October 11

Hi All;

Not sure where I left off, so will just start with the last couple of days. We
are now in Billings Montana. We are at a nice KOA resort with a beautiful view by a river. Last night we went into town to have dinner and landed in a restaurant with peanut shell strewed floors. The Texas Roadhouse with a wonderful steak dinner.
But in the morning we headed out to find a church. We had stayed in a Walmart the night before so we were pulling the fifth wheel behind us. I had brought up the list of churches in our Garmin and there was a Foursquare Church. We drove to it, but it was small, not a good place to park for us plus we were an hour and a half early. We had forgotten the time change and instead of starting at 9:30 like all the churches we had been to recently they were starting at 10:00. Checking our list again there was a Community Church. We drove there. It was huge with a huge parking lot and people arriving. It seemed the service started at 8:45 which was now. So we joined the throngs. Very good proffesional praise and worship. The Pastor was an excellent teacher preacher with a message from the book "Crazy Love". Not as annointed as last week, but good.
The funny thing was when we drove out the exit we saw we were across the road from the Mall where the Walmart was we had spent the night.
Driving here was to Billings was pleasant, sunny, warm and scenic. Beauty in it's own stark way. We had a bunch of wild turkeys cross the road in front of us. That was unique.
Well, I need to get dressed and ready to hit the road again. We'll be home soon. Then the work of unloading and catching up begins. I'm not looking forward to that. Pray for me.

October 2
Yesterday we left Ohio and now we are in Indiana, parked at an RV s\Sales
and Repair place. We have to repair the damage the blown tire caused. Will be here until at least Monday. They have hooked us up to water and electricity and they will replace our fender skirt.
We spent the afternoon going to garage sales. It’s Saturday so there are a lot of them. We don’t buy much though, a few videos and Tom bought an old fashioned crank popcorn popper.
We found two full gospel churches and one was recommended by one of the
garage sale ladies. It happened to be the closest one too. That was good.
October 3
Church was fabulous. This was a large church with great praise and worship. The leader had a really good voice. An African American lady sang a gorgeous solo. She really worshiped too, jumping, dancing and getting down on her knees. What an inspiration.
The Pastor’s wife led us in the hymn "My Jesus I Love Thee". This was
written by a 16 year old boy who had just gotten saved. I was so touched by the
Spirit I couldn’t sing or weeping.
The Pastor was a super preacher. He was humorous, down to earth, but
powerful. One of the humorous things he said after bringing up global warming
and how ludicrous it is in God’s world, "You can believe in global warming if you
want to, but I"m from Kentucky. We don’t believe that kind of thing."
His sermon was so good I ordered a tape of it. They are mailing it to me -
no charge. Nice of them.
Many of the licence plates in Indiana have In God We Trust on them.
Walked around this afternoon looking at the RV’s on the lot.
October 4
Up and out early so they can work on the fifth wheel. We went to Bob Evans restaurant for breakfast. It was excellent and inexpensive too.
Then we went back and had a salesman show us some of the RV’s .
We really liked the 30 foot rear kitchen Montana. Can’t decide, may just keep
ours even though it is so big to pull.
We drove to the bakery that was closed on Saturday when we got there.
Had lunch, bought bread and goodies, filled the truck with diesel and went back to the RV place. They were done with our rig so we packed up and let. Got away about 4:00 and settled at a Walmart in Michigan City.
Tom hooked up our new generator for the second time we had electricity
in a Walmart and were able to watch a movie and have lots of light.
October 5
This was a long travel day. We drove through the rest of Indiana, all through Illinois to Des Moines, Iowa. The colors continue although they are more
muted now. Still lovely. Today was mile after mile of corn fields. Truly the bread basket of America. We are in a lovely park here on a road called the Bread Basket. Only negativeis the sight we got isn’t very level. That makes it hard for Tom to set us up. They have wifi here, but for some reason I can’t get on the internet even though it says I am connected. So guess you will have to wait some
more. Toodleoo!

Finally got on today, October 7, at Valentine, Nebraska. We are in a camp. The weather is great, in the low 80's. We are still enjoying our trip even though we are anxious to get home.

I have made an appointment with the Orthopedic Surgeon for when I get home. I will probably have to do the surgery route since nothing has improved.

Will just try to keep you up to date on our progress across the country when possible. All for now.

September 24

Hi all;

Having trouble getting internet service so this is catch up time.

September 24, 2001
Go to Boston day. Everyone says, "Don’t drive in Boston". Well we are going to. We have our trusty Garmin to help us. She took us right to the Kennedy Museum and Library. It is a beautiful, impressive building overlooking the water
which is filled with boats, lots of them sailing on this beautiful sunny day.
It’s hot today, as high as 88 degrees, but it is comfortable in the museum.
We spent all day here and could have spent longer. There were two movies and four or five sections of exhibits with videos here and there. The only thing I thought was missing was more of Jackie’s clothes. They only had a couple outfits exhibited.
They covered his family and life before politics, his bid for the senate and campaigning for president, his years as president, and his legacy. It was wonderfully done and so interesting. He was a right wing Democrat. How we could use him now.
We left the museum and drove into downtown Boston to eat at a restaurant listed in the book "Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives" called Mike’s Place. Getting there was a nightmare, but the Garmin did it again only to find it closed at 3:00.
We arrived at 4:20. To say we were disappointed was an understatement.
Getting back home was unreal. It was right in the middle of commuter
going home traffic. I know everyone thinks our traffic is bad, but we only see something like this when there has been a major accident. Going into Boston was a literal parking lot, we moved out of Boston at a snails pace, sometimes only
5 mph.
Back in our town of Sturbridge we stopped at a Chinese buffet. It was quite good and saved trying to figure out something to make at home.
We really are enjoying our time here in Brimfield. We are kept busy with things to do every day. Tomorrow we go back to Old Sturbridge Village and Sunday it’s church, of course. I’ll let you know how all that goes next time.
9/25
It is pretty hot again today. Made going through the rest of Old Sturbridge Village a bit uncomfortable. But it is so interesting. We watched one fellow making leather shoes, another doing pottery, a machine carding wool, and a man making a form in the print shop.
Also went through some farms, the grainery where I scared a couple of rats when I went in. Fortunately they were small and looked more like mice so I wasn’t freaked out.
One house was built in the late 1700's and was still original with even original furniture including the bed the daughters had slept in when they finally got their own room.
It was a good day.
9/26
Unusual service this morning at Sturbridge Worship Center. They regularly have 45 minutes of praise and worship. They must write their own music too as we didn’t recognize any of the songs. But it was good. Some dancing, lots of moving and one lady was worshiping with the dance and streamers. Very pretty.
The former pastor and his wife had come back and were ordaining three
pastors to continue the ministry. I think they are also looking for a Senior pastor.
We thought it would be boring, but the pastor preached in the ordination. Great words from the scripture especially regarding leadership and ministry. It was good.
After lunch we took an old fashioned Sunday drive. The colors are gorgeous now. So glad we went. Also stopped at a couple of yard sales. One was at a three story mansion that we see so often here. I talked to the young woman who owned the house. They have three daughters and some of the house is closed off. She said many owners of these large homes are just trying to hang on. There is so much upkeep.
Weather is still really nice. Seventy four degrees today and mostly overcast.
We spent a little time with Jim, our Jackpot Antique shop owner today. He is so much fun with his Massachuset accent and warm friendliness. He had loaned us a Video on Frank Sinatra we needed to return.
Mon 9/27
We drove back towards Boston, but turning off to go to Quincy. There we say the homes and library of the Adams family. John Adams, the second president and John Quincy Adams, his son and the only one to follow his father and become president until the Bush’s. The Adams ancestors continued to occupy one of the three houses until the 1950's when it was turned over to the Federal Government.
It is now a National Park so we got in free with our park pass.
The first and oldest house built in the 1600's is small, but where the second president was born. He inherited this house and purchased the second one from
his brother who had inherited that house from the father. The third house is the
large mansion that Abigail insisted they buy because of his station in politics.
It is incredible to see how these homes have been cared for and kept all
these years. Over 300 years. Abigail had two roses brought from England to plant in her garden. The white one is still living 200 years later. Unfortunately it wasn’t blooming at this time.

September 28
We left today instead of going through Rhode Island and to Sagamore in New York we turned West towards home.
The colors are still getting prettier everyday. We are doing backroads America and it is beautiful. A bit hard driving for Tom as we go up a hill and then back down the hill over and over. These are not just the gentle rolling hills we love to drive on, but steep, steep, steep.
The weather is gorgeous, in the 70's. Sun or clouds it's still 70 or more.
I at least got my lobster roll before we left the east coast. This one was hot and all lobster, nothing else, but the roll. There were no condiments. Different from the cold one I had, but just as good. Hope I can find them somewhere at home or learn to make my own. Maybe I will try crab rolls.

9/29 More traveling and some time spent in Cooperstown at the Baseball Hall Of Fame. We had to go see our friend Les Averill's dad Earl's plaque there. This is an interesting museum if you like baseball or are older like us and have heard so much about some of the greats like Babe Ruth.
We ended up in a Walmart for the night. There was a couple in a camper there. He told Tom they live here at this Walmart in his camper. Interesting life style.

9/30 Another day of traveling. This one in rain till towards the end of the
day when we arrived in Ohio and had sunshine. For those of you that don't know your geography that means we drove through the rest of New York and across Pennsylvania crossing the border into Ohio. Continue heading home, but taking our time. Check in again for more travel trivia.

September 20

September 20
This was a travel day. All the way across Maine into New Hampshire.
9/21
Headed out early down interesting roads, through small towns, up and down hills, and rarely saw a straight road. All was lovely although not quite as squared away looking as Prince Edward Island. They must have the neatnik gene there.
We’re a bit early for the colors, but we are seeing some. The sun is out and the colors range rom burgandy to red, orange, gold and several shades of green in the evergreen trees. Driving through one stretch on a narrow two lane road with color on both sides was like being bathed in a golden light. So moving.
We stopped at a tourist mall, Vermont style, sampled all the cheeses, dips, and syrups. We bought cheese, sweets, and the raspberry maple syrup which we fell in love with. Had to have it!
The Calvin Coolidge Museum is the original building with the family’s furniture, etc all intact. The family housekeeper lived 30 years after their deaths and kept everything together until the son gave it to the State of Vermont.
It’s in the original village called Plymouth Notch. This is still a village people live in today.
The store Coolidge’s father bought had living quarters in the back and is where Calvin was born. There is also the home they moved to when he was four years old, the barn and shops, the one room schoolhouse. Church, and cheese factory his Dad started. It is one of the oldest continuous and still operating cheese factories in the U.S. Even Coolidge’s mother’s garden is still there and tended by the park people. Tom got some hollyhock seed . We will see if we can grow them.
It was a fun day. I have been taking many pictures of houses. They are so
interesting and different from what we have in Washington. They are huge, many three stories with added on wings. First the saltbox house with a shop/garage attached and attached to that is the barn. They call this New England Continuous Architecture.
9/22
This was only a half a days drive because I suddenly remembered we were
going to visit the Old Sturbridge Village. We settled in Brimfield at an old RV resort in a pretty setting by a lake.
We decided to stay long enough to get the generator Tom had purchased
sent here so we can have use of it the rest of the trip. Means we will be here for
at least four days.
9/23
Today was to be our day at the Old Sturbridge Village. We did spend all day there, but will have to go back as we didn’t see half of it. They let you come back one more day free. Gives us something more to do in our four day stay here.
We went on the rides today, the Stagecoach and wagon which were both drawn by beautiful Belgium Draft horses and the riverboat ride. Now we have all the walking through the rest of the village to see the restored farms, shops, etc.
In the church there was an organ concert at 2:00. We attended and were so glad we had. The organist was a delightful gentleman dressed in eighteen century clothing and played beautifully, gave a wonderful history lesson and some really fun facts in an exceptionally interesting way. We were so glad we took the time
for this.
By the way, most of the people here are dressed in costume and act their parts as, bankers, blacksmiths, farmers, etc. Makes it interesting and fun.
We ate at the Bullard Tavern and had wonderful macaroni and cheese. This
was a long day but good.
On our way back to camp we discovered we can find churches on the Garmin. Halleluia! We located our church for Sunday.
September 24, 2001
Go to Boston day. Everyone says, "Don’t drive in Boston". Well we are going to. We have our trusty Garmin to help us. She took us right to the Kennedy Museum and Library. It is a beautiful, impressive building overlooking the water
which is filled with boats, lots of them sailing on this beautiful sunny day.
It’s hot today, as high as 88 degrees, but it is comfortable in the museum.
We spent all day here and could have spent longer. There were two movies and four or five sections of exhibits with videos here and there. The only thing I thought was missing was more of Jackie’s clothes. They only had a couple outfits exhibited.
They covered his family and life before politics, his bid for the senate and campaigning for president, his years as president, and his legacy. It was wonderfully done and so interesting. He was a right wing Democrat. How we could use him now.
We left the museum and drove into downtown Boston to eat at a restaurant listed in the book "Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives" called Mike’s Place. Getting there was a nightmare, but the Garmin did it again only to find it closed at 3:00.
We arrived at 4:20. To say we were disappointed was an understatement.
Getting back home was unreal. It was right in the middle of commuter
going home traffic. I know everyone thinks our traffic is bad, but we only see something like this when there has been a major accident. Going into Boston was a literal parking lot, we moved out of Boston at a snails pace, sometimes only
5 mph.
Back in our town of Sturbridge we stopped at a Chinese buffet. It was quite good and saved trying to figure out something to make at home.
We really are enjoying our time here in Brimfield. We are kept busy with things to do every day. Tomorrow we go back to Old Sturbridge Village and Sunday it’s church, of course. I’ll let you know how all that goes next time.

September 19, 2010

Hi;



Tom can't believe I forgot to tell you about our visit to the Chocolate Museum yesterday. I guess I am not as into chocolate as He and others are.

It was a wonderful experience though. They had the typical video to start and then great pictures, objects, machinery and explanations of everything as you moved along. The big and delightful difference though was the chocolates. Every so often there would be dishes of this delectible substance of different kinds labeled so you knew what you would encounter. A person could go out of there really sick. We almost were.

At the usual and "required" gift shop we bought a couple of bars that we had not ever heard of before. The chocolates didn't look that good anymore and we were beginning to run short of Canadian money.

Off to find a church which took awhile and some miles. First a church with no one in attendance at the stated time, then a Presbeterian and finally the Community church out in the middle of nowhere. We were 15 minutes late as it started at 9:30 instead of 10:00.
The pastor was a teacher/preacher going through the book of Romans. Today was on faith not works. Interestingly, the devotion in Gems from the Greek was also on faith today.
Because people come such a long way they have the 9:30 service, a break for treats and then go into a second service instead of coming back in the evening.
We left after the first service to continue on to Campabollo Island where Franklin Roosevelt had his summer home.
It had bedrooms for 6 servants, 6 for the family along with guest bedrooms.
The kitchen and laundry were fascinating with the antique fixtures and appliances.
Most of the furniture, rugs, pictures are all the originals. The wallpaper was reproduced according to what was in each room. Lots of fancy flowered paper.
We really enjoyed our time touring this presidents home.

We continued to the northern tip of the island where there is a place you can walk to another small island with a light house on it. Only certain hours though, when the tide is out. We were within the time frame, but the stairs down and then up again looked too daunting.
Instead we watched some whales playing in the Bay of Fundy. They would surface and blow water high into the air. It was a long ways away, but not too far to see and appreciate.
Stopped for lunch and were able to try the French Canadian specialty
french fries smothered in cheese and gravy. Sounds terrible to me, but it is quite good.
Back at the ranch we are resting up before beginning to move again.
So long!

September 18,2010

Hello!!!

Wasn't sure I could get in to the internet. They have wifi here, but the connection is low strength. Can't get my mail, but could get in to the blog.
Yesterday we drove to Nova Scotia. It also had rolling hills and farmland, but not as nice as Prince Edward Island. It rained off and on all day too. We did have a picnic lunch in a little park by a nature preseve lake. One seagull adopted us. We would throw him something which he would quickly gobble up. When any other gulls tried to come around he angrily sqwaked them away. It was fun to watch.
Other than that it was an uneventful day, but we did see a bit of Nova Scotia so we accomplished that goal.
We left this morning for Maine. Wanted to see Fundy Bay which is famous for huge tides. We knew we wouldn't see the high tide unless we stayed for several hours. We didn't want to give that kind of time up. We did stop at a Provincial Park on the Bay and had our lunch. Lot's of seagulls for company here. It was beautiful the sun was warm and the scenery spectacular. We just soaked it up for quite awhile before taking a walk on the beach acquiring a few more rocks.
An RV park in Robinston, Maine is our home for a couple of days. Tommorrow we leave early in the truck and look for a church as we couldn't do it today. Then after worship and fellowship with believers we will be going back into Canada to see Campobello, International Park where Franklin Roosevelt's summer home was. It's on an island that is part of Canada that stretches down alongside Maine. I'll let you know all about it tomorrow.

September 16

Hi;

Today was a super day. We drove to Prince Edward Island, known here as PEI.
First we crossed an eight mile long bridge which cost us $42.50. Thank goodness
we didn't have the fifth wheel with us.
Our drive along the island was absolutely beautiul. It reminded us of England
except the roads were wider and you didn't drive on the left side. Where England has
rock walls and hedgerows PEI had shrubs and small trees to form their fences. It's
rolling hills and the roads go up and down with lots of curves. We loved it.
Then the Green Gables Historic site was amazing. The house had been owned by the
author's grandparents cousin and she spent a lot of time there as a child. It is the
home and community she based the books story on. It has been beautiully restored with furniture carpeting, and wallpaper of the time. L.M. Montgomery, the author, was
raised by her grandparents as her mother died and her father was unable to care for a
baby.
We want to watch the movie once again after being able to read excerpts from her
diary and see the area she was writing about.
It was way after lunch and we'd only had a small breakast so food was next on our
agenda. We found a little mom & pop type restaurant and I was able to have a lobster
roll. That was on my list to accomplish before leaving the east coast. I liked it
better than the lobster dinner. Certainly a lot easier to eat. No work for me, just
the cook's labor. Delicious!! So much so in fact, I may have another in Maine.
Tomorrow we do laundry and take a quick drive into Nova Scotia. Not sure how much
we'll see or how much fun it will be as the weather is turning. Lots of rain expected.

All for now. Dolly PS. I just viewed the post and don't know why it publishes with the
lines all screwed up. They aren't when I write it. Sorry
about that.

September 14, 2010

9/11
Yesterday was another travel day. We got away earlier than usual so it became a longer day than normal. We drove out of Canada into Maine. What a nice change. Most of the roads are better. Unfortunately I finally succumbed to the cold that had been trying to get me. I’m not feeling too bad, just a bit crummy. When it was nearing time to settle in somewhere. An intriguing sign "Wilderness Camp 3 ½ miles" drew us in. After those 3 and ½ miles of gravel, up, down, washboard, curves we arrived. I was greeted by two women as I sat in the truck while Tom went with the bearded owner to see about a sight or us.
We are sitting on the edge of the lake in the woods of Maine. A beautiful
spot. They weren’t kidding about the wilderness part. There is no power here. They use a generator which he turns on at 7:00 to 9:00 am and again at 6:00 to 10:00 pm.
So I am writing this at 8:00 Sunday morning. No church today. We will have our own worship and bible reading by the lake after the power goes off. The sun is coming out so it should be really special.
Last night we blew a fuse while I was brewing coffee and Tom was micro-
waving popcorn or the movie.. We thought it was all over, but the ever ingenious Tom got out his extension cords and hooked us up to the next site.
We finished just before 10:00, lights out, and off to bed.

9/12
Here at Wilderness Campground I have been waiting for the generator to start again this evening so I can fix dinner. Today has been really relaxing and nice. After breakfast we had our own church service, reading the devotionals and praying. It was a sweet time with the Lord.
Tom has been hard at work trying to fix things that go wrong. The whole half of the trailer’s electricity is off. He’s taken the GFI switch apart and put it back together, but no luck. Maybe we will have to find an electrician.
It makes brewing coffee and making toast interesting as I have to carry appliances into the living room. Oh well, at least I can make it.
We took a long walk along the lake. Grace, we picked up a bunch of interesting rocks again. Before heading back we sat on the beach listening to the lap of the water as the wind blew in little ripples. It was so peaceful I could eel my whole body relaxing.
This definitely a special place. They have a party boat, canoe’s and kiaks, but all is put up or the season. That is the only drawback of traveling this time o year. Many sights and things close for the winter.

9/13
Praise the Lord, our electricity is working again. Somehow, what Tom did
made it work. Another day of driving was the plan. Then one of the RV tires blew apart.
It ripped off part of the RV and wrapped itself around the axel three times. What a
mess. I prayed right away for the Lord's help. Within minutes an angel named Billy Grass
drove up in his pickup and between him and Tom they got the old tire off and the questionable
spare tire put on.
We drove carefully across the border into Canada and set up in a nice resort
near Fredrickton. Tom drove in and found a place that carried the correct tire. I stayed
behind and took a nap. Still trying to get over this cold.

9/14
This morning we drove into Fredrickton and had the tire fixed and also purchased
a new spare. Then drove on to Shediac where we settled in another nice RV resort on the
water. The Atlantic, a bay, I think. We are not right on the water,but can see it from
our spot.
The big need for today was cash. Unfortunately, I didn't bring an extra book of
checks so we are out. Getting cash with our Visa has required a pin number which we have
not had for years since we don't use it. Tom did call Visa about this and they mailed our
pin number to our home. We just hadn't gotten it from Luci who was getting it for us.
All because we have been out of range. Remember that wilderness?? Three banks and none
could help us, although they were kind and tried. Will try to reach Luci again later.
We are now four hours ahead of home timewise.
Still the first order of business MONEY. It seemed we would have to drive back to Moncton to a particular bank that maybe could help. In the meantime I was able to track down the crochet hook I needed. We finally reached Luci, got our number and that wonderul
cash machine spit out bucks. Halleluia!
We went to the recommended restaurant for lobster. Tom had fish and chippies
(that's what the waitress called them here) but I had the lobster. Now I am happy.
Lobster in the Maritime Provinces. It doesn't get better than this.
More traveling and blogging tomorrow. Good night.

Quebec

September 8,9,&10

We are in a wonderul RV park in Levi, Quebec accross the St Lawrence
waterway from Quebec City. This after a harrowing drive from a bug
infested night in St Boniface. The traffic was heavy and driving through it
with this huge house following us is very stressful. We found ourselves in
the wrong lane for turning and our Garmin announced "recalculating,
recalculating. Three times across the long bridge and we were back on
track. Praise God for Garmins.

Decided to stay three days and recover. The second day we were here we
had planned to do Quebec City, but it was raining and we were still tired.
Age definitely takes a tole on traveling. Tomorrow we'll go.

The ferry across was only $2. What a deal. The other option was driving
back 20 miles and over the bridge, then 20 miles to the city.
Delightful city streets, shops, flowers, art and people. At least near the
ferry departure. We took a Funicular up the cliff into the older main part
of the city. Streets were blocked off, police were everywhere and helicopters
were flying overhead. We were in for another adventure it seemed.

While having lunch outdoors at a lovely restaurant (Tom had his favorite
French Onion soup and I had Quiche Lorraine with Mediterranean salad)
both yummy, we saw the bicyclers ride by. It was the Grand Pris Des Quebec.
What fun. In Europe with the grandchildren we also happened upon a bike
race. Like Tom says, "We always seem to run into fun, unusual things.
For those of you who know me well and long, I had sunshine today for our
foray into Quebec. Thank you Jesus.
One more relaxing evening here and we leave for Maine so we can drive on US roads
to New Brunswick. We are really tired of the Canadian ones.
Stay tuned!

September 3rd through 7th

September 3 & 4

Another travel day. First across the long beautiful bridge into Canada and through customs with no problems. They even let me take my tomato plant along. Then miles of lovely scenery past lakes and whistle stop towns. We landed in a
funky resort by a lake with beautiful trees. It is pretty rundown with lots of old rigs, and makeshift add ons. Makes me think of the word "trailer trash", but I guess that refers mainly to people. The people here are friendly and nice, lots of families. It’s near Sudbury which is a mining town. So they are down to earth
mine workers.
The park is owned by a couple who run it with their son’s, daughter and son-in-law. They do very special activities at certain times of the year like Christmas in July where they bring Santa in by boat on the lake, Thanksgiving
feast, and Labor Day corn, beef and pork roast. They invited us to join the celebration by bringing a dish for the potluck. We did and what great food.
The owners give out gifts to all the regulars, then they have a dance which lasts well into the night.
Tom was feeling really rotten so we skipped all that including an invitation to a campfire gathering, and a jam session at one of the camp sights. I was tempted, but once in our "home away from home" it is hard to go out again.

September 5

Went to church and no one was there. Turns out their summer schedule is
church at 7:00 in the evening. We did return. There was a small crowd due to Labor Day, but a missionary was the speaker. He works with the Afar people group in Ethiopia. Excellent presentation and miraculous work. So glad we went.

9/6 &7
Travel days. Overnight in PEMBROKE’S Walmart and then shaking, bouncing, jumping down these terrible Canadian roads to St Boniface in Quebec.
The little bugs (like fruit lies) were so bad we left the next day.

Sault Ste Marie

September 1 2010
We left Ishmiping today and headed up the peninsula. It was a nice drive through woods, along Lake Superior and small towns.
We are now staying in Sault Ste Marie at a camp resort on the Soo Canal. Very pretty.
We drove into town to buy the local specialty, pasties. The grocery store was out, but we will go to a recommended restaurant, Franks Place, and have them for lunch tomorrow.
We complain sometimes about our poor bumpy roads, but we will never complain again after driving on the roads in this town.
We had a gorgeous sunset this evening. First time we’ve had many clouds in the sky which always make the sunsets spectacular. We sat by the canal and watched huge commercial boats coming in and out of the locks.

September 2
Our first cold weather came today. Woke up to a chilly RV. But it warmed up during the day and we didn’t need the jackets we took along. Spent a few hours in town checking the shops and the locks museum and locks. The shops are all having sales, especially on their summer items. Tom and I both tried on Minnetonka sandals and I bought a pair. They hit Tom wrong on the ball of his
foot so he lost out.
We did go to Franks and had the pasties. Had to bring half of them home as
they were so big. They are delicious though. Franks food was so good we went back for dinner. Cups of meatball and orzo soup, scrumptious, and Carmel apple
surprise for dessert. Steve and Lani remember that humongous ice cream cone?
Well this dessert could almost dwarf it. However, there were two of us to eat it.
Still we couldn’t manage the whole thing.
Tomorrow morning we cross the bridge into Canada. I don’t know what the
Wifi situation and availability will be there. So I’m signing off for now and will connect with you all again when I can. Stay turned in from time to time.

Continuing Fun

9/1 Not a whole lot to report today. We are still in Ishpiming and are staying another day mainly so we can get ink for the printer. Couldn’t find it here so will go to Marquette tomorrow. The plan is to buy ink, see if there is a Walmart there to return Tom’s haircutting set for a different one, drive the coast up to a park for lunch and see the movie Love, Eat and Pray.
The weather is still good with 75 degrees, but lots of wind which is getting stronger and possible rain. Our picnic may be in the truck.
Wednesday we head for Soul St Marie where we will spend a day or two before heading into Canada.
All for now.

Michigan

August 26
Tom checked the tires this morning as he often does and another one was low.
Since this is the second one he decided it should be checked. Maybe we had run
into a bunch of nails or something. Turns out this one was disintegrating on the
inside. Thank you all for praying for our safe travel. We know the Lord is
answering your prayers and putting angels around and even under, it seems, our
vehicles. A new tire was purchased, installed and we were on our way again.
Today was a day of travel. Pleasant though, because we were driving through lovely farm country with rolling hills. Farm scenes are so peaceful with the
cows, sheep or horses lazily munching on grass and crops taking in the sunshine.
We ended up driving along the shore of Lake Superior which looks like a Sound
rather than a lake. All you can see is water clear to the horizon.
Now we are in Ashland, Wisconsin in the city park on the lake. It is beautiful.
Weather continues to be great, in the 80's with a breeze. We got the next to last
spot here so it is crowded, but doesn’t feel that way. They have the spots arranged well. We ate dinner out on the picnic table facing the lake.
This is Saturday, August 28 and we suspected there would be garage sales and a
Farmers market. We were right and we even found an estate sale. Some interesting stuff. Tom commented on how in an estate sale you are looking at the life of someone. It does give you a little insight into who they were and what they liked.
This town also has a Walmart which is always helpful to pick up those things you
forgot. We found a church for tomorrow and a place to park the rig while we go.
That can be a problem. Another lovely evening. We are so relaxed. Our trips have always been about a destination. This one has a destination as usual, but we are more into the trip. It's so much fun and wonderul.

Church was great this morning. Good worship and a super good message.
This town has a series of amazing murals. After church we walked through town looking at them and taking pictures. Another quick stop at Walmart and off to
Michigan. We landed in Ishpeming and will stay a couple of days.

Travels 2010

HI;
Not sure what happened to yesterdays blog. I am definitely an amateur at this kind of thing. Hopeully it is somewhere out there.

Today we really relaxed. Weather was perfect and we spent a lot of our day in our comfy chairs in the sun reading, playing games, and even sleeping. A walk to the
office and clubhouse to get another ice cream cone. Yesterdays cones were so good we couldn't resist. It's a good thing we leave tomorrow. No more ice cream cones.
Will try now to post this blog and hope it adds to the previous ones.

The weather has been great since that downpour Monday night. Temperatures
in the 80's with a nice breeze. Yesterday (Tuesday) we drove the 80 miles
around Mille Lac Lake. Beautiful! Never saw so many ice houses though.
We're told in the winter they make little communities out on the lake with roads and everything. Inside is heat, TV, kitchen, all the imenities for fun. An outhouse is attached outside. Amazing. Came back to our resort and had delicious ice cream waffle cones. So much for dieting today.

Tonight we cooked steaks on the fire, fixed corn on the cob, salad and roasted marshmallows for dessert. Ate outside in a beautiful evening.
We are staying here one more night and then will head for Wisconsin on
Friday. Stay tuned.

Summer 2010

Hi everyone;

This trip begins with an overnight stop at our East Wenatchee friends to
bring them blueberries. We were able to leave there with a bag full of
apples, yumm!
One overnight on the road and then a night with my cousin Odella and
her husband Chuck in Valley City, North Dakota. Always a delightful
stay.
Next day we arrived at the Johnson family farm where we parked our
rig for the next few days while we attended a cousin reunion which
included cousin's I didn't know I had.
My great great grandfather had two sons, one which was my grandfather
Peter Storoien Johnson. His brother was John. It seems they didn't get
along because we never knew much about him. Consequently, we didn't
know he had many children, some of each girls and boys giving birth to
the cousins I didn't know I had.
Our family line now included Johnsons, Elvins, Halvorsons, and one
other who's name escapes me right now. I had some concern about meeting
strangers and how we would get along. My fears were found less as everyone
of those attending the reunion were friendly and loving. I was having a
wonderful time.
We played games, had an silent auction to raise funds for a grave marker
for John Storoien Johnson, grandpa's brother. A fabulous power point presentation was given by one cousin. It included pictures of Norway home
places, ancestors, and text giving lots of information.
We were able to exchange pictures, letters, and received a great ancestor
cobweb page that clearly showed how we were all related which had been very
confusing and now made perfect sense.
Two very special letters were those written by my grandfather to the parents
of his first wife about his plan to marry their daughter hoping they would
approve and another informing them of her death. Both very touching.
We had a dedication service of the grave marker, tour of the farm with
watermelon eating pictures. We all looked great with watermelon in front
of our faces.
Soon, this wonderful time came to an end with plans for the next reunion
in two years at Banff, Canada.
Monday after a morning of antiquing and lunch in Osakis with Alden and
Hulda it was time to hit the road.
Our next stop is a beautiful resort by Millie Lac Lake. What a treat it was
to get out our chairs, sit under the trees in a nice breeze and read and relax.
The reunion weekend had been tiring and extremely hot. We plan to stay
here a few days and recoup.
After the heat we are experiencing a downpour tonight. Should cool things
down a bit. Stay tuned.