Pending.......

Just before we were getting ready to leave Maumee Bay State park for the Shafer’s event, we received another offer on the house that did not seem to hold must promise, but in the end after some back and forth we decided to go forward with the sale. The simple fact is the market is bad and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.

Once all the inspections and other hurtles were completed, it was time to get serious about getting ready to move out of the house after nine years. Now for some folks that may not seem like a long time, but it is, in fact, the longest I have ever lived in one house in my entire life. On top of that we are planning on radically changing our lifestyle for the next few years to full time in our motorhome. This means it is time to dispose of many items we have collected over a life time. So we have been sorting and debating what goes and stays. There have been many trips to various charity organizations and pushing our luck with the trash removal folks.

With 7 days left to closing we are about 90% ready and feel it is okay to take a break now and then to smell the flowers (literally) at the local park. We also happened upon a local classic car show and enjoyed an afternoon of imagining how many garages we would need if collecting cars were to be our next hobby. There were two at the show that got me started in this thought process. One was a wonderfully restored 1965 Ford Galaxy 500 that was offered for sale well below book value and a 1966 mustang that was exactly like my very first car.

For now, we are looking forward to selling the house and getting back on the road and seeing more of this great country.

Shafer's Show and Tell

On Friday July 25 we moved our motorhome from Maumee State Park to Delta, Ohio for the annual “show and tell “at Shafer’s, the dealer where we bought our motorhome in 2006. On the way we had to stop at Freightliner in Toledo for a recall. They took care of us in an efficient manner. We arrived in Delta in the early afternoon, and many coaches followed. We counted 9 in total, so we had a nice crowd.

Shafer RV was having an open house on Saturday and Sunday. Our Winnebago club is sponsored by the dealer, and in return we help them out with serving the refreshment and sharing our experiences with future Winnebago owners. The ice cream machine is always a hit.

We volunteered to be wagon masters for this weekend, and we had some additional duties. We drove to Archbold to find a farm stand and bought 65 ears of fresh corn. We did not have the right equipment to cook this in the usual manner. Thanks to Diane and Chuck, the corn was done right on time and delicious, but it caused some stress. We cooked lots of baked potatoes, and as is tradition, the Shafer family provided us with the steaks. We had a great dinner.

At night we sat around the motorhomes and exchanged stories all about our travels.
On Sunday afternoon we all left after a great weekend get together.

Schedel Arboretum and Gardens

While at Maumee Bay State Park, we made a trip to Elmore, Ohio to visit the Schedel Arboretum and Gardens. This was formerly the private residence of a couple very much into gardening and travel. In 1991 it was opened to the public after the property was acquired from the estate by a newly formed foundation. The gardens are in wonderful condition and luckily for us, they were at the height of bloom. There were many staff and volunteers busy tending to the gardens needs. I hope these pictures speak for themselves.

Maumee Bay State Park

24 July 2008

We spent a relaxing 10 days at Maumee State Park on the east side of Toledo. This park is located at the shore of Lake Erie and has a large area devoted to recreation and preservation of natural resources. There are also lots of opportunities for biking and hiking. Our first weekend in the park happened to be kite weekend and we were happy to take part. There was a good turnout and a reasonable amount of wind. Between the kite flying and bike riding we managed to meet with some friends for lunch and have a dinner around the campfire with other friends. This was great fun but required us to brave the one truly large negative of this park-many mosquitoes!

Since there were many days of very hot and humid weather, we also spent a lot of time just relaxing in the coach. Oh yes and we found a new Ice Cream establishment, very nice.

A day on the water

After all the work around the house a day of rest and fun was in order. Finding a day free of threats of thunderstorms, we headed to the Air Base Marina and rented a pontoon boat for a cruise on the inland waters from Fort Walton Beach to Destin with a planned stop at the locally famous island (sand bar) called Crab Island. This place can be quite crazy on weekends, but was relatively quiet on this Tuesday.

It was a bright and warm day with a light breeze. There was plenty to look at along the way including empty barrier islands where you could land and enjoy the quiet, gawking at the multimillion dollar homes on the shoreline and the excitement of the entertainment district of Destin. Also evident was the destruction from several hurricanes in the last few years, with a good number of small vessels still resting where the storm deposited them.

We made it to Crab Island without incident and anchored and enjoyed a pleasant lunch admiring the clear green waters. We even managed to flag down the ice cream boat for a refreshing desert. There were rays, fish and nettles to watch while eating. Heather ventured in the water briefly, but the steady stream of nettles (jelly fish) drifting by made this a short lived adventure.

On the return, Heather handled the controls and navigation and we cranked the engine up to see what it would do. This is a lot different than sailing, but still fun.