own bed, and some different clothes.  I'm sick of the same set - worn, washed, worn again.  I want to sleep late, take a walk, sew.  I want to be home and tomorrow we will be.  Yeah.  See you soon.

  

    

Back to Spring in Decatur, Alabama

     Our short cut, wasn't.  Driving down we had a rough time coming through Chattanooga and Atlanta.  Unbelievable truck traffic.  So we looked for another route home and decided to drive through Tallahassee and then north to Nashville.  The first part of the route was great.  Not much traffic and lots of wild flowers.  The Florida DOT planted lots of wild flowers in the median of I10.  Beautiful pinks and reds that I think were many shades of pink dianthus.

    We also drove over the Suwannee River which of course, set the tune "way down upon the Swannee River" rolling through my head all day.  I am such a fun travel partner, because I like to sing old songs that get stuck in my head after something gets me going.  Swannee River finally knocked out "Sailing."  Not sure whether Rick was grateful for the change.

    We headed north on "The Heroes Highway."  Everything in the South is named after someone or something - highways, bridges, State Parks, even the on-ramp.  The road was a four lane highway.  It seemed good at first, until we realized that it went through dozens of towns with stop lights.  Slow, slow, slow.  But there were lots of flowers everywhere.  Black-eyed Susan's, Indian paintbrush, lupin, and flowering dogwood.  

     We drove through Montgomery and Birmingham.  The landscape is hilly and rocky.  There are big pines, oaks and maples.  It is not what I expected, so much prettier.  The weather was cooler and a little rain, so it felt like May in Minnesota.  The sun came out, we got to the interstate, and soon we were here, half-way home.  Ahhh.

Gainesville, Florida

     We are one quarter of the way home.  The drive was long and hot.  Going north on a week day on the Overseas Highway was about three times faster than driving south.  Even so, much of the Highway has a 45 mile an hour speed limit and many little communities to drive through slowly.  One also has to "beware of crocodiles crossing."  I bet most folks have never seen that sign.  I looked and looked for a crocodile, but just never saw one.

     Once we hit the Florida Turnpike around Miami we were in a wild free-for-all of driving with folks crossing four lanes of traffic at 80 MPH.  Rick said that it was the Miami drug dealers trying to get to a sell.  All the Turnpike service areas are in the center between the north and south bound traffic which means that you have to get into the left lane of traffic moving at about 90.  Getting back into that fast lane is a test of nerves.  Rick did well and I closed my eyes.  The service centers had about 400 cars in the parking lot and so many people lined up for food it was like the State Fair.  When we stopped for gas at the end of the day the lines for pumps were four deep.  What a mess.

    We drove past Orlando and Rick said that we should have stopped at Disney.  I can't think of many worse things than fighting huge crowds in 90 degree weather.  So no, we did not stop at Disney.  And yes, Charlotte, we felt lucky that our car air conditioner was working.

    We got to Gainesville after 6 and decided to eat before finding a motel so we could just crash when we got in.  Dinner was great, but there was no room at the inn when we tried to check in.  We are right by the University and there is some sort of freshman football game going on.  We were sent to a local hotel which is quite nice, but getting one of the last two rooms means we are looking at a brick wall just three feet away.  Don't care.  I'll have my eyes closed soon.

    I said goodbye to the ocean.  Farewell to my lovely pool.  But we are on our way Home after a month of travel and all is good.

Southernmost Point

    We are lucky to have been able to travel to most of the states, including the most western and most eastern points in the continental US.  Today we visited the most southern point in the Continental US - just 90 miles from Cuba.  Everyone stands politely in line waiting for their turn to take a picture.  We heard French, German, Spanish, some Eastern European language, and something Asian.  Fun and it also gives us a new goal - to go to the northernmost point in the continental us which just happens to be in Minnesota!

    It was hot and muggy again today, but it is hard to complain because the sunshine on the water is beautiful.  Since we weren't hot enough we went to the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservancy.  There are over 50 varieties of butterflies and 20 varieties of tropical birds.  The air is kept vey warm and very humid.  I thought that it wouldn't be much different than outdoors, but it was MUCH more humid. I could hardly hold onto my camera.  The butterflies were beautiful as were the many tropical birds and flowers.

    By the time we finished our tour we were dripping with sweat and went back to our room to cool off.    Since we have a long, tiring drive ahead of us we opted for a picnic lunch by the pool and an afternoon of swimming and relaxing.  We had dinner at Bananas, another open air cafe, and topped it off with some creme brule.  

    Now it is time to pack up, look at our route home, and check the weather.  Time to think about home.

Schooner America 2.0

Well, it's not far down to paradise, at least it's not for me

And if the wind is right you can sail away and find tranquility
Oh, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see
Believe me

Sailing takes me away to where I've always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free

   The Schooner America 2.0 took us away today.  The America is modeled after the winner of the first “America’s Cup” of 1851, Schooner America. The modern version of the boat is a very lightweight, 105', two masted wooden schooner.  She is very fast and very stable.  It was a perfect day to be out on the water; sunny and breezy.  We have taken other rides on sailboats but they mostly used the engine rather than the sails.  This time we were promised that we would be under sail and that we could help with the boat.  Rick enjoyed helping hoist the sails and steer the boat.  

     We went out of the harbor, across the big bay and into the Atlantic.  There is a definite line between the cloudy turquise of the bay and the deep blue of the ocean.  We were moving right along under full sail at a pretty good angle.  For a while there were some four foot waves and we swooped over them.  It was just great.  We were just ninety miles from Cuba.  We were told that the lights of Havanna can be seen in the sky on a clear night.  

     The day sail offered beer and soft drinks, and some fresh fruit.  We had a few snacks with us as well but it didn't amount to lunch so we decided on a late lunch/early dinner at the Turtle Kraal Bar right on the waterfront.  As we watched folks coming into the marina, we wondered where all the scruffy looking skinny, old guys in beat-up skiffs were coming from.  The boats in the marina were all very big, expensive and fancy.  I can't believe thst any of these guys either worked on or owned any of the boats.  It's a mystery.  

    Cockfighting was a sport brought to the island by the Cubans.  When it was outlawed a bunch of chickens were let loose on the island.  They are everywhere.  Including the open air restaurant.  As we were eating, a hen and five chicks ran through several times.  The chickens are very fast.  We haven't seen any that have been run over.

     We started the day at the Truman "Little White House."  This was originally the Commandant's  house at the Navy Base, but Harry came here often to relax.  The house had most of yhe original furnishings from the 1970 remodel and was a very familiar time warp.  Other presidents have come here too including the Kennedys after the Cuban Missile Crisis when he came to thank the troops.  The  beaches on the island were all closed with heavy barbed wire during this scary period.

     We ended the day in the pool and then on our lovely little deck with a glass of wine and some cheese and crackers.  Just one more day and then we head home to chilly weather.

The Hemingway House

    I am so full of delicious Cuban food I could just pop.  There is a huge Cuban population in southern Florida.  We have been commenting on how frequently we hear Spanish spoken and music with a Latin beat.   The property owner tiold us that there was a good Cuban restaurant, El Siboney, just a block away so we checked it out for dinner.  Oh my.  Fried plantains, pork roast with pickled onions, yellow rice and black beans, and flan for desert.  If you come to Key West you must eat at this casual and inexpensive spot!

     We had some rain last night which was welcome to the island, but it was hot and sunny by 10 when we headed out for some sightseeing.  We found a hop-on-hop-off trolley here and walked about eight blocks to one of the stops.  This very old town has a history full of interesting characters and events.  England took control of Florida from the Spanish in 1763 and moved the community of Spaniards and Indians to Cuba. Florida returned to Spanish control 20 years later, but there was no official resettlement of the island. The island was mostly used by fisherman from Cuba and went back and forth between the British and the Spanish until March 25, 1822, when Lt. Commander, Matthew Perry sailed the schooner Shark to Key West and claimed the Keys as United States property.  

    Key West has three forts and had a role in many wars including World War II when the naval base had just reopened.  It was used to support Navy destroyers, subarmarines and patrol craft.  German submarines operated closely off shore of Key West and regularly sank allied ships within sight of land.  

     During the golden age of sailing over 100 ships passed by Key West weekly  The waters around the treacherous reefs claimed an average of one ship per day.  When a ship went down the first person to the wreck could claim the marjority of the value of the contents of the wreck.  By the 1920's Key West was one of the richest communities in America due to these shipwrecks.  As railroads took over much of the shipping, the shipwrecks slowed and Key West had to find another industry - tourism.

    One of the places I really wanted to visit in Key West was Hemingway's house.  He lived in a big house on the highest point on the island from 1931 to 1939.  Although he later moved to Cuba and then Ketchum, Idaho, he retained title to the home until he died.  The house now is a tourist attraction populated by six-toed cats that are descendants of Hemingway's cats.  Hemingway wrote several no els and some of his most famous short stories in a studio on the second floor above his garage.  It was an airy space with a view of the lush gardens around the house.  I could easily imagine sitting there at his desk and writing my blog.  More comfortable than sitting on a bed as I am now. 

Travelers Palm Inn

     If you like to travel you really must put the drive on the Overseas Highway on your bucket list.  It is fascinating, weird, beautiful, tedious, and fun.  At times the scenery is miles of mangroves and scrub.  Other sections are miles of run down motels, dive shops, boat yards, and seafood cafes.  Some areas are full of new construction and fancy shops.  Everywhere the brilliant turquoise blue ocean peeks around the buildings.  Sometimes the road is just a few feet above the water.  Sometimes the road is a bridge that goes on forever - one bridge is seven miles long.  You are always aware of the sea and boats.

    The water is both a threat and a promise.  The single road back to the safety of higher ground would take days to evacuate the islands, so you have to be a bit of a gambler to live here.  However, the sea that can be wild is a shimmering jewel today, just begging us to stop and watch the sea birds, fish, snorkel, and swim.  Miles and miles of warm water in infinite shades of turquoise.  

     The outskirts of Key West look like any tourist town - motel chains, fast food, gas stations.  I am disappointed until we cross into the historic district where the flavor of Hemingway's Key West is everywhere.  Narrow streets, small cottages, sidewalk cafes.  

    When i was planning this trip I looked online for a place in the historic district and found a set of three pretty two bedroom cottages where one bedroom can be made into a studio apartment with a microwave and mini-fridge.  Our little home in Key West is just beautiful.  The cottages cluster around a courtyard with a pool that is surrounded by palms, bamboo, and orchids.  It is a little oasis. 

    We unpacked and went to the pool which is just 20 steps from our door.  It is solar heated and perfectly warm.  We spent the rest of the afternoon floating in the pool, reading on the chaise lounges, and barbecuing our dinner on the nearby grill.  Another couple stopped by for a quick swim, but otherwise it was as if we had our own pool.  The breeze came up a bit as the sun set, but it has been in the low 80's each day and, here in Key West, 70 overnight.  

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

     We have visited southern Florida before in our pop-up tent trailer when Arik and Matt were about six and four.  We stayed in a campground in Homestead and drove to Key Largo for the day.  The boys were too young for snorkeling so we decided to take them on a glass bottom boat tour to see the coral reef.    It wasn't a good experience for Matt who gets motion sickness.  The boat spewed deisel fumes.  When we got to the reef we went into the dark, poorly ventilated lower portion of the boat and watched the reef roll beneath us as the boat rocked.  I am almost always fine with waves, but Matt and I had to sit outside and breathe fresh air rather than look at the reef.

     Today we went back to the John Pennekamp Coaral Reef State Park.  It has a small land area as well as 70 nautical square miles of protected underwater area.  It is part of the third largest barrier reef in the world - the Great Florida Barrier Reef - and is the only live coarl reef in the continental United States.  The full reef system is four miles wide by 170 miles long, extending from Biscayne Bay National Park to the Key West area.  In the 1950's tourism to the keys increased and John Pennekamp, an editor for the Miami Herald, led a fight to protect the reef just as the Everglades had been protected in 1947 when the area became a National Park.  In 1969 Key Largo reef area became the John Pennekamp Coaral Reef State Park.  

    I read online that the old, smelly, glass bottom boat had been replaced by a new catamaran.  We went to the park and found a tour starting in 10 minutes, grabbed our lunch and sunglasses, and hopped onboard.  Our tour took us out through mangrove swamps where I added two more birds to my Florida list.  We got out to the ocean and found a nice breeze, some slow waves, and a lot of other boats enjoying the perfect day.  When we got to the reef we gathered around two big sets of glass panels which were between the pontoons.  We listened to the naturalist tells us about the fish and the coral.  We saw many varieties of colorful, tropical fish, a nurse shark and a green sea turtle.  In this nice, air conditioned, light space I had no queasy stomach at all, although there was plenty of advise and support for those folks who did.  When we returned to the dock we toured the small aquarium and saw more of the many species of fish and coral that we learned about on the tour.  

     After cooling off and resting back at our motel we went out to look for dinner.  I found a likely place on TripAdvisor but we couldn't find it.  Some of the roads are so short that they don't show up on my maps.  I looked some more and found a place called Ballyhoos Historic Seafood Grille which has been in Key Largo since the 1930s.  We sat outdoors among palms and magnolias.  Little curly-tailed lizards chased each other in the bushes.  The food was so delicious we had to take home our key lime pie to eat later.  

    We have seen a lot of folks closing up their boats and driving north.  Not us, tomorrow we head further south.

The Overseas Highway to Key Largo

    Packing everything back into the car wasnt nearly as fun as moving into our Sanibel condo.  Amanda and Marlene efficiently cleaned out the cupboards and made lots of snacks for the two hour wait at the airport.  We packed food for some breakfasts and lunches.  I booked a place with a refrigerator in Key Largo knowing that we would have leftovers from our busy week.

    We dropped off some of the family and luggage at the airport, and then drove further south.  We drove across the state of Florida on "Alligator Alley."  This is a very straight road that passes through Big Cypress State Park, and the Everglades National Park.  For most of the drive the highway has eight foot fences topped with barbed wire on both sides of the road. In addition, the bottom third of the fence is reinforced with some heavy duty steel cables.  I wondered what was being kept in or out and Googled it.  The tall fences are to keep wildlife in the parks and off the road.  The cable prevents cars that go off the road (sleepy or drunk drivers) from sliding under the frnce into the ditches populated with alligators.  Okay, I am happy that I looked that up.

    We caught the Overseas Highway near Homestead, Florida.  It is actually US 1 which goes the 127 miles from Miami to Key West.  Large parts of US 1 were built on the former right of way of Key West extention of the Florida East Coast Rairroad. The extention was named the Overseas Railroad and was completed in 1912 and then partially destroyed by a hurricane in 1935.  It was too expensive to rebuild the railroad so the property was sold to the State of Florida.  Several portions of road, connected by ferries were already in place providing access to Key West, but the comination of ferries and roads was cumbersome to maintain and slow.

    The first portion of US 1 is a narrow two-lane highway which travels through Florida brushland.  It has the familiar high fences and sea blue cement barriers down the center of the road.  I think that the barrier is to keep frustrated drivers from u-turning and giving up.  The traffic is heavy and very slow.  My MapQuest app gives me the distance remaining as well as the probable time of arrival.  Imthought it was just wrong when it predicted that the 35 mile drive would take us 90 minutes.  It was very close to accurate.  It wasn't until the last few miles that we could see water and really get the sense that we were on an "overseas" highway.

     Tomorrow is Easter Sunday so we are stopped for two nights in Key Largo at a 50's motel right on the one of canals which wind through the island.  We have a screen lanai overlooking the water and look across at some huge homes with equally huge boats.  Dozens of tour boats motor past taking divers out to the huge reef just outside Key Largo.  The view and the small kitchen are all this place has going for it as it is otherwise pretty tattered, but it has been fun to sit and sip pina coladas and watch the world go by.  Peaceful and quiet.  Too quiet actually without all the family voices in the background.

The Island Cow

     This will be forever marked in history as the day that Kellen ate alligator.  There were lots of things to  remember about our wonderful last day, but seeing my grandson whose diet is pretty much defined by peanut butter sandwiches, apples, and cereal, eat not just one piece but a half a dozen pieces of alligator was amazing.

   Our day began as usual here on beautiful Sanibel.  Bennett snuck into bed with me just as the sun was beginning to rise and the sky turned pink.  He whispered that he loves me and doesn't want to go home.  He wants to stay one more week.  If only!  Grandma Marlene is up and made some cherry streussel flavored coffee for the two of us.  Kellen hears the whispering and he decided to get up too so we quietly creep downstairs so Papa and Arik can sleep a little longer.

    Amanda is training for several marathons and has a long run scheduled for this morning so she is up right away too, with Stella soon after.  The bike paths are nice for runners so Amanda has some safe and interesting places to run.  It has been humid and in the 80's all week so she needs to get going early.  Even so, she returns sopping wet and ready for a quick shower and a long swim.

    Stella is always hungry and we are very happy that we brought her portable high chair along so that she has a secure spot to sit in as she gobbles down pancakes, sausage, melon, grapes, and some banana.  We convince the boys to put down their Ipads and eat as well.  Then it is time for the boys to head out for a bike ride.  As I was taking pictures and planning to take Stella on a walk, she decided she would rather have a bike ride with Daddy, and so off they went.

    Everyone came back in time for a swim, lunch, and naps.  Since it was our last day on Sanibel we decided to go out for dinner.  The Island Cow seemed to have a very kid friendly menu and took reservations for groups larger than 8.  Since it is Easter week and the crowds are considerable, it was nice to know that we would be seated without waiting for hours.  We ordered a variety of appetisers including deep fried pickles and deep fried alligator.  The alligator looks a lot like chicken fingers and Arik offered some to Kellen.  He took a bite, thought it was chicken, ate it all and asked for more.  He just didn't believe us when we told him that it was alligator.   We should have taken a picture.   We all had really good food.  I vote for the fish taco combo with one blackened mahi mango taco and one fried grouper taco.  Just yummy!

    We went back to our nice condo and then walked a couple blocks to the other side of the island and did some shelling on the bay side.  Arik found a nice big conch shell that was a little worn but really interesting.  We watched a beautiful sunset and then walked over for one last icecream cone at Pinocchio's.   Finally, it was time to pack up.  What a perfect week!

Captain Paul's Yacht Charters

     We had such a fun today.  Arik found a charter yacht online where we would be the only ones on the boat, so we all spent the day out on the water.   Captain Paul is a retired New York cop who used to work as an underwater recovery specialist.  He has a 44 foot yacht with two bedrooms and two bathrooms.  He was happy to take on our crazy group that included a very adventuresome toddler, three wild boys, three fit adults and three grandparents.

     His yacht is moored on a canal behind his house in Cape Coral.  We motored slowly through the canal system to protect the manatees.  There were lots of houses for sale along the canals, many with huge screened rooms over beautiful pools.  Maybe someone in the family will win the lottery and buy one.  They all seem to also have big boats and wave runners.  Plenty of room and toys for the whole family.

     We ate bagels and cream cheese and drank coffee while the boys explored the boar.  We had them put on life jackets and keep them on all day.  They were eager to see how to drive the boat and wanted to talk Captain Paul's ears off.  The adults relaxed on the shaded "porch" on the stern.  Stella wanted to go every where the boys went - too brave for her own good.

     We anchored just off a small island for some fishing.  The boys (big and small) all baited up hooks with shrimp and tried to catch a shark.  Stella was very crabby by then and I managed to get her to settle and close her eyes.  Soon the motion of the boat and the warmth of the day knocked her out.  

     Everyone was getting hot so Captain Paul moved the boat closer to the island and brought us to the beach for some swimming and shelling.  Grandma Marlene decided not to go swimming so we got Stella settled on her lap on a couch while the rest of us played in the water.  With everyone off the boat Stella got some quiet time.

     We had the option of extending our four hour cruise and so after lunch we went back out for more fishing.  Captain Paul was just great with the kids and gave them so much encouragement.  Bennett and Carter both caught fish and were just thrilled.  As we headed back to port Captsin Paul cleaned the small whitefish for us.  

     We finished our day with some grilled veggies, white fish and a lot of leftovers.  No one can believe that tomorrow is our last day here.  We are all hoping to return another time for more fun.  The other families staying in these townhomes have been here year after year.  It is just a slice of paradise.

A Boggle of Boys

     Cousins Zach and Drew, who are ardent softball players and who were in Fort Myers with their parents to see the Minnesota Twins, stopped by to visit today.  Five boys played in the warm Sanibel water and then swam in the pool.  They had fun playing on the floats in the pool and having water fights.  It was lucky that we had the pool to ourselves.  

It was a big day for boys, but Stella had a great time too.  I took her into the pool and she was an immediate fan of jumping off the side into my arms.  She was annoyed that I wouldn't just let her jump in on her own.  A girl after my own dolphin heart.

    We left the kids with the men and went off to do a little shopping.  I introduced Amanda and Marlene to the lovely outdoor shopping mall - Periwinkle Place.  The shops surround a courtyard with fountains and flowers.  There is a covered boardwalk with lots of benches so that gentlemen have a comfortable while the ladies shop.  There were a few shops with some handmade jewelry, wind chimes, garden art, hand woven scarves and throws, etc. etc.  Lots of really pretty stuff, including some beautiful resort clothes, but very expensive!

     Marlene, Amanda's mom likes plants and gardening so we have been really enjoying the variety of plants that we don't see in Minnesota.  We researched the one in front of the condo between us and the beach only to discover that the most common large bush is called a Sea Grape.  They have a big root network and help to stabilize the sand dunes.  They are very tolerant of windy conditions and produce a sweet grapelike fruit in late summer.  They also provide shelter for nesting turtles and for the little snowy egrets.  The dunes provide protection for the buildings.

    I really admire the Norfolk Island pines growing in many yards.   The needles are very dark green and the branches so symmetric that they look like artficial Christmas trees. They can grow quite tall and provide good nesting for osprey.  Although we see osprey at the cabin there are large numbers here and often can be seen carrying fish that are as big as they are.  We are lucky to be here in the spring when everything is in bloom.  Our pool has floating red flowers every time the wind blows.  It is so pretty.

     We have just two days left with the family.  Time really flies.