Time to Catch Up

Our trip to Michigan via Lime Lake RV & Marina began a day early. We had our appt. to be at Lime Lake on Aug. 31st, but we didn't need 2 brakes, only one & they had one in stock that worked on our trailer. Since it was late in the day & we didn't want to get stuck in traffic on the Peace Bridge between Buffalo, NY & Canada, we opted to travel up to Niagara Falls area on the American side & find a campground there. Nice campground, one of those easy in & easy out, but because of the tourist area, it was way more than we like to spend. Being only one night, we bit the bullet & stayed. It proved to be easier to cross the border at Lewiston/Queenston than the Peace Bridge. Thanks to an Ontario resident in our AZ park, we found the new way around Hamilton, ON too that made it easier than pulling hills on the old route.

Our trip across Canada was uneventful. As you can see, it was just a ribbon of roadway.
Getting ready to cross from Canada into Michigan at Sarnia. I never can resist those pictures of flags blowing in the wind.
A beautiful sight from the bridge. We had a l...o....n....g time tie look at the view. It took an hour to cross back into the USA.
Welcome to Michigan
And the temperature was..................Yup, 102 deg.!
We thought we were in diesel heaven when we got to Michigan too. Diesel was only $2.79/gal. Haven't seen those prices in AGES.

Since we got to Deb & Gary's on Wednesday, that meant it was Pizza Buffet night in Marlette. Gary was working late, so Deb, Aaron, Bill & I went for pizza. We took our time eating as it was getting mighty black outside. Sure enough, we got soaked. Not as bad as Aaron, as he was a gentleman & went & got the car for us & picked us up at the door. It just poured. Needless to say, the temperatures started to drop. Thursday Deb & I went to Sandusky & I got a tour of her new office building where she works for mentally & physically challenged clients. Very nice facility. Then after lunch, her, Bill & I went to the Mennonite store & got goodies. Thursday night & Friday found the winds picking up a lot. The rest of Deb's siblings & parents (my sister) started arriving Friday. It was cloudy & cold, but we all wanted to go see Aaron race in a Bump & Run Race. New to us all, but it sure was fun.

Here Aaron is getting ready to go.
Aaron's Car
Randy, Deb & Melissa As you can see by the hairdos, the wind was whipping.
Pick em up & move em out.
Stop the race - everyone was okay.
Here comes Aaron in #205 & his buddy, Chris, in #1229
We were all glad to get home where it was warm. It was after dark when we drove home & on unfamiliar roads we all were pretty cautious watching for deer.

Saturday we celebrated Deb & Gary's 50th Birthday. Again, a very windy, cold day. Darn weather in Michigan anyway!!! I made the birthday cakes on Friday.
This was Gary's.
This one Deb's
The Happy 50th Birthday couple.
Some of the gang inside the garage. In the picture, it almost looks like snow on the ground outside, but it wasn't quite that cold!
An nice end to a nice party though. We only got a sprinkle of rain, but there was a beautiful double rainbow. The 2nd one is faint, but to the right of the bright one.
Monday afternoon, we hitched up the trailer & headed for Midland, Michigan to visit with Bill's cousin Pat & hubby Jim. We decided to stay until Saturday morning to give us time to do a little sightseeing around the state.

Again, the weather wasn't very cooperative. On Tuesday we did some shopping for some craft supplies I wanted & Jim was looking for a new router for his computer. So we spent most of the afternoon doing that & visiting. Did I mention...........we ate our meals at Pat & Jim's & that Jim is the best cook!!! I wanted to take him traveling with us so he could be my chef. Everything he fixed was so delicious. I hate to cook, so this was a really great treat. Thanks Jim & Pat!

On Wednesday we visited Dahlia Hill. On this corner, they have landscaped the hill with hundreds of different varieties of dahlias. Pat said during the summer it was absolutely beautiful with color. It was still pretty, but a lot of the blossoms where on their way out.
Enjoy!
This was huge. Very different
We tried to go to the Bradley Home Museum & Carriage House for a tour, but it wasn't open on
Wednesday, so we decided to go back on Friday. We decided to go to the Alden B. Dow Museum of Science & Art instead. In case you didn't know, Midland, Michigan is the home of Dow Chemical & Dow Corning.
Jim, Pat & Bill are being very studious. I'd rather take pictures!
This was the most unusual carved little rocker I'd ever seen. Absolutely beautiful wood. It was all one piece.
Jim wanted to see if he could cut the rows of corn with this simulated tractor. He didn't do very well........it didn't even simulate! Sorry, Jim, better luck next time. Maybe it needed diesel or gas.
This little camera brought back some memories. I remember my mom & sisters having a couple of these.
The weekend before we were at the museum, they had a HUGE Lego exhibit. It was so fascinating. Wish the boys could have seen it. There was everything from a merry-g0-round, to a train, to carriages, cars, even trees; whatever you could imagine all built with some form of Legos.
The fire escape on this building was so real.
On Thursday, Pat had a meeting & Jim was going to golf. That was great because it gave them a break from us & we got to travel to Cedar Springs, north of Grand Rapids, to visit our friend Shirley that goes to our park in AZ. This was on the way......that golden rod grows everywhere. No wonder we are all sneezing!
It was so good to see Shirley! Like seeing a relative! And her neighbor at her RV park ended up to be Dale, whom I walk with in AZ!! What are the chances of being in the same park & neighbors? So I got to see two friends. Shirley gave us a tour of her little town of Cedar Springs where she grew up & raised her family. Her little town is called The Red Flannel Town. Besides these banners you will see.........
these little red flannel long underwear hanging throughout the town. Cute!
All the street signs are also red.
Just wanted to snap this picture to show Denny how he could remodel the Igloo!
She then took us on a tour of Rockford, MI. The town reminded me of Warren, only a LOT MORE ORGANIZED & UTILIZED!!!! All the store fronts had been painted, remodeled & were being utilized by some business or another! There were very few vacant buildings.
This was an old mill that was the best restaurant!! It was called Arnie's & it had a bakery inside! Oh the smell was delicious! And so was the food!
Shirley & Bill before we ate.
Inside of Arnie's
This is the Bike/Hike/Snowmobile trail that runs way up to the upper part of Michigan. Snowmobiles don't start until on the north side of town, but in the winter it is a very popular trail. A little wider than the bike/hike trail in Warren isn't it guys??????
This is a walkway on the other side of the river. It was beautiful.
A beautiful park all around the dam area.
Looking over top of the dam.
A fisherman fly fishing. Yes he caught one; measured it, but it wasn't a keeper.
Isn't this the most peaceful thing you could find in the middle of town. If you look closely (click on it to enlarge) you can see a older man & lady sitting in chairs on the area you can sit to enjoy the view, reading. They brought their own chairs & a book. I would have loved to join them!
Part of the park from the bridge you drive over into town.
This is an old building called Red Warehouse. It was a yarn, sewing shop.
This concluded our little trip to Marlette, Sandusky, Cedar Springs, Rockford & Midland, Michigan. We didn't get to go back to the Bradley Museum & Carriage House on Friday.

We received a call Friday morning telling us that Bill's older brother, Bobbie, was hospitalized in Erie, PA Hamot Hospital. He was diagnosed with lung & brain cancer. We decided to immediately pack up the trailer & head for home. We left around 11am & arrived in Erie, PA at 7pm. We got to the hospital to see him on Friday night after setting up the trailer in a nearby campground. We stayed until Sunday before coming home. It breaks our hearts to see such a gentle, loving man of only 71 having been struck so suddenly by this disease. The doctors feel he has had the lung cancer for awhile & it traveled to his brain & is making him a man we've never seen before. He is given 1 to 2 months. Please keep Bill & all of his family in your prayers. He is not able to be cared for at home & Hospice & the family are having a difficult time finding a place for him. His temperament is such that some nursing homes don't have the staff to handle him. We pray for God's intervention in so many ways.

Baring no immediate problems, we will be leaving our summer campground at Hidden Valley on Sept. 29th to travel to Virginia Beach to see our son. He is scheduled for eye surgery either Sept. 27th or 28th. We hope we can spend some quality time with him during his days of healing. After our visit there, again, baring no immediate problems with Bill's brother, we will travel straight to Arizona & fly home when the time for us to be here comes.

My writing will probably be sporadic at best, until we are on the road traveling.

So, until next time...................The Traveling Cardinal's