http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQhcOUogECA
I've mentioned before that I made it a point to go to the original bridge back in 1989. That was the trip that we've figured I must have rented a moped from Seagull's friend or acquaintance upon arriving on Martha's Vineyard via the ferry. Ironically, it was the day after I first viewed the original Major League on pay per view in The Marriott on the harbor in Newport RI.

I will give Ted Kennedy some slack in that was a very easy bridge to drive off of, especially considering the size of his car.

When Ted Kennedy drove off there were no guard rails, but only the equivalent of about a 4 inch by 4 inch timber lining each side. The new version in the YouTube video has guardrails that were not there in 1969.
I will not give him any slack for his "wrong turn" explanation. I made a point to go to the cottage where the party had been. The correct route would have been a definitive left curve on a paved road. Kennedy ended up making a hard right onto Dike Road at that point, a decidedly dirt road going down to the beach.

Ted and Mary Jo never made it to the beach as the car went off the bridge and flipped in the water.

There is no way he unintentionally made a wrong turn onto the eventual road of death that night.

JR, I think we've discussed that I read Senatorial Privilege when it was released. I made my first trip to the President Kennedy assassination site in Dealey Plaza during the late Spring of 1988. A couple of days later I was listening to the rental car radio and heard the author of Senatorial Privilege being interviewed. I immediately bought the book. It was well documented with lots of photos and footnotes citing source material.

Tribe Fan in SC/Cali wrote:JR, I think we've discussed that I read Senatorial Privilege when it was released. I made my first trip to the President Kennedy assassination site in Dealey Plaza during the late Spring of 1988. A couple of days later I was listening to the rental car radio and heard the author of Senatorial Privilege being interviewed. I immediately bought the book. It was well documented with lots of photos and footnotes citing source material.

That's right, we did discuss it. Highly recommended! Author Damore put a lot of research into it, and it's very well documented, as you say.

I haven't checked, but I believe there is no bridge there any more. One needs a boat to get to Chappaquidick now.

I just checked Google Maps for Chappaquiddick and then flipped to the satellite view and zoomed in. Not sure when the image dates from, but it does show some sort of structure from Chappaquiddick Island to the beach barrier island to the east.

Until I personally went to Martha's Vineyard, I never fully realized the logistics of getting from Edgartown to Chappaquiddick Island via the ferry. We did have some good casual seafood in Edgartown.

When JFK, Jr. died in the plane crash I didn't note any news person mentioning the irony of Ted Kennedy's Chappaquiddick accident to the east of Martha's Vineyard along with JFK Jr's death site just to the west.....almost exactly 30 years to the day later. Mary Jo Kopechne died in Ted Kennedy's car on July 18, 1969 and JFK, Jr and wife and friend died on July 16, 1999.

You may be right, CALI.

http://www.satellite-sightseer.com/id/1671

We're off to Disney World tomorrow afternoon. My wife is a Disney Fanatic, as are our kids.

I've visited Disney World just three times with this family. Disneyland, mucho times.

Previously I had visited Disney World likely 30 to 50 times. My first visit was in the Spring of 1972 with my mother and father and brother. My only memory is that we stood in really long lines to do things that didn't seem that special when done.

REALLY long lines. For hours. REALLY long lines. I think that's over 60% of the time we spent there, in Disney World's first spring tourist season around Easter of 1972.

I may have been tainted.

I may have visited Disney World actually over 50 times in the years since 1972. When I lived in Miami in the late 1970's and early 1980's everyone who was my previously not noted long lost friend who wanted a free place to stay in Florida wanted to go to Disney World......and I obliged.


In later years when I lived in Jacksonville.....same thing.

When I joined corporate America, truly nearly every conference or event I ever attended on "business" seemed by happenstance to be held at Disney World. People I worked with...and for ....thought I was getting a special treat as they excitedly told me I was " going to Disney World!!!"

I didn't quite feel the same way.


And then later my youngest daughter did an internship at Disney World while she was at The University of Florida. And we visited twice while she was there that semester. She was a smart and pretty face, and Disney engaged her appropriately.


And now my youngest kid of all is doing his 2nd of back to back internships there as an Engineering student from Auburn. His primary role has been hanging out and operating The Space Tours thing, performing in various cast roles when not behind the scenes on tech and operations stuff.

He was ecstatic a couple weeks ago when The Disney brass apparently noted his talents and possible engineering future prowess and asked him to get involved in plans to change or move The Indiana Jones ride with the staff "Imagineers."

We'll see him and his girlfriend from Central Florida tomorrow as they will be with us in a Disney hotel on our visit.

I'm looking more forward to this Disney visit than nearly all of my prior visits.

I'm still not that keen on "hanging at Disney," but it will be cool to see the kid in a place he's done well and loved.

He's stated he wanted to be a Disney "Imagineer" one day since the first time an 8 year old might state such things.

It's not like he's using engineering skills to design weapons to defend America if he works for Disney...but then again, he's not designing weapons.

Not that there is anything wrong with that,


On the way home, I'm going to bring my wife through back roads of central Florida and to stop at some spots on "The Cracker Trail."

THAT, I am really looking forward to. She's from Califrickinfornia and had no idea what a real "cracker" really was until recently, but occasionally she has expressed thought she thinks I AM one....




(did I mention my wife is thinking about using the Florida resident price to buy season passes for us?)

J.R.:

Thanks for the links. They took me here no problem. I dunno why the bookmark I was using all of a sudden quit working. Strange.

I think some here have been to this place? In Winter Haven FL? I was in Winter Haven the same years, but never had the chance to meet up with others from here on my partial day visits while working in Tampa.

The above shots were captured this morning, July 22, 2012.

I made it a point to bring my wife back through Winter Haven today on our return trip from Disney World to our home near Loufla.

I told her she is now likely the only California born girl to have ever sought out all the Cleveland Indians Spring Training locales of my lifetime.

She was with me on my first ex post facto visit to Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, she was the photographer on my "pre-post facto" visit to the future construction site in Goodyear AZ, and now she has made an ex post facto visit to Winter Haven.

We had lunch at Manny's Chop House, just a couple blocks down the street from Andy's Drive In. I think back in the Winter Haven real time post days I read about some here gathering at a steak oriented place called same. However the waitress today told me I might be mistaken because the present location has only been in operation a couple of years. She said there was, and has been for years, another Manny's Chop House a few miles down the road in Lake Wales.





I never met anyone here in Winter Haven, but I did get the t-shirt.....

I remember eating there one year.

Hillbilly wrote:I remember eating there one year.

HB

Andy's?

Or, Manny's Chop House?

Regardless, my wife and I are fairly discriminating diners and were impressed and amazed with the prime rib she had for lunch. And then medium rare steak bites over sauteed onions and mushrooms with Cuban black beans and rice and onions on the side for me. And the fresh baked bread, and table tossed salad. All for less than just $28 plus.

Well, I had lunch one day at a burger and shake joint. I just assumed it was Andy's but after thinking about it I can't say for sure if there's more than one.

Then we met a group of people from the forum at a better place for dinner but don't remember the name of it either. The thing that sticks out to me is Nebraska Jim was one of the forumites there, and that was the first time I met him.

More or less, I am of no help...

I dont remember that particular steak house. I remember Carabbas, Beef O'Bradys and another chain outfit that was old west in style. We also ate a lot at a Mom and Pops Diner towards the center of town. Real good breakfast fare.

But then my memory is fading.

I'm betting the house that I read quips about Andy's from fellow forumites in days of Winter Haven yore.

Perhaps it was Denver Lou or Donna or Frank with the quips.

Regardless, Andy's is still flying The Tribe Banner.

I was pretty disappointed that the Andy's diner was closed as my wife and I went through and visited on Sunday. I was ready for a late breakfast, or an early lunch. Really ready.

A guy in the parking lot spied our disappointment as we tried the door and read the "closed" sign.

He offered, "go to the right, the ice cream stand is open and serving."

I had half of a vanilla soft serve cone for breakfast.....at Andy's. I threw the rest of the ice cream away as I am still trying feverishly to lose some weight and get in playing form.

I should have tossed away the later visit to Manny's Chop House.

I chowed down. It was a great and tasty offering for the palate.

Some of you may recognize the gentleman in the background wearing the red shirt and white cap. This was from when Christian Bale (Batman) visited Aurora, CO.
Also, in this video, at 1:49

http://kdvr.com/2012/07/24/batman-chris ... s-victims/