Well, we left NH on Thursday morning at 8:30 and drove till 5:30 that night and ended up in Woodville, PA. We drove thru Massachusetts, Conneticut, a little bit of New York and ended up in Pennsylvania. We drove by an exit for Lords Valley, PA. Wouldn't that be a neat place to call home? We spent most of the day with good weather and the last couple hours in a light to moderate rain. We spent the night in a park that had 50 amp service and real small sites, at least width wise. But since we were only staying one night, we did not open any slides in the living area. A quick dinner and early bedtime. We got up early and it was still drizzling out and it was foggy. As we were getting on the road, Rick noticed a problem with the running lights on the camper. We stopped about 40-50 miles later at a truck stop for breakfast and realized that we had no running lights on the back of the camper at all. The ones on the front and sides were very dim. And of course, it is still raining. At least we had brake lights and turn singles, but no running lights. At least daylight was upon us, even if it was still gloomy. So we called Carriage and the guy said that it sounded light a ground problem. Rick thought so too. We were told to check the king box connections. Well, we couldn't do that while on the road, but at least it was noted that we were having a problem and could take it in for repairs at any RV dealership. We got into Oh and close to home about noon and got our car from our daughter. We then took the camper to the shopping center in Vermilion to go see Rick's mom. She was supprised and pleased to see us. We stayed a little bit and had to go to get to our home park before dark because of the running light situation. Sat We slept in and kind of recouped from the trip. Rick did work on the running lights and he thinks he solved the problem. Won't know till we get back on the road and he hits a bump. Oh well. We went to the golf course to hit a bucket of balls. We have not played golf in a month's time. Boy was I ever rusty! Sunday we got up and got ready for church. We stopped to pick up Rick's dad and he said he wasn't going because he had been up all night with his mom. So we talked him into going and he did. It was a lovely service and it felt really good to be back home in our church. We really love the people there. We went back to Dad's house and Rick, his brother John and John's son John went to play golf. I stayed with Mom and Dad. That is really hard taking care of a terminally ill person. My hats off to all the hospice nurses that do this on a daily basis. Rick's mom is getting more confused and a lot of what she is saying does not make sense. She thinks everyone is being mean to her and really she is the one that yells at everyone and no one can do anything right. We know this is the sickness talking, but it gets a little bit hard to take on a regular basis. So after dinner, we came back home. Oh, by the way, Rick did beat his brother and nephew at golf. But he is sore tonight. I talked to my brother today and I am going to go out to visit my Mom with him in about a week and a half. That will be nice. More to come later.

Heading to OH

On Thursday, we will be leaving New Hampshire and heading to Ohio. Rick's mom is going downhill fast. We have not told them that we are coming. We were able to get into our home park for 3 weeks so that was a blessing. Rick has been going thru a lot in the last few days. His mom has been asking for him and that was the deciding factor on going back. So please keep us in your prayers for safe travel and for the emotions that are here and the ones that are coming our way. It may be a while before I blog again. It all depends on what we find when we get back there.

Bad news from home

Today Rick made his weekly phone call to talk to his parents. Dad said that last night they had to call the nurse in to put a cathater in Mom. Her organs are starting to shut down and she is swelling up with fluid. She is also getting very confused. All this is what they said would happen. So Rick was upset most of the day. Rightly so. We cannot do anything for her but pray. Please keep us in your prayers. Rick made phone calls to our daughter and son. He woke Josh up and we were sorry we did that. But normally he does not work on Friday nights so we assumed he would be awake. But with the storm Fay, he was up late last night checking on the weather and he is on call this weekend. I think they will get some wind and rain, but how much rain is not known. He is in the panhandle of Florida. So we have been keeping an eye on the storm also. Rick talked to Don Baker and Darrell Howard also. Darrell and Barb were on their way north to get away from the storm. But it looks like they will hit rain also. I hope this storm dies out soon. He also talked to a couple of his buddies. So that was good for him. He called my sister to see if she would find us a place to park the camper if we have to go back to OH on our trip south. We figure it would be cheaper fuel wise to just drive the truck and not be pulling the camper. So we have put into place a plan of action in case we get the final call to go home. And today I defrosted the freezer. I hate doing that. But it needs it on a regular basis. This time I let it go for to long and it took longer to do it. But that is done and I will be getting the camper ready for travel as this is our last week in New Hampshire. We have enjoyed it here but will be ready to get going again. Traveling with Bob and Liz sounds like it will be fun too.

Bob's birthday, the beach and a dinner cruise

Tuesday was Bob's birthday, officially he and Rick are now the same age, but if you ask Bob, Rick is older. He has 6 months on Bob. We went over to their house for Chinese takeout. There was so much food and then Liz made a triple chocolate cake and it was sooo good! Here is the birthday boy with Rick. We always have a good time there and we always eat well. They sure know how to treat guests. Even though we are friends instead of guests. At least I hope they feel the same way. Just don't ask Bob, ask Liz instead. LOL!!! Here is Liz's parents, Ann and Dick. Rick and Dick can get into quite a spirited conversation about politics. It is funny to listen to them talk. It is always in good fun though. They have treated us very well and it has been a pleasure meeting them. On Wed. we went to Kenneybunkport, ME to Rick's cousin Kim's house to pick up our computer. Bob and Liz went with us and then Kim took us to the beach. Here is Kim's house. She is out from town and is surrounded by trees. Very private. Very nice. Here is the beach. The ocean was so calm that day. And look at the beautiful blue sky. There were several sand castles being built but this one was the best as far as we were concerned. They were still working on it and the tide was coming in so they damned up the entrance to the moat so they could finish it. It was an absolutely beautiful day to be on the beach. Not to hot but I must say the water was real cold. It was around 65-66 or so and that is cold if you stay in it very long. We did see some people swimming but most of the people were on the beach. We tried to get a picture of the seals out on some rocks but my camera would not pick them up. We have been busy this week. Now it is Thursday and we meet up with Rick's cousin Jay and his wife Margaret to go to Lake Winnepesauke for a dinner cruise around the largest lake in New Hampshire. It is about 50 miles long and you can see from side to side while on the boat. The food was good and there were two sets of musicians, one on the first level and one on the third level. Both were good. A view as we were leaving the dock. The view of everyone eating. It was a buffet and you could get potato salad, peas, salad w/dressing, fried potatoes, chicken breast in a cream sauce, and fish. Then they had apple crisp, puddings, and cakes for dessert. Not bad food. My sweetheart. The view looking toward the back of the boat. The colors in the sunset were very pretty. The wind in my hair. There were people on this dock that were waving at us as we went by. This is Rick's Aunt Joann and me and Uncle Jim. After hanging around with his uncle, I see where Rick gets a lot of his shenanigans from. This is Uncle Jim and cousin Kim. She worked on our computer for us. Lucky for us she is a computer tech. This is cousin Jay. We are going to try to get together with him and Margaret one more time before we leave. They are the ones who drove us up to the lake. His wife Margaret was the first one in the picture of all of them eating. We got home very late as the dinner cruise was 3 hours long. Then Friday morning we got up early to take the truck to the Ford dealer. My window is squeaking when you roll it down and the heated seat on the drivers seat keeps coming on even though it is not turned on. Rick has been hot stuff for most of the week. I always knew he was hot stuff, but now everyone else knows it too. Just ask Bob. LOL. We did get a rental car to drive so we wouldn't have to wait for them to work on it. And of course they did not find out anything. Par for the course with dealerships that know you will not be a repeat customer.  So we have had a busy week and it has been very enjoyable. I am so glad we decided to stay the entire month up here to visit with family and friends.

Great Weekend

Sat. we did not do a whole lot. But Sunday we went up to Big Island Pond to a friend of Bobs. His house is brand new and absolutely gorgeous. You sit out on the back deck and look down at the lake. After a small lunch we went out on the boats. Bob's friend Dave and his cousin Kevin both took out their boats. We went to a place where you could get out in the water and only be up to you knees or so. It was very refreshing since the weather was warm and sunny. Yes, it truly was a sunny day. We are supposed to have some rain tonight and then from Wed on it will be very nice and dry. But back to the lake. Bob and Liz have a great group of friends and they treated us like one of them. We had a lot of fun. And both Liz and I forgot to take our cameras. Liz noticed a dead tree that she would have loved to take a picture of for LaVon. Acutally she would have gotten 2 dead trees in one shot. Sorry LaVon. We were wondering how you got so interested in the dead tree pictures to begin with. Let us know. After we were out on the lake for a couple of hours, we went back to Dave's house to have a cookout. There was so much food and all of it was really good. We sat and talked for awhile and then it was time to go home. We were both tired. Today we sat out in the screen house for awhile until it got to hot. Bob was out cruisin on his bike and stopped by for a few minutes. Tomorrow is his birthday and we will go over there for a bit and then go out for Chinese takeout and go back to their place to eat. Then on Wed, we are going to Kenneybunkport Maine to visit Rick's cousin Kim. We will spend the day at the beach. That sounds so relaxing and I promise to take my camera. Rick talked to Josh tonight and of course our 3 year old grandson would not talk on the phone again. He is so ornery. I think he gets it from his dad, his granddad, and his great granddad. Poor Kid. LOL!!! We are having a good time up here. Rick jumps every time the phone rings, thinking it is bad news from home. Everything is going slowly back there. So keep us in your prayers please. We appreciate that. Oh, Shelley called us today to boast on her golf score. She golfed a 46. Way to go girl!!!! It was good to hear her voice. We might have a spot up at their park for the summer next year. Shelley said we should be getting a call within the next couple of months. That would be neat. With the price of fuel, we had to re-figure our strategy for our traveling. Then we think we may go back out west for the following winter. We really liked it out there with no bugs and humidity. But all that can change at a moments notice. We are retired and nothing is written in stone.

Doing laundry and hanging out

Thursday, we got up and got laundry together and went to MA to do it. This is the place where you wash and then dry for free. Laundry is never ending. But I guess throw away clothes would be to expensive. Oh well. After that we came back and had lunch. Just as we were finishing up with that, Bob and Liz stopped by. We both had ordered weather alert radios and had them shipped to Liz's moms house. So they brought them over. We set ours up and charged the battery. With this radio, we can go online or just program in the state and county that we are in and it will alert us to any bad weather. We have needed this before and now I will feel much more comfortable when bad weather gets close to us. Watched a lot of the Olympics and enjoy seeing all the gold, silver and bronze medals the USA are winning. Will watch more tonight. Friday we got some fuel, a little bit of groceries and then spent some time with Bob and Liz. Not much going on. Next week we will go up to Rick's cousins house in Kennebunkport ME to go to the beach and spend the day up there. Bob and Liz will go with us. By the way, next Tuesday is Bob's birthday. And next Thursday we are going on a dinner cruise with Rick's family. We are looking forward to that. But for now, we are just resting. Isn't retirement the best?

Flume Gorge, NH

On Wednesday, Bob and Liz took Rick and I to the Flume Gorge. It is a place where the water falls are absolutely gorgeous!! This is where you go in. You pay 12.00 a head to walk thru this. They tell you up front that there is a lot of up hill walking and lots of stairs. I found out just how much out of shape I am. But I did survive and it was spell bounding to see the beauty of mother nature. When Rick's nephew and his family were here last week, there was so much more water flowing, but it had been raining for days on end. But to me this is beautiful. It was an absolutely great day for hiking. The sun was out and it was not to hot. But up by the bigger falls, it was real cool. Plus the water spray felt good. We figured that these rocks have to be as smooth as glass and real slippery. That is Liz walking ahead of us. They told you that the stairs were slippery when wet. This was a little close quarters for me but at the same time I was mesmerized by the beauty of it. This little boy and his family were walking back down. I don't know if they didn't want to go on because of all the stairs and uphill walk or not. I don't know what the elevation was when we started, but at this point we sat a spell to rest up. I think Bob and Liz rested for our sakes and not theirs. We kept on walking thru the woods and did I mention it was nice and cool here? And New Hampshire is called the Granite State and here is why. We saw all kinds of big boulders like this one. More water. Most of the time walking you could hear the water rushing. Bob and Liz are very good tour guides. We are having so much fun with them. Wish all our friends from Quail Run were here to enjoy this with us.  This was going down to what they call the pool. This told about an old man that would take people on tours to see the water falls and he would make enough money during the summer to keep him all winter long. This is the  pool. They say it is 40' deep and the walls are 80' tall. If you look under this bridge (right under), you will see a pine tree that was first used to cross this expanse. It is very straight and about 175' long. This was the mountain tops we could see on our walk. I'm just glad I didn't have to climb that one. See the happy face? I'm sure it was man made but it looked pretty neat to me. The size of the boulders was impressive. Doesn't this look serene? This was our pathway. Bob, Liz and I posing for Rick to snap the picture. We really enjoyed this outing. On the way back we went to the Tilt'n Diner. This diner was set up for the 50's era. We had good food with good friends and then headed back home. Boy, were we tired! Also, at the diner, they were having a cruise in. So we walked around looking at old cars and trucks.