4 States in 5 Days

Lonni and "cousin" Sue

After breaking camp at Grand Island near Niagara Falls, we headed due east to Rutland, Vermont, on the edge of Green Mountain National Forest, and the home of Dave's cousin, Sue, and husband, Lonni.  Sue works part-time as a night manager at a retirement facility and is a published author of her first romance novel.  Lonni is a real estate agent and high school football coach.  Their secluded home is actually within the national forest and boasts a delightful garden.  Good food, interesting conversation, and a chance to do some routine maintenance on the Jeep.

D & J with Kay and Don

Further to the east, we entered the White Mountains of New Hampshire and set up camp at Twin Rivers near Bath.  We then wound our way up to the mountain top lodge of Don and Kay, dear friends from our years in Virginia. 

 From rocking chairs  on their deck, we watched a brilliant sunset over the Green Mountains of Vermont.

Rene and Jerry in Camden

The next day, we finished our eastward trek to the Atlantic Ocean, staying with friends, Jerry and Rene, near Lincolnville, Maine.  (This was our furthest distance from home:  2772 great circle miles, 6230 actual miles by car.)
Toured the coastal towns of Camden and Rockland and picked up live lobsters to steam for dinner.  Enjoyed breakfast and a boat ride on Norton Pond before bidding farewell to this clergy couple who intersected strongly with our former lives in Virginia.

We took a leisurely drive down the rugged coast of Maine, stopping for a fried clam and calamari lunch at Pemaquid Point before making our way to Massachusetts.

Parked in Marblehead

Spent the evening at the home of newer friends, Craig and Jan, overlooking the harbor at Marblehead, just north of Boston.  Craig and Jan typically spend winter months in Pacific Grove and visiting daughters in California, and this was our first visit to their "real" home.  We had planned to spend the next day (Saturday, 8/27) touring Boston, but the approach of Hurricane Irene led to alternative plans.  Read on to find out how we weathered the storm...

Niagara Falls

Pete, Mare, and Mary

Niagara Falls (August 20-22).  We stayed in a KOA campground in Grand Island, NY, conveniently located between Buffalo and Niagara Falls. After settling into our campsite, we spent an enchanting evening at the lovely old home of Pete and Mare.  Mary's arrival was an added bonus.  Just sitting outside with delightful conversation, in perfect temperature, eating a delicious pork loin meal, looking at the big urn fountain and the garden lights beyond, was so enjoyable. 

Spray from Horseshoe Falls

The next day we boarded a small bus for a 6-hour tour to the Canadian side of the Falls.  Highlights included: Journey Behind the Falls, where we could view cascading water from rock tunnel apertures, and then to a ledge beside Horseshoe falls; a bus ride down the river to the Moses Dam; a horticultural college with lovely gardens and a floral clock that changes design regularly; and last and best, the ride on the Maid of the Mist boat that goes beside the American Falls and into the misty curve of the Horseshoe Falls.  When I first saw Niagara Falls from a distance, I commented to Dave that they were smaller than I had imagined.  But on the Maid of the Mist, I was struck by how powerful and massive they really are.  There’s no better way to experience the Falls than from the bottom of them.

Maid of the Mist

Later that evening we drove back to Goat Island, which splits the American and Canadian Falls.  The island afforded yet another interesting perspective as we could see the top of the falls on both sides and stand right where the water tumbled over the precipice to the rocks below.  Fireworks provided a perfect ending to a perfect day!

Ohio Byways

Ed and Barb

We entered Ohio on Sunday, August 4th and stayed for six fun nights, visiting relatives.

Winton Woods Campground

(Cincinnati) We visited the first of Jane’s cousins, Ed, and his wife, Barb.  Although we camped in the Winton Woods County Park (a beautiful wooded spot), we shared many wonderful hours of conversation at our picnic table and other tables.

(Near Columbus)  Next stop was the horse farm of Dave’s cousin, Larry, and wife, Linda.  Special moments included visiting with daughter, Lindsey, at dinner and taking a greatly enjoyed horse trek through the countryside with Linda and family friend, Ron.

 

Linda, Lindsey, and Larry

Pecos warily eying Ebony

This is a building - see the windows?

Big Basket with Dave in front

Our mid-Ohio trip was particularly eventful as we played tourist for a few hours.  We drove into Longaberger country, first passing their corporate headquarters (check out the basket building) and then stopping at the Homestead where we watched the weavers actually making the baskets - the little ones, not the apple basket on display outside!

Our route then took us on windy back roads through Amish country.  The pace was slow as we came up behind horse-drawn buggies several times.  Just taking the time to enjoy this part of the country was a much-needed treat. 

Amish of Ohio

Hannah, Jack, Lisa, and Emma

(Near Cleveland)  We spent a couple of days visiting Lisa and nieces, Hannah and Emma, and nephew, Jack.  How good it was to catch up on their lives.  We even got to help celebrate Emmie’s 14^th birthday and see friends, David and Jean.

We realize what a special gift we have in this trip where we just slip into our loved ones’ lives for a few days and then move on. But we don’t forget our loved ones at home in California and Tucson either.  The grandkids travel with us along the way, as you can see. 

Grand-kid magnets in our Casita

Hoosier Holiday

We spent exactly one week in Indiana, crossing the border from Illinois at noon on Sunday, August 7th, and crossing into Ohio at noon the following Sunday.  We stayed 4 days in Valparaiso (near Chicago) with Dave's brother Mark and 3 days in Hillsdale (150 miles south) with Dave's cousin Carol and family.

Mark and Carol have several things in common:  besides being born in the same year and living in Indiana, they both married really nice people, have four children, and own very old, lovable dogs.  At both destinations, we enjoyed restaurant dining and outdoor grilling, drank beer, took long nature hikes, washed laundry, watched episodes of Top Gear (which Tanner co-hosts Sunday nights on the History Channel), and learned a new game called Corn Hole.  The latter is similar to Horseshoes:  three points are scored for tossing a bag of corn through a hole in a slanted board, and one point for landing the bag on that platform.

Eric, Rachel & Tucker

In Valpo, we had a brief visit with Mark's wife Pat (before her weekly commute to Delaware for work) and saw nephew Eric and niece Rachel.  Dave helped Mark mix, bottle, and sample different batches of home-brewed beer.  Jane found a dentist to repair a chipped front tooth.  We all visited the barber shop.  Just before we left, Mark led us on a vigorous hike at Cowell's Bog on Lake Michigan.

In Hillsdale, Carol and husband Larry took us to see the covered bridges and historic flour mills of Parke County.  On Saturday, we were joined by cousin Tim (from Indianapolis) and his children, Ronni and Sam, for hiking and picnicing at beautiful Turkey Run State Park.




Tim, Sam, Ronni & Jota



Larry, Carol, Jane, Dave



That evening after dinner, we witnessed the same severe wind and rain storm that collapsed a concert stage 60 minutes later at the Indiana State Fair. 

Larry asked if we ever forgot items at places we have stayed, to which we replied in the negative.  But as we departed Hillsdale, Dave dropped his cell phone on the side of Highway 63 when he got out of the car to clear a leaf from our windshield wiper.  The phone was soon found by a neighbor of Carol's and is being mailed to us in Ohio.

Six Weeks and Counting

We have been on the road now for six weeks.  Dave remarked the other day that it no longer feels like a vacation to him; it’s just the way we live.  We are nomads, moving every few days from the home of one relative to that of another.  Today we are in Valparaiso at the familiar home of Dave’s brother Mark.  There is time here to catch up on laundry, dentistry (Jane), financial accounting, and blogging.

(Hint:  All these pictures are small, but you can click on them to enlarge.)

Capitol Building in Madison, Wisconsin

Greg, Kathy, and Dave

Jane in front of  Jane the Duck

Leaving Minnesota we drove to McFarland, Wisconsin, near Madison.  Kathy (Dave’s cousin) and Greg gave us a great tour of Madison and the UW campus.  What an attractive city Madison is, situated between the Monona and Mendota Lakes!  The next day we drove north to the Wisconsin Dells for a memorable ride on the amphibious Ducks.  That evening, Kathy and Greg hosted a dinner with more cousins (Marcy and Jim with spouses, Steve and Mary Jo) as well as Uncle Ed and Aunt Ruth. 

Uncle Ed and Aunt Ruth

We stopped the next day to see Ruth and Ed again in their home near Milwaukee before turning south to Illinois. 

Ethan with Mommy and Daddy

In Illinois we made two short stops.   The first was to meet little ten-month old Ethan and see his parents Rebekah (our niece) and David.  Jane has been following the growth of Ethan on Facebook and we were eager to meet this happy fellow.  

Dave and Cousin Tom

From Wayne we drove to see Cousin Tom and his wife Debbie.  Tom gave us a thorough tour of Naperville in his jeep before heading to the Heaven on Seven restaurant for Cajun food. We attended  St. Timothy Lutheran's “church in the woods" service before heading off to Indiana.  

Minnesota Homecoming

We crossed the Canadian-USA boarder on July 25th and spent the next nine days visiting family and friends in Minnesota, Dave's childhood home.  The weather was warm and muggy, but still quite pleasant.

First stop was an eventful stay with Todd and Deanna in Sauk Rapids. Todd was playing in a charity golf tournament when we arrived.  Deanna was hobbling around on crutches while her Achilles tendon heals.  Their boys loved playing in our trailer:  Matthew (8) and twins Christopher and Alexander (5).  We fell in love with Karina (2), who joined the family over a year ago from Korea.  Smart as a whip, vocal as a blue jay, and energetic as a locomotive, it’s hard to keep up with her.  What fun we had with this family that we miss so much since they left Monterey.

Next was a shorter, but equally delightful visit with Dave’s cousin, Bruce, and the beautiful women in his life: his wife, Corey, and daughters, Ella (10), Claire (8) and Grace (6).  They are all balancing very busy lives with open dialogue and abundant grace.  Bruce is fearless when it comes to remodeling their lovely home, attempting projects that we would never consider, even with contractors.  Their home near St. Paul was a lovely stopover.  It was hard to say goodbye.

 We traveled on to the family farm of long-time friends, Roger and Marlys in Elysian.  Jane and Marlys took a carriage ride with the Red Hatters while Dave and Roger shopped at Cabelas.  Other highlights included Bingo at the American Legion (Marlys won twice), playing Dominos, watching X-games on TV (silver medal for Tanner), riding a motorbike, and pulling weeds in the tomato garden.

 Our last Minnesota stop was Rochester, where Dave was born and lived for ten years.  Aunt Marge and Uncle Mel treated us to a fine dinner at Michael’s, a famous restaurant near the Mayo Clinic (where they both used to work).  Then they gave us a tour that tapped into Dave’s nostalgia as we drove past his first home and school and the homes of his grandparents and great-grandparents.

On the way to St. Paul, we bought a new battery for the Casita.  Took a photo of the connections, but should have studied the photo before reconnecting the wires.  In our haste, we got it wrong and melted some wires in the Casita.  Fortunately, a neighbor of Roger and Marlys is a first-class mechanic, who soon had us on our way again.