Monday Morning

Well Sunday found us with tolerable temps despite it reaching the low 80's. The humidity was there but not ravaging and the wind was ever present with strong gusts at times. We actually slept in until 6:30 after the late night from Saturday. We were volunteering at Bridgepoint Church for the 10 AM service so we had to leave the house by 9:20 at the latest.

We did our usual morning routines of a few quiet minutes and the posting of the day before's activities in this ramble. We each had a bowl of cereal with fresh fruit to start the gastric juices flowing before getting ready to head out for church. Of course it does take Nancy quite a bit longer to get ready so I vacated the bathroom for her "putting her face on". The Tracy's and Dan were going to ride with us as I have the only vehicle where all 6 of us can ride together but the Tracy's cancelled as Patrick was having a coughing spell and just Dan rode with us as Carol was still away on a retreat.

Nancy and I checked in with the volunteer coordinator and put on a necklace like blue strap with the Bridgepoint logo which signifies to others we were part of the production team and then we headed to the balcony where we monitored 4 doors, assisted with the offering collection, gave out programs and assisted folks in finding a seat as well as greeted them with handshakes, hugs and smiles. We got to know several other volunteers and a couple of staff members and one who is in charge of security for the church. Russ is also a civilian member of the St. Pete Police Dept. There are several uniform officers from his department who direct traffic outside during the three morning services as well as several volunteers directing folks in the parking areas. Parking is a great problem to have but still a problem. We are finally getting to know many who attend and work there as well. So far it's been an exciting ride and of course Pastor Tim is very concise and to the point with his messages and the worship music is endearing.

Well after the service we decided to skip out on our original planned place to have lunch as it was just the three of us. We decided to check out a new eatery in Seminole called Trips Place but the line was out the door to be seated as the breakfast crowd had showed up since it was around 11:30, so we made a U-turn and stopped at Culver's which is also brand new and just a couple buildings away. Well we still had a couple coupons and they still honored me with a veteran's small discount and we dined on great double cheese and bacon burgers with fries and in place of the soda they substituted a shake. Wow, the fast food was very tasty, prepared on the spot and delicious and they serve you at your table with your order. We ate for less than what we usually would pay for one person and it held us for the rest of the day until late evening when it was just a salad for supper. I would go back there again as it was that good.

Well we tuned into the Ray's game and they won with a close score of 3-2 over the White Sox, but the Lightning game wasn't a win for us on their home ice in Detroit. We are still ahead 2-1 in the overall games, which is who ever wins 4 out of 7 games goes on in the hunt for the Stanley Cup. We are still on their home ice for the next game before coming back to Tampa for at least another game or two, oh well. It wasn't long after the game it was shower time and then some horizontal lab for around 10'ish, LATER