We are in Goshen now after a week with the Florida kids. It was so special to see our newest granddaughter. What a joy she is. What a joy her parents are as well. We are blessed with great kids, spouses, and grandkids!
We are spending some time now playing landlord and scheduling some work to be done on the apartments. We are planning a trip to Virginia next month to see the rest of the family. Grandkids grow up too fast. . . we have to keep checking in with them.
We also will be adding some four-legged furry friends to our family soon. More details later. Anxious to see them as well. It's been too long. We always said after Neal and Bailey were gone that we didn't want to add pets until we did the Alaska trip. . . well. . . IT'S DONE! I still can't believe we have been there and back. . . all 11,065 miles of it! Where did the summer go?
But we are ready to add to our family. Hope they will love us and much as we will love them!
More later. . .
Till next time. . .
Dale
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Enjoying Florida!
It has been really hot and humid and muggy since we've been here. So the other day before we went over to the kids' we went out to the coast and took a walk along the beach. It was beautiful there and much more comfortable.
Later in the evening, we all went out to eat at Grills. We've eaten there before and the food is very good. I got peel and eat shrimp and they were delicious. The baby went with us, of course. Megan fed her before we left and she slept most of the way there and slept in her carseat/stroller all the way through dinner. What a good baby! On the way home, however, she seemed to object to Grandma taking so many pictures. LOL
Today is our last day in Florida. It will be hard to leave the kids tonight, but we will be back later in the fall. Brynlee will likely be much different then as she grows and begins to interact more. I can't wait to see her again! I can't wait to see Ronan and Aenea as well. I understand they are growing and changing too.
Our flight tomorrow leaves about 1:30 from Sanford, Florida. It is a much smaller airport than Orlando and a lot easier to negotiate than the bigger airport. It's a bit further away, but very easy to get to.
Till next time. . .
Dale
Monday, August 19, 2013
No spoiling here. . .
Spent another day with the kids. Terry and Brandon have been hanging ceiling fans the last day or two. Brynlee is mesmerized by the one in the family room. She likes watching it.
I don't know why things happen when we are here. One time the garbage disposal bit the dust and spewed water, etc., into the cabinet. Terry installed a new one and we were good to go. This time I was trying to do dishes and didn't have any hot water. Brandon assured me it just takes awhile. I said, "Well, I let the water run for about 10 minutes and it isn't even getting warmer." So they got to checking and found out the thermocoupler was dead on the water heater. Who'dda thunk? So off to Lowe's they went and Terry installed it with Brandon's help. He now knows how to do it. So $7 later they have hot water again. Brandon commented that if they had not discovered that, his morning shower today would have been "invigorating." LOL To say the least.
I'm including more pix of Brynlee, since that is the main reason we are here!
Till next time. . .
Dale
I don't know why things happen when we are here. One time the garbage disposal bit the dust and spewed water, etc., into the cabinet. Terry installed a new one and we were good to go. This time I was trying to do dishes and didn't have any hot water. Brandon assured me it just takes awhile. I said, "Well, I let the water run for about 10 minutes and it isn't even getting warmer." So they got to checking and found out the thermocoupler was dead on the water heater. Who'dda thunk? So off to Lowe's they went and Terry installed it with Brandon's help. He now knows how to do it. So $7 later they have hot water again. Brandon commented that if they had not discovered that, his morning shower today would have been "invigorating." LOL To say the least.
I'm including more pix of Brynlee, since that is the main reason we are here!
Till next time. . .
Dale
Friday, August 16, 2013
Melbourne, Florida
Yesterday we met Mom, Dad, Jim and Nita in Warsaw and had lunch at a restaurant there. We were on our way to the Ft. Wayne airport to fly to Florida and wanted to visit with everyone before we left.
We made it to the airport in good time and waited on our flight. It arrived on time, but it took them over 45 minutes to unload the plane. People would just trickle off. They had quite a few people in wheelchairs but I still don't understand why it took so long. We finally got to board and we left about 20 minutes late. It was a good flight. . . a little bumpy in spots. When we arrived it was raining, but we got our luggage and made it to our rental car.
We had about a 1 1/2 hour drive to Melbourne. Our plane flew into Sanford instead of Orlando, but by flying from Ft. Wayne to Sanford, we could fly non-stop which is far preferable than the normal Atlanta leg.
We called the kids and they said we could come on over for a brief 
visit and I'm glad we did. I got to feed the baby, Brynlee. She is just precious. We are smitten. . . as we have been with the other two grandkids before her. But we bid our farewells as we were tired and had not eaten any supper. We stopped for a bite to eat and then drove on to our hotel.
This time we are staying in a new Holiday Inn Express and it is very nice. It is closer to Brandon's than our normal Hampton Inn up at Viera and it is just as nice. I probably like the breakfast better at the Hampton, but I can't complain.
Today we went back late morning and I certainly got in some baby time 
today. I want her to remember me so I have to spend as much time with her as I can. She is certainly a cutie. . . what can I say? Our grandchildren are all cute. The kids are overjoyed at being parents and don't seem to mind the sacrifices (like sleep) they have to make.
I didn't ignore Jax, the dog. I took him a toy today and he played with it all day. I took him outside a couple times so he could chase lizards--his favorite pasttime. I sat on the edge of the pool
and the water was like bath water. . . almost too warm to be refreshing, except that it was wet, so that makes a difference. I will get in the pool yet. It is hot and muggy here in Florida.
I did get some great shots of son Brandon holding his baby.
Tomorrow Brandon is having a cookout and Megan's parents will be there. It will be good to see them again.
Till next time . . .
Dale
We made it to the airport in good time and waited on our flight. It arrived on time, but it took them over 45 minutes to unload the plane. People would just trickle off. They had quite a few people in wheelchairs but I still don't understand why it took so long. We finally got to board and we left about 20 minutes late. It was a good flight. . . a little bumpy in spots. When we arrived it was raining, but we got our luggage and made it to our rental car.
We had about a 1 1/2 hour drive to Melbourne. Our plane flew into Sanford instead of Orlando, but by flying from Ft. Wayne to Sanford, we could fly non-stop which is far preferable than the normal Atlanta leg.
We called the kids and they said we could come on over for a brief 
visit and I'm glad we did. I got to feed the baby, Brynlee. She is just precious. We are smitten. . . as we have been with the other two grandkids before her. But we bid our farewells as we were tired and had not eaten any supper. We stopped for a bite to eat and then drove on to our hotel.This time we are staying in a new Holiday Inn Express and it is very nice. It is closer to Brandon's than our normal Hampton Inn up at Viera and it is just as nice. I probably like the breakfast better at the Hampton, but I can't complain.
Today we went back late morning and I certainly got in some baby time 
today. I want her to remember me so I have to spend as much time with her as I can. She is certainly a cutie. . . what can I say? Our grandchildren are all cute. The kids are overjoyed at being parents and don't seem to mind the sacrifices (like sleep) they have to make.I didn't ignore Jax, the dog. I took him a toy today and he played with it all day. I took him outside a couple times so he could chase lizards--his favorite pasttime. I sat on the edge of the pool
and the water was like bath water. . . almost too warm to be refreshing, except that it was wet, so that makes a difference. I will get in the pool yet. It is hot and muggy here in Florida.
I did get some great shots of son Brandon holding his baby.Tomorrow Brandon is having a cookout and Megan's parents will be there. It will be good to see them again.
Till next time . . .
Dale
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Knee Update. . .
My knee has been better this week, but mainly because Terry took charge of the driving from the time we left Prince Rupert until we hit southern Wisconsin. I did the last day's drive through the greater Chicago area on to Goshen. I got along fine.
I made the mistake of thinking I wouldn't be able to get in to see Terry's knee specialist in Indy, so I made an appointment with an urgent care place I use up in northern Indiana when we are here. I went to see him Monday. Big mistake. He didn't want to just look at my knee, but wanted to do a total blood workup, changing my meds, etc. I only take three. He thought one of those might be causing pain in my knee. . . huh??????? I said, "No, I clobbered it on a nightstand and it has hurt ever since." He did some x-rays and then injected it (thank you very much), then wanted me to come back on Tuesday for a Doppler on the leg to make sure I didn't have a blood clot. I mean, I hit it three months ago. . . don't you think a blood clot would have caused problems by now????? But I went back in Tuesday for the Doppler, which showed NO blood clot. He wanted to run even more blood tests, see me back in two weeks, etc., etc., etc. I finally told him NO! I came here to find out about my knee. I see my primary care doctor every six months. . . no need for you to be repeating everything he will be doing next month. He just didn't want to let me go. I finally just said, "I'm done" and left, still not knowing what is wrong with my knee. I got on the internet and queried the doctor in Indy. On Wednesday afternoon I got a call from them and an appointment on Thursday! Whoo hoo!
So Thursday we left Goshen at 7:30 a.m. and drove to Indy. We were early, so stopped and shopped a little on the way down. :-) It was a long afternoon with a lot of waiting, but I knew I would know when I left what was wrong with my knee. As it is, my knee is not damaged but badly bruised. The hit was directly to my knee cap which was slammed into the knee bone behind it because my knee was bent at the time. So I have a bruise on the underside of the knee cap and another on the top of the leg bone it hit. They rub together causing the pain. Dr. Shelbourne said it would eventually heal, but not very fast and would continue to provide discomfort. So, his PT took me into the therapy room and gave me a couple exercises to do to help with the healing. Whoo hoo! So that is what I have been doing. At least I know what the problem is and what it takes to fix it. No surgery or anything like that required. It's a relief.
Last evening we had my Class of '68 Reunion Kickoff. It was at a local hotel. There was food, drink and lots of conversation. Met up with a lot of my fellow classmates and enjoyed every minute of it. Terry enjoys it as well, because he went to elementary and junior high with a lot of the same people so he was able to find plenty of people to talk to.
Tonight is the reunion itself at the country club. Buffet followed by dancing and socializing. It will be a great time. The class does a great job of putting on this reunion every five years. They actually start a year earlier with meetings once a month. Anyone can come to the meetings which always include dinner and planning.
MinnieMee got a bath on Wednesday to wash off all the Alaska dirt. There were places to wash her in Alaska, but you can to keep feeding money into a meter and it was hard to get a good wash. She is sparkling clean. We haven't unloaded her completely because we are going to use her a couple more times before putting her up for the winter. Then Phaeton Place will come out of storage.
So tonight in the reunion, next Thursday we fly to Florida to see Brandon, Megan, and little Brynlee. Then we fly back a week later and will hang out here in Elkhart to work on some apartments.
Till next time. . .
Dale
I made the mistake of thinking I wouldn't be able to get in to see Terry's knee specialist in Indy, so I made an appointment with an urgent care place I use up in northern Indiana when we are here. I went to see him Monday. Big mistake. He didn't want to just look at my knee, but wanted to do a total blood workup, changing my meds, etc. I only take three. He thought one of those might be causing pain in my knee. . . huh??????? I said, "No, I clobbered it on a nightstand and it has hurt ever since." He did some x-rays and then injected it (thank you very much), then wanted me to come back on Tuesday for a Doppler on the leg to make sure I didn't have a blood clot. I mean, I hit it three months ago. . . don't you think a blood clot would have caused problems by now????? But I went back in Tuesday for the Doppler, which showed NO blood clot. He wanted to run even more blood tests, see me back in two weeks, etc., etc., etc. I finally told him NO! I came here to find out about my knee. I see my primary care doctor every six months. . . no need for you to be repeating everything he will be doing next month. He just didn't want to let me go. I finally just said, "I'm done" and left, still not knowing what is wrong with my knee. I got on the internet and queried the doctor in Indy. On Wednesday afternoon I got a call from them and an appointment on Thursday! Whoo hoo!
So Thursday we left Goshen at 7:30 a.m. and drove to Indy. We were early, so stopped and shopped a little on the way down. :-) It was a long afternoon with a lot of waiting, but I knew I would know when I left what was wrong with my knee. As it is, my knee is not damaged but badly bruised. The hit was directly to my knee cap which was slammed into the knee bone behind it because my knee was bent at the time. So I have a bruise on the underside of the knee cap and another on the top of the leg bone it hit. They rub together causing the pain. Dr. Shelbourne said it would eventually heal, but not very fast and would continue to provide discomfort. So, his PT took me into the therapy room and gave me a couple exercises to do to help with the healing. Whoo hoo! So that is what I have been doing. At least I know what the problem is and what it takes to fix it. No surgery or anything like that required. It's a relief.
Last evening we had my Class of '68 Reunion Kickoff. It was at a local hotel. There was food, drink and lots of conversation. Met up with a lot of my fellow classmates and enjoyed every minute of it. Terry enjoys it as well, because he went to elementary and junior high with a lot of the same people so he was able to find plenty of people to talk to.
Tonight is the reunion itself at the country club. Buffet followed by dancing and socializing. It will be a great time. The class does a great job of putting on this reunion every five years. They actually start a year earlier with meetings once a month. Anyone can come to the meetings which always include dinner and planning.
MinnieMee got a bath on Wednesday to wash off all the Alaska dirt. There were places to wash her in Alaska, but you can to keep feeding money into a meter and it was hard to get a good wash. She is sparkling clean. We haven't unloaded her completely because we are going to use her a couple more times before putting her up for the winter. Then Phaeton Place will come out of storage.
So tonight in the reunion, next Thursday we fly to Florida to see Brandon, Megan, and little Brynlee. Then we fly back a week later and will hang out here in Elkhart to work on some apartments.
Till next time. . .
Dale
Sunday, August 04, 2013
We're baaaaaaack!
We have arrived back in Goshen. This is where we started our journey to Alaska. We are back to the area where we have our apartments and plan to be here awhile to get some work scheduled and finished on some rentals. No rest for the weary!
Shortly after we arrived our neighbors came over to ask about our trip. It was a great trip. We saw so much it's hard to comprehend it all. I have my pictures all organized according to where they were taken. So it will be easy to go back and "review" the trip and remember those things that we did.
We saw friends along the way and met many new ones. We were fortunately ahead of the caravans by about 10 days to 2 weeks which meant we had plenty of spaces available in campgrounds and didn't have to wait at any venues. That was really a good thing.
We drove up through Alberta, British Columbia, then through the Yukon Territory. We crossed the Yukon River by ferry at Dawson City and took the Top of the World Highway to Chicken, then down to Tok. From there it was Fairbanks, then Denali, and on to Anchorage. Driving on we went to the Kenai Peninsula and Homer and Seward. On the way back to Anchorage, we drove down to Whittier through the combination railroad/car tunnel. From Anchorage we took the Glenn Highway down to Valdez. When we left Valdez, we drove back to Tok and down the Alaska Highway to Skagway. From there we took ferries, first to Haines, then Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, and finally Prince Rupert. When we got off the ferry in Prince Rupert, we drove across Canada on the TransCanada Highway. We traveled through British Columbia, Alberta, Saskachewan, Manitoba and finally Ontario. We headed south from Winnepeg and stopped in Sioux Narrows to see some friends. That was our last stop basically and from that point on, we were on our way back to Goshen. A truly grand trip that was two years in the planning and definitely one of the best.
We are looking forward to my high school reunion on Saturday. It will be good to see old friends and classmates. then next week we fly to Florida to see our new grandbaby.
Till next time. . .
Dale
Shortly after we arrived our neighbors came over to ask about our trip. It was a great trip. We saw so much it's hard to comprehend it all. I have my pictures all organized according to where they were taken. So it will be easy to go back and "review" the trip and remember those things that we did.
We saw friends along the way and met many new ones. We were fortunately ahead of the caravans by about 10 days to 2 weeks which meant we had plenty of spaces available in campgrounds and didn't have to wait at any venues. That was really a good thing.
We drove up through Alberta, British Columbia, then through the Yukon Territory. We crossed the Yukon River by ferry at Dawson City and took the Top of the World Highway to Chicken, then down to Tok. From there it was Fairbanks, then Denali, and on to Anchorage. Driving on we went to the Kenai Peninsula and Homer and Seward. On the way back to Anchorage, we drove down to Whittier through the combination railroad/car tunnel. From Anchorage we took the Glenn Highway down to Valdez. When we left Valdez, we drove back to Tok and down the Alaska Highway to Skagway. From there we took ferries, first to Haines, then Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, and finally Prince Rupert. When we got off the ferry in Prince Rupert, we drove across Canada on the TransCanada Highway. We traveled through British Columbia, Alberta, Saskachewan, Manitoba and finally Ontario. We headed south from Winnepeg and stopped in Sioux Narrows to see some friends. That was our last stop basically and from that point on, we were on our way back to Goshen. A truly grand trip that was two years in the planning and definitely one of the best.
We are looking forward to my high school reunion on Saturday. It will be good to see old friends and classmates. then next week we fly to Florida to see our new grandbaby.
Till next time. . .
Dale
Saturday, August 03, 2013
Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, to Wisconsin Dells
You have probably noticed that my posts are getting shorter. Well, the Alaska part of the trip is now history and I'm not taking many pictures. We also are wanting to get to Florida to see our new grandbaby and her parents, our son and daughter-in-law. To do that, we have to stop in Indiana and check in with our apartment manager. We also plan to get my knee checked out. Seems I blew it out on this trip and while I have the pain managed now, it wasn't for a long time and I was miserable. Terry also lost a crown that he would like to have fixed, so we may be able to get that taken care of. Tomorrow we plan to be back in Goshen, Indiana, to get some of that done.
Today we drove from Turtle Lake Casino to the Wisconsin Dells. There was little of note on that journey today except it was miserable. We were back in lots of traffic and we were doing the speed limit of 65 and everyone was passing us. The roads were bad, almost as bad as some in Alaska.
The one notable milestone today was that our trip turned 10,000 since leaving for Alaska on May 20. Terry had the camera all set up to catch the moment when the trip meter went from 9,999 to 10,000. Unfortunately and unbeknownst to us, the meter resets to 0.00 at 10,000. LOL so our moment was captured as "0.00." No matter. It's still 10,000 wonderful miles.
We are camped at Country Roads at the Wisconsin Dells. We have
been here before, but it's been years. Still a very nice camp.
Tomorrow the journey officially ends. It's been a great ride.
Till next time. . .
Dale
Today we drove from Turtle Lake Casino to the Wisconsin Dells. There was little of note on that journey today except it was miserable. We were back in lots of traffic and we were doing the speed limit of 65 and everyone was passing us. The roads were bad, almost as bad as some in Alaska.
The one notable milestone today was that our trip turned 10,000 since leaving for Alaska on May 20. Terry had the camera all set up to catch the moment when the trip meter went from 9,999 to 10,000. Unfortunately and unbeknownst to us, the meter resets to 0.00 at 10,000. LOL so our moment was captured as "0.00." No matter. It's still 10,000 wonderful miles.We are camped at Country Roads at the Wisconsin Dells. We have
been here before, but it's been years. Still a very nice camp.Tomorrow the journey officially ends. It's been a great ride.
Till next time. . .
Dale
Friday, August 02, 2013
Tower, Minnesota to Turtle Lake, Wisconsin
We left the casino a bit richer than when we came. LOL Had a good drive down through the country to Duluth. We had arranged to visit with some full-timing friends, Bill and Helen, over lunch.
We met them at Grandma's Grill and Saloon on the way into 
Duluth. What a great spot. It was right on our road and not near the congestion of downtown. Thanks Bill and Helen for picking such a great spot.
We were able to pull into the parking lot at the same time as our friends and we visited for a little while before going in to eat. They had to have the grand tour of MinnieMee since they have only seen Phaeton Place. We are pretty proud of our little coach and the job she has done taking us all the way to Alaska and back.
After having a delicious lunch, it was once again time to bid our farewells and get back on the road. It was great seeing our friends and we enjoyed our time with them.
We traveled on through Duluth and are stopped for the night at another casino, Turtle Lake Casino, in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin. As luck would have it, I was the winner tonight and I was able to cover Terry's losses and have a bit to spare. Not as much as Terry won the night before, but enough.
Till next time. . .
Dale
We met them at Grandma's Grill and Saloon on the way into 
Duluth. What a great spot. It was right on our road and not near the congestion of downtown. Thanks Bill and Helen for picking such a great spot.We were able to pull into the parking lot at the same time as our friends and we visited for a little while before going in to eat. They had to have the grand tour of MinnieMee since they have only seen Phaeton Place. We are pretty proud of our little coach and the job she has done taking us all the way to Alaska and back.
After having a delicious lunch, it was once again time to bid our farewells and get back on the road. It was great seeing our friends and we enjoyed our time with them.
We traveled on through Duluth and are stopped for the night at another casino, Turtle Lake Casino, in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin. As luck would have it, I was the winner tonight and I was able to cover Terry's losses and have a bit to spare. Not as much as Terry won the night before, but enough.Till next time. . .
Dale
Thursday, August 01, 2013
Sioux Narrows, Ontario to Tower, Minnesota
We left our camp and Burgess Island behind this morning, we were headed for the border. This will be the final crossing for us this trip. I don't like crossing the borders because it seems there is so much scrutiny it makes me feel uncomfortable. We just try to answer their questions truthfully and we normally get through quickly.
Terry was interested in these float planes. There were several this one company used. Really shined up nicely and I think Dave said this was the outfit that took them on a flightseeing trip recently.Our drive was uneventful, except for more and more traffic. After the deserted highways on the Alaska trip, that is rather annoying. LOL
We treated ourselves to a stop at Fortune Bay Casino in Tower, Minnesota. It is the first casino we hit this trip and Terry did very well. He won enough to cover dinner, our campsite, my losses, and still pocketed some. A good day indeed.Till next time. . .
Dale
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