This statue now sits outside the Memorial and is entitled Jesus Wept. The upright pillars represent the victims of the bombing. 

Too Windy

The agenda this morning was that I was going to do some gentle water aerobics to loosen up and then we were going to drive to Catawba to take the ferry to Put-in-Bay to do some exploration on foot.

The aerobics were done and the drive along the Lake Erie shoreline was very enjoyable due to the attractive new and older homes lining the shore. Denny and I both agreed that a lottery win would allow us to purchase a summer 'cottage' here and that we would seriously consider it. The area is close to larger cities but still 'small town' in nature and of course the cost of living in Ohio is much less expensive than in other areas of the country. It's just one of those games we play.

Upon arrival in Catawba we saw that the winds had whipped up quite a froth and chop on the lake so we decided to pass on the ferry ride. Denny is not a good sailor so we decided that visiting Kelley Island would happen another time. Instead, we continued the driving loop of Rt. 163 to visit the Mon Ami Winery to ask about Catawba wines. The lady behind the wine counter explained that the Catawba grapes produce a sweet wine, so we decided to taste test their Reisling and Shirah wines made from imported California grapes . Both were worthy of the purchase of a bottle or two, no arm-twisting necessary.

The rest of the day was spent on minor rig maintenance and relaxing. We're still adjusting to being back home and enjoying it. After dinner we tried a mile-long walk to see how my knee would handle it and I discovered I could make it the entire distance without limping so the knee is getting stronger. We used the walk as an opportunity for some picture taking also as seen by the photos I've included below. Tonight we'll walk to the river and get some pictures of that end of the campground.

Enjoy your weekend!

Denny tried to herd this pair of mute swans into the pond so I could take a picture. They were not amused.  

The male half of the pair was very protective of his mate once he got into the water as you can tell by the raised wings. 

The swans thought we were going to feed them. I wonder if they like kitten food? 

The waters of the ponds at Erie Lakes RV Park are very clear as you can see by these bluegills hoping to be fed. 

A hungry bluegill-where's my fishing pole? 

The Marblehead Lighthouse

Poor Denny-for yesterday's sightseeing trip I was able to combine a lighthouse with geocaching. He geocaches with me simply to humor me, because a bored Linda is not a fun Linda. The funny part is, is that he's very good at finding the hidden caches which is better for me at the moment since my knee isn't up to scrambling over rough boulders at the moment.

Marblehead, Ohio is a short drive from Port Clinton traveling on Ohio 163. It's a small town, but you could keep yourself occupied for a few hours visiting the Johnson Island prison museum (we passed on that this day) and the small shops in town. There are several restaurants and Brown's Dairy Dock makes an excellent raspberry shake and chocolate malt. (Yeah, yeah, we're supposed to be dieting.)

The Marblehead lighthouse was built around 1819. Its base is 25 feet in diameter and the interior walls at 5 feet thick at the base. Originally the lighthouse was 50 feet tall but another 15 feet was added to it much later. When built, the beacon consisted of 13 whale oil lamps that had to be lit each night. In 1858 these were replaced by a single kerosene lantern whose light was amplified by a Fresnel lens. The next improvement was the addition of a clock-like mechanism that rotated the lantern to create the appearance of a flashing light. The mechanism had to be wound every three hours during the night to insure the lantern continued to turn.

In 1923 the kerosene lantern was replaced with an electric light and eventually the Coast Guard assumed responsibility for the maintenance and operation of the lighthouse. The Marblehead lighthouse is the oldest continually operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes and you can tour the lighthouse itself, as well as the keeper's house on the grounds, from 1-5 PM daily. Take a picnic lunch, find a seat on the boulders on the shore and enjoy the view of Lake Erie and the Cedar Point Amusement Park in the distance. It's a nice way to spend the afternoon.

Marblehead Lighthouse, still functioning today. 

The second lighthouse keeper's house for the Marblehead lighthouse. The original lightkeeper's house is a couple of miles down the road from the lighthouse which is quite unusual.  

A bonus to visiting the Marblehead lighthouse was a geocache on the grounds. This was the view from both of them. 

The "Big Chill" geocache is hidden near this small city park with a fishing pond near Marblehead, Ohio. 

We picnicked at a small pull-over with a great view of Lake Erie and Cedar Point Amusement park/Sandusky. 

These are Cedar Point amusement park's roller coasters seen from across Lake Erie. 

Peggy's Puppies

Peggy asked me to vote for her puppies at this website. Lots of cute pictures if you like animals.

Up and At 'em

Things have settled down a bit at our casita.

Error messages from our all-in-one printer were solved by a trip to Wally World and the purchase of new print cartridges. On the way home we stopped at a farm market for more of Ohio's wonderful sweet corn and fresh peaches. Yum! We love summer! Of course, we had to balance that healthy stuff with Denny's freshly baked cherry-rhubarb pie because we wouldn't want to overdo on our intent to eat healthier and get back to an exercise program. You can't just jump into these things.

Patches is decidedly cramped here after having an entire house to roam in, but she's adjusting and spends a lot of time looking out the windows at the birds and dogs. There will be no going out on a leash here as there are lots of young children driving around in golf carts that would spook her in addition to having to worry about the dogs. She hasn't cried to go out like she did at my mother's house-I think she realizes that it's not as safe out here as it was back there.

All in all, things are going better and we're okay. Thanks to those who dropped a line--Monday was just one of those small boulders in the road of life. We tripped, dusted ourselves off and got back up. It's very rare for us to have a really bad day and our anticipation levels were so high to know we were finally on the road again and resuming our lifestyle that having all that happen threw us a bit more than it normally would.

I think we're going to do some exploring today. It's time to see a lighthouse or learn some local history or discover a geocache or even perhaps all three. Because it's going to be a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

A Disastrous Day

The day started fairly well; we had a lot of items and bags still to load into the truck to take to the rig, but after fixing a good breakfast for my mom and ourselves we were finally on the road at 9:15 AM.

Normally we avoid the interstate highways unless we need to get across the country quickly, but today we were anxious to get set up and settle in for the week. Perhaps that was our first mistake. The route we took off I-75 was all new to us and there was a poorly marked detour which caused us to do some circling around and back tracking. That should have been our first clue that things were not going to go well for us. We missed the turn off to the campground as there were no signs advertising the campground and the road sign was very small. Strike two. After stopping at the security guard's hut to check in and get our site we were directed to Section A. Section A's entry way was blocked off by traffic cones and the next turn was a 'No Outlet' street. Strike three and Denny started losing it. Very difficult to turn around and we almost hit a post. This is not looking good.

We entered at Section B and it appeared at first that each section was independent of the other with no connecting drive but I finally spotted a cut-through and got us to Section A. The sites are all pull-throughs and we got leveled and set up fairly quickly. Denny was working outside getting very sweaty due to the heat, so I reminded him that we had no ice yet so he had to run up to the campground store. That was the ball game, folks--Denny was so distracted and out of kilter and out of the camping habit that he had put up the tailgate to the truck before pulling away from the kingpin hitch. Those of you with fifth wheels will understand. While I was inside the rig putting things away and setting other things out the rig suddenly lurched forward and through the closed windows and air-conditioning I could hear Denny swearing. He had bent the tailgate of our truck badly when it hit the king pin hitch as he pulled the truck forward. The latch lift handle to pull down the tailgate was jammed and it didn't look like we'd even be able to get the truck out from underneath the fifth wheel. Denny was finally able to pull the side of the tailgate away and the tailgate came down but it is ruined (along with our special graphics).

This is why you have check-lists, people. And follow them. Denny was in a hurry, he was distracted, he was hot and sweaty and miserable and angry and he JUST DIDN'T PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT HE WAS DOING. This is a very expensive mistake. A. Very. Expensive. Mistake.

Shall I add to it? Sure, why not? Our DISH TV service isn't working properly because the rig was in storage with the electricity off so the DVR couldn't update itself so we don't have our programming. Hopefully that will fix itself. The desktop computer had to be rebooted when the printer hiccupped and now it won't come on. Thank goodness for the laptops. The last time this happened Patches had walked across the keyboard and caused some strange lockup but the computer was fine when I turned it on the next morning. So we'll give it a rest tonight.

We were SO looking forward to being back in the rig and back on the road and this is just not a good start. But stuff happens. It's a part of life, we'll deal with it and go on. But for now, it stinks. Sigh.

Happy Trails.

Big Things are Happening on Lazy Sunday

Okay, the title was simply to gain your attention.

We're going to be busy today at the Braun reunion-we're scheduled to man the grills (chicken, metts, brats, burgers and corn on the cob) at 2 PM. The families are assigned shifts to ensure everyone takes their turn at cooking while the rest of the bunch is talking, laughing and having a good time.

Because the brood is big, comprised of 15 original brothers and sisters, 65 kids, 116 grandkids, and a whole new passel of great-grands, today's Lazy Sunday pictures of are of--drum roll-- big things. It was a no-brainer.

At 6'6" Denny is quite tall. This tire from a dump truck at a borite mine is HUGE. It is on display at the Rio Tinto Borax mine and visitor center in Boron, CA. You can't believe the size of the trucks that haul borite from the mine, which you can view at a distance. 

You can't have "big" without the Grand Canyon. I liked the play of light from the cloud cover in this shot. 

I was attempting to shot how much work there is still to be done on this monument to Crazy Horse so you can't get a sense of the size of it. Believe me, it's big. 

If you're going to do photos of big things then a shot of Mt. Rushmore is also required. I was trying for a different look when I took this shot from a crevice in a large boulder. 

Meet Mac the Moose, which is the mascot for the town of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Which is a great little town with some fun history (take the tunnels tours) and very colorful murals on the walls of the buildings downtown. 

In this photo Denny is standing near the base of a Saturn V rocket at the Space Museum in Huntsville, AL. It fits the big category, right?

Largesse

Somehow we always manage to leave Kettering with more than we had when we came. A new camera, new computer, a freezer full of goetta (a Cinci German breakfast food that is definitely an acquired taste) and fresh sausage from Stehlin's meat market, along with sour cherries and fresh-frozen rhubarb for my favorite pie. There's so much in my mother's freezer that we'll have to leave some of it and pick it up on the return trip in September, with the distinct possibility of having to leave some of that for when we return at Christmas. You'd think we'd learn. And then there's the new clothes, so that means putting aside some of our clothes in the rig, because that's the rule. Buy a new item, get rid of one old item. It's the only way to prevent overloading the rig and getting back into that habit of having too much stuff. Because we'll have some temporary new stuff like the exercise bicycle and weights that will be taking up a lot of room until I get myself back to normal (whatever that is) at which time we'll donate it to charity and be done with it.

Therefore, tomorrow morning before we head to Cinci for the Braun reunion part deux we'll be lugging bags of food to the rig so I can try to figure out how to put 20 cubic feet of food into 12 cubic feet of refrigerator/freezer. Denny may be making some pies sooner than he thinks. Which is a good thing. I'll just have to temporarily put a hold on those dieting plans. A true sacrifice on my part. Yep.

It Takes More Than Book Learnin' to be Smart

Unfortunately, some college students are not very smart.  This was in the morning newspaper. 

It will be a busy day today; I'll be picking up supplies and taking them to the rig in preparation for our departure.  It's definitely time to get out of here since Denny and I have both gained weight after eating all those favorite hometown fast foods and local goodies.  We've vowed to get back to our walking routine and I'm eager to start some stretching/strengthening exercises in a swimming pool as a change of pace from my regular physical therapy.

It is simply time to take our life back.

Bits and Pieces

Patches behaved herself at the veterinarian's office today; no demon cat behavior exhibited. Her stitches were removed without injury to either the vet, Denny or me although Patches did have the last word when she took a swipe (claws sheathed) at the vet. Just to let him know she could have hurt him if she so desired.

We turned on the refrigerator in the rig today, loaded some items and tossed Patches inside to see if she remembered her first home. No unhappy yowling, but it was semi-new to her so she was engrossed in exploration while I did some cleaning and straightening and putting away of the things we brought with us.

Tomorrow I'll hit the grocery store while Denny plays golf one last time with his buddies. I think Mom and I will hit the corn stand where they have a white corn called Avalon that's really tasty-we'll pick up a couple of t-bones and that will be a great meal for the three of us. Saturday and Sunday Denny and I will be tied up with the Braun family reunion-tons of Brauns eating, talking and laughing for 2 days. These upcoming two days will be enough Brauns to last us for the entire year. But we wanted to make this year's reunion because the senior Brauns (Denny's dad and Denny's aunts and uncles) are in their 70s, 80s and 90s (there were originally 15 brothers and sisters, but only 7 remain). It's a loud and boisterous gathering to be sure.

And the countdown to our next road trip has begun.

A Bit of the Past

As I was taking my mother to a doctor's appointment north of town we drove past the area where we lived when I was a toddler.  We were sitting at a traffic light at the intersection when we both noticed that the Park Row restaurant had been demolished and replaced by a Tim Horton's doughnut shop. 

My memory of the Park Row was that it was a nice restaurant with good food that both my first husband and then later Denny and I enjoyed.  The restaurant unfortunately went badly downhill when sold by the original owners.  My mom told me that I had actually gone there much earlier and that the Park Row was where I had my first Shirley Temple.  It seems that my parents and another couple that lived in the same apartment complex nearby would walk over to the Park Row to have dinner once a week.  One evening the waitress was so impressed by my good behavior (part good training by my mother/part fear of my father) and adorable-ness (which hasn't changed) she offered to bring me a Shirley Temple as a reward.  Apparently I thought I was hot sh*t after that (which also hasn't changed) because I had a "drink" like the grownups. 

I don't remember that at all actually.  I have two distinct memories from that period of living at the apartment complex.  The first was playing in the grassy common area between the two rows of apartments trying to catch lightning bugs (fire flies) and having one of them fly halfway down my throat.  I guess I would have been okay with that if it hadn't been for my father telling me he could see it lighting up my throat.  Aaarrrggghhhh!

The second memory was of the two boys living upstairs from us.  Their mother would baby-sit me occasionally and they treated me with affection for the most part, but they snookered me every time they caught me outside with a bag of M&Ms.  You see, they would pretend to be "doggies" begging for a treat so I would feed them the M&Ms and before I knew it, my bag would be empty and I wouldn't have gotten but one or two of them.  Sigh.  Yet I fell for it again and again, because I thought those big boys were wonderful. 

Mom and I had fun reminiscing as we drove through downtown Dayton where we gawked at all the changes that have been made.  There's something about the cocoon of the car that provokes intimacy and the sharing of memories.

They say you can't go home again, but they're wrong. 

A Great Day in Delaware (Ohio, that is)

Saturday one of our friends stopped by to help Denny take apart the roll top desk and move it into the van so Denny and I could haul it up to Darb and Net's house in Delaware. You definitely need to be a manly man to move that sucker because it is solid oak and weighs a ton. Even without my bum knee I wouldn't have been much help with the huge top section.

Once we arrived in Delaware Darb and Denny wrassled that puppy up to the second floor where we had a major confab about where the desk should be place. This involved some measuring and back-and-forthing but it was finally decided that the desk should go in the guest room. Okay, that's settled. Darb and Denny got it all up the stairs and into the room and all put back together, in spite of two wives, two cats and one dog all going in and out of that room at various times during the move. It looks nice in there, albeit big. Very big.

After relaxing a while, Darb and Net then treated us to a wonderful late lunch of chicken and steak shish kabobs, followed by a dessert of fresh fruit with chocolate dipping sauce and champagne. This had been preceeded by crudites with ranch dip and tortilla chips with pico de gallo. Wow! What a great meal, especially considering Net is still recovering from her kidney stone episode and Darb had had some type of stomach virus for the past few days.

As we sat and chatted in the living room, I looked around their house and was impressed with how nicely it was decorated and what they've done with it in the two years they have lived there. Darb laid the brick patio himself after some advice from his brother-in-law and Net has done a fantastic job of decorating inside. It hit me that the two gawky kids standing in formal clothes at the top of our stairway in Beavercreek waiting for me to take the obligatory Spring Dance picture have truly grown up to be responsible adults. Who are now talking about the soon to be newly wed couple next door looking like 12 year olds. Ha!

Darb and Net-you put on a great spread. Keep up the good work on the healthier eating plan as the weight loss shows already. Just be prepared for my famous Buffalo-style chicken wings when we hit town again in September-diets be damned.

The desk needs to go from my mom's dining room where we need to paint, to Darb and Net's house.

The end is in sight. Sorry Darb, couldn't resist that one.

Watch the overhang! The young guys get the heavy end.

Buddy has to check out what Denny is doing. We had lots of supervision going on for this move.

'Net and Callie supervise and provide moral support for the move.

They're getting closer!

Okay, the top is on the pegs and they're fastening it down. By george I think they've got it!