Battista: The Retiree’s Adventures Continue…

Buckle up, baby, ‘cause we’re back on the road again! Nine states in 27 days of driving and flying, and dealing with torrential rains and tornado warnings in Pennsylvania, and a wildfire in Sun Valley, Idaho. And that was just in the first 10 days. 

Yes, this “retired life” is busier than ever for my bride and me. Many couples dream of traveling in retirement, but I’m not sure we’ve quite figured this thing out just yet! So, if you get car sick or have that fear of flying, get your best coping strategy ready because we are ready to roll.

For those keeping score at home…We left Sun City, South Carolina on July 15 and drove (because of our dog, the intrepid Barkley) through North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia en route to Pennsylvania. When we entered West Virginia, John Denver’s legendary tune “Take Me Home, Country Roads” came on the radio. It’s one of the greatest sing-along songs of all-time and has been adopted by non-West Virginians around the country.

I guess it’s just easy to borrow the lyrics anytime you are traveling home or just want a toe-tapping, fun song to sing out loud. In fact, if you watched Team USA’s World Cup victory over Australia in Seattle, the entire team and crowd sang it in a powerful and emotional rendition!  It gave me goosebumps. However, it seemed a little odd that these folks who were over 2,000 miles from the Mountaineer state were belting out this particular song. I decided to investigate why it was so.

Reporter Jordan Mendoza wrote in a USA Today article that each World Cup team was asked to choose a sing-along song that resonated with their fans. Team USA defender Auston Trusty said, “I think ‘Country Roads’ is a very American song, and to hear it in that stadium, with everyone singing along, it’s a dream come true. It’s feelings that you can’t really describe.”

Once we made it to PA, we travelled to Pittsburgh to see my parents and my older brother. We also went to pick up our youngest son, Ryan, and his fiancée, Audrey Carson, who flew from Minneapolis into Pittsburgh for Max and Emma Krasowitz’ wedding in St. Mary’s. 

It’s always special to be back in my native Pittsburgh and to see my parents (Dad is 94, Mom is almost 89) and get with family and friends. Although this trip really did feel like a return to the smoky steel industry days of my childhood, as the smoke from the Western Ontario wildfires hung over the city. We didn’t let that dampen the mood of being with family. The highlight of the visit was eating MeeMaw Battista’s homemade meatballs!

That Friday we packed up the Hyundai Santa Fe and headed to State College for the sole purpose of dropping off Barkley to our old neighbors Chrissy and Tim Fritton, where he was reunited with his “girlfriend” Penny back on Williamsburg Drive in Stonebridge. The dogs see each other once or twice a year but play as though they never missed a beat from when they grew up across the street from each other.

After making the drop, we headed northwest to St. Mary’s for the wedding. Flashback of memories as we traveled that way so many times en route to skiing at Holiday Valley and on to Buffalo, where I coached many a Penn State Icers game and spent a few years working for the Buffalo Sabres. 

The wedding was epic for two reasons: 1). We got to spend the evening with so many old friends from State College and Penn State, including many of the friends who spent a lot of time with our son Ryan throughout childhood and college, and they got to meet his fiancé for the first time; 2). The outdoor wedding was hit by a vicious storm, including tornado warnings that set off many cell phone alerts! Despite the weather Max and Emma’s wedding was a blast and the downpour didn’t hamper anyone’s spirits. If the wives’ tale of rain on a wedding day means good luck, then the happy couple is set for life.

While in St. Mary’s we spent part of the weekend visiting Benezette in Elk County in hopes of spotting the Pennsylvania elk herd.  Alas, no elk have been seen at the park in over a month. The consolation was getting to the Benezette Hotel Restaurant for an Elkburger and Moose Juice. While there we saw two hilarious T-shirts: “I’m an Elkaholic” and “Being with you makes me want to bugle!”

Our Sunday morning included a frantic drive to my brother’s home so he could drop us off at the Pittsburgh airport for our flights to Sun Valley, Idaho. The drive put us on I-80 west to the Brookville/Segal exit. That trip also brought back memories as it was the route we took for years  on our way to Back Achers, Heidi’s family camp in Tidioute.  

We landed in Hailey, Idaho on Sunday for my ninth year of teaching Overspeed Hockey camps. Meanwhile, the Ohio Gulch fire was still burning just a few miles away. Our friends Thomas Andrews and Amanda Deaver actually had to evacuate their home as the fire came dangerously close to their Indian Creek house. Fortunately, a rare, sustained July rain helped the heroic efforts of the firefighters to eventually get the blaze under control.

The first week of camp was awesome. The campers in all three groups were terrific and our staff nailed it. The bonus for me was that both my wife and our oldest son Jonathon were with me for the first week. We golfed at the Sun Valley Resort White Cloud and Elkhorn courses, went flyfishing on the Big Wood River, went Whitewater rafting on the Salmon River, hung out at both Redfish and Petit Lakes, took a gondola ride to Roundhouse restaurant on Bald Mountain and relaxed at Zenergy spa and resort. 

After being skunked in Benezette for viewing elk, we actually saw the entire Peregrine Ranch elk herd in Ketchum, several times on Route 75. While driving from Ketchum back to Hailey my wife from the back seat yelled “Ow!” I sympathetically responded, “What’s the matter?” She shouted even louder, “No, OWL!” There was a huge owl in the middle of the road that barely got airborne and missed our windshield by a couple feet.

Our great friends from State College, Ken and Wendy Bachman, retired a year ago to Boise and drove in to Sun Valley for the weekend. We had dinner at the legendary Pioneer Saloon Restaurant (with baked potatoes the size of a softball!), Ken joined my son and I on a great fishing trip on the Big Wood River, our wives explored all the shops at Sun Valley Resort, and the Bachmans joined our hockey staff for a dinner.

It’s my ninth year going rafting with the White Otter Adventures staff. The river trip was extra special in part because our son Jonathon was with us but also because one of our former Overspeed campers, Simon Weekes, was our river guide. It also featured the most diverse types of wildlife I’ve ever seen on the trip past Stanley, into Sunbeam and on the Salmon River. Doug and Nancy (Weekes) Fenn and their sons Sam and Benji (also veterans of the Overspeed Hockey camp), who own and operate Sunbeam White Otter Outdoor Adventures, are just the most humble and gregarious folks you’ll ever meet.

What did we see on the rafting trip? Deer along the riverbank, an osprey grab a fish and fly up to its perch, an eagle, tanagers, merganser ducks, Canadian geese, antelope, sandhill crane, torreys, an elk herd and all kinds of salmon jumping out of the water. Seeing my wife, Heidi, courageously jumping into the Salmon River off “The Rock”, from 12 feet above the river was priceless. 

Getting to golf and fish with my son was certainly a highlight of the trip for me. Visiting our Sun Valley hockey family and friends is always a treat as well. My wife and son left Monday as our second week of camp began. Unfortunately, my wife’s first flight was diverted to Cedar Rapids, Iowa because of storms at O’Hare, and as of this writing it’s 50-50 if she makes it to Chicago and eventually to Pittsburgh! Did I say I promised her adventure in retirement?

As my ninth season of teaching at Overspeed Hockey camp in Sun Valley ends later this week, my own adventures continue. First, I will be flying “home” to Pittsburgh on Saturday to spend a little more time with family. Then I’ll be driving “home” to State College to visit friends and to play golf in the Tim Holdcroft Memorial Tournament at Toftrees. We’ll work in a side trip to Danville, to see my wife’s family and eventually spend a day with our oldest kids in Washington, D.C. before finally returning to Sun City just in time for the start of senior softball.

Oh, yes, the adventures of this “retiree” continue!