Celina OH to Gaylord MI

Today we left Ohio to head to Michigan.  We have been counting down the days until this travel day because it was a very special one for us.  We stopped off at Jackson to pick up our oldest daughter Ashleigh and my nephew Elijah.  I was able to see two of my siblings and even have pictures of them...on my phone.  As soon as I figure out how to get them from the phone to where I can use them, I'll share them.

I lived half of my childhood in Michigan and Nathan and I spent the first five years of our married life there.  Still, neither of us had even been to Northern Michigan.  So we were very excited to be heading that way, especially with some of the kids with us.

As we drove further and further north, it became more and more remote.  And it was beautiful.  Then again, I seem to think every place we are at is beautiful so maybe it is more that it is summer beautiful!

That's fine with me because it's not a bad thing when the whole world seems beautiful to you. 

We had an easy driving day and Elijah and Ashleigh did great!  We are hoping to see some neat stuff with them and give them a glimpse into our life.

Living the life in Michigan!

More Ohio From My Window

One nice thing about the new job we are doing is that we drive around and see even more of a local area than we did before.  And if I tag along and help Nathan out, then that means I can take pictures while we drive around.  I really love that!

I'm really enjoying being in this area during the summer months.  With all the fields full of growing corn, it just feels like summer to me when I look around.  Is it weird that I keep wanting to stop, take my shoes off and lie down in one of these fields and smell and feel the earthiness there?  Because that is what I keep finding myself thinking when I do look at the life that is so abundant in the fields.  After years of living in Florida, it's kind of nice to have this season feel special rather than having what feels like year round summer until you don't appreciate it so much.

On the other hand, I do love winters in Florida so while I love this area right now...not so much in the winter.  Because it is just not quite the same taking your shoes off and lying down in the fields then.  Unless you are making snow angels that is.

It really is some beautiful landscape to look at while driving and the people are just wonderful here.

Living the life in Ohio!

Grand Lake St. Mary Ohio

We are in this area not because we hand picked it, but because work brought us here.  Which meant I knew nothing about the area before we came, beyond a quick Google search.  I saw we would be staying on a huge lake, which was exciting to me.  Then we arrived and realized that the lake was off limits because it is toxic right now.  When I say off limits, I mean don't even let your dog come in contact with the water because it will die if it does.  After doing some research, we realized that what has happened here is the very same thing that the Oyster aquaculture farmer told us would happen in Virginia if something doesn't change.

Due to nitrates in the runoff from farms and yards close to the water, the oysters can't survive.  If the oysters die, then the algae overgrows.  When it hits a certain point, it is toxic and the water is unsafe.  So much so that boating is not even advised.  I can tell you from being here, that we have felt a heavy grief seeing this beautiful lake just sitting there.  We noticed the birds won't even land in the water.  It is a similar feeling to seeing huge trees uprooted after a hurricane.  To see a living thing that was once grand become so damaged is just sad, there is no way around it.

Today as we were driving around for work, we visited a nearby town that also has a lake.  As soon as we pulled close to the lake we saw life there.  Birds were in the water.  People on jet skis and boats were enjoying the water.  There was joy there.  We sucked in our breaths and said oh wow...this is what it is supposed to be like.  You see, in just a short time it was as if we were beginning to forget what it is supposed to be like when there is a large body of water.  I got choked up thinking that my children might hit a time when they forget what the lake was like when we were boating and tubing in Chesapeake.  The Ghost Town feeling might seem normal to them at some point if there isn't a drastic change to prevent what happened here from happening there.  I'm not sure what our part is in all of this, but we are pondering it quite a bit at this point.

In the meantime we are trying to talk to the people that do live here and learn more.  It's been educational to say the least.

Summerfest and The British Invasion

Since the extent of our fun this past few weeks has been along the lines of Trivial Pursuit and the library, we were very excited to visit St. Mary's Summerfest today.  Not only did it get us out of the RV, but we also got to see a Beatles band, The British Invasion.  The Beatles pro of the family said they were "ok".  The rest of us thought they were great.

Speaking of libraries and the Beatles fan in our family, this week when we went to check out our goodies the librarian complimented our choices in movies.  "Thinking movies" is what she called them.  I giggled because they were mostly Beatles movies and due to the Beatles love that Austin has.  When we got home and watched them, I saw she was absolutely right-they were thinking movies.  Once again my kid taught me something about life that I might not have ever known otherwise.

Back to our fun at the Summerfest, it was very crowded there but we still found a table to sit and eat our corndogs and elephant ears at.  I wish I'd have thought to take pictures of the festival, because it was a really nice one.  I love small town fairs and festivals and how the locals all show up to attend them.  It's nice to see that things like this are still loved in our country.  And we always get a great feel for the area while we are sitting there and soaking it all up.  It's one of the reasons we wanted to travel, so it's great when we do get to experience it.

Living the life in Ohio!

Jefferson OH to Celina OH

Last night we had Rene and Mira over for dinner and then we played Mexican Train with them.  We have to get this game down before we head to Alaska with the other champion players.  We had so much fun with them.  It was hard saying goodbye to them, but we at least know we are very likely to see them again unlike many of the people we meet along the way.

Today we left Thousand Trails in Jefferson to head to Kozy Kamper in Celina, Ohio.  We had a very short travel day and it was also a smooth one.  We are excited to explore a new part of Ohio, and this one is on what was at one time the largest man made lake in America.

Still living the life in Ohio!

Jefferson Ohio From My Window

 

More Pickleball and Another Covered Bridge

Tonight we went all went back to Cortland to play pickleball again.  I had a chance to talk to the ladies more this time and I really enjoyed getting to know them better.  There is just something about pickleball players that is really special.  They just seem to have a zest for life.  Many of these players spend time at The Villages in Florida and it showed in how they played.  They were a tough crowd.  We had a great time with them.  I felt a bit sad saying goodbye, not knowing if we'd see them again or not.

So Random Things We Found Today

While we were out looking at covered bridges, we came across a few things that make you go hmmmmm.

The first was not that unusual of a thing, except for where it was located.  We saw a pair of abandoned shoes on one of the bridges.  I wondered as a mom, what happened here?  Did they get home and wonder where they left their shoes long after they forgot where they left them?  Did they hate the shoes and want them to be lost?  Or did they want to leave them there as a symbol of something?

This wasn't a random thing, but we also saw this beautiful creature here:

After we left this bridge, we saw something else that caught our eye.  This was the funniest thing we've seen in quite awhile.  We had some interesting conversations about who could own this fine piece of machinery.  Someone full of life I bet.

Yes, that is Super Scott's car.  Isn't that the coolest car?  I can see Austin wanting something like this for his first car! 

You just never know what you'll see when you drive around looking for local sights. 

Living the life in Ohio!

Covered Bridge Number 4

Tonight the guys went to pickleball alone, and Mira and I stayed behind.  She made dinner for all of us when they returned.  It was spaghetti, and we all voted it to be the best sauce we ever tasted!

Pickleball and Covered Bridge Number 3

Rene and Mira took us to a nearby town named Copeland, where the locals play pickleball.  They have public courts in a park and were a great group to play with.  Their skill level was very impressive.  Afterwards, we stopped at a local place to eat dinner.  They had a hamburger special and we all tried different burgers. 

Ohio Covered Bridge Number Two

We are all surprised at how much our pickleball game has slipped since we left Chesapeake.  So we are working at getting back into the game and playing with Rene and Mira.  The internet is really strange here.  It is a very strong signal at times and then we will completely lose the signal.  We have never quite had this situation before so we aren't sure what that is about.  The weather is just fabulous here and this park is beautiful.  I can feel myself relaxing and breathing easier already.  Here are some shots of another covered bridge.

Ohio From My Window

We are really loving the landscape here.  The flowers are in full bloom and the fields are full of life.

Covered Bridges in Ohio

We are enjoying being back in Thousand Trails and having friends around.  Rene and Mira are here, so that means we are also enjoying pickleball.  Beyond that, there are some neat things in the area.  One of those things are the covered bridges.  They are all unique and they are all really interesting to us.

We liked driving through them, but we enjoyed walking through them even more.

There is just a beauty involved in the curves and lines of the bridges.

There is something about seeing and feeling the texture of the wood.

There is something so impressive about the handiwork involved in these.

And they are just so cute!

I'll try to catch up in the next few days and share more of these beautiful structures and the surrounding landscape.

Springfield VT to Jefferson OH

Today we drove about 540 miles to our new destination.  It took us about 11 hours to get there.  We drove through New York, and the scenery was gorgeous.  I still was not a fan of being in the truck that long.

Normally I try to catch up on my scrapbooking while we drive, but today I was trying to read instead.  That only lasted so long before I was ready for something else though.

Luckily, I have the boys to entertain me.  They shared interesting fun facts with me.  Like Memaw has mint Tums in the glove compartment of her car.  So anytime Austin has a tummy ache, headache or heartache she can fix what ails him.  Given Memaw's vast personal pharmacy, it does not surprise me that she has Tums in her car.  But mint?   I had no idea they made mint tums.  Good to know!

Austin just returned from a visit with Daryl and Diana, so he filled us in on all the comings and goings with the family.  They had a family get together while he was there, so he had lots to share.  He told us about a house that Daryl and Diana want to buy, so we looked online at pictures of that.

Aric shared his talent in taking my brother Steven's songs and remaking them Weird Al style.  Or maybe that should be Weird Aric style.  For example, one of the lines in a song as originally written is: You've got me locked inside your prison, and I hate everything you do.  Aric's version was something like: You've got me locked inside your freezer, and I am slowly turning blue.  (Forgive me guys if I have either one of those lines incorrect.  I'm going by memory and I'm kind of oldish now so my memory comes and goes)  Aric fully entertained us for some time with his brilliance in this area.  Ah, my kids are nothing if they are not creative. 

The very best of all for this particular trip was a conversation about Austin's now bald head and the moles the shaving of hair revealed.  Austin asks how bad it looks that the bulging one shows.  Aric:  It doesn't look bad from far way.  But up close it's scary.  It looks like it's giving me the stink eye.

 It just doesn't get any better than that kind of live improv that they have going on.  Not to mention, that there is a certain interaction with brothers that is fascinating to me.  That would be one great example of how guys relate that is totally different than girls.  It is hysterical to me to listen to, and as a girl I know I'd be horrified if my sister said that to me.  We are more likely to say, the mole...nah, it hardly shows at all.  Let me get some concealer out of my purse and see if I can make it go completely away though.

I love having boys for so many reasons but one of my favorite reasons is that on days like this, they make my life so much better. 

Living the life while driving through pretty New York!