Pace-Stevens Reunion

We arrived at Piney Grove on Bay Springs Lake in Mississippi last Wednesday, June 4, and settled in for four days so we could attend the family reunion. Ma and Pa Pace were both married previously and had something like five children each, then were widowed. They found one another, married, and had five more children. Many of the children from the three marriages are no longer around, but there are some. Most of the people who come now are the next generation, i.e., Terry and his cousins. We always enjoy going to Mississippi and touching base with family. It would be great if more people would come, though. We had 31 people this year, up from 18 last year, but there are many more we would like to see.

Years ago, one of the relatives had a notebook with family genealogy in it, but I don't remember who it was and they haven't come for years. I've been trying to think of some way to encourage other family members to come. Perhaps some readers out there have some ideas about what works with their family reunions. If so, I would love to hear your comments.

We are changing the format of the reunion next year. Instead of having a carry-in, we are going to meet at Raymond's, a restaurant in Marietta, Mississippi. Everyone will order from the menu, so no one has to worry about fixing food and bringing a dish. We will let Raymond's do the cooking and all we need to do is visit with one another.

After we left the reunion, we headed out to the lake to the dogs and spent some time walking them and visiting with Gary and Jo. Later we all headed in to Paul and Shirley's, Terry's cousin and Gary's sister, and we had a fish fry. What fun! We had our leftovers from the reunion carry-in and fish Gary brought from one of his many fishing excursions and then an additional treat that Preston fixed. He made us steak kabobs with jalapeno, cream cheese and bacon. They were very good.

As it got later, it was obvious a storm was brewing. The dogs don't like storms, although they aren't terrified like some dogs. Still, we didn't want them to be alone in the motorhome in a storm. So we left Shirley's to rush back to the lake, about a 30 minute drive. The wind was really blowing and rain was horizontal, but we somehow plowed through it all. I was more concerned about a tree blowing down on us as we drove back. Once we got out on the highway, though, the wind seemed to die down and we just had a lot of rain and lightening. By the time we got to the camp, the worst was past. The girls were doing fine. We always leave the A/C and fans running as it masks a lot of noise. They were glad to see us, but they weren't overly anxious. They are such sweet girls. We waited till the rain stopped and took them out for their evening walk and then went to bed.

Gary and Jo did get a motorcycle ride in while they were there. I think that would be fun.

We also found these really large fungi the day after the bad storm. Have not found out what kind they are. Several suggestions have been made, but I don't believe we have identified them yet.

We left on Sunday morning to head to Indiana for the FMCA Glamarama Rally at the fairgrounds in Goshen. This is the second rally we have attended there in a month. They are always fun and it's great to be with other RV'ers. We drove all the way to Cave City the first night, then Indianapolis the second night, then on to the fairgrounds on Tuesday, the 10th.

Till next time. . .

Dale