Trip Around Lake Superior

We left Jackson on Sunday to begin our trip around Lake Superior with Roger's sister, Marion & Dave and his brother, Bill & AnnaLee. It's nice to have traveling companions!  We stayed in Hartwick Pines State Park on Sunday night and then crossed the Mackinaw Bridge into the Upper Peninsula on Monday. Roger & I went for an early morning bike ride before we left on Monday. We are camping in a beautiful site right on the shore of Lake Superior in Munising now. It was 90 degrees yesterday - very unusual for the UP this time of year - Roger & I went swimming - well we waded out past our waists! The beach is sandy and the water is crystal clear.
Tuesday - We took the boat cruise along the Pictured Rocks National Seashore today - it is beautiful! Colored rock formations interspersed with pristine sandy beaches along Lake Superior's southern coastline. Lake Superior is bigger, deeper and cleaner than any of the other Great Lakes. The sandy beaches give the water an emarld green color - reminds us of Lake Tahoe.
Trivia question - can you name all 5 of the Great Lakes???
Huron, Erie, Ontario, Superior and Michigan
Sept 1 - It rained all night and early this morning. We left Munising and headed north in the downpour but it cleared and was a beautiful drive to Ashland, Wisconsin. We saw the first of many waterfalls along the way when we stopped for lunch. We are camped along the shores of the lake again. We had some excitement when we pulled off the road to wait for the others to gas up and caught a low hanging wire on the top of the motorhome! Got our attention real quick! Roger pushed it up with the extended pole he uses to wash the motorhome with while I pulled forward - no serious damage - thank goodness!

Sisters

My sister, Mel, was diagnosed with breast cancer about a month ago. Stage One - not in the lymph nodes. She had a lumpectomy last Friday and is doing well. She will have radiation treatments but no chemo. All good news after such a scary diagnosis. She is a "real trooper" but please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Lake Cumberland

We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful family and we all had a great vacation on the houseboat in Kentucky!
Roger & I picked up Megan, Heather, Samantha & Emily at the airport on August 10 and we headed for Yogi Bear Campground near Mammoth Cave, KY. The girls loved it and Samantha was courageous enough to hug BooBoo & Yogi – BooBoo first because he was smaller! Emily is following in Samantha’s footsteps – she loves to see Yogi and say “hi” and “bye” but won’t get any closer than about 6 feet! The heat and humidity were oppressive (thank you Roger for our third AC unit!) so we spent a lot of time in the pool and on the water slide. Heather rented a golf cart which Emily loved to ride in – she giggled and clapped her hands when she got in! She is talking more & more every day!

We left Yogi on Friday and went to Lake Cumberland State Park, near the marina in Jamestown, for Friday & Saturday night. Our campsite was near the swings and Emily loved them cried when she had to get out! The rest of the family arrived later on Friday and on Saturday and stayed in cabins in the park. We boarded the houseboat on Sunday around noon. It was huge and beautiful – 8 bedrooms; 2 refrigerators; 3 1/2 baths; a bar; a hot tub and a two story slide with plenty of room for all 15 of us! We laughed; ate; drank; played cards & games; went swimming and floated on our rafts; competed in the “Eddy Olympics;”  had Karaoke night;  played with Judy’s 2 jet skis and overall had a great time! We had to return the boat on Thursday morning, stayed in the park until Friday and then everyone headed home. We took Kyle Lasich, Kyle, Heather & the girls to the airport on Saturday and they headed back to Houston and then on to Kuala Lumpur. It was a little (just a little!) easier to say “good-bye” knowing we are going to Malaysia in December.

We drove to Howell, Michigan on Saturday and had dinner with Jay, Kim, Ryan, Dave & Marion at a great BBQ place. We stayed overnight and enjoyed their hospitality for a leisurely breakfast and now we are in Hideaway Campground near Jackson for some ‘R&R.” We need to do laundry, clean and reorganize. The silence is deafening and we miss little voices waking us up in the morning.
Today, August 22,  is our 41st wedding anniversary and we couldn’t have celebrated any better than with our family!

Yogi Bear Campground

We are having a great time at Yogi Bear CG! It is so good to have all 4 girls with us! This year was a first - Samantha actually hugged BooBoo! He's smaller than Yogi. Emily is following in her sister's footsteps and loves to wave and say "Hi" and "Bye" but won't go near them!

We can't believe how much Emily is talking - her favorite words are "no" and "mine." She loves her PaPa but can't say Tima yet. We rented a golf cart and she begs to go for a ride - sits in front next to PaPa and claps, giggles and says "bump."

It has been hot and humid here - oppressive! Glad we have our third AC unit - it is working overtime! Supposed to cool off some next week - hope the weather man is correct!

Vacation Plans

Kyle, Heather, Samantha & Emily are in the States. They arrived in Houston, got their Mexican food hit then Kyle and the girls flew to Biloxi to see his family. Heather is spending a couple of days in Houston with her college roommates and then will join them. Kyle goes back to Houston to work next week. Heather & the girls will fly back to Houston and meet Megan and all 4 girls will fly to Cinncinati on Tuesday where we will pick them up. We will spend a couple days at Yogi Bear campground near Cave City, KY and then head to Lake Cumberland, KY on Friday. Judy & Mel leave Michigan early Friday morning and will pick up Kyle Liskow and Kyle Lasich at the Cinncinati airport and join us. Ray & Kirt are driving down on Saturday. Joel & Rachel are driving up from Dallas on Saturday and picking Carlos up at the Nashville airport. The gang will finally all be there! We board the houseboat on Sunday at 1:00pm for our "cruise." We are on a countdown!
A family in Judy's neighborhood had a 5th wheel camped in their driveway and several cars parked all around. Many adults & kids in the yard, obviously a family reunion, with a big sign that said "CAMP CHAOS." We should borrow the sign!
The last time I talked with Samantha on SKYPE I asked her if she was bringing her doll, Lara. She said "Oh, yes" I said "Does she like to fly on the airplane?" Samantha said "Yes, but I have to hold her very tight because she gets scared during blast off!"

Tractor Drive

The 7th Annual Tractor Drive took off this morning. They leave Friday morning, camp out on Friday night and return Saturday afternoon. This year they are "touring" Hillsdale county - many rural roads and Amish farms in the area.  Roger loves it - you can take the boy out of the country but not the country out of the boy! There are a few women drivers but mostly it is Grandpas, Dads and sons having a good time together.
You see all shapes and sizes of tractors and trailers. Here's a few snapshots of rural America at its best!

Mom & Mary

Mom & I enjoyed a nice visit with her cousin Mary, and her daughter, Sharon, this afternoon. Mom and Mary are first cousins but lived together all through high schooal so they have a "sister" relationship. Neither one of them can drive anymore so most of the time they talk on the phone. Sharon is here from Alaska for awhile so, today was a great day for them to play "catch up" and for Sharon & I to hear about their younger years.