On to Fort Walton Beach, FL.

When I finished Aircraft Maintenance Officers Course I was assigned to the Tactical Air Warfare Center at Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, FL. We were excited about this assignment because we had never lived near an ocean. Jennifer and Julie were especially excited because they were old enough to understand what living in Florida meant. We were all looking forward to the warm weather, sunny skies, and beautiful beaches.

We drove out 1980 blue and silver GMC van to Florida. I announced to the family when we crossed the Alabama-Florida border. We stopped at one of the first rest areas we came to in Florida. Julie was just five but she was already quite the athlete. As soon as we let them out of the van Julie did perfect cartwheels across the rest area and started shouting that we were in Florida. I remember thinking how strange the parking lot looked because instead of gravel, the asphalt contained seashells as the aggregate. Also, the grass looked different and the soil was more sand than dirt.