Major Milestone

Wow... I guess being married for 50 years qualifies as a major milestone.   And today, there are two more of us who can claim that badge representing, at least:  intention, courage, tolerance, perseverance, faith, hope, giving, patience, dedication, loyalty, forgiving and just downright enjoying one another's company.

Here is a picture taken a few minutes ago of my bride of 50 years today..   holding the surprise delivery from our good friends and RV partners Bob and Barb Diehl of Plano TX.   (She also usually smiles at me like this each morning.. well, perhaps many mornings)

And, I still open car doors for her and she still says "thank you."

And here we are in June 2013 

I am very lucky and very thankful

Home Sweet Home

It is always nice to get home, even after a grand month in the RV.  It was our longest trip.. both in terms of miles traveled and in terms of days away.  We left on July 18 and spent 4 days driving to Door County Wisconsin where we enjoyed the area for a week.  Then down and East to Goshen Indiana where we spent a week at an RV rally and then another week just in the area.  We started back home on Aug 15, just one day earlier than planned and spent 3 days getting back to Houston on Aug 17. It helps a lot that Carol handles part of the driving.

A total of 3601 miles on the GPS.  The Honda towed just fine and enabled us to do the sight-seeing and not have to move our "home camp."  Most of what we saw is described in the previous blogs which also have the links to our photos on the web albums.

As always... our thanks to the Walkers for watching the mail and the house.

Good to be home.

The Last Few Days

Written on Sunday Aug. 11.   Not a lot to report or photograph the last few days... The rally ended yesterday and 98% of the rigs are gone.  It is down to the size of rally I like... 10 rigs over 5 acres.
On Friday we visited Linton's Garden place.  It is quite interesting... the type of thing built by a guy with money and a sense of whimsy.   It is touted as the largest, best equipped,  garden supply and nursery place in the surrounding area and it is very different.  They also have one of the quilt squares.  We have stopped here several times.  My other pictures from the visit are on the web album HERE   And the link to their web site is RIGHT HERE

You kids likely don't remember but my grandmother's maiden name was an old English name.. Beardsley.
I can't check our family history from here but this guy founded Elkhart Indiana and very well could be a relative.  He was quite prominent in this community and many things of his legacy remain.  His history is at THIS LINK.   Hmmm ... a strong family resemblance but in which grandchild ?  I'm not sure.

And a following generation of Beardsleys history  in Elkhart is AT This Link

Flowers and the Amish

We stayed "home" yesterday but learned to get in line early or very late for anything to eat.  With over 750 people here, mostly elders, who don't miss many meals, we fit right in.  This was just the part of the line I could get with my cell phone.  But they do a great job once it starts to move.

Last night was the "big" candlelight dinner.. sit down and served.  It took about 1:45 to get through the courses.  The bison was great and the 4 shrimp were large.  All was very good.

Each person was served everything here... not something to choose from.

We spent today (Tues) touring the countryside and snapping pictures of the "Quilt Flowers"  (see additional info on our blog from Aug 4)...  We stopped at a number of the places on the tour including Elkhart, Middlebury, and Shipshewana.  The later was particularly interesting because of the many Amish folk who intermingle with the "normal?"  people as they go about their daily lives and work in local businesses. We didn't see many of the menfolk. But the very neat farms with white buildings, wagons, and horses are all over the area.

You can see my other pictures from today of the flower stops and the Amish on my blog link HERE

By the way.. I think I have fixed a problem with Email notices for new posts from this blog.  If you want to sign up... enter your email in the box at the top... It should work this time.

FROG Rally

FROG Rally..  Check in day..(Forest River Owner’s Group)  Their annual rally at the Goshen County Fairgrounds in Goshen Indiana. 354 coaches and over 750 people. Must be 20 different brands from big Class A’s to pop-ups.  Large staff of volunteers in golf carts to direct parking, answer questions, give rides etc… Very well organized.  Many vendors, tours, factory tours, and over 100 technicians on site to fix problems without charge.  No place for an introvert, however.. a lot of Yaa Haa Haa types here and everyone is OLD..  Our site is fine, with nice grass and all amenities but a bit close together. Can you find our Gnat among the Beasts?

Another major event is going on in the surrounding towns… various places create “quilt squares” by mass plantings of flowers.   Here is the one at the fair grounds.  We will drive around and see more in the next few days. 

The Quilt Gardens... along the Heritage Trail joins quilting, gardening and art into a one-of-a-kind event. A colorful patchwork of quilt inspired gardens and quilt-themed murals linked by the roads that form the Heritage Trail.   More than a million vibrant blooms • 19 gigantic gardens and 20 hand-painted super-sized murals • 7 communities • May 30 - October 1

  

Every quilt garden and quilt mural has its own intricate pattern, many are original designs, and each has its own unique story.  Each of the seven unique communities that host quilt gardens & murals has its own special character and fun finds you’ll want to explore. Good info HERE with nice pictures

Also you can download and save or print their Free PDF  2013 Master Gardener Guidebook for detailed information about each garden. The download link is HERE and is also listed on the site link in the previous paragraph..  Worth a look.

Catching Up

Yesterday we spent in Green Bay at the County Park.  A really nice spot for an overnight. 








We got there before noon so had time to drive around town to see and photograph some of the spots you kids will remember.  Such as these...

 
For those of you who like to keep track of such things... this is Goose Poop. To find out more.. see the web album and our other pictures for this day at  This Link   (Cody had a pooping problem of his own, but we stopped at a vet in Allouez and got some meds)

We had a uneventful drive this morning to a campground in Elkhart IN.  We head to our "rally site" in Goshen IN tomorrow morning... it is about 20 miles away. No pictures taken today...

The toll roads from Milwaukee to Chicago and then East to Elkhart were not bad... just a bit bumpy and busy.  BUT in the 80 mile stretch on I-80 from Chicago.. we saw two accidents (about 30 miles apart) that had blocked the West bound lanes solid.. people were stopped and one blockage was in excess of 5 miles of stopped, blocked trucks and cars in both West bound lanes.. No way to get off.. the interstate is a toll road there. The other blockage was about 2 miles long. We are thankful and will not be going back that way.