Maumee Bay State Park

In an attempt to get back into the traveling mood, we are staying at the Maumee Bay State Park located just a short distance east of Toledo. It is a well laid out park with large campground, resort lodge, and many other amenities on the south shore of Lake Erie. It also has a large area devoted to wetlands, and preserving nature.
It is a great place for bicycle riding. We have been able to put in three days of traveling the park by bike. We have had a chance to explore the nature areas, see wildlife, and get a personal tour of some of the plant life with the staff botanist. I can only hope I can remember a little bit of the information that she imparted to us on this stroll through some of the more remote parts of the park that I am sure we would not have seen without out her. Certainly, we would not have enjoyed it as much without her knowledge.
Being a State Park, we enjoyed three evenings of good campfires and quiet talks. This trip got the travel juices going and we are now actively planning our next few trips. The first will most likely be to visit the Amish Country of Indiana.

Father's Day

Our last day in Florida happened to be Father’s Day, so Ryan and Heather invited us, well, really me, but Anneke could come along, to lunch to celebrate the holiday. We headed to Sandestin, Florida to a resort community which has an area modeled after a fishing village with shops and dining. It is called the Baytown Warf.

After admiring the yachts that we could not afford, we strolled the town and took in the sights and smells. It seems that the original inhabitants were quite large as the porch chair was a bit big for the girls. We enjoyed a good lunch and good company. Somehow, there is nothing more enjoyable than having your meal purchased by your children. I hope to enjoy this pleasure more in the future.

We headed out Monday morning for Decatur, Alabama for a planned stop to visit Anneke’s aunt and uncle. They are very nice people and we enjoy their company. Anneke says we should think of them as the Dutch B&B in Alabama. Again, we arrived with tales of drought and no rain for many weeks. Yep-today it rained off and on all day. I really am beginning to think we may have some kind of business opportunity here.

Relaxing in Florida

We have been lounging around Heather and Ryan’s home in Mary Esther, FL for the last few days enjoying the sun and their company. I have been fighting a cold and ear infection, so not in a big rush to get on the road again. Mindful of the old adage about fish and house guests, we will be leaving on Monday for parts north.
We hit the obligatory malls and outlet stores the last few days and enjoyed a nice stop at the beach with great weather, white sand, and clear blue water. It is not hard to understand why so many people flock to the Florida coast for vacation.
We will take in a play tonight at the local repertoire theater. These are fun events, almost everywhere you go. It always amazes me how much talent there is all across the country that is willing to put the effort into this form of entertainment in our new high tech world.
Tomorrow being father’s day, I am sure I will be overwhelmed with gifts..:)

Heading to Florida

Late Sunday we said goodbye to Aleister and the tired but happy parents. We were on our way to visit our daughter, Heather, and her husband, Ryan, who has just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq.

We had a great visit with our Grandson and parents. We also enjoyed our stay at the B&B and petting farm. On our last day in town, we had a tour of the farm with the owners and learned the history and foibles of the animal residents. It is a very nice place to visit and clearly the owners take great care of their charges and enjoy the interaction with the visiting families. We even got our names in lights!

Resaca, GA

Our trip to Resaca, Georgia was uneventful. We checked into a very nice bed and breakfast farm very near our daughter and son-in law’s home. It is a combination of B&B and petting farm with lots of activities for children of all ages.

It is a pleasure to stay in these surroundings compared to the sterile, somewhat bleak hotel we overnighted in along the way. With three rooms and lots of space, it is almost as good as being in the motorhome. Their web site is: www.littleriverfarms.com

Of course, we did not linger long, we were very anxious to see our new grandson, Aleister. Needless to say, we found him to be a beautiful child without any faults. The little guy is having some problems with digesting his food, so he makes these grimacing faces as he suffers thru the process. It reminds me of myself after an unusually heavy meal of too much spicy food. It is something he will quickly out grow, but I know not soon enough for his mother.

We will be here thru Sunday, putting a stress test on camera and new video recorder purchased for the occasion.

On a final note, the area has been under a severe drought for two years, with our host at the farm telling us that there has been no rain since January. You guessed it, on her first day here, there was rain. I really am beginning to think that we bring that kind of weather with us, where ever we go.

Back on the road

We will finally be back on the road after two LONG months back in Toledo. We did manage to get to a few wildlife areas and get our dental and medical appointments out of the way. Despite one scary medical issue, I am glad to say we finally got that all behind us. Tomorrow the motorhome will finally be ready for pickup from the dealer after seven weeks. Most of that time was waiting for a back ordered new window covered by the warranty. It was not an issue since we had other pressing things on our mind.

The really great news is that our first grandson was born on the 28th of April. It was a real drama for the whole 8 months of the pregnancy and delivery, but I am again glad to report that in the end everything turned out fine.

We will be heading to Georgia this week to visit the baby and proud parents. We are really looking forward to the trip, as we have been stuck here taking care of business-as they say- until now.

We have reluctantly decided to head that way by car for this trip, as there just is not enough time to ready the motorhome for the journey, but we are hopeful that this will be the restart of our traveling adventures.