Author Archives: Charlie Hudson

About Charlie Hudson

Off with my combat boots and onto writing best describes Charlie my two careers. Born in Pine Bluff, Ark., and raised in Louisiana, I count myself as a military veteran, wife, mother, freelance writer, and author. What was intended to be a quick two years in the Army became a 22-year career instead, and somehow in the process, I discovered that I was an inadvertent pioneer by serving in several positions that had previously been held only by men. By the time I was in Desert Storm and later Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti, women in leadership assignments was more widely accepted. My love of writing never left me though whether it is a short article that highlights an animal rescue group, penning the stories of a female police detective in the Florida Keys, or presenting issues about aging that Baby Boomers need to address, or working on a corporate proposal. When my husband, Hugh, also retired from the Army, we relocated to South Florida where we can both enjoy the underwater world in dive sites all around Key Largo. We do break away though to still travel, and especially visit the Washington, D.C. area where son Dustin is a professional dancer and lives with his wife, Samantha.

Those Far-Spaced Events….

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I would imagine everyone was watching the eclipse for at least some point yesterday. One friend traveled to Texas to be with old friends, my grandniece is at Baylor which was in totality. Rest of her family is in Houston so they had a fair amount as well. The TV coverage was great as they were switched from location to location. I think I spent about an hour watching. There has been at least one in my lifetime and perhaps two. Who knows if we’ll be here for 2025 (2024?), but it’s feasible. I haven’t checked with the kids yet for what they did, although granddaughter is old enough that I’m sure they had class about it beforehand. I guess some places not accustomed to many visitors were somewhat (or completely) overwhelmed with people coming in and again, I guess for those who aren’t sure if they will ever see another one, it would be important to be part of it.

Now, a once-in-a-lifetime for us was crossing into the new millennium and that was pretty spectacular. Yes, all the worry and prep about Y2K turned out to be a non-problem, although being prepared did make sense. We were friends at our beach house in Nagshead. We had looked at traveling to somewhere exotic and even at several months out things were either already booked or prices jacked up so much we didn’t want to pay that much. We weren’t very concerned about the world coming to an end in 2012 and can’t say we did anything special for that one.

We probably won’t be around for the nation’s 300th either, but the 250th is just two years away. That should be a great Fourth of July celebration and no doubt, there are places already making their plans. Hmmm, now that I think about it, I might should be booking somewhere already. Well, the kids are likely to still be in the D.C. area which would be logical or another trip to Philadelphia.

Whirl of a Week…..

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Well, I knew it was going to be busy and with four extra events/tasks thrown in, let’s just say I haven’t had much spare time since our return. Some if it is social though so it isn’t as if it’s all work. At the moment – and I will try to keep it that way – Saturday will not require me to go out to meet with anyone. I may have one semi-obligation and if that comes about it will be here at the house.

Lots of things for the two non-profits I am heavily involved with have been at the core of the week and then there were some lingering input needed to get the taxes off. We split it with me gathering all the initial data, then Hubby has to do the on-line input of many pages. This is like the third time since our tax guy has started using this system and therefore, it’s more familiar. The issue is now that many institutions don’t have to send tax documents until the end of February, there are always one or two that are later. And between holidays and the surge of people who come to dive Jan-early March, it is really difficult to get what we need done by the first week of March. I can’t recall the last year we didn’t put in for an extension. Ah well, it simply stretches things out.

We have another artist reception this evening and while I have attended the last few by myself because of Hubby’s schedule, this is one he really wants to attend. That means I go to my 5:00 and instead of going from that to the reception, I’ll come home instead, link in with Hubby after he has a quick shower, then back to the reception. Dinner after with friends though who also can’t make it until later which allows everything to align.

Back and Busy…..

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Although we did leave the cold behind on Thursday, ironically temperatures went down a bit here as well. Not to where anything other than long sleeves were required which meant great improvement over sweaters and coats. The list of to-do’s I already had lined up for the week was added to yesterday and timing is going to be trickier than I expected next week. I have to shift a few things around and do some extra coordination.

Hubby did get enough groceries yesterday to carry us through the weekend and there were some lovely lamb chops. While we do enjoy lamb routinely, Easter is one of the times we like to specifically have it. Bothering with a traditional leg is not something we do after having tried it once. The meal was good; just more involved than marinating and throwing chops on the grill. I’ve posted before about how lamb was never anything we ate in the deep South because back when I was growing up, it simply wasn’t really available. All that has changed of course as even if you live in a place without a major grocery store, there is the internet option.

We’re having snapper with roasted tomato and tomatillo sauce tonight to balance out the extra red meat of the past few days. Hubby will spice up the black beans to go with rice and I’m still trying to make up a bit on the salad side. The kids always enjoyed ordering appetizers for dinner and that did not include one as a salad.

Anyway, Happy Easter to all who celebrate it.

PA Trip, Day Six…..

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The rain did hold off to allow us to get into the Franklin Institute. The place is huge and even though we didn’t get to see the show wanted to at the Planetarium, we were there for around four hours. The big traveling exhibit was the Art of the Brick, the incredible exhibit by the guy who make art from Legos. He does 2d and 3d and some of his sculptures use up to 100,000+ Legos. Nathan Sawaya’s story and technique are amazing and the easiest way is to go to the artist’s website of https://www.brickartist.com/ I lost count of  the number of pieces in the exhibit and it was definitely far more elaborate than I anticipated.

We did luck out with rain that evening, too, as it cleared a bit and we did the short walk to Fado, another quintessential Irish pub the kids used to go to for special occasions when they lived there. It was Amelia’s first time of course. Having passed on Shepard’s pie in New York, that was what I did and Hubby and daughter-in-law had fish and chips. Son did Guinness Mac and Cheese with buffalo chicken and with a couple of appetizers and a huge soft pretzel, granddaughter basically passed on protein and grazed on all carbohydrates, once again leaving room for ice cream. It was Trivia night beginning at 8:00, so the place was packed as we made our way out. We’d been back at the hotel for maybe twenty minutes when the weather alert said rain would start again in fifteen minutes. Granddaughter decided she wanted one final adventure for the trip and they kids were going to take her to the big aquarium about twelve miles from Philly on Thursday.

 

PA Trip, Day 5…….

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The Seaport Museum was nicely done with lots of exhibits, enough interaction for children to enjoy and the added option of touring an old steam vessel and WW II submarine. The exhibits are a combination of U.S./Navy history, history of ship building, the Delaware River and Bay and the ecological aspects. Granddaughter enjoys these kinds of things so the three hours we spent was pleasant. I did pass on the submarine part because as it turns out, some of the passages would have been difficult for my knees. I let everyone else do that and I went over to the next door Hilton where we were going to have lunch at the Anchor and Rope (I think that was the name).

I did have my Philly cheesesteak even though not from one of the famous places. It was good. Hubby had something different with grilled cheese with bacon and tomato and believe it or not, they have fancy deviled eggs as an appetizer. Not me of course, but the kids enjoyed them. It was after 3:00 when we returned to the hotel and were leaving again at 6:00 to meet our friends who came into the City. The Iron Hill Brewery was typical and good. With a lot of beef so far, I did do a lovely grilled salmon with onion jam and Hubby went straight for comfort with schnitzel as daughter-in-law did an artichoke flatbread and son went with burger. Granddaughter balances eating just enough – chicken tenders in this case – to warrant having ice cream for dessert. Son had flourless chocolate torte and daughter-in-law creme brulee. The rest of us did coffee, and it was good coffee.

 

 

PA Trip, Day 4…….

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Still cold, but sunny until tomorrow. We waited late enough so getting out of NYC was pretty easy and the NJ Turnpike wasn’t bad. Getting into Center City of Philadelphia is like all big cities. Hotel is not as well kept up as some of their properties, although it is older and the staff is friendly. Parking is weird as it is a shared garage, and we didn’t know that for off-loading. Anyway, the kids arrived around 3:30 and we were all pretty tired. Since everyone was good for walking, we all went out for dinner.

Daughter-in-law picked the place, and I am blanking on the name. Nice menu, plus rotating beers on draft. Hubby and son had IPAs, I did chardonnay, and daughter-in-law Angry Orchard cider. Then it was crab cake and asparagus for me, seared scallops and asparagus risotto for Hubby, blackened chicken tortellini for daughter-in-law, chicken quesadilla for son (lots of extra stuff in it), and granddaughter went with the “breakfast all day” option of chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. As we were all full, coffee after and only one dessert of iced lemon pound cake (warmed) and vanilla ice cream part went to granddaughter.

Granddaughter and I went down to breakfast this morning while the “sleepyheads” stayed in. We’re off to the Seaport Museum later and then we’ll see. One adventure and lunch per day might be the plan for her. We can watch her though this afternoon and the kids can go out later.

PA Trip, Day 3……..

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The rain did clear and the temperature stayed cold. Not much let-up there although it will be a little better. Wednesday is supposed to be more rain and we’ll probably have to switch plans for tomorrow in order to do the Franklin Institute on Wednesday instead. We’ll see. The drive in yesterday was pretty good and we finally figured out how to use the elevator. While that sounds strange, it is automated in a way that makes sense once you understand it. There are no floor buttons inside the car. You press the appropriate “band” of floors before getting on, tap your key card, then it tells you which elevator to get into. The floor is pre-programmed. And yes, if you make an error, you have to get out and start over. The elevators are fast though.

Anyway, we had a lovely lunch at The Playwright, an Irish Pub, a few minutes walk from the hotel. Hubby did Shepard’s pie and Guiness to be traditional and I had crab cakes and salad with the crab cakes done correctly. For all the good seafood we have in our area, no one makes good crab cakes, Dinner was to be the highlight and it did not disappoint.  There are five Wolfgang Steakhouse locations; the original a ten-minute ride away. With fifteen of us for dinner, it was a boisterous event and Richie arranged for it to be family-style. The seafood tower as starters had prawns, lobster, and lump crab, Then there were the salad and sliced beefsteak tomatoes with thick onion slices. The porterhouse steaks were sliced and three traditional sides served as well. The dessert tray was cheesecake, chocolate mousse pie, key lime pie, apple strudel, and mounds of whipped cream with sliced strawberries. We did beg off the “after party” which allegedly was going to be over with by midnight.

I think we’re having a quick breakfast with just four of us this morning, then back on the road to Philadelphia.

Trip, Day 2…..

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On the upside, we’re seeing friends in the dive world, meeting a few new people, Richie Kohler’s presentations were standing room only, and we sold out of Mystery of the Last Olympian because they didn’t bring quite enough books. That was only by a few and the people who were too late did get a photo with him.

I did meet one of the new ladies at Best publishing and we had a pleasant talk, plus she stashed our coats in their booth so we didn’t have to carry them around. They were doing a good business with selling some of the other books, too; those are the more technical dive type which is what they specialize in.

Our plans to dine out at a recommended Italian restaurant didn’t work out though because the rain and cold were absolutely miserable. It didn’t start letting up until after 6:00 and the wind was still strong as well as cold. Staying in made lots more sense even if the hotel restaurant was limited. Genuine NYC steakhouse is the special dinner for tonight, and not sure what we’ll do for lunch yet. We’ll head out from here around 10:00.

Spring Trip, Day 1……

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This is another of the trips with a lot of movement. We flew into Philadelphia, picked up the car and drove to Seacaucus, NJ for the Beneath the Sea Dive Show. For those who might be new to the Blog, Richie Kohler is famous in the shipwreck world as he has been involved in some amazing adventures. Back in 2015 I co-authored, Mystery of the Last Olympian; Britannic, Titanic’s Tragic Sister. We knew each other a bit remotely before that and became friends in writing the book. He is receiving a well-deserved award tomorrow and when I heard about it, the timing worked in an odd way. The kids’ spring break is a week earlier this year so we are at the dive show today, re-set to Times Square tomorrow for another event, then go back to Philadelphia Monday morning, The kids come up and we’ll be with them until Thursday.

The flight up yesterday was a bit on the bumpy side, but at least we were on time. The weather though is tough; 30 degrees and it won’t get much warmer plus today is going to be rain all day. It’s good to see people and it will be a fun time. We ate here at the hotel last night. Not an extensive menu, but I had grilled salmon and Hubby had pasta Bolongease. We might go out tonight as there are a couple of nearby restaurants that sound interesting. On the other hand, if it is still raining, I expect we will stay tucked in.

Snorkel, Not Scuba…..

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In missing Jan and Feb for diving, yesterday turned out to literally be the only day I could go in March. I was all set and realized my wrist is still a bit “twingey”, and wrestling with thirty pounds of dive gear probably wasn’t a good idea. I am so close to being fully healed, it would be distressing if I messed this up. Snorkeling is a good alternative, although the chop was a little heavier than ideal. Visibility was good though and with the shallow reefs, the sites are good for snorkeling. I did see a turtle swim leisurely past on his way up for air on the first site.

That was the only really special creature, although several of my favorites were split between the two sites. I saw a French and queen angel as well as a couple of rock beauties and a puffer at each site. Barracuda and a nice size grouper, butterfly fish, a juvenile trumpet, midnight and blue parrot fish and the little chromis I always enjoy. There were quite a few moon jellies; some quite small, and the usual array of yellowtail snappers, squirrelfish and so forth. Since timing means I probably won’t try to go out again until the latter part of April, my wrist should be fine by then.

The only other drawback was I thought my 3mm wetsuit was in the dive bag and it wasn’t. The 1mm wasn’t quite heavy enough for the water temperature and it took a few minutes to stop feeling the chill after I went in. That did mean I cut my time in the water to like 30 minutes the first time and only like 20 at the second site. I generally use a 3mm through the end of April, then swap to 1mm, and in late July-mid-Sept, I use the skin. Ah well, at least I did get wet.

Two puffers from previous dives; don;t remember when.