Addison Oaks

Thursday proved to be an enjoyable day. We visited another Oakland County Park, Groveland Oaks. It is near Holly, Michigan, around 17 miles from Jeff & Amy. It is nice, but Addison Oaks is better. If we had youngsters, we might like Groveland Oaks. It is now, another alternative for us when visiting this part of Michigan.

We knew that Don and LuAnn Houseman were visiting with the Parkers for a few days starting this afternoon. Since we don't know when the grandbaby will come we decided to call Parkers and Housemans to find out if we could all go out to dinner this evening. We ended up all going out to eat at a great Chinesse restaurant. It wasn't exactly "Moe's on Monday" and the Hebens, Daileys, Mansfields and Toths weren't there, but we talked about you guys and all of our other Estero friends anyways.

After dinner we headed home. Charley had been left alone for most of the day and was really happy to see us.

Thousand Trails-St. Clair to Addison Oaks

Thursday found us resting for the day. Well if you believe that, you haven't been reading the blog lately. We don't let the old sod rest at all. It did turn out to be a rather peaceful day just to take care of everyday items though.

Friday found us on the road to Saginaw and Bay City. We called Bonnie and John and made the trip to their home. The roads for the most direct route.... I-69 then onto I-475 then onto I-75 and finally onto I-675, then surface streets to their home. Well, I-69 had some construction on it, then I-475 was down to one lane all the way. I-75 was OK. I-675 was another story. The bridge in downtown Saginaw over the Saginaw River was out so our travel was much longer than we thought it would be. We finally arrived and then it was into Bay City. Guess what .... the most direct route had a bridge out at Bay Valley, over I-75!!!We had a delightful lunch at "Old City Hall" in downtown B.C. Then it was on to Simmons Jewelry Store. Yes, I always love this stop...I got new backers for my diamond earrings, remember the story about my lost earring before we left Estero???? Well I got new backers and I can finally start wearing them again. Then it was back to Saginaw and the rest of the visit with friends.Our return trip we took old roads "thru the Thumb" and it was much better and a fairly direct road home..... NO Construction !!

Saturday we drove out to Ann Arbor. My niece and her husband purchased a home on a short sale. They were having an open house and we were able to attend. We arrived early and had lunch with my sister and her hubby then we were off to the open house. A great surprise was Greg, Lynn and daughters came from Illinois it was a total surprise for the Michigan group that they were able to come. It was a treat and of course the house was wonderful, big and lots of open space. For two people the house is 3400 sq. feet and the yard is 3 or 4 acres. Good thing they enjoy yard work!

Sunday, Jeff brought his two older girls out to our RV at Marysville. We got to have Maggie (8) and Lindsay (9 1/2) stay with us until Tuesday. We spent Sunday afternoon at the pool. What more can I say?

Monday we spent the morning taking the girls to Port Huron. They got to see the BlueWater Bridge which connects Port Huron to Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Maggie kept saying she saw Canadians. The St. Marys River is narrow here and Canada is real close.

The girls got to see a Great Lakes freighter (1000 feet long) and a retired Coast Guard Cutter. We found a small city park where the girls waded in Lake Huron. It was at the bottom of Lake Huron where the start of the St. Marys River is. The current is quite strong so they could only wade there. From there we took them to Ted's, a famous local restaurant. They are known for their coney dogs. Lindsay wanted to try one, Maggie didn't. She opted for a plain old hot dog. We shared a very large hot chocolate sundae. Then it was back to our campsite. They went

swimming for 2 1/2 hours, I got to sit and watch the whole time! The pool is closed at 4:00 for adult swim until 5:00 so home we went and had our dinner.

Later we went into Marysville for an ice cream cone then down to St. Clair on the river. the park is really great and we sat and the girls ran up and down the boardwalk for quite a while. Then it was home for the evening.
Tuesday we had to have the girls back home by 3:00 for Lindsay's dance class. We started the day out moving from Thousand Trails St. Clair RV Park to Addison Oaks County Park campground. Addison Oaks is much closer to where the girls live. We arrived early and got to go to the lake where the girls went swimming. All of our grandaughters really love the water and love to swim. I went back to the motor home and packed a picnic lunch which we ate by the beach under a tree. Finally, it was time to get back to the motorhome so the girls could get their things packed for the short trip home. We really enjoyed having the girls with us for a few days time....but they can really wear us out. We have enjoyed the time we've had to get reacquainted with our wonderful grandchildren.

Wednesday we called Tom and Katrina Parker. They didn't answer so we started the laundry. Katrina called back and we agreed to meet for lunch at the local Olive Garden. It was great to see friends. After lunch we planned on going to Jeff and Amy's ....but Tom wan't feeling well so we thought we should go home instead. We don't need Amy getting sick at this stage.

I know all of you were told that this would be the day our grandson would come. Well, the doctor told Amy a week ago she could not be induced until she was a full 39 weeks along. That will be Monday, August 2 so we are all still waiting. I know that she would prefer this "man child" to come NOW....but mother nature still takes her time. We will keep you informed, but for now it's wait and see.

St. Clair, MI.

Saturday morning we awoke to a beautiful sunny, warm and clear day. We hurried to Port Huron (about 15 minutes) so we could watch the boats leave the Black River and head out into Lake Huron for the start of the 86th Annual Port Huron to Mackinac Island Sailboat Race.

There is a great lineal park right along the St. Clair River right under the Blue Water Bridge to Canada. That's where we went and were treated to many boats heading out.

Also saw a couple of Great Lake freighters about 1000 feet long downbound in the river. At this point in the St. Clair River Canada is less than 1/2 mile away. The US and Canadian Coast Guard cutters follow the fleet up Lake Huron to the end of the race at Mackinaw Island. It is a special site to see. After about an hour and a half we headed back to camp. Really glad we got to do this. It is so different watching from shore than when Tom raced all those Port Huron to Mackinaw races. A fun way to start the day.

Sunday Jeff and Amy asked us for dinner so we headed to Lake Orion. We arrived a little early and Jeff helped Tom with his computer. He also helped me with my Ipad.

Gad zooks it's terrible getting old and needing help with computers, just glad that our sons are able to help us.

Monday morning we left St. Clair early and headed west to Plainfield, IL. We were going to visit with Greg and Lynn. It did not work out for us taking Lindsay, so it's just the two of us and Charley.

We arrived in the early afternoon and had a get acquainted time for Brady and Charley. They ran in the fenced back yard and had a great time. Of course Emily and Allison happily played with two dogs instead of one.

Tuesday I took the girls shopping. I also found a pair of shorts for Tom as he forgot an extra pair and he won't wear the same pair for 3 days in a row. It is always an enjoyable visit with Greg and Lynn. We don't get to see them too often. Maybe that's good. Then they can't say we are soooo close that we interfere. Anyhow our time was well spent.

Wednesday we left the Plainfield area to head back to the motorhome in St. Clair, Michigan. Our trip to Plainfield was I-94 all the way. Our return trip we traveled up the Michigan coast and headed to Grand Rapids, then Lansing and on to Port Huron. It was a fun way to travel and
revisit some of the sites we use to see when we lived at the lake house in Michigan. Anyway you put it, we had a wonderful time.

Totem Pole RV to TT St. Clair

Tuesday, we packed up and headed up I94 about 100 miles thru Detroit toward Port Huron, MI to our Thousand Trails - St. Clair preserve. That will be "Home" for the next 2 weeks. Actually it was a pretty uneventful trip. Kate got a chance to sit in Grandmas' seat for awhile and look out the giant windshield as well as be belted in on the Futon, playing with Charley.

I think Kate really likes Charley. Katie once again reminded us that we should take her to the pool. We headed to the pool, it is open, it is cold, it is not heated and it is colder than my threshold of pain. Katie played in the pool, and I sat on the edge with just my lower legs in the water. Katie would really like me to get all the way in the pool, but it is a definite "NO GO".We cooked hamburgers out on the grill, and Katie got her corn with her burger for dinner. Afterwards we had to take her home. We r

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lly would like to keep her for a few more days. We started out for her home and she started singing to us, and of course talking. When we finally arrived at her home she was happy to see Mom, Dad and her one sister Lindsay, who was at home.

Wednesday we take the day and head into Port Huron, Charley needs a spa treatment. That means, a haircut, shampoo, nails filed etc. We got the car washed, dropped Charley off at the Petsmart and went north to Lexington, MI. to the home of Peg and Bill Heine. The four of us went out for lunch, picked up Charley and caught up with other friends. Bill now has a golf cart so Bill and Tom went for a ride,

then Peggy and I get to went for a ride. Then, Charley gets her ride with Tom, then Bill takes her. Tell me she is not spoiled.
Peg made a

delicious roast beef dinner. Afterwards we headed home.

Thursday finds us at the local laundromat. The water here in the campground is terrible, lots of sulfer and iron in the water and all our whites will turn brown and stay that way so we go into town to the laundromat. We bring the clothes home still damp as we can use the dryer at home.

Friday, we will be with Peg and Bill this week-end for the Port

Huron to Mackinaw race festivities. The night before in downtown Port Huron is one long, drunken party and we will be going into town for that.

Bill and Peg's son Bob and wife Jackie live right on the Black River across from where all the boats dock before the race and they invited us to come and party with them. Then if the wind is right (any Easterly component) for Saturday, race day, we will go back out to Peg and Bill's because the boats come right offshore by their home, if not they go to the Canadian side of Lake Huron. This is a wait and see type thing.

Petersburg, MI.

Friday morning and we are headed westbound towards Michigan.........the weather promises to be wet, hot and steamy. Welcome to Michigan where the weather changes by the hour and the skies are dark and overcast......this is why we left this state. Well, not the only reason but one of them.
We arrive early at our campsite and the campgrounds are all ready quite full....summertime in Michigan is like that! We know we must find a store so we head into Monroe to a Meijers. It isn't real close about 15 or so miles.....but we have waited to buy groceries so off we go.

We call and let our kids know we are in Michigan. Tom met a young couple, Craig and Michelle.....they remind us of how we were when we were their age. We end the afternoon with them. After we eat a dinner at home, we go back to their campsite for an evening bonfire they invited us to. What a nice couple.....just into camping.

Saturday is my 65th birthday. I didn't want to do much, just lay around and take the day easy. My younger sister, Marilyn and her husband Paul wanted to come down from Ann Arbor to see our motor home tonight. then we went to Tecumseh for a nice birthday dinner. The restaurant was fine dining and we really enjoyed ourselves.
Sunday morning we told Jeff & Amy that the tall ships we were going to take our grand-daughters to Thursday afternoon would not allow us to have enough time to get Lindsay back in time for her dance class, so we scraped that idea.

Then we get a nice idea....why not meet Jeff and Amy half ways between our home and theirs and bring Katie to the motor home for a few days. We met at Ikea, had a lunch and then we get Katie for a few days time. Lindsay has dance and Maggie is already at her other Grandmas' in Grand Rapids.

On our way home we stopped at Cabelas and shopped........Katie was amazed at all the animals in the store. Cabelas is a lot like a Bass Pro Shop so I took a couple of photos with Tom, Katie and a stuffed Moose. Katie is the grand-daughter who talks all the time. We are treated to talk, songs and a running motor-mouth all the way home. Katie was thirsty so we stoped at a McDonalds for a drink and she wore some energy off on the play yard. Wish us luck, we aren't use to having a 6 year old around......it's great to be a Grandparent!!!!

After we arrive home Katie wants to go to the playground. The playground has a castle, a train, a dragon and then lots of swings, monkey bars and the like.

Then Katie wants to see the beach so Tom and Katie walk to the beach, just to see it. Next thing I know I get a call Katie needs a towel, you guessed it Grandpa let her go swimming......good thing she was in her bathing suit. After a breakfast type dinner Katie talked Grandpa into taking her to the playground and going for a bicycle ride.

I think Grandpa and Grandma are going to be tired tonight!!!!

Monday morn we think we should find a Costco and do some shopping.......little girls like to eat differently than Grandpa and Grandma! The closest Costco is in Toledo, Ohio, so off we go. As we are checking out Katie tells us she is hungry and would really like a Costco hot dog, so we had an early lunch of hot dogs. When we get back to the campsite she reminds us we told her yesterday that we would go swimming with her. So after a brief rain shower (typical Michigan weather ... wait awhile it will change!!) off we go to the pond. This pond is cool, and the water is warm, I go in with Katie and Tom and a sunfish bies me.......drawing blood! I will not go in any longer! Katie and Tom splash along in ankle deep water. Then a young man about 13 years old runs into the pond and Katie yells at him "Hey Dude, be careful a fish bit my Grandma.". After awhile a group of kids are all playing in the water and Katie is having the time of her life. We finally get Katie out of the water and into the shower. She thinks our "outdoor shower" is a neat thing, but, this time though she gets the full treatment, inside, in the real shower, complete with shampoo and conditioner.

We want to go and see MIS. On our way to the raceway we stop in Tecumseh at a very nice British Tea House. I bought a cookbook of tea house recipes and a couple of trinkets for Katie. We drove out to the speedway and found out when the NASCAR race comes to Michigan International Speedway and what the costs are. We think of changing our plans once again so we could be here for the race. After a lot of discussion we settle on trying to go to Homestead, Florida in the Fall instead of MIS.

Jefferson, Ohio

Monday morn and it promises to be another hot, steamy sunny day. We have about a six hour trip from Watkins Glen to our new destination at Jefferson, Ohio. We are traveling on I-90 and there is really not much traffic. When we arrived at our 1000 Trails campground we asked the friendly ranger, Bob, if there are any 50 watt sites......ranger Bob took us to the only open 50watt site. It turns out to be a lovely campsite!!!

We went into town for dinner and Pizza Joe's was our destination.......and it was really good!!!

Tuesday morn the sun is up.....it is yet another hot, steamy day. What's a body to do? Sit and veg? We thought one of our a/c units might have frozen up from so much humidity. So our plans were put on hold for awhile. We turned the air off to see if that would solve the problem.......yep it did solve the problem. It was really to late to go any place so we read, caught up on doing some Quicken postings and pretty soon, I got bored.....can't let grass grow under our feet! I tell Tom that I am going looking for some of the covered bridges that our friend ranger Bob told us about. So the three of us piled into the car and off we went.

We found the first bridge and it was great.....then we took a small side trip to "Geneva on the Lake". It is right on Lake Erie, and turned out to be quite the tourist trap, go figure. Then it was off to see that second covered bridge. It was really something! At one point in time (1913 flood) the north shore of the river flooded and the shoreline eroded so much they added a steel bridge to the end of the covered bridge which makes it look a little weird. Then it's off to the third bridge, what a disappointment I didn't even take a photo there. It just was a plain old covered bridge. After the first two, it was just too plain.

After our covered bridge tour we hurried home to clean up so we could head southeast to Sharon, PA. for dinner. There is a really neat biker bar/restaurant there, "Quaker Steak & Lube". Back a few years ago Jack and Connie took us there and it was so memorable we had to go back once again. Tom had been there several times over the years "on company business", at Packard Electric and the Lordstown Plant. We just happened to hit the right night. It was all you can eat wings night. They had a buffet with salad and about 7 different kinds of

wings.....then you could also order any of their other wings that weren't out on the buffe

t, so we had a really great meal!!! Tom claims responsibility for 13 flightless chickens now. Just being at QS&L in Sharon made us think about the Mansfields, Hebens, Daileys, Whites and the Lees, all Ohioans and Pennsylvanians. Bet they are jealous as hell!!

Wednesday.....well today it's the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. If you haven't visited this

place.....GO! All our Ohio friends I can't believe you haven't done this! It's truly a lot of fun and it was worth every penny.....Jack and Connie it is cool! You aren't allowed to take photos inside the museum so we just captured a few outside and in the lobby. But it surely was a great day, enjoyed every minute. Didn't realize we knew so many oldies .... songs, that is .... not some of you guys!

Thursday another ho, hum day.....the same hot, steamy miserable weather. We headed into Cleveland again to visit the South East Harley Davidson store. We found the address on the " net".

This Harley store has Elvis' Harley, a 1975 Classic, we think. I took lots of photos and the interior of this store is so neat....a diner, an old gas station, boots store, Nick knack store front The diner is where we ate lunch. It was a really good lunch and the whole experience was something else. We really had a great time.

When we arrived home we picked up Charley and went covered bridge hunting once again. We found three more bridges. Then on our way back home we saw a neat railroad station......we finally found a road into it and took a tour, it was really neat. They had fixed up the old train depot and also had brought in many old homes and business', like an old school house, an old pharmacy the old Methodist Church, all the old buildings were in need of repair.....and they were trying to do the job. The gentleman whose wife is responsible for all of this gave us a first rate tour since we would not be around for the celebration this week-end.

I think Ashtabula county and Jefferson are trying to reinvent themselves into a place where tourist would like to come visit.....and what we have seen it could come true. A lot of history and neat things to do around here.

Still in Watkins Glen, NY

Saturday we drove into Corning and toured the Rockwell Museum of the West (we thought it was a Norman Rockwell museum before we went inside). This place is a museum that has many original artifacts from the Indians and cowboys. It turns out to be very interesting and full of American Indian artifacts. We got to see an Cochise's Indian headress and also his beaded buckskin shirt. They are very lovely and the art work is something else. In the museum I finally get to see a moose.......of course it is a bronze statue, but what the heck it is the first one we see that wasn't wood.

Nancy and Dale Evans, a real pair of Cowgirls!

Sunday is suppose to be great weather.....but we have been on the go so much so we take a day off. Yes, we stay put at the campsite and sit and veg....... amazing isn't it? We think it is a novel idea. That idea lasted just about an hour... we got in the car and drove to Elmira and went to a cemetary to find Samual Clemons last resting place. Remember Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer?

Note the bottle of bourbon and the cigar on the tombstone!

The Indy cars were racing on the road course at "The Glen" when we got back. We enjoyed the sounds......we aren't far (about 1 1/2 miles) from the race track. They were buzzing around the course like a colony of bees. We watched the race on television as you get a much better picture....the race course is not an oval but a road track and from the bleachers you only get to see a small fraction of the race. (The management at Watkins Glen Race Track is missing the boat in marketing. You can drive completely around the race track, outside the fences, of course. You can't get near their concession stands to buy souvenirs if you don't pay $55 general admission. There is only one shop in downtown Watkins Glen that sells stuff, but that is 5 miles from the track.

I think a NASCAR markets their stuff a lot better, and their race is better and more fun!!!

Monday is our day for travel. We let all the holiday people go home on Sunday. The day is warm, hot and sticky. We left Watkins Glen and headed towards Thousand Trails Kennisee Lake outside Jefferson, Ohio where we have a "free" campsite for the next four days. We arriveed about 2:00 and set up camp in that warm, hot sticky weather.

We had made a couple of calls to friends today. Good to talk to Connie, Jim and Joe. Also I spoke with son, Greg (Chicago). It was great to hear his voice. I spoke with Barbara this past week-end and son Jeff (Detroit) earlier this week-end. We miss friends and family, wish we could bring you all with us, but this RV may party a dozen or so, feeds four but it only sleeps two. Hope this finds everyone enjoying life and in good health.

Watkins Glen, N.Y.

We left Lake George last Tuesday......we were in Oneonta (oh-knee-on-ta), N.Y. We had a few relaxing days. We visited Cooperstown (baseball hall of fame), Tom's last remaining uncle, in Binghamton, met some interesting new people and sat around and realized. O.K. I know that sounds like we didn't let any grass grow under our feet.......but it really did seem like we were just relaxing!!!!

Tom's uncle John is 89 1/2 years old and seems to be getting a little worse since two years ago when we visited. Aunt Vivian is a spry 83 years old but even then she is starting to slow. Vivian tells us that John is forgetting things anymore...but when Tom called to ask if we could visit he was so excited he could hardly sleep the night before. Tom is his only relative who visits him and that is so important to older persons. Anyhow we were really happy to see him once again.

Our visit to Cooperstown.. you know, the museum and all the other stuff that goes with baseball!!! Anyhow Tom enjoyed and since this was our second visit there it was o.k. About 30 years ago we were here with our two sons and one of their friends. My how time flies.Then we met Charlie and Dotty!!! They are a hoot! They have been all over in their motorhome and have very interesting stories to tell. Sadly they left a day before we did. But we did manage to go out to dinner to "Vern's", a local restaurant, for Wednesday night buffet dinner. It was delicious and the stories Charlie told kept us in laughter.

Friday morning we left Oneonta.....Charley ( the dog) got me up at 7:05 this morning to a chilly 49 degrees. We loaded up the RV and headed out to an early start. We arrived in Watkins Glen about noontime and after a small lunch we went into Corning to the Museum of Glass.

This is some kind of interesting place. We learned all about early glass making and saw many artifacts from 2000BC to the latest on how fiber optics were discovered and made. We actually got to finger some fiber optics and also how glass is blown and this museum is hands on!!!

Tomorrow with luck we will tour another museum. This year we seem to be overloading with history and museums.