. . . Nova Scotia I

Reluctantly leaving Prince Edward Island and our dear friends, Linda and Fred, we stopped briefly at a Highland Games that happened to be located, conveniently on our way to the ferry that we planned to take from PEI to Nova Scotia. Our expectations were somewhat deflated when we saw how small it was, with the highlight seemingly on Highland Dancing. It was worth the cost of admission, however, to see the little girls who were just darling with their beautiful costumes and their earnest intent on their dance. After watching them a bit, having lunch and a nap, listening to the Celtic music and watching the Games (there were fewer than 15 contestants in both the men’s and women’s category together), we hurried on down the road and caught the ferry.

After a 60 minute boat ride, we arrived at Pictou, Nova Scotia, and headed for the first Tourist Information building we could find. I think I should insert her that my husband is thoroughly sick of “information stops” as I think the more info you have the better and I think he’s just tired of carrying around this info and the time it takes to get it. However, we did have access to the Internet, briefly, and in Nova Scotia, the information “agents” will even book you places to stay. They must have been the most helpful public employees that we came across. The first lady we talked to in Nova Scotia found us a place to stay after more than a half hour of looking. She also gave me some great literature.

August 2, we found ourselves in a Provencal Park in Whycocomagh (pronounced Why-cog-go-ma) in the middle section of Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia is a big peninsula attached to New Brunswick, with a big island (Cape Breton) connected by a causeway. It is beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! Loved all of the Scottish names of the cities, New Glasgow, Iona, Inverness, and, okay, they have other cities named New London, Sydney, and Denmark, but I sort of am drawn to the Scottish ones! We decided to stay a few days in Whycocomagh now and then when we came back through, on the way back from Newfoundland and Labrador, we would pick up some mail that we had arranged to have sent to us.

The next day we took a drive around one of the loops called the “Celeigh Trail” mainly because there was a Celtic Music Interpretive Center in a place called Judique. http://www.celticmusicsite.com/So we started off bright and early and drove the loop. Rugged mountains, picturesque views of little towns, beautiful coast lines on the bay, and coastline on the Gulf of the St Lawrence. Made it to the Interpretive Center in time for lunch and the lunchtime entertainment they call a celeigh. A caleigh is actually the Celtic term of a kitchen party, not necessarily with music, although it often includes music. This entertainment was Celtic music; imagine that (at the Celtic Music Interpretive Center). We enjoyed the luncheon and the music and then we started back to camp. We saw that there was a “short cut” across the island that ended up only a few miles down from where we were camped.

Okay! Who’s chuckling out there? Have you heard this story already?

We programmed “Maggie”, our Magellan GPS, and sure enough, there it was a nice clear shot across the island. So we headed out. Guess who was driving? ME! It was not a paved road, but really, not too bad of a road, then it got a little, worse, and a little worse, and a little worseR! I was white knuckle clutching the steering wheel, but still went on. Then the “two roads diverged” and I, after conferring briefly with my navigator, veered left. Did you perhaps notice I didn’t say RIGHT? Before Les and I could blink, Maggie had continued our trek down this road. So we bumbled on down. Brief thoughts of going back to the fork in the road entered my head, but did I listen to reason, “Oh, No!” The further we got down this road the less traveled it was and I swear, the further we got away from our camp – or at least it felt like it. Finally, we got to a point where the road was so muddy I stopped the car and changed places with Les. It was about here where I started praying in earnest. And all you people out there that have been saying prayers for us – they WORKED! Because I tell you that I really wasn’t certain that we would be able to drive out of that mud hole! But with my terrific husband’s driving prowess we made it home, after miles and miles and MILES of less than 5 mph in 4 wheel drive. We drove in rutted roads that must have touched the bottom of the jeep; we went across a couple of bridges that were really scary. One was a wooden bridge that you could see the water running beneath it (that's the jeep going across the bridge that Les wouldn't let me stay in the jeep when he crossed it) and then there was that bridge (?) made up of just branches laid across the ditch. Every time we thought the road was getting better, it got worse! I was so scared I even forgot to take pictures of the really bad roads. But eventually, we managed to get out of there. We figure it was an old logging road that hadn’t been used for some years. (That’s how I spent your birthday, Stewart!)

That night we met a couple from Ontario, Canada, Jennifer and Ray. We talked about our travels and they, theirs. We told them we were headed up the Cabot Trail the next day and they had a few suggestions for us as far as what to see and where there were some good places to eat. They told us of their Maple Tree farm in Ontario and that they made maple syrup. Got our attention real quick. When Les started asking questions and showing a lot of interest, they invited us up to help them make syrup next March. (Don’t these people understand, if they ask, we will come?)

The next day we drove the Cabot Trail. http://www.cabottrail.travel/ What an extraordinary beautiful area. Very mountainous, very rugged, uphill and down (glad we were dragging the Casita), and the sea view was terrific. We found a wonderful seafood place to eat at, with a wonderful view of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. After lunch we drove the northern tip of the island, Meat Cove – where the road ran out, and then down the eastern edge of Cape Breton – gotta say, the eastern side was a bit boring, until we got to Baddeck (see Nova Scotia II).

Almost forgot, early on in our days journey we passed by Joe's Scarecrow Farm. We've seen grouping of metal sculptures in a couple of different places in our travels, but this was our first scarecrow farm, and Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore and these are definitely NOT Kansas Scarecrows! The picture is of a scarecrow wedding! (I was thinking of my neice, Andrea's wedding coming up - it was sort of spooky!)

On August 5th, we left Whycocomagh Park for this part of our journey. We drove over to Iona to the Highland Village Interpretive Center. http://museum.gov.ns.ca/hv/ It is a recreated Highland Village of early Nova Scotia, starting with a black house like what many of the immigrants from Scotland left when they immigrated to Nova Scotia. You walked around the grounds of this park, visiting the buildings that show the progression of the way of life for the first years of "civilization" in Nova Scotia. In some of the buildings people in garb of that period showed linen was made from flax, a general store was run, what a blacksmith did in those days, then there was a church, that still have services today and a barn with animals and machinery – It was a nice little way to spend an hour or two, learning about the culture of the area.

After lunch we went on up to North Sydney to catch the MidAtlantic Ferry to Newfoundland. Since there had been a fire in one of the boilers on a ship in their fleet a week or so before and then another fire on board another ship, our departure time was pushed back. The locals organized some activities for the inconvenienced ferry riders while waiting for the ferry, which included some music, which of course, Les and I enthusiastically listened to. We walked around the area surrounding the ferry, walked down to the harbor and found a nice seafood restaurant to have dinner in. Then we went down to a waterfront park that we were told had live music every week. There was seating around a little stage and a big parking lot that filled up like a drive in theater (see picture). Leaving Les to save our places in the seating area I walked along the beach while the music was being played and found some Nova Scotia sea glass, which I’m very excited about. It’s a lot different from the sea glass I was picking up in Texas, much smoother and round. While walking on the beach I met up with a young man, Ben, who was traveling around the country. He was from Vancouver Island in British Columbia. We talked for a while; I gave him our travel card and hope to meet up with him again. He was headed for Newfoundland as well, so I thought I’d keep an eye out for him while we were there.

The next morning at 1 am we were on the ferry, headed for Newfoundland, a six hour ride. It was crowded, but we found a place to spend the night in as much comfort as we could. The crossing wasn't too bad - I didn't get seasick so it was a good crossing.

Take care until next time!
Joy
And
Les
Les's Readers Digest Version:

- Left PEI and went by ferry to Nova Scotia.

- Stayed at the northern end of NS on the island of Cape Breton. Did a couple circle island driving tours. Got lost on a logging road short cut. One of the few times I really needed a 4x4. No athiests in a 4x4 when it is really being abused, 3000 miles from home, and 50 miles from nowhere. I'm still not to old to do dumb things.

- Odd note: the road on Cape Breton didn't have a number just a name, "Cabot Trail"

- Lots of Celtic music in NS.

- So far Nova Scotia, Cape Breton is my favorite, but then we have Neufoundland and Labrador to go.

Calais Maine to . . . Prince Edward Island

Leaving Calais, Maine (pronounced Callus, as opposed to Callay, as most Canadians call it) we drove straight through New Brunswick, over the Confederation Bridge, onto Prince Edward Island. This is an awesome piece of work, an eight mile long bridge that attaches the island to the mainland... http://www.confederationbridge.com/en/our_story.php . We crossed it during a thunder and lightening storm. It's a marvel to be sure. Think of it! Eight miles!

One of the first things we noticed on PEI were the traffic lights. Had to share this with you! Gotta love the square red lights!

We met up with our friends who we met on the beach in Texas, Linda and Fred. We had time to set up our camper in their driveway, lots of beautiful flowers and green grass, we visited for a while, Les and Fred went down to Fred's electric motor business, leaving Linda and I to our own devices. After the guys came back, we hopped into their van and Fred drove us around for a narrative tour of the island as only a native knows it. We learned that if you were not born on Prince Edward Island (PEI) you were known as a CFA - Come From Away - no matter how long you live there. (Les put another spin on it, saying we were NFH's - Not From Here) Linda was raised in Cavendish area, where Lucy Maude Montgomery (the author of "Ann of Green Gables" was born and lived the first few years of her life). Fred was raised in New London area (where I believe that Miss Lucy lived after her parents died) so we were privy to a lot information that the "normal" tourist wasn't. Here I must beg your pardon if you are not an "Anne of Green Gables" fan or you have never even heard of her, because, after all, PEI is all about "Anne" - the heroine of a series of children's books/movies, of an orphan child who came to live on a farm on PEI, of a spinster and her bachelor brother in the late 1800's. They took us through both Cavendish, where we visited the grave site of Lucy, went past her early home, then on down the beautiful PEI coastline.

Prince Edward Island is one of the prettiest places I've ever been to. Rolling hills, lots of trees, lots of beautiful coastline, plenty of lighthouses, colorful flowers, and the best tended yards - no matter how large (and biggest) that I've ever seen! We stopped by a favorite swimming hole to meet Linda's & Fred's daughter, Kathleen, and children and then it was dinner time. We decided to dine out a Seafood Buffet, a favorite of our hosts. I would go to this place any time. We really enjoyed ourselves with this leisurely dinning experience and as you can tell by the picture, Les and I were well satisfied!

The next evening, after a short car tour around more of PEI, we prepared for the "Anne of Green Gables" Play. This is a very popular attraction on PEI. When we found our seats that Linda and Fred arranged for (best in the house!) we were seated beside a lady and her young daughter who had made the trip from Nova Scotia to see the play! Her daughter was about 13 and she was even more excited than I was to see it. The play was a highlight on our trip for me. Les, who had barely heard of Anne before - except maybe from my sister, Gayla's, "Anne of Green Gables" Room - was very good (and patient) about my enthusiasm for everything Anne on our visit to PEI.

Thursday, we made a day of car touring with our hosts and Friday, we went on a bus tour of the island. We stopped at two of the main tourist traps, "Green Gables" and "Anne of Green Gables Museum at Silver Bush", got lots of pictures. I had to take pictures especially of the house that inspired the "Green Gables" in the Anne Books, and Lovers Lane. The grounds at "Green Gables were lovely and we/I had a wonderful time walking around. I went into the "Haunted Woods" as well! Besides the typical "Anne" stops, we stopped at a wood working place and a couple of scenic overlooks. We were glad we went, but both Les and I agreed that our tours with Linda and Fred were much better!

Friday we finished up our Island tour with our friends by going to a birthday party for their grandson. We got to meet the "rest of the family". What a great group they were. Many, many thanks, Linda and Fred, for making our Prince Edward Island visit so unforgettable!

Take Care All!

Joy
&
Les

(Readers Digest Version)

(What do you think he is thinking?????)

-Drove across New Brunswick, over the 8 mile Confederation Bridge
-I saw a Discovery Channel show of the construction of this bridge and it is truly an engineering marvel.
-Met up with friends on PEI
-Fred has an Electric Motor Repair Shop and is doing what I wished I would have done forty years ago.
-Next, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Labrador

Sault Ste Marie-USA/Canada . . . through Calais, Maine

I know I've let everyone down and I'm sorry. Every time we managed to get electricity and Internet I was too pooped to sit down and write the blog. Now here it is August and I'm a month late with excerpts from our adventures . . .

So, here goes....

We stayed in the USA for the 4th of July and headed north, once again, on the 5th. Stopping at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan (called the Soo) for a tour of the lock system. http://www.saultstemarie.com/soo-locks-46/ We took a boat tour which was very interesting, seeing first hand how the locks work and touring the harbor. While there we saw a big ship named "The Saginaw" that was unloading limestone at the steel manufacturing plant. Remember this, there will be a test. On the way back we passed a big brick building that was once a hydroelectric plant. I thought it was beautiful, the way the bricks were arranged to form lighthouses...

After the tour, we went on into Canada. We were within 100 miles from the border when Les says, "I'm going to be pulled over!" And sure enough, an OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) Officer with his lights flashing. Les pulls over . . . well, I'll let Les tell this story . . . see below.

Without further problems we arrived on Manitoulin Island http://www.manitoulin-island.com/ and stayed the night in Little Current, which is the first city once you are on the island. We went grocery shopping for our Canadian coffee and the warm raisin bread that we had been anticipating. The coffee didn't live up to our memory of it, but the raisin bread did! Yum, Yum! We then drove another 3 hours and arrived at Mississagi Lighthouse...http://www.themississagilighthouse.com/index2.html. Another couple of hours passed before Joe and Beatrice returned to their campground and we were reunited. The fun began!

We had an absolutely great time with our Canadian friends. We played Trains, Chicken Feet, (hey, Beatrice, we forgot to play Sugar!), Les and Joe went fishing, (Yum, Yum!) ate Salmon dinners together, went shopping, found a garage sale, all four of us took a mini hike, Beatrice and I took daily walks with their dog, Tanner, and then Joe and Beatrice's son, Mark, and his daughters, Mary and Sarah, joined us for even more fun. A good dose of grand kids is what the Grandmas needed!

Joe and Les went fishing every chance they got. One of the best places to fish was over by the limesone pits where they mine this rock and ship it out. Joe came back one day and was talking about this great big ship over by the quarry and I asked him if he knew the name of the ship . . . and he said, "The Saginaw". When we were on "The Soo Locks Tour" and we saw "The Saginaw" unloading the limestone we thought maybe we knew where it was coming from . . . and we were right! :-)
All too soon, our two weeks on Manitoulin Island was over and we began our traveling once again.

I didn't realize when we started out on this trip that we were going to get to stop at Niagara Falls! It is one of my most memorable experiences of this trip so far. I was so excited at the prospect! We heard the falls were prettier from the Canada side and since we were on that side first, that is the side we went to. It is truly awesome, a natural wonder of the world! The amount of water that flows over those falls is astounding! We were there on a overcast, windy day and the spray, generated by the falls, kept blowing over toward the Canadian side.

We never were able to see from one side of Horseshoe Falls to the other as the spray was just like a cloud right in the middle of the falls - it was still terribly impressive! After wandering around all afternoon, we stopped and I went in to see "Niagara's Fury" which was a animated feature/rather wet "ride" about how the falls evolved. It was cool! We spent a long day watching the falls and then came back at night to see the lights on the falls, (the picture is of Bridal Veil Falls) http://www.niagarafallslive.com/Facts_about_Niagara_Falls.htm then we headed on across New York.

We we under a time crunch to get to Prince Edward Island by a certain time as we had tickets to the "Ann of Green Gables" play in Charlottetown on Wednesday, July 29th, so to be able to stay as long as possible on Manitoulin Island, we had to put the pedal to the metal and hit the road. Leaving Niagara Falls on July 22nd we started our drive through New York and guess what! New York is not wall to wall city! We drove through upper New York State and it is a beautiful place. We took the route through Andirondacks, a break taking piece of wilderness that gave us a new respect for the state of New York. We passed by the Olympic Village in Lake Placid and saw the huge Olympic ski lift!

We were thinking that if we played our cards right we would be able to breakfast in New York, lunch in Vermont and have dinner in New Hampshire but, the roads were winding, beautiful and LONG and we ran into this lake - just a little guy, separating New York and Vermont... Lake Champlain and they had this great little seafood restaurant/bar overlooking the lake. We parked our camper on the ramp of the ferry (that ran every 30 - 45 minutes) and then went to have lunch. We sat and watched three ferry leave without us. It was a great day! The picture to the left was taken from the restaurant - you can see the camper on the dock, between the two boats in the foreground.

Vermont, when we finally got there, was beautiful as well. We drove through the state capital, Montpelier, and saw the capital building... We stayed at Little River State Park, where I found many different kinds mushrooms growing. I went on a picture taking spree, because my nephew goes wild mushroom hunting in Oregon and I thought he'd be interested...

We entered New Hampshire on July 24th. Another beautiful state, (I'm finding some adjective repetition here) but at the point we crossed it, it was less than forty miles wide, so we were not long in it. I kept thinking how gorgeous these state would be in the fall when the leaves turn. Les wants to stay, but we have to keep on task and get to PEI - Ann is waiting!

Maine, yes, I'm going to use the "b" word again, was b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l! We decided to cross the border at Calais, Maine, therefore, staying in the states as long as possible, one reason being that once we crossed into Canada, our phone coverage would essentially, go, as we were not interested in paying those exorbitant prices. We also were waiting for some mail from home. We found a campground and drove around the city, saw some beautiful houses, got some internet for a while, and made some phone calls. We decided that we would call everyone that we could before we entered into the Canadian realm of "Roger's Wireless". (insert scary sounds)

So we call our kids, our friends, a few acquaintances we'd met along the road (just kidding) and I called my sisters. One of said sister's, Gayla, was excited to hear we were in Maine and said she'd been to Maine, on her way up to PEI, one year and one year she'd come back to visit a gal she and her family had met on that trip. Her name is Brenda, and Gayla, husband, Tim, and daughter, Erin, had stopped to have a meal at a restaurant, and sometime during the meal Brenda realized they were from Louisville, Kentucky. Brenda, being a major horse fan, said she'd always wanted to come to the Derby. So, sweet Gayla "Jo" & family invited her down to the states to do just that and offered Brenda a room in their home for the duration. They exchanged phone numbers and plans to do just that. The next year, a couple of months before the Derby, Brenda started trying to locate the number. Within a few days, Gayla called Brenda asking her if she was coming down. Her trip down to Kentucky, and the yearly trips since then, is a story in itself. ANYWAY! (I do go on, don't I?) I asked Gayla where Brenda lived, and she said that it was just a little town in Maine. I said, where is it(?) as we'd passed through so m a n y little towns in Maine, and I was so-o familiar with the maps (I think I dream of them!) that it was possible I'd know where it was. She told me it was Alexander, a little town outside the little larger town called (you guessed it!) Calais, Maine. Then Gayla was excited and wanted to call Brenda and tell her I was in the town where Brenda worked. I said that Les and I were really tired and was leaving the next day and didn't really feel like socializing that night. We talked a little while longer and then I hung up and called my sweet daughter, Vala. Within a few minutes my phone beeped and lo and behold, guess who was on my phone! You guessed it! Brenda! We ended up having breakfast with her the next morning and having a great time. She offered for us to come and camp at her house as she lives in the country on a large tract of land, and we'd have all the space we needed. We didn't take her up on it, but you never know, some day we might! Brenda was a really nice gal and I'm glad Gayla hooked us up.

After breakfast we went back to camp and packed up to cross over into Canada . . . now we are caught up until July 26th!

Take Care!

Joy

and

Les (the Readers Digest Version . . . )

- Left Mackinaw area and headed for Sault Saint Marie.
- Joy and I rode a boat through the locks between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, both ways.
- Ontario Canada has a law against RADAR Detectors. So I met an OPP (Ontario Provencial Police) with a RADAR Detector---DETECTOR. He told me his RADAR Dector DETECTOR had detected I had a RADAR Detector! He was nice (Joy said he was hot) no money changed hands. Life is good.
- Met up with Joe and Beatrice on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron. It is the largest freshwater island in the world.
- Ate salmon, fished for salmon, caught salmon, caught a lake trout, life is good.
- The Water pump on the Jeep went out, while on the end of the island. Joe drove me 8 miles to get phone coverage. Ordered new pump and fan belt from nearest parts house, 50 miles away. When the parts came in, Joe drove me the 50 miles to get the parts. I put the new belt and water pump on in the campground. The crank is cranking, the pump is pumping, and the pistons are—oops NEVERMIND.
- Left the Island and went to Niagara Falls, We went back in the evening and watched them turn the colored lights on. Way Cool.
- Took a Ferry across Lake Champlain going from New York to Vermont.
- Drove across Upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. We are at the Border between Maine and New Brunswick now. Calais, Maine. Vermont is my favorite.
- Headed for New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, and then Labrador.

2009 Summertime Travels . . .

Can’t believe it’s already July! How did THAT happen? The days go on, even when you are not paying all that much attention to them.

We arrived home on April 5^th in time to visit with family and friends before going to the Great Plains Renaissance Faire, a yearly event in Wichita, on the 19th. With doctor’s appts and general household catching up we delayed our trip to visit with Dad Moser to coincide with the trek to the Beltane Festival. We had a great visit with him, finding him looking as well and happy as I’ve ever seen him. What a great guy! I guess this is when I started being careless in taking pictures as I’ve just realized that I didn’t get any new pictures of Dad Moser on this visit.

I couldn’t leave the Russell area without a side trip out to the creek bed to look for prehistoric Black Sharks Teeth. As per usual, Les found a couple of REALLY nice ones and I found a couple of chunks of rocks with partial teeth embedded in them. Leaving Russell, we went to the Beltane festival in Cedar Bluffs. We arrived at the campground at the festival in plenty of time to kick back and relax before the games began. Luckily the weather cooperated throughout the games and that evening the Beltane fires were lit, celebrating the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

Mid May, I went to Portland for my spring visit with family and friends. Since our summer travel plans are spilling into autumn, I stayed almost a whole month. After I was there a week, Becca, Les’ eldest child, came to Portland to meet her step-siblings. She was there four days and we ran her ragged! In a nut shell, we took her to Sandy, OR, Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood, the Columbia River Gorge, Multnomah Falls, my favorite gathering place - Who Songs & Larry’s, in Vancouver, WA, Skyler’s baseball game, Colton - to meet the family and visit the RV “Parks” we stay at while in Oregon, we had a Karaoke night, went to Portland Saturday Market, Seaside, and Cannon Beach. Then on Monday, Becca went back home.

Things seemed pretty tame after Becca left, but I managed to keep myself busy with seeing family and friends, going into “work”, going to Sky’s baseball games and just getting to see my family and breathing their air. All my grandkids are growing more beautiful (and handsome) every day, and oh, my goodness! They are getting so big! Next time I see Skyler, he’ll be as tall as me! Thanks Patrick and Tracie for lending me your new truck! It was awesome!

Left Portland for home and was there for a whole week before we packed up and headed out for our summer travels. Well, we had to! We’d turned our air conditioner on and ran it for three or four days in a row! I did have time to help the neighbors, Sylvia and Bart with a yard sale. Not quite sure I even made minimum wage for the effort, but sure got rid of a lot of crap, I mean, treasures!

On June 17^th, we headed out to Parsons – in eastern Kansas, where my cousins, Clyde and Jacquetta, live. Clyde’s brother, Danny, was there visiting with Clyde and had brought another one of our cousins, Clara, with him. Clyde and Danny’s mother, was my father’s sister and Clara’s father was my father’s brother. One big happy family! We had a wonderful time just sitting around and visiting. It was sort of like a country song, sitting on the back porch, drinking ice tea, telling old family stories, watching the hummingbirds dive bomb their feeders and seeing the lightening bugs come out in the early evening. Seriously, so much of my father’s family has come alive for me with the retelling of stories from these fantastic people. An added bonus is that they also knew my mother’s father, who was a colorful figure and merited many stories on his own. We stayed two nights and then reluctantly left the loving family unit, we crossed over on into Missouri.

So, now, Missouri, is a terribly beautiful state - beautiful rolling hills, green trees. We drove over to Warsaw, where our friends, Chuck and Louise, live. These are the wonderful people we met on the beach in Texas, this year. They showed us around Warsaw, we went out to the dam and came home to their delightful wooded home. Louise makes the most wonderful seafood dinner. Catfish and shrimp to die for! We played Mexican Trains and visited the evening away. After breakfasting with the retired group at the local hangout the next morning we were on our way again, knowing we will be back to enjoy more of that warm Missourian hospitality soon.

Left a hot and humid Missouri and entered Iowa. Lots of corn in Iowa. We headed to the Cedar Rapids area where Les’ cousins, Clifford and Helen, live. We camped at a local campground and Les took me to the Amana Colonies. Very interesting place, the Amana Colonies. It was a settlement made up of German immigrants looking for religious freedom. They settled there by Cedar Rapids and started a communal settlement. Everything was provided for the settlers and in return the settlers worked the fields, took care of the children, made clothes – you get the picture. What I found the most interesting is that the houses built for them had no kitchens, because all of the food was cooked in the communal kitchens. In the 1930’s several things happened that caused the society to disband. Everyone who lived there then had to go out into the world and start over. Och! That was during the great depression! You can imagine how much fun that was for them. We also had a great visit with Helen and Clifford before we left Cedar Rapids, went out to dinner and visited into the late evening. The next morning we left Iowa and were several miles out of town before we realized we hadn’t taken any pictures of Clifford and Helen!

Still, muggy, still hot. Entered Wisconsin. Beautiful state, Wisconsin. Lots of trees. “Little House in the Big Woods” trees. Wondered where it was that Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Grandma and Grandpa lived. I wonder if they had as much trouble with the mosquitoes as we were beginning to have. I swear, I thought that the mosquito problem was mainly in Minnesota. W-R-O-N-G! Our visit with Bob and Maria last year in Minnesota proved that theory wrong! Found a couple of beautiful, yet primitive campgrounds to stay at. The scenery was gorgeous! Here’s a picture of our “Little Casita in the Big Woods”.

Did I mention the hitchhikers that we picked up along the way? No, not talking about mosquitoes here! Real hitchhikers! Bug hitchhikers. Isn’t the frog cute? Anyone know what kind of bug that is? The frog appeared on our window while we were stopped at a road construction site in Missouri and a day or so later when we were stopped in a little town in Wisconsin, the bug landed on our window.

Left Wisconsin, but not the mosquitoes. Found a beautiful little park just outside of Rapid City, Michigan, on the Upper Peninsula, where we spent the night. Les decided it was time to buy me a new camera, because my “old” one was giving me some problems. Found this sweet little Nikon Coolpix L100 that seems to do everything! It takes wonderful flower pictures, has a setting where it won’t take a picture until the subject smiles, and asks if someone blinked when the picture was taken. Now every time we stop I’m out taking more pictures!

We traveled up the coast of Lake Michigan, on the Upper Peninsula. It’s a beautiful drive, with lots of sea views. (Tee Hee) We stopped at a little viewpoint, on the northern side of the Mackinaw Bridge and got our picture taken. If you look close, you can see the bridge in the background.

We arrived in Mackinaw City on June 28^th and headed for the Mackinaw City Campground, where we camped last year. On the 29^th we went into the city and walked the main street where there are all of these shops. Never seen so many tee shirts in my life (except for here, last year). Lunched at an Irish Pub, ate and drank too much, almost had to call for someone to come and take us home (just joking!). On the 30^th it was off to a fun day at Mackinaw Island.

Now just in case you don’t have a clue about Mackinaw Island, let me tell you. I’m sure some people can go on and on about the settling of the island, the importance of the island in American history and the war of 1812, but the main draw for me is that it was the venue for the movie, “Somewhere In Time”, starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer. The Grand Hotel is where Christopher Reeve’s character goes to find the mysterious woman who called to him through time. In reality as well as in the movie it is an elegant hotel that catered to the rich and famous. And you and I can meander through the hotel for a small fee. J

You reach Mackinaw Island on a ferry as visitors have throughout the years. There are no ”horseless carriages” allowed on Mackinaw Island. You get around on bikes, horses, carriages, etc. After we walked up and down the main street, took pictures of the beautiful flowers and houses, we had lunch. Then we went on a carriage ride tour, which stopped at a butterfly exhibit. I’ve only been to one butterfly house before, this was awesome! I wouldn’t say that there were a massive amount of butterflies, but there were lots of different kinds. I was so glad that I had my new camera! I got quite a few wonderful pictures of the butterflies. The butterflies liked me too! This one is pretty enough with its wings together, but when it spreads its wings to fly, the other side of the wings are a luminous blue! After the Butterfly House we went on the second half of the carriage ride through the State Park. We spent a long day at Mackinaw Island, had a nice little ride back to the city on the boat, and then back to the campground.

We are headed up to Canada on Sunday, so we won’t be on the computer or even the phone for the next few weeks. Take care of yourselves!

‘Til next time!

Joy

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Les’ Readers Digest Version:

- Returned from wintering in Texas on April 5.

- Went to the Beltane/Scottish Highland games at Cedar Bluffs Res. Kansas, over the first weekend in May.

- While Joy was on hiatus in the PNW I went to a mid Winfield unofficial music event, over Memorial weekend. I also went to a Graduation party for Kirstin. Great party. Great people.

-Left Ks June 17, headed east to go northeast. ( you go figure)

-Visited Joys cousins in Parsons, Ks. Friends in Warsaw. Mo. My cousins in Cedar Rapids, Ia.

-Route included: East Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Upper penninsula Michigan, We’re now in Mackinaw City, Mi.

-Will cross into Canada at Sault St. Marie on July 5. Then it’s Salmon fishing in Lake Huron.