We fly back to Michigan from Colorado and make quick visit to my sister Sue and niece Colleen in Windsor Ontario Canada – just in time to celebrate Sue’s birthday. Happy Birthday Sue.

Canada was still having wonderful weather!

Then we spent a night with Tom and Leslie Welbourn – good friends from the Cranville hood (in Clarkston). Also got to spend afternoon with their friends, Jane and Mike on Dixie Lake and Cecilia and Brad joined us. Weather is still wonderful. Then we were ready to pick up Wanda from Rush RV and head to Pioneer Park.

Lynn Wilton

Very good friend, Lynn, came up for a few days of relaxing, good conversation, eats, drinks and nightly campfires. Took a short hike around Lost Lake, and since no dogs allowed on beach not able to enjoy that. I really didn’t think having a dog through.

Annual Ty Sailing

Ty goes on his 32? 35? 40? Sailing trip with Jerry. Said he had a nice sail both days.

Fouchey Family Campout or Boys Weekend?

David, Sandy, Mark, Paul all came up for a 3-4 day stay. Lots of funny conversation, Chet reunites with his sister Maggie – who thought he was a brute when they were litter mates and still thinks so; food was so yummy and of course, the night campfires. Miracle of miracles – NO RAIN on the Fouchey parade! Most unusual. So, with the boys all united and lack of family members who usually come up, Sandy and I thought we were really part of “boys’ weekend”.

Thanks for the pickles and sauce, Mark. Already gone thru 1 jar of pickles and tomatoe juice. Yummy

Flies and fruit flies were everywhere when at Pioneer Park. I tried the cups with vinegar in them to no avail. Must have killed 100 flies with the trusty flyswatter. Then I went overboard and got that old fashion fly strip. Yuck

Kathy Fulgenzi joined me for the day! It is nice to get together with our friends from the college and first married days. Sadly, Jim, her husband, passed away on New Years Eve, but I am glad to see Kathy is powering through this very tough times. She is a very independent woman anyway. Enjoyed our time together – see you in Florida!

Go for the Color!

Pioneer Park closed Sept 24th and we really have no plans, we decide to stay in Michigan to watch the colors. Having no plans

Problems continue but this time self-inflicted

We pull into Holland State Park, acting like rookies we initiate a rig disconnect from the truck (means we pull the level but don’t actually leave the hitch) THEN we looked to see if level, we are not, and decide to put a board down to level Wanda off. That process requires Ty to move the rig forward and RIGHT OFF THE HITCH (because it was disengaged!). Can you hear the shouting and cursing – a guy about 10 sites down did! Luckily (if there is such a thing) Ty stops just before the hitch hits the tailgate and lands on a Tupperware box full of weights – which saved us but not before Wanda gauged out her front-end cap on the truck rails. Hello, Geico? We liked to submit another claim for repairs…

Holland State Park

I am sure if it is summertime being on an asphalt parking lot right on the beach would be awesome! Downtown Holland is very charming and being on Lake Michigan it is a Jimmy Buffet paradise. Chet is just a charmer and while we were are a pub for a drink another couple walks by with their pup and of course the two dogs need to say hi. Lou and John accept our invitation to have drinks with us and we had a great conversation. These types of conversations with random people are the best! There are times that makes me sad that these people just come in to our space and then leave just as quietly. But we made the most of our time together exchanging experiences and just having fun. L&J are out of Phoenix – but recently moved to Tulsa, sort of retired and traveling around Michigan for fall colors. Fun to meet you two – may our paths cross again!

Higgins Lake State Park

Many moons ago we were at this park and what I remembered was the bathrooms were in much need of repair. That was then and now is WOW! Have to say one of the best for a state park! Unfortunately, we did not take advantage of our 2 days here as we both got the Covid booster and flu shot and it took us down for a full 24 hours! For me it was like being in the twilight zone – achy all over, feverish, weird dreams and we both slept most of the day. Poor Chet – he was very patient with us but the day we left he was a wild puppy!!

Happy Anniversary

How could I forget that we celebrated 53 years of marital bliss on September 25. Got to be as we are still together after 4 1/2 years on the road and still talking to each other. Love ya Ty!

Just Rambling for Now

Ended the last 10 days at Ft Myers cleaning and waxing Wanda, making her all beautiful for the trip home.

If you are into that sort of thing, we discovered this product Last Coat which is a ceramic type wax (thanks Kit for the suggestion). Went on pretty easily and we only used about a 1/4 of the bottle for the whole RV.

Of course, I am not crazy about Ty climbing around up on the roof.

Interesting Finds

Had this Holartic Tree Frog visit us while camping and this little guy looks innocent enough but at night he has such a large croak that we needed earplugs!

Then can anyone explain how the footprints in the sand got raised? This was so weird I just had to take a picture of it.

As we travel around every once in awhile that we see some pretty wild and crazy RV’s like this one made out of a plane fuselage.

Manatee Springs State Park

Normally not a fan of state parks since they are so hard to get into, but the senior discount is ½ price, we decided to try. Of course, trying to get a reservation using the online system was futile, made a call and found they have 1^st come 1^st serve and we decided to chance it. Score! Site 29, a pull through that was huge. And even better was Manatee Springs being a hidden gem of a park. It is quite a bit north of Tampa on the gulf side on the Suwannee River. The water is cool which is a haven for Manatees. Early on morning we we lucky enough to see momma manatee with her cub baby. No swimming in the springs as an alligator has taken up residency. And the deer that bounded thru the campground during the day made us chuckle. If you are ever in this area of Florida or any of the many springs in Florida, make this a stop.

St George Island – Barrier Reef in Florida

Another score! This time it was a first come first serve, however, we did have to move on the 3^rd day because site was taken. Camped right on the Gulf, beautiful white sugar sand. Good hiking trails for Ty. Went into the town of Apalachicola many because I like saying it (Apa-lat-cha-cola) and because this place is supposed to have the best oysters around. They do – not being a big fan of raw oysters but like ‘em fried!

All about “me” in Apalachicola – cute little touristy town actually had its beginnings in the sponge trade. Being on the Gulf, this was a hub for the trade. Sponges were overharvested and therefore killing off the immense availability and use. Town turned to oysters, but along the coast they are a “dime a dozen” (I think meaning a lot!). Now, it is coffee and tee shirt shops, occasional clothing store, restaurants and one brewery. Parking is plenty, but as you can see by pic that some only think of themselves and park where ever they please.

Destin Florida

Powdered sugar sand beaches, plenty of golf if you want and best of all Cindy and John McCue! We spent 4 days over the Easter weekend and it was lovely. John and Cindy so graciously give their time to Habitat for Humanity, building houses. On Saturday, Ty helped them put down a floor in this huge tent in which a fun raising event was going to take place the following weekend. I was not surprised at the number of volunteers that showed up to get this tent ready to host this very large event of wine tasting, dancing, auctions and giving of money. Cindy was saying that this event grosses well over $100,000 of which is divided out to the many local 501c’s of Destin. In addition, all of the plywood, and wood braces, and carpeting are given to Habitat, which can fit into 5-7 houses. That shows you just how large this tent is. I on the other hand, did not lay down plywood, rather, I passed out water and other refreshments to the volunteers to keep them hydrated as it was a pretty hot day.

Final Goblet ceremony of the Doolittle Raiders

Went to Okaloosa Island to watch a massive fly-over to honor the famed Doolittle Raiders of World War II and to recognize the 75th anniversary of the U.S. Air Force. But it is mostly to uphold the Doolittle tradition which is:  the Raiders all had silver goblets (which are kept at Eglin AFB in a display case) with their names engraved on them, and they would gather when one of them passed, to drink cognac and turn over that person goblet. Col Richard Cole was the last remaining Raider who passed in 2019 but because of Covid the ceremony was postponed to April 18, 2022. We were fortunate to be in town and to watch the fly-over which was awesome.

About the Doolittle Raiders

….named for then-Army Air Corps Lt. Col. James Doolittle, who led the mission, are credited with boosting the morale of U.S military and the American public with an April 18, 1942, bombing raid on Japan.

The crews flew 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers off the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Hornet in the Pacific Ocean more than 800 miles to Japan, where they struck military and industrial targets before they either ditched their aircraft or bailed out before their planes crashed. Two of the 80 airmen drowned when their bombers ditched, and a third died while parachuting from his bomber. 

Just one of the bombers landed safely, in Russia — the Soviet Union was a U.S. ally at the time — and the crew eventually left the country under the guise of an escape.

Eight of the Doolittle Raiders were captured by the Japanese. Three were executed, one died of starvation and disease while in captivity, and four were subjected to more than three years of solitary confinement and brutality. 

The raid came just four months after the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that devastated the U.S. Navy and pulled the United States into World War II. With the raid, the Doolittle Raiders proved that U.S. forces could strike Japan by air, something that Japanese leaders had said would not happen.

A Slow Pace through Spring

From Destin we wander along the back roads of Arkansas and Missouri, staying at Cracker Barrel and Cabela’s. For those of you unaware, these places are like staying at Walmart only a little nicer, less busy, and for the most part safer. It is still “sleeping in a parking lot” make no mistake about that. When we left Florida, spring was well underway and we kinda missed it since it seemed like winter was summer for most of the winter (did I just do a double negative?) and it is mostly pine and palm trees so we didn’t appreciate spring much. But the ride thru Ark and MO we witnessed the redbuds bursting, the chartreuse green of the buds especially contrasting against the pines. The cherry, apple and pear blossoms, it was truly a gorgeous ride in the country side, rolling hills passing through the many small towns. Very enjoyable.

…the state capital, and a very grand building indeed that cost $200,000 to build and $2M to restore. We also went to the Legacy Museum and Peace and Justice Memorial Center, the nation’s first memorial dedicated to the legacy of enslaved Black people, people terrorized by lynching, African Americans humiliated by racial segregation and Jim Crow, and people of color burdened with contemporary presumptions of guilt and police violence. These are very sobering remembrance about the US’ dealing with slavery and racism. We haven’t evolved much as evidenced by all of the brutality that goes on today. Both of these museums are sponsored by the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) which is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.

Settled In

Wanda is stored, and we are at Amy’s till May 8th then we begin a series of house and dog sitting while we recuperate.

Shoulder Replacement Surgery for Ty went as planned (reason for going to CO) and doc said he really needed it. The ball and socket were full of arthritis and was so misshapen that it could not be fixed, rather had to replace. Good news was the tendons supporting the shoulder were intact and not too frayed so a simple “tie up”; he should recover well albeit it is a 12-week healing process.

Life is a Great Adventure, how you choose to take the journey depends on you!

Something Good to Remember About Last Year

Bob and Linda Nichols, Scotty’s father and step mom, were staying in Cape Coral near Ft Myers and invited us up for a few days. We told them about La Ola’s and they are dancing fools too so we all headed there for an afternoon of fun. Not to be outdone, we then headed to their favorite, The Monkey Bar, for some more dancing and karaoke. Linda and Bob sang a few duets, we danced and just had fun. It was quite the night, I could hardly walk the next day. Retirement is tough.

It’s a guy thing – I needed my hair trimmed a ¼” on an angle. Ty said he could do it, no problem. As you can see in the pic, the chopped off piece is more than a ¼”. Ty pleads not guilty (although he had the scissors in hand) contending that there isn’t that much difference between ¼ and 1” and it looked like an angle to him. Ladies?