Sunday - November 16

Bob: Well, we made it home Friday about 7:20. It took a long time to drive through Wyoming. The winds were blowing us in the face making us use lots of gas.  In fact, we stopped for gas in Laramie, Rawlins, and Evanston and then for dinner in Rock Springs. I believe this was my slowest trip ever through Wyoming. Didn't have this much trouble going eastward. I think it is because the wind blows west to east so that traveling eastward the wind gives you a great advantage.
Unpacked some things Friday and Saturday, but there is still more to do. Plus we haven't touched the boat yet. On Saturday afternoon I had to get up on the roof and replace 6 shingles that had blown off the garage. Only found 1 on the ground and it was inside the entry way leading to the front door. Did manage to get some shopping on Saturday too.
Bonnie keeps saying my appetite is too finicky and it's so hard to make something I like. She asked me what I wanted to eat for Sunday dinner. I settled on a beef roast. She tried a new recipe and I must say she outdid herself in the kitchen today. It was sooooo good. Told her we could eat it again tomorrow night.
Basketball season is off and running. Got games for Tuesday and Thursday in Salt Lake. Orem recreation is supposed to call me tomorrow about getting a background check and a drug check so I can be hired by them to work games locally. It will beat driving to Salt Lake, plus they pay more. The drive to Salt Lake will start to get bad soon as UDOT is starting a widening project for the road from Lehi SR 92 to 12300 South in Salt Lake. That's a 7 mile stretch. Preliminary work is beginning soon, but will pick up greatly in the spring. It is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2016 while we are on our mission! Yippee.
Well it's time to close. I have enjoyed posting on the blog during our travels. I hope you have enjoyed our comments. It is nice knowing that a few people were following the summer escapades of a couple of senior citizens! Until our mission, may God bless everyone with peace and happiness.

Bonnie:  I am so glad to be home. The thought of any more car trips makes me groan!  As I was cooking today I realized that I didn't have all of my baking pans.  I thought for a minute that I had left them in Ontario! Then, Bob went out to look in the boat, which we haven't unpacked yet.  He came in with my missing pans, thankfully! It took Friday night and Saturday just to unpack the back of the truck. Tomorrow we will tackle the boat. There is also much needed yard work to do.
It has been such a great trip, beginning with seeing beautiful Ontario and making wonderful friends there. And ending with family (what can I say? Our grandchildren are the best in the world!) and friends. Along with this, we have seen some wonderful historical sites that have helped me appreciate this country of ours. The Lord  has surely blessed us on this 5-month sojourn. I, too, am pleasantly surprised by those of you who have faithfully read our blog. I  hope it has given you some enjoyment.  It's been good for us to write it. May the Lord bless us all.

Thursday - November 13

Bonnie: To be honest I am so ready to be home!  I am really tired of being in the truck all day doing sudoku puzzles while Bob drives. I have one book I can read but I've read it once already. And, we have to put the boat cover on each evening and take it off each morning before we start our trip. The first night it wasn't too bad because it wasn't too cold.  But, tonight we are in Sidney, Nebraska, and it is frigid weather.  I dread going out in the morning to take the cover off.  It will be 1 degree and feel like minus 1, according to weather.com.  Even though I have on a blouse and sweatshirt, plus a zippered jacket, plus my heavy coat, I am cold.  I hope they have hot chocolate in the breakfast buffet tomorrow!
Hopefully, we will be home by late afternoon or early evening tomorrow.  Yes!!!!

Bob:  It appears we are driving into a head wind each day. I noticed last night and today that our miles per gallon average is much lower on our return trip than when we left in June. I believe the last tank average was just a little over 12 miles per gallon. Hope it starts getting better.
We snacked today, not stopping for lunch. Looked on the internet and didn't see a lot of options for food in Sidney, but we decided to go on to Sidney anyway. We were going to eat at the truck stop, but there is a Perkins here. We both ate like we had fasted for a day! It was delicious.

Wednesday - November 12

Bob: Left Sellersburg about 8:15 this morning. We headed for Kansas City via routes 64 and then 70. We were to follow 64 and pick up I-70 on the east side of St. Louis. Well, the ramp from 64 to 70 was closed. Saw one sign for a detour, but never saw another. We ended up on I-44 which took us about 10 miles out of our way. It ran into I-270 which took us back to I-64. I-64, which I believe is a new route through St. Louis, then ties into 70 several miles west of St. Louis. To top off that we had to stop for gas! It was quite the adventure. Tomorrow we will have to go around Lincoln, NE, but I have it mapped out already!!
When we got to Kansas City it was COLD. Temperature says 27, but it is bone chilling cold. We put the cover on the boat once we got to the motel. When we left Sellersburg the ends of the tie ropes for the boat were damp. Tonight when I started to tie the boat cover down, I discovered the ends of the tie ropes were totally frozen. Oh well. I think the ropes will hold till morning.

Bonnie:  I've had to get creative keeping myself warm, putting on some "stretchy" pants over my jeans, and an extra sweatshirt under my heavy coat.  I'm sure this cold is worse because of the humidity.  I'm so grateful we won't have that problem when we're home! It gets cold, but humidity makes it worse and there's not much of that in Utah.

Tuesday - November 11

Bob: Up late again. Shannon, Michelle and the boys are gone. Went for a walk and then went shopping with Bonnie. Finished up buying Christmas gifts for everyone.
Weather is getting colder and we had a little rain today.
Went to Olive Garden for dinner. Olive Garden was giving away free meals to veterans today, so to say it was crowded is an understatement. Thank goodness we called ahead to get seating. Our wait was a little over 15 minutes. The hostess was telling people walking in to expect over an hours wait.
Came home and played a few hands of Mexican Train. Took pictures and wished everyone well as we might not see them in the morning. It's been fun, but all things come to an end. Tomorrow, it's back on the road again!!

Bonnie:  I had fun wrapping the few gifts we bought today.  Christmas is coming sooner than I want it to.  The gifts are strategically placed under Michelle's "Thanksgiving Trees" in the living room.
It feels like winter.  Tomorrow I will need to get my gloves out before we leave for our long day of driving.  Utah, here we come!

Monday - November 10

Bob: Not much happening today. The weather was nice. Warmed up to about 61. Cold air is supposed to hit Wednesday, the day we leave. Hope we don't hit snow.
Bonnie and I went for a walk this morning. Then we went shopping for lawn mowers. Shannon thinks I should get a Husqvarna tractor like his. They are about 300-400 cheaper than a comparable John Deere. Could not find any Husqvarnas at Lowe's today, but they had the John Deeres. Shannon said they are the exact same engine as the John Deere, but just cheaper. He has had his over a year and it is doing just fine. Cannot make up my mind whether I want to buy the riding mower now, or after I get back from our mission. I am thinking if I pay someone to use my mower I would rather have them use the walk behind mower than the tractor.
After supper we had a short Family Home Evening and then played an exciting game of Apples to Apples. Everyone else is in bed now, so I am signing off till tomorrow. Going Christmas shopping tomorrow.

Sunday - November 9

Bob: Went to church this morning. Shannon and Michelle have changed ward buildings since we last went to church with them. They now go to the Charlestown Ward. It is a nice building right off Route 403. It sits right in front of a new housing development. It is a small building and does not have a chapel. They have to set up chairs every week for the Sacrament Meeting. I think someone said this is a Phase 1 building. (Scott Crossley: Is that correct?)
After church Michelle's oldest brother, Keith, came over with his family of 4 kids. We played several games of mexican train with 7 or 8 players. Lots of fun.
About dark I finally had time to take a walk. No street lights in this development so I had to be real careful where I was stepping.

Bonnie:  I like the ward here. The building didn't seem small to me at all, but it did seem odd to go into the chapel and see fold-up chairs instead of pews. There is a Sister Martin in the ward who claims that the first Martin in North America came from France to New Brunswick in the 1600s.  The French married women from local Mikmac Indian tribes and became known as Acadians.  It's fascinating to think about this. We may try to get more information tomorrow.
We've had an enjoyable time with Michelle's brother and his family, though I like to remind myself that next Sunday we will be home in our Lindon Ward!

Saturday - November 8

Bob: Took Bonnie to an eye doctor today at Sam's Club. He thinks she had an allergic reaction to the medicine she was putting in her eye. He thinks the initial problem, conjunctivitis, has cleared up and the swelling and redness is caused by the medicine. She got a prescription for a steroid cream to rub around her eye. It comes in a very small tube and her co-pay was $104.83!! And that was with insurance.
Once we got home we went to Huber Farm to pick apples, but they had stopped the picking on the 2nd because of frost. So we bought some apples, bread, a pie and ice cream cones for everyone. I was disappointed in the ice cream because they didn't have white-house cherry ice cream this time like the last time.

Bonnie:  It was a circus getting to Sam's Club.  We were following Christian and Michelle when a car drove by waving at us that something was wrong with the back of the truck. We pulled over and found that the tailgate was down! After we fixed that we could no longer see Christian and we ended up missing the right exit. We called Michelle and turned around but when we got to the correct exit, we couldn't use it because of construction!  So, after bypassing the correct exit we turned around and went back to the correct exit. What a comedy of errors.
Huber Farm is a delightful place...lots of delicious home-made goodies and farm produce.

Friday - November 7

Bob: Wednesday night we had dinner at Quinets with some of the people I used to work with at Iron Oxide. Those attending were Don Gray and his wife, Gary Church, Mike Herrick, Bob Shreve, Steve Pettit and Tammy Whitlatch. Had a good time visiting and left stuffed.

Yesterday morning we visited with Alexis, Robin and Tincy. Then we went to Reader to load the truck and pick up the boat. Just as we finished the boat and were driving away we experienced a hail storm! 5 minutes earlier and we would have been drenched.
We went back to Quinets again for dinner. For the second night we were stuffed!! After dinner we went back to Loy's as Mary Rose and her mother were coming over for a visit. We laughed our heads off at Mary and some of her comments. And Mary wore out Ken flashing him!! (She kept taking his picture with a flash. Ken said she tired him out. Someone suggested she had flashed him too much!)

Drove to Sellersburg today. No problems other than tractors/trailers in the passing lane blocking traffic. Expected this on I-70, but it was really bad on I-71 from Cincinnati to Columbus.
Played several hands of mexican train with Michelle and the boys tonight.

Wednesday - November 5

Bob: Got to New Martinsville yesterday close to 4:30. Traffic was already backed up through town. Took our stuff to the Loy's and then went to PJ's Pizza for dinner. Left there around 5:40 and traffic was still backed up north on Route 2 for as far as I could see. We drove to the nursing home which was northward and found the end of the backup was about in front of Grisell's funeral home.
Bonnie left me at the nursing home so I could visit with Ron Wilson while she went to visit with Leann and Mariah.
Weather here today is overcast and it has rained some.


Bonnie:  It was great traveling through both Carolinas and Virginia yesterday.  The only bad thing was that many of the trees had lost their pretty autumn leaves.  It is still beautiful country, though.
I had a wonderful visit with Leann and Mariah last night.  What a sweet girl Mariah is.  On the 19th she will have a baby sister so life will change for that little family!
Tonight is the great gathering of Bayer buddies and their wives at Quinets, where is found the greatest food in New Martinsville (so they say).  It should be fun!

Monday - November 3

Bob: Said good-bye to Eddie and Lorraine this morning. Very hard to leave them as I don't know for sure when we will get together again. Hoping we can go back to Florida in March.
Drove to Rock Hill, SC today. It was a little over 600 miles and we are both tired. Had dinner at Cracker Barrel. Not all family members care for Cracker Barrel, but the chocolate-pecan pie made it worthwhile. Not much more to add. We are turning in for the night.

Sunday - November 2

Bob: Got up Saturday morning and took Bonnie to an InstaCare facility. Her right eye itches and waters, and is puffy. She had never used her medicare until now. After the doctor looked at her eye he told her it is not matted in the morning, so it's not infected, and that it is only her right eye so it's not an allergy.  Then, he said "I'm not sure what it could be, but take this prescription and it will probably take care of it." I would like to know why he knows what it is NOT, but not what it is, and how he knows the medicine will take care of it. Anyway, she didn't have to pay anything at the doctor's facility. Took the prescription to Walmart and they charged her $1.00 for the prescription. Afterwards, Bonnie said she likes medicare! Today, her eye is better, but still itching.
We went to the Arcadia Branch this morning.  That was the smallest church building I have ever seen. The building capacity is 79.
Been doing some genealogy work with Eddie. Showed him how to access the "Find A Grave" website.

Bonnie:  Church was great today.  I felt that closeness with the members that is common at our meetings wherever there is a gathering of the Saints.  It's been a fun visit with Ed and Lorraine.  I think one reason we came back a second time is to talk about genealogy!  I've learned a lot about Bob listening to Ed and Lorraine talk.  Ask him about his head full of blonde curls, his teddy bear, and a farting contest with his brother!
We leave early tomorrow to go back to West Virginia to pick up the boat and go to dinner with Bob's buddies from Bayer.  Then it's homeward bound by way of Sellersburg, Indiana to see Christian and Michelle and the boys.

Friday - October 31

Bob: Happy Halloween to everyone. Not much going on today. Scott Crossley stopped this morning to bring Bonnie's sandals and pick up their beach umbrella. After Scott left Bonnie and I went for a walk then shopping this afternoon. Eddie took us out to A Taste of Italy tonight. Everyone had a wonderful pasta dinner except me. I opted for shrimp. Eddie was quite surprised I didn't order pasta. He said he would never forgive me for that.
Weather was beautiful today. Temperatures went to low 80s. Tonight it is cooling off to the 60s. Can't believe it is the end of October. Called Flo and Ken Loy in New Martinsville. We are headed there Monday. Hope to arrive by Tuesday.
Bonnie sends her love.

Thursday - October 30

Bob: We took some pictures of the sights of St. Augustine this morning before we started for Arcadia. Also stopped at Walgreens and got some eye drops recommended by the pharmacist for Bonnie. She says her eye is beginning to feel better already. Her eye has been swollen, itching and watering for several days now. Arrived in Arcadia a little past three.

Bonnie and I at the Old Jail

Old Jail Marker

Marker for Original Landing

Bonnie:  We had fun taking pictures of some of the places we didn't have time to see yesterday. We saw the lighthouse across the bridge, took a picture of Ponce de Leon's statue, and looked at St. Augustine's Oldest Jail. The first Ripley's "Believe It or Not" is also in St. Augustine so we took a picture of the outside.  We also went to see the oldest Catholic parish where there is a huge cross that is 200' tall. There is a beautiful, peaceful park there.  After that we left for Ed and Lorraine's and arrived about 3:30 this afternoon.

200 foot mission cross

Ripley's Believe It or Not

Wednesday - October 29

Bob: Started our sightseeing off with a trolley ride through historic St. Augustine. It was very informative and relaxing. When we finished we walked over to the Lightner Museum. Went through part of it then we had to hotfoot it over to Flagler College to do their 2:00 tour. Henry Flagler and John D. Rockerfeller were the founders of the Standard Oil Company. When Rockerfeller was asked if the Standard Oil company was the result of his thinking, he answered, "No, sir. I wish I had the brains to think of it. It was Henry M. Flagler." The college is pretty impressive as it includes the old Ponce de Leon Hotel. See pictures below. After that tour we went back to the Lightner Museum and then toured the Castillo de San Marcos, which is a fort built by Spain to protect its interests in Florida in the late 1600s. Then we went to dinner at the Raintree restaurant.

Entrance to Flagler College

One of the many Tiffany stained glass windows in the students dining area! These windows are valued in the millions. Antiques Roadshow has valued them "priceless".

Another hotel Flagler built.

Bonnie:  We are exhausted today after our tours, but it was worth it.  What an interesting city this is. There is much to see and we have only scratched the surface. It was 1513 that Ponce de Leon explored Florida and 1565 when Menendez settled St. Augustine.  The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. That's almost 100 years later! Something seems to be missing with the teaching of our history! Anyway, I am impressed with the Spanish influence here.
We saw some beautiful things at the museum and Flagler college, including the windows made of Tiffany glass. There was a large display of crystal in the museum that was awesome, too.  The fort we toured changed hands a number of times from Spanish to English, back to Spanish, and then to the US. All of these changes were done by treaty and not fighting.  No soldiers died! That's impressive.

Castillo de San Marcos

Castillo de San Marcos

Tuesday - October 28

Bob: Left Clermont about 9:50. It was hard to leave Lori, Scott and the kids. Drove to St. Augustine and spent the afternoon looking at the sights. Went to dinner at Harrys and had a great meal. It was recommended by the guy that set up our tours for tomorrow. Took some pictures but left the camera hookup in the car. Will add some pictures tomorrow night.


Bonnie:  St. Augustine is a quaint place right on the water.  It's America's oldest city--1545 was when the Spanish landed here.  Through the years many different people settled it--beginning with Ponce de Leon from Spain, to the British, to blacks from Africa, to people from the Mediterranean, such as Greece.  It  makes for great food options, that's for sure.  We will go on a bus tour tomorrow that will include the fort on the water where Ponce de Leon landed and other cool places.  More tomorrow.

Monday - October 27

Bob: Scott and I went for an hour bike ride this morning. Not as hilly here as Maryland and North Carolina. They have a nice trail that goes several miles and a lot of it is in the shade. In the afternoon Scott and I changed the oil in our truck and his Acadia. We sent Lori and Scott out for dinner. Nana had the kids out back while I was packing the back of the truck. We're getting ready to leave in the morning and head to St. Augustine. Will be there Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday we are going back to Arcadia and stay with Eddie and Lorraine till Monday morning. We hope to land in New Martinsville on Tuesday. Will leave New Martinsville next Friday and go to Sellersburg. Plans are to leave Sellersburg on Wednesday and arrive home Friday, November 14th.  Can't wait to do it all again!

Bonnie:  Lori and I did several fun things today.  We were going to go to "chapel" with Allie Jane, who goes to a Christian preschool, but it was cancelled for some reason.  So, we went to lunch with Jackson at his school.  Then we did some Christmas shopping and shopping for ourselves!!  You know how it is with women and shoes....  Anyway, three pairs of shoes later we picked up Allie Jane and made our way home. Lori and Scott went out to eat tonight and I just put Gwen and Allie Jane to bed. Now, Jackson wants to know how to play Mexican Train before he goes to bed! Have we started a tradition here???

Sunday - October 26

Bob: Went to church and then took a nap. After dinner Bonnie and I went on a walk around the neighborhood. Once the girls were in bed we played a game of Mexican Train, which Bonnie won. Everyone is happy for her.
We are trying to figure out where to go next and what would be the most efficient way to do it.

Bonnie: It is about time I won Mexican Train!!

Saturday - October 25

Bob: After being up to 3am I got up at 7:45. Thought Eddie wanted to clean and wax the cover for his pickup, but he decided not to do it before we ate. After we ate and set around for awhile he changed his mind about cleaning the cover. We washed it off twice and then put 2 coats of wax on it. Also cleaned the tire rims and Nerf bars on both trucks. Had to shower then and get ready to go back to Clermont.  Ate lunch and then left Arcadia about 1:10. We got to Clermont right before 3:30. Came back through Avon Lake, but that way has too many red lights to suit me.Went to the Fall Festival tonight at Lori's ward. Gwen was dressed as a cupcake; Allie as a witch; Jackson as a squire; Lori as a punk rocker; and Scott as Darth Vader.

Friday - October 24

Bob: Forgot to post a message last night as I was watching the NFL football game. We went to Port Charlotte yesterday with Eddie and Lorraine. She had a follow up appointment for her eye surgery. While in Port Charlotte we stopped at bicycle shop to get a brake for Lorraine's bike. Discovered today that they sold us the wrong brake.
Today Bonnie and I drove to Sarasota and took a driving tour of the beach area. It was very interesting. The beach area is about 25 miles long. We stopped at Bradenton Beach and walked in the Gulf. Water was very green and cool.

Bonnie:  We had a delicious meal at The Cracker Barrel yesterday too, although Bob just had a strawberry milkshake.  His food habits are really changing for some reason.  Is it because of retirement or his pre-diabetes? I have no idea and neither does he.  Oh, well...
We had a wonderful day seeing the Gulf of Mexico in the Sarasota region.  We visited three beaches-Bradenton, Coquina, and North Shore. I love the beaches here--the water is warm with very white sand.  And the colors of the water are beautiful--aqua, light and dark blue and green in various shades.  There is lots of wild life here, too. We saw cranes and lots of big and little seagulls on the beach.  Yesterday we saw 6 or 8 rabbits when we walked.  We also saw two cranes by the name of Lucy and Desi, as the local residents call them! Anyway, today was a lovely day.  When we got back to Ed and Loraine's she had made delicious vegetable soup. A perfect ending to a perfect day.

Coquina Beach

Beach at North Shore

Birds on dock at Bradenton Beach

Wednesday - October 22

Bob: Got up this morning and headed to Arcadia. Got there around 1:30. Not too hot today. Spent the rest of the day visiting. Bonnie and Lorraine went out to get lunch and then again later to pick up some items at Walmart. They brought back mostly nutritional items such as donuts, cookies, ice cream, bacon and eggs, etc. Planning on going to Port Charlotte tomorrow and out to eat at Cracker Barrel.
Forgot yesterday to add that we had some butterbeer in Harry Potter World. It's non-alcoholic, very sweet and comes in two styles, liquid or frozen. It tastes a lot like butterscotch. We liked the frozen better than the liquid.

Tuesday - October 21

Bob: Went to Universal Studio theme park today. A lot of walking, but the crowd wasn't big nor the weather too hot. Enjoyable day. Spent a lot of time looking at Harry Potter land. See pictures below.

Bonnie:  It's hard to explain the scope of Universal Studios Theme Park.  It has many different rides and activities dealing with things from Popeye, Spiderman and other/Marvel Comic Super Heroes to Dr. Suess, Lucille Ball, ET, and of course, Harry Potter Land.  We thought the best part was the ride inside Hogwarts, even though it was scary as all get out. We rode the Hogwarts Express twice because it connected the two parts of Harry Potter World. We saw the "sorting hat" and listened to Dumbledorf''s welcome to Hogwarts.  I encourage all Harry Potter fans to try to go if they can. What was also interesting were the number of people there from the British Isles.  It must be a popular place for them to go. We were there from about 9:00 am to 7:00 pm so it was a very long, very fun day. My feet are killing me!  But, I'm so glad we got to go.

Arriving at Universal

Getting off the Hogwarts Express

Lori and Bonnie in Diagon Alley

Head Goblin at Gringots

Monday - October 20

Bob: Up early and getting ready to go to the beach. Attended church yesterday and spent the day just relaxing. Played Mexican train after kids went to bed. With Scott's luck in this game we're encouraging him to try the lottery!! Planning on Harry Potter World tomorrow.

Bonnie:  I love the beaches here in Florida.  The water is warm and inviting.  And if you look carefully you can see jelly fish and sting ray fish.  Bob and I took a walk along the beach and must have seen 6 or 8 jelly fish washed up on the beach.  We also saw a sting ray!  It was a little one, thankfully!  Cocoa Beach, where we went, has showers and nice bathrooms which is also nice.  We were all quite tired when we got home.  It's surprising how tired you get.
Tonight just after our Family Home Evening we had a Skype visit with Jeff and Islena and their family.  I love Skype!!  It was great to see all of them.  Franklin has really grown tall. It makes me anxious to see them.  And just so our blog readers outside the family know, we are the proud grandparents of a new baby--Thea Love, daughter of Scott and Jenny.   I can't wait to hold her!  She looks so sweet.  We have 26 beautiful grand-children now.
Tomorrow, it's Harry Potter World.  Wednesday we will be going to Arcadia to see Eddie and Lorraine.  What a great time we are having!  Thank you, Lord, for families and all the many blessings you have given to us.

Saturday - October 18

Bob: Did not get anything posted yesterday as we were in route from North Carolina to Florida. Did not get to leave North Carolina until about 10:30. Got to Scott and Lori's just before 9:00. This morning we went to see Jackson's soccer game. His team won 2 - 0 and Jackson had one save as a goalie and two kicks towards the opponent's goal.

Bonnie:  It's so warm here, about 82 degrees!  We are planning our week and have several fun options which will include Lori, Bob and I going to Harry Potter World.  Lori says the kids are too scared of the rides but she wants to go anyway. I'm excited about that!  We also will go to the beach and go fishing one day and see St. Augustine one day.  It will be fun to visit with Bob's brother and sister-in-law, too.  More later.

Thursday - October 16

Bob: We have spent two restful days in North Carolina. Rode my bike for a little over an hour each day. Land is rolling, but not too steep. Not as bad as the one hill in Maryland. We'll see how I do in Florida. Went to Longhorn last night. We had a late dinner. Today we helped JoAnne close up the swimming pool at each home. Bonnie did the laundry for the last time. Packing things up and getting to ready to head out tomorrow morning. Bonnie is getting her hair done at 11:00 so I will pick her up and we'll be on our way. It looks like an 8 and 1/2 hour drive. It will be a long day.

Bonnie:  My appointment is at 9:00 in the morning, but it will be a fairly long one, so I envision us leaving about noon.  It's been a nice few days, just hanging out with JoAnne and Niels. This morning I went to water aerobics with JoAnne.  It was very fun and I enjoyed the exercise!  I would like to do it when I get back home.  I have no idea where it is offered, but I will find out. One of the things Bob will remember most about our visit with JoAnne and Niels will be their dogs, two bichon frieses, Duchess and Muffin.  Bob used to have two dogs the same kind and one of them was also called Muffin.  They loved Bob's tummy rubs and he loved teasing and playing with them.  They also have a horse and lots of land.  In fact, if anyone wants to buy a house  here, the Eskelsen's want to sell their other house.
I wish we could stay longer but I am also anxious to spend time with Lori, Scott and their kids, and also with Bob's brother and sister-in-law, Eddie and Lorraine.  Florida, here we come!

Tuesday - October 14

Bob: Spent the morning touring Monticello, plantation home of President Thomas Jefferson. We had planned to tour all floors in the home, but that tour was sold out. We only got to tour the first floor and the grounds. Also went on a 'tour' that talked about Jefferson and slavery that existed at Monticello. Jefferson of course is the author of the Declaration of Independence which states all men are created equal. However, Thomas Jefferson was a slave owner, having inherited slaves from both his father and father-in-law. Jefferson died a slave owner too. This puts Thomas Jefferson in a different position as far as some people are concerned. It was a problem that followed him throughout his lifetime, but he never quit advocating for the abolishment of slavery. It seems that he knew slavery was wrong, but would not give up the practice for financial reasons. He was also in a huge amount of debt. But as one person commented during the tour, "Have you ever known a politician to say one thing and do another?" Well spoken!!
After we left Monticello we drove to JoAnne and Niels' home in Concord, NC. Very beautiful drive through the mountains and countryside. Most of the drive was not on the interstates.
Bonnie says she really loved Monticello and wishes everyone the best. She's still talking to her sister and it's well  past my bedtime!

Monday - October 13

Bob: Left Dan and Misty's about 8:40 and arrived in Luray Caverns, which is in Virginia, about 11:00. Toured the caverns, antique cars/carriages museum, and the Luray Caverns' Museum. There are millions of dollars worth of antique cars at Luray Caverns. The caverns are privately owned and that family has spared no expense in purchasing antique cars. After that we drove across the Shenandoah Mountains to New Market and toured the museum there. Then we drove to Montpelier, home of James Madison, but it was closed on Monday. Arrived in Charlottesville around 7:30.
A bit of history on the caverns. They were discovered in 1878 by 3 individuals who in turn purchased the property at public auction. But because they hadn't told anybody about the caverns before the purchase they ended up being sued for fraud. And THEY LOST. After owning the caverns for 2 years the caverns were taken away from them and sold again. In 1905 the present owners bought the caverns.

Bonnie: We have seen some wonderful things. There are fantastic formations in Luray Caverns.The stalactites and stalagmites grow about 1 inch every 100 years! And what was fun was that we met a family from Utah there--Gunnison, in fact. It's a small world.
At the museum in New Market there were several different collections, including items from the Revolutionary War, the Civil War (New Market is the site of one of the battles fought) and World War II.  We learned another horrific fact about Hitler, trying to breed his "super" race by impregnating women, if they had the "pure" genetics. It didn't matter if the women were married or not. The babies were taken to be raised by the state when they were born. Imagine the challenge of doing those genealogies! Enough about that.
I have really enjoyed the beautiful countryside today. It seems that every day brings more color to the trees. I'm looking forward to seeing Monticello tomorrow. How blessed we are to live in this glorious land!

Those are not fried eggs!

A Reflecting Pool

L-29 Phaeton

1910 Buick

Sunday - October 12

Bob: Not much happening today. Got up very, very late. Church is at 1:00 and it is Fast Sunday. Packed the truck up as we're pulling out in the morning. Heading to Luray Caverns in Virginia and then we'll stay all night in Charlottesville, Va. Going to tour Monticello Tuesday morning and then head to Bonnie's sister's, JoAnne, in the afternoon. Saying good bye to everyone tonight.

Bonnie:  Bob and I are sleeping in later and later it seems.  Oh,well...the blessings of retirement, I guess :)  We enjoyed church today, even though it was our second fast Sunday for October.  The best part of the day was when Dan came back from home-teaching and made blueberry muffins.  He finished up the blueberries we brought from Canada.  They were delicious!  It was hard saying good-bye to Katie and Ammon tonight.  They will be gone by the time we get up.  Katie leaves for Seminary at 5:45 am and Ammon leaves at 6:45 am to catch the bus to school.  We plan on being up at 7 and leaving by 8:30 tomorrow so we can give our good-bye hugs to the other three kids then. Then, it's on to other adventures!

Saturday - October 11

Bob: Woke up late. The morning was cool and wet outside, but Bonnie, Ammon and I did manage to get in a 45 minute walk. In the afternoon Bonnie and I took Sarah, Michael and Reni to an interactive farm. There used to be a place called the "Enchanted Forest" near here. They shut down in the 1980s. The farm bought most of their exhibits and moved them to their place to go along with their farm animal exhibits. The kids got to see several farm animals, play on some fun outdoor toys and exhibits, go on a hay ride and pick out a pumpkin to bring home. Some pictures of below.

Little Toot Tug Boat

Crooked House

Friday - October 10

Bob: Slept in till after 8 this morning. Weather looked like rain so I didn't go for a bike ride. Decided to mow part of the field beside the house. It hadn't been mowed in a long time and the grass was pretty tall. Worked about 4 hours on it. Looks like I mowed about an acre. Some of the chutes of grass were over 2 feet tall. They didn't want to be knocked down. Several of them are still standing, but the regular grass got cut up.
This evening everyone went to see the new movie, "Meet the Mormons". It was very good with some tender spots. Would recommend it to everyone. After the movie Bonnie and I took Katie and Ammon to Katie's high schools home football game. Katie's team, Glenelg High School, won by a score of 35 - 6. The losing team was 5 - 0 entering tonight's game.
When we got home Michael was still up. He wanted me to read to him before he went to bed. He picked out a Calvin and Hobbs book for me to read. It was one of my favorites. I miss Calvin and Hobbs, especially their adventures with the baby sitter.

Bonnie:  "Meet The Mormons" is an excellent movie, very well done in my opinion.  If it's in your area be sure to see it!  Part of the proceeds go to the Red Cross, which is struggling financially right now, so it's a good way to spend your money!
Today I spent time helping Misty clean the house.  It's hard to keep up with 5 kids, 32 chickens and 1 husband!  And it's always more fun to clean someone else's house rather than my own.  Then I made an early dinner so we could make it to the movie on time.

Thursday - October 9

Bob: Sorry we didn't get anything posted yesterday. We got up early and headed to Philadelphia. By the time we got home last night we were too tired to write. Just said our good nights and went to bed.
There were some very interesting things we did see though.

Bonnie:  It was an eventful trip to say the least.  First of all, the truck was too tall to go into the parking garage so we had to go to an open lot belonging to the Holiday Inn Express.  It was about 30 minutes or more before the shuttle came to take us to the place to buy our bus tour tickets.  Then, because Bob had forgotten his jacket we sat down below in the bus, not on top where we could see everything.  It was harder to hear and we couldn't see out the windows very well because of mesh over the windows. But, it was an informative tour that gave us a good overview of Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love.  After our tour we went to the Visitor's Center for Independence Square.  Here we got tickets to see the place where the Declaration of Independence was signed as well the Constitution.  This was the best part of our visit for me.  I really enjoyed our tour guide.  It was wonderful to see exactly what it was like for the Founding Fathers.  We then viewed copies of the original documents made at that time to show the citizens.  We saw the Liberty Bell next and then headed for the Anglican Church where George Washington, Ben Franklin and several others of the Founding Fathers attended church when they were in Philadelphia.  We saw Washington's actual pew!  We headed back to our car, first eating an authentic Phily Cheese Steak sandwich and looking at Betsy Ross' home.  We didn't go inside because it closed at 5.  We also went down Elfreth's Alley, an authentic cobblestone street, very small with the houses all attached together and no front yards, much like it was in the 1700s. Much of old-town Philadelphia still is made up of original or very old buildings and streets. Then, we had our adventure going back!  We had to pay $16 at three different toll booths on the way up and didn't want to pay them going back so we tried to go back another way. This may not have been such a good idea!  We finally got home about 9 pm. But, it was an amazing experience.  I am so grateful for the early leaders of our country, who despite very big differences, came up with a workable plan that has made our country what it is today. I am proud to be an American!

Inside Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed

The Liberty Bell

George Washington's Pew in Christ's Church

(Parishioners paid for their pew space. Records validate who sat in which pew.)

Tuesday October 7

Bonnie: Not too much going on today. Bob helped to fix a water problem and I played with Reni at the park. I did some wash and we went to Walmart. We had pizza for dinner and that was about it.It was a nice, low-key kind of a day. One of the best things was that I heard from one of my grand-daughters that she is now Student Body President. What awesome news!

Bob: As Bonnie said, a low-key day. Almost like a day of fishing, but without a pole!! Did manage a one hour bike ride this morning and avoided the steep hills. Got the oil and filter so I could change it on the truck. Stopped off at a Chevrolet dealer before I changed the oil to ask him about the message on the truck's information system that says "Oil has 53% life remaining". He explained to me that there are many, many sensors on the newer vehicles that contribute information so you will know when to change the oil. He said to keep driving and wait till it says "change the oil". However, he cautioned, that I should check the oil level occasionally. Already did that this morning and it is at the "full" mark. So I don't have to change oil for a while yet. I did change it in Canada, but way too soon as there was over 50% life still remaining.
Another tender mercy came our way today. Sunday I emailed Patsy Jakob, Temiskaming Branch President's wife, and asked her if they had received any snow. She wrote back today and said they had not, but she needed to share something with us. She said that the other night she, Karl, Mason and Summer were sitting in the living room when, Daisy, their pet dog, began to bark. She said that the first thing Summer said was, "it's Bon (not misspelled) and Bonnie". Patsy said the kids still ask why we don't stop anymore. Made both Bonnie and I feel a little sad that we don't see them like we used to.

Monday - October 6

Bonnie:  Today we spent most of the day at the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC.  There is so much there it would be hard to describe all of it.  How horrific was the Nazi Regime!  In one place there was a huge  pile of shoes of those gassed in the concentration camps. There was the explanation of how Hitler came to power. Unfortunately, it seems the United States did not respond to these atrocities soon enough. There was a boxcar where often as many as 100 men, women, and children were put to be transferred to the concentration camps.  After seeing all the horror, we learned about some of the heroes.  We saw one of the Danish water-crafts that took stow away Jews to Sweden and also about other countries that helped Jews escape.  I like how it ended, in the Hall of Remembrance.  It is circular and little lighted candles are all around the room, with one large candle in the center in remembrance of those who died.
We didn't have time to eat and got home about 7:00.  Thankfully, Misty had dinner waiting for us. After that we had a great Family Home Evening with ice cream for the treat.  A very good way to end the day.

Bob: It is hard to imagine man being that cruel to his fellow man. I felt so depressed after spending all afternoon in the museum. I would hope this kind of cruelty would never again be on this earth.
Below are pictures of some visitors we had while watching conference yesterday.

Part the 30 plus visitors that wandered by for conference!!

Sunday - October 5

Bob: We awoke at 8:00 today. Did my stretching and finally started on my bike ride at 9:20. I have mapped out a new route today and I'm determined not to get lost. After 40 minutes I arrived at the round about I was riding to. It was at this point yesterday that I realized I was on the wrong road. Today I am coming from the opposite direction and it is where I want to be. Took me another 25 minutes to get home. Thankfully I did not have to climb the big hill today. Now it's time for breakfast and pills.

Bonnie: Conference has been wonderful.  How I love our prophet, President Monson.  And the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was great as always.
I don't have much to report today other than that today my six-year old grandson whispered to me that he was growing a mustache, as he showed me the corners of his upper lip.  Sure enough it looked like he might be right.  So, I asked my 11-year old grandson if he was growing a mustache, too, and he said yes as he showed me his upper lip. Sure enough, I could see a faint dark line across his upper lip. I don't know if this is a Christensen trait or an Ellis trait. They both seem to be rather young, don't you think? I've decided to call them the mustache brothers!

Saturday - October 4

Bob: Can't believe it, but we slept in till 9:15 this morning. We did go to bed late--about midnight, and were awakened when the soft water system flushed. What a noise! Sounded like fire hoses were spraying.
I went for a bike ride after getting up. I ended up getting lost and had to back-track a couple of miles. Thankfully there wasn't another big hill to climb. The terrain is mostly rolling without much flat land. You continuously go up and down. Earlier there was one big hill to climb, but thankfully it wasn't a long climb like Ohio route 536 that I did in New Martinsville. I have mapped out another route tomorrow so I won't have to climb that big hill. I get to go down it tomorrow!!
Highlight of the day was General Conference. Elder Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve and  Elder Davies of the Presiding Bishopbric gave excellent talks on caring for the poor and the needy. Also, Elder Cook gave a great talk tonight in Priesthood session on decisions and choices. Hope my grandchildren were listening, especially those planning on missions. He made the point that you just don't show up for your mission. Much work needs to be done to get yourself ready.
In between the morning and afternoon sessions of conference Bonnie and I went to Walmart and Costco to get some donuts and muffins for everyone. After the Priesthood session Dan and I stopped and picked up 3 lbs. of bacon. We'll be having bacon and eggs pretty soon. Dan made an avocado omelet for me this morning after the bike ride. Delicious!!

Friday October 3

Bob: Went for a short walk with Bonnie this morning. Mostly rested today. Helped Misty put up a track in the girl's room to hang curtains from. Bonnie and I baby sat the kids while Dan and Misty went out for the evening. Had a rousing game of Mexican Train with Katie and Ammon.
Pictures of Daphne and Jon during their horseback riding lessons are below.

Daphne

Jon

Bonnie;  Chickens are funny animals!  You should have seen Bob, Sarah and Michael try to get Buster, one of the roosters, into the pen tonight.  The chickens headed to the pen about 6:45 or so, but Buster couldn't seem to find the opening. He got frustrated and took off under some bushes by the garage. Finally, Sarah and Michael surrounded him and Sarah managed to scoop him up and carry him to the pen. I don't know how good I'd be at raising chickens. Misty and Dan care for about 30 of them.  I really admire them for doing it.  I must admit they make good soup!
When we finally got downstairs to our room we found a beautiful looking picture colored by Sarah. She wants us to frame it, so that will happen as soon as we get home.

Thursday - October 2

Bob: Got up and took another long walk this morning. We left Chris and Suzy's just before 11:00 and drove overland to Gettysburg. It was much faster getting to Gettysburg this way instead of going to Chambersburg on the freeway and then to Gettysburg. We decided to do the AUTO tour today. I wanted to get some pictures of some of the monuments our tour guide talked about on Tuesday when we were there. Started the tour just before noon and we didn't get back to the Visitors Center until almost 3:00. When we finished there we headed overland to Misty's and got there about 4:30. Tonight was Serenity's birthday dinner so everyone had a good time telling her what they liked about her and what they wanted for her in the future.

Bonnie:  I think I must be the luckiest person in the world!  Bob and I are free to spend our time how we want and right now we are here with family we love, seeing wonderful historic places.  We love Gettysburg.  There is so much to learn there.  And this next week we will be seeing more historic places in Washington DC and Philadelphia.  More on that later, of course.
Misty has us using Katie's bedroom in the basement, which will be perfect for us  We have our own bathroom and closet.  Even though the room is unfinished it will do very well.
May the Lord's blessings be with you all!

Eternal Flame at Gettysburg

(Combined North and South Monument dedicated in 1938 by Franklin D. Roosevelt)

This is the Virginia Monument. Robert E. Lee is sitting on his horse Traveller.

Union General George Meade at Gettysburg on his horse Old Baldy

(He was the Union head man, who received command 3 days before the Gettysburg battle began)

Wednesday - October 1

Bob: Went for a long walk this morning with Bonnie. Later in the morning we went to Chambersburg and got a new phone. The phone cost 25.99 at Target plus tax. The same phone at the AT&T store cost 55.xx plus tax. Needless to say we got it at Target and had AT&T activate it. Spent the rest of the day with the grand-kids.

Bonnie: We've had a fun day with the grand-kids.  Since tonight was a Daddy-Daughter Date for Daphne and Young Womens for Evie, Bob and I took Jonathan to the playground and then for ice cream.  Jonathan helped us find the Italian Ice place he wanted us to go to. I gave each of the kids "snuggy-bugs" and good-night hugs.  It's hard to say good-bye when I see them so seldom.

Tuesday September 30

Bonnie:  Today we spent the day in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  It's truly a national treasure!  We watched a short movie that was very emotional (for me, anyway) and then looked at a "colorama"  of the battle at Gettysburg.  It is a huge circular painting that fills a large room.  Then we took a bus tour of the battleground sites.  This took over two hours.and was so interesting. After that, we listened to a park ranger talk about Abraham Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address while looking at the National Cemetery area.  We had just enough time to see some of the many artifacts in the museum before it closed. I'd like to see it again because there wasn't enough time for me to see all I wanted.  The battle at Gettysburg was a decisive one but it cost so many lives!  Freedom really isn't free!
Yesterday was also fun.  Of course, chocolate is always fun.  The part I enjoyed the most was tasting chocolate from 7 different places in the world. Amazingly, there is quite a difference between each one.

Bob: Gettysburg is always an awesome experience. The tour bus driver said that over 50% of the visitors to Gettysburg come back 5 times!! It is an inspiring experience. This battle changed the history of the United States. If the Union soldiers had fallen here who knows what type of government we might be living under today.

Hershey Candy Kiss Street Light

Monday - September 29

Bob: Got up this morning and went for a 3 mile walk with Bonnie. We saw 2 deer cross the road in front of us. After we had breakfast we headed to Hershey, Pa. to visit the chocolate factory. Toured the factory and went to the museum. Had lunch and headed home. After dinner we went to King's Gap State Park. We toured the grounds. Pictures of the Inn and a view from it are below. It was built in the late 1800's by the man who was Secretary of State for the Union during the Civil War. Then we went to Leo's in Carlisle. It is on the list of the top 10 or 20 ice cream shops in the USA. Needless to say, it was good.

Sunday - September 28

Bob: Went to church this morning. The Ward is in Chambersburg. They meet in the Stake Center. It is about 20-25 minutes away. Daphne, Bonnie and I went for a walk this afternoon around the Shippensburg University campus. We looked at several buildings and watched half an inning of a girl's softball game. (Thought the umpires looked a little sloppy in their dress. Also, the base umpire was resting on his knees in the set position.) We finished off the night with a short game of Mexican Train. All in all it has been a very pleasant day. The weather is really beautiful right now.

Bonnie: I don't have much to add. Daphne was a terrific guide around the Shippensburg campus!  We found a huge red wooden chair, bigger than Daphne, and several sculptures that were interesting. The best part was finding chestnuts with their spiky, green outsides.  We had to bring one home, of course.  We also saw where Chris teaches which is part of the same building where Daphne and Jonathan go to school.  It's been a lovely day.
Tomorrow I will be listening to Chris teach Seminary about 6:15 in the morning.  Six students come to Chris' house for their Seminary class.  I miss teaching it sometimes--the teaching, not the preparation of the lessons.

Saturday - September 27

Bob: We left NM today and drove to West Friendship, MD for Sarah's belated birthday celebration. Chris and Suzy brought there kids from Shippensburg. We made it in just under 5 hours without getting lost!! It was good to see everyone and the weather cooperated. Temperature was in the low 80s. After the party we then headed for Shippensburg. We'll be staying with Chris and Suzy for a few days and then going back to Dan and Misty's home. All the girls went to the General Women's Meeting broadcast from Salt Lake to the Stake Centers. The men went up in the mountains to have a camp fire and roast hot dogs, etc. However, every fire pit they knew of was taken. Thus we ended up coming back to town and going to Mike's home. He has a fire pit in his back yard. We were able to start the fire without too much trouble and roasted our dogs.
Time for bed now, but sleep might be a while coming as there is a race track near town that produces a lot of noise. Chris said they will be racing pretty late tonight. Maybe our tiredness will drown out the noise.

Bonnie: Good night and love to all. I love being with my family.

Friday September 26

Bonnie:  To those reading our blog, (if there are any left reading our blog!) we apologize for not updating it.  We are staying with friends who do not have a computer, let alone wifi.  It's taken some planning to get to the library and set things up.  We have had a very enjoyable time visiting with old friends the last several days.  We were going to post more on the blog yesterday, but the library was closed, so here we are.
We got into New Martinsville area Monday about 5 or so and then headed out to Reader to put the boat into Bob's brother's garage.  It took some time to unload it and the other things we wanted to leave.  We've decided that we have brought way too much stuff!  Bob's nephew, Jerry, helped us.  Flo and Ken Loy welcomed us to their home later that evening.  We visited with Bob and Sally Briggs on Tuesday after seeing Ron Wilson at the New Martinsville Nursing Home.  Wednesday we headed up to Pittsburgh to meet Bob's sister-in-law and go to Mike's grave sight.  We had a delicious lunch at Olive Garden and then headed to East Liverpool (actually Calcutta, Ohio) to see Vicky Bohrer.  That was a very fun visit.  Yesterday Bob went bike riding with Mike Barnes.  I'll let  him write about that.  I went to visit Leann Reniger and her daughter Mariah.  What a sweet young lady Mariah is becoming!  Then we went to visit with an old friend of Bob's, Gary Church, in Moundsville.  After dinner we headed south to Mary and Barbara Rose's house.  That was a very fun, delightful visit, too.  Today we will see the Voorhis' and go to a Magnolia football game.  What a great way to end our stay!  Each morning Bob and I have gone on a walk with Flo and talked about lots of people here.  That has been a wonderful way to start our day.  I'm so thankful for Ken and Flo's hospitality.  They have done everything to make our stay pleasant.  May the Lord bless them!


Bob:  Concerning the bike ride, we decided to ride up route 7 in Ohio as the roads in WV all have a lot of traffic due to the gas well drilling and fracking that is going on. Route 7 is a flat road for several miles. But once we started I decided to ride up route 536 which begins with over a 2 mile incline. I made it to the top, but my legs and knees are still feeling it. When I stand up I have to wait a second before my knees can start moving forward. Seems as though the hill wasn't a good idea. Should have gotten back on the bike this morning, but I didn't want to drag it out of the truck. Hopefully everything will be back to normal in a couple days.

Sunday - September 21

Bob: Well the day I wasn't looking for has arrived. Finally got everything packed and left camp about 8:45. Had to get to church early so we could get the potato soup cooking and print my talk. Everything turned out real well during services and the pot luck was great. Several came to the lunch that we hoped would be there, but didn't know for sure if they would come. It was hard to say good-bye for it felt like we were leaving home. Time will only tell when we can go back. Looking forward to it already. And if we are lucky we can spend 18 months in Ontario beginning next June.
Left church at 2:00 and arrived in North York at 7:45. I believe we are about 10 miles or so due north of Toronto. I might have made an unwise decision staying on this side of Toronto. We will see in the morning. And we got more rain today!! Once we got to the motel it poured it down. Bonnie and I put the cover on the boat once we got here and I bailed about 20 - 30 gallons of water off the cover once the rain quit.

Bonnie:  It was so hard to say good-bye today. I didn't know I could get this close to people in 3 short months.  Sister Craig came to the dinner, her first visit in a while.  Sister Kernan came to church (!) and the biggest surprise was that Trudy came to sacrament meeting.  She came back later with Jack for the pot luck.  I doubt he has been inside any church for a very long time!  Then, Patsy gave me a treat--a little box of candy and some homemade soap.  I was overwhelmed with all the attention! I will miss everyone very much.
So now, we are on the next leg of our trip.  Tomorrow we will be in West Virginia!

Saturday - September 20

Bob: Spent most of the day packing up. Took 5 bags of food, etc. to Patsy and Karl. It is in the low 60s today, but it has rained off and on most of the day. Loaded boat and truck in between rain drops. Finished up the blueberry pie and tarts. Made a pot of potato soup for tomorrow's pot luck.
Not sure how we will do with the blog the next few days. Where we are staying in New Martinsville doesn't have wifi. I guess we'll go park in the Branch parking lot and write up the blog.

Friday - September 19

Bob: Loaded the boat this morning after I got up as rain is forecast to start tonight. So fishing is over for this trip.When we got home at 9:00 PM the rain had not started yet.
We went to New Liskeard today for the funeral service of Sister Boudreau. It was a nice service and luncheon afterwards. Got to visit with several of the members that we'll be saying goodbye to on Sunday. Later we did some shopping at the North Cobalt Flea Market and then we went to Trudy and Jack's. We wanted to hear how his guided tour of the Amish farm turned out. Last Saturday he went with 8 women he did not know and took them to an Amish farm. Before he took them he had fed them a line about how they needed to be wearing head scarves when they went.  Also, the spokesman's scarf needed to be red. He said when they got to within a mile of the farm that all the women put on their scarves. The Amish host was in on the joke and after introductions she told the visitors they needed to ask Jack why they all wore scarves. Needless to say they all took them off immediately.
We then took Jack, Trudy, their grandson, Brad Suave and his daughter to dinner at Gramma's Chip Stand. Then we went back to to Trudy and Jack's and had some of her special butter tarts. All in all it was a great day.
Did take a short drive to see if my Devils Rock sign was still up. It is still there.

Bonnie:  I have nothing much to add.  It will be hard to say good-bye to the friends we have made. We finished up our visits to families in New Liskeard today.  Tomorrow we will have the huge task of packing up everything.  We also need to finish up some of the food in the refrigerator.  I will need to wipe out the 'frig, oven and microwave tomorrow, give all of our extra food to Karl and Patsy and work on my talk!

Thursday September 18

Bonnie:  It is cold today, too.  I did the wash wearing my heavy coat and gloves!  I will do just one more load, probably Saturday so we'll have mostly clean clothes for our trip to West Virginia.  Bob went fishing but came home early.  We had an early dinner and then went to Elk Lake to check out one more place to stay, the Moosehorn Motel and Cabins.  It is the next best place to stay, in my opinion, after where we are right now at Elk Lake Cabins.  We'll see what happens in two years.
We may go to the Jakob's tonight.  There will be a funeral tomorrow at the Branch, so we will attend that and try to see one more family in New Liskeard.

Bob: The fishing today was tough. When Isaac and I got back to camp the temperature was only 42. With the wind down on Mountain Lake it felt pretty cold. Keeping your hands warm is the big problem. We did catch 4 fish however. Threw all of them back.
Moosehorn is pretty nice. They only have 3 cabins and one of them is a big house. He said if we wanted to rent any one of them for the whole summer he would do it. The big house is pretty old, so I don't think we would want that one. However, there is one big 2 bedroom cabin on the water front that is pretty nice. That would be my pick. Visitors could get a room at their motel. We checked those rooms and they are pretty nice too. Also, the dock is really close. But, I agree with Bonnie, that Elk Cabins would be the best choice. Just hope it is still available in two years.
Visited with the Jacobs tonight. We took some ice cream and had a nice enjoyable visit. Half a gallon of ice cream is 6.75 in Elk Lake.
Temperature outside is 33 right now. Supposed to be 27 at 6 AM. High tomorrow is predicted to be 56. Rain scheduled to start tomorrow and go through Saturday. Looks like packing won't be any fun. This time we are going to travel with the boat cover off. Bought some Rubbermaid bins to pack everything in. So it can rain and nothing will be hurt.

Wednesday - September 17

Bob: Went to Englehart and Kirkland Lake today to visit some Branch members. One man and his nonmember wife, whom we visited before, are both in a nursing home in Englehart. They were so appreciative of our visit. We told them we would be going back to the states this Sunday after church. Tonight I checked my email before starting the blog and he had sent me a message. He wants to know if we can arrange a ride for he and his wife so they can come to church on Sunday. Bonnie and I are quite pleased they want to make the effort to come. Visited with 2 others in Kirkland Lake. It was our first visit with them.
Trying to finish John Grisham's Sycamore Row. That will be 2 books for me this month. I'm about 20 behind Bonnie. But I'm fishing hours ahead!!

Bonnie:  We did have mostly gratifying visits tonight. We couldn't find one couple home. And it's a sweet surprise that this couple from Englehart wants to come to church on Sunday.  We won't be able to pick them up because the truck will be packed solid.  We are contacting Karl to help us out with this.  It will be an interesting Sunday for sure!

Tuesday - September 16

Bob: Went fishing with Karl today. Left the cabin around 8:00. Got home after 6:00. We drove about 25 miles to the Shillington Lake. The last 13.2 miles were on a logging road. We were passed by one logging truck and one service vehicle. Since I was hauling a boat in the back of my truck I wasn't going too fast. So I just pulled over and let them go around. If you aren't careful the logging trucks will run you off the road.
Once we got to the lake we had to carry everything down a hill. The distance was between 150 to 200 yards. Wasn't too bad except for the motor. We didn't have to take the boat down as Karl's friend has a boat chained up at the lake. Only problem with that is the boat has a small leak. So we spent some of our time bailing water out of the boat. It wasn't dangerous, just annoying.
The lake is the most beautiful lake I have been on up here. It is completely surrounded with old forest. There are no cabins, not anything back there. We did see a couple of bald eagles that we probably disturbed. They started squawking up a storm when we got close to where they were sitting. We left that side of the lake, but they proceeded to follow us across the lake. However, then they caught an up draft and just soared high above us for a while.
Didn't catch lots of fish, but we brought 3 pike and 2 smallmouth bass back with us. Wasn't much fun carrying our motor back up the hill to the truck. I think we left the lake around 4:00.
Once we got back to Karl's I helped him finish digging up the potatoes in his garden. Thought there would be lots to do, but his wife and neighbor dug 2 or 3 rows before we got there. Some of the potatoes are very big. He gave me some that he punched with a pitchfork while he was digging. I need 5 pounds to make a batch of potato soup for Sunday's pot luck. I only need 4 of his potatoes to equal the 5 pounds.

Bonnie:  I had a quiet day working on my talk and finishing the last library book I have.  Oh, and washing up the huge potatoes and carrots that Karl gave us.  I don't know how we will eat them up before we go!

Monday September 15

Bonnie: Today I did the last of my baking, using up one of the bags of frozen blueberries.  I have two bags left, each with 4 cups of berries in them.  I'd like to take them with me to give to my son Chris, and my daughter Misty and their families.  We think there will not be a problem crossing the border with the berries.  I also am trying to read the last of the library books I have. The time really flies!  Tonight Bob and I went fishing.  It was cold, cold, cold, even with gloves and my heavy coat. We caught three walleye that we will give to the Jakob's, since we have enough fish for two meals at least.

Bob: I went fishing this morning when it was coldER. Caught 4 pike down on Mountain Lake in shallow water. It spit rain for a while but I had my rain suit on. When Bonnie and I went out tonight I thought we would troll for pike. I had a crank bait on and Bonnie was using a spoon. She caught the first fish, a small pike that we threw back. Then I caught 2 walleye. Put a crank bait on Bonnie's poll and she caught the next walleye. They are on a stringer down at the dock.
Went to check with Karl about going fishing tomorrow. We are going. Will dress for cold and rain. He told Bonnie and I that he talked to the Stake President at Stake Conference about us serving a mission in Ontario. The Stake President talked to the Mission President and gave him our retirement card. The Mission President said he could pull some strings and it should not be a problem. He said he would be in touch with us once we got home. So, we shall see.

Sunday - September 14

Bob: Today was Stake Conference at church. The meeting was in Sudbury, which is about 179 miles away, or about 3.5 hours. They were video conferencing the meeting to our Branch, so we didn't drive down. However, the connection wasn't very good so got the sound only. There were some good talks though. Afterwards we went to Brother Sauve's for lunch and visited with 4 members of the Branch that don't get to church often. Then on the way home we stopped at another camp to take a look. It has possibilities, but we still prefer Elk Cabins.
It's hard to believe that a week from today we are leaving. Spent some time tonight trying to figure out our schedule for visits. We will arrive in New Martinsville on September 22nd and stay with Florence and Ken Loy until we leave. Planning on attending the Magnolia game on Friday night with Wheeling Central.

Bonnie:  So today, because many in our Branch went to Sudbury to conference, there were four men and four women to see the broadcast.  It was interesting singing together, kind of like a small choir, NOT!  The talks were enjoyable.  One of the older sisters there today is very deaf.  I asked her what she heard and she said that all she heard was static!  How frustrating for her.  But she said she feels the Spirit so that helps.  Brother Suave, bless his heart, fed us again today.  It was omelettes and fruit.  A very nice lunch.  Then, as Bob wrote, we had some very good visits.  We visited Fred, the man in the nursing home who has had a stroke, for the last time today.  We gave him a 5 x 7 picture of the Savior.  He cried again when I told him about the Savior's love for him.  I hated to tell him good-bye! Then we saw two older sisters.  We ended our visits with a family we've been anxious to see.  They are moving soon so it was good we found them. Now we can update the records.  They may have been lost totally to the Branch if we did not find them home today.  Then we checked out another camp on the way home.  I still like Elk Cabins the best.
I can't believe this will be our last week here.  There is so much to do. This week, I'm trying to prepare all the food I have bought, at least as much as possible.  We will have two more nights of fish, although Bob is getting tired of fixing it.  Maybe he will let me cook it! No, on second thought, probably not. He's very particular about how it's done.  Then, there is the ordeal of preparing a talk for Sunday.  That will take me some time!  And we have our last visits in Kirkland Lake on Wednesday and maybe Thursday.  It will be a good, happy, busy week.