Brian & Bailey

After a wonderful lunch with Cheryl's brother and sister in Candor, NY, we drove over to visit Brian our son and his family in Newfield, NY. Baily won the Pinewood Derby Race in his scout troop and was very proud to show off his trophies. They are expecting our 9th grandson (10th grandchild) this coming week. We talked and talked then went out to dinner at Sammy's, a new Italian buffet restaurant in Ithaca, NY. We expect a call within the next 7-10 days with news of Alex James L'Amoreaux's arrival. Erin and Brian liked the new baby clothes we brought for the baby. We are excited about the new baby and feel very blessed with wonderful children and their families.

Lunch with Rachel and Louis

I had lunch today with my favorite sister and brother at Jack's Restaurant in Candor, NY. I love spending time with them as they are great,lots of fun and they make me laugh. I think we take after our mama's side of the family as we have so much in common. We're making plans to spend more time together going to an area casino while we are home in NY.

Cheryl In Wheel borrow

This is my grandson "giving" me a ride in the wheelborrow! Boy was that a fun, bumpy ride! But we had fun!

Shopping with Girlfriends

What a wonderful day for shopping! This is tradition too! Shopping with my girlfriends, Judy & Janet. We have a blast. We start early in the morning and come home when the shopping is done. We hit as many stores and we can, and in between stores run our packages to the car so we can shop some more. Judy is excellent in finding the bargains! I love it. I love my shopping days with my girlfriends. Another reason to come home. On June 12th we will have our "Gang" get together with our spouses and revisit fun times over the past 30 years!

Dean in the Gazebo eating Chicken BBQ

This is Dean sitting in the gazebo eating his chicken BBQ!

Chicken BBQ Dinner

In the Fingerlakes Region of NY State, one can travel the roads and see several temporary Chicken BBQs roadside stands. The BBQs are prepared by churches, boy scouts, fire departments, civic and fraternal organizations and non-profits. It's a tradition to use the "Cornell BBQ sauce" when preparing the chicken, Grandma Brown's baked beans, Salt Potatoes with butter, roll and dessert. An organization can provide their choice of roll and dessert, but the rest is a standard. It's one of the many reasons we love NY. So if you are ever in NY look for the BBQs and think of us! They are delicious!

Painting Completed

I finally got this painting done. It is of an old hotel called Margaritas in Batopolis, Mexico. Batoplis is at the bottom of Copper Canyon. After driving 50 miles on paved road and 50 miles on a dirt and winding road, one comes upon this hotel -- a beautiful hotel nestled in a valley along the river. We have had the opportunity of staying here on 3 separate occassions. This view was taken on the second floor facing the honeymoon suite.

A day on the "Farm"

What a wonderful day we had yesterday. The sun was shining and a gentle breeze caressed our skin as we sat drinking our coffee in the Gazebo. It was so relaxing and enjoyable. We are only home for 7 weeks this year, so our calendar is getting full. There are so many people we just love to spend time with when we come home. We have organized a few socials, but have a few more to go. Of course the doctors have to have some time too -- you know we are in our "Golden Years" - that's when all the doctors take our gold!

Spoke to my daughter for 2 hours and 33 seconds yesterday. I always love hearing her voice -- it is so comforting to know that she is happy and well. She lives in Canada with her husband (about 4 hours away. We set some dates when we will visit her, when she will visit us and when everyone (my 3 children and their families) can go on family vacations together. We are so blessed that our children love to spend time with us. We are so Lucky, Lucky, Lucky! And count our blessing everyday!

We arrived back in NY with jackets on...where is the warm weather? Just think 9 days agao I was sitting on the beach with my daughter-in-law, Chris, in Charleston, SC. having a blast as we sunned outselves in the 80 degree weather. I haven't completely figured out why I have decided to head north and get cold.

We pulled into my son's "Farm" about 3pm. At 6pm we were off to see my grandson play his first game of T-ball. He's only 4, but he hit the ball on his first try from a pitcher's throw. I think we might have something going here. We loved it.

It is very peaceful and quiet at our son's farm. Our son lives about 1/4 mile away from where we are parked. Kallie, our cat, loves it too as she is allowed to run free. It puts a smile on my face as I watch her run across the yard enjoying herself. We will be home until July 7th and will be kept very, very busy by family, friends and doctors. Gotta get that calendar out and start filling up the dates.

Lackawanna State Park, PA

It was cool in the Pennsylvania woods so we built a fire and here we are enjoying it.
Dean got to play with his poker! What a wonderful day, we roasted hot dogs for lunch over the fire while listening to the birds in the trees - couldn't ask for anything more. It has been a while since we have enjoyed ourselves like this. I guess all those resorts out there with the numerous ammenities draw us like flies. And as we leave behind nature, it puts a strain upon our own State Parks forcing many of them to close across the US because of budget issues. I guess families with children prefer the resorts as well.

Dean's Mishaps

When we left Pocohonas State Park in VA, Dean forgot to unhook the electric. As he was driving up the road, security waved to him to stop as he was dragging his electric cord. I went back to our site to check out the damage. Lucky for him he did not do any. He told me not to tell anyone, so if you read this you did not hear it from me! He feels really bad and feels like he is forgetting things lately. That is the third thing he forgot in the last 2 weeks.

We had to buy a TV as our old one went on the fritz. The one we bought does not fit, so we set the TV in the hole until we get it built in. Once I tried moving it for him and he told me that was his job. So the next time we went to move the coach, I reminded him about the TV as he was right there. He forgot and I assumed he took care of it. Well going down the road and having a TV fall off the wall in front of you is a might frieghtening!

Yesterday he tied Kallie our cat out before it started raining. He forgot and it started raining the cat wound its lease around several things under the MH. He has yet to get it untangled, but he did get the cat and bring her in. Bless his heart and you didn't hear this from me either!! LOL

We are now at Cherry Hill Resort, just outside of Washington DC. We will be here for 2 nights. This is a lovely park and everyone is very helpful in making sure one can get to and from the heart of DC safely. I think the park is a bit pricy $68/night, luckily they comped us the 2 nights we will be here. Today we meet with management to go over a few things for the reunion we will have here in 2012.

The weather is cold here! I think I might not like going north just yet. It was in the low 70's yesterday.

Jamestown, NC and Chesterfield, VA

We had a wonderful 2 days with our friends Jim and Jerrine Mathis in Jamestown, NC. Each time we meet, they make us smile. Jim makes mattresses part time (as a hobby) and made one for us. We love it! He gave us several choices and Dean settled on the one we have now. We first met Jim and Jerrine in 2006 and have since met up with them again in 2006 in Houma, LA, then 07 and 09 in Branson.

We are now in Chesterfield, VA at Pocohontas State Park. At registration they charged us $5.00 more per night as they are trying to stay open. We love the state parks and am very saddened to see them closing across the US, but with the budget cuts its putting a strain on them. It has been raining since we pulled in yesterday around 4pm. Still raining on and off. Poor Kallie, Dean forgot to let her in yesterday when it was pooring outside, she huddled under our MH to keep dry.

Today we are headed up to Cherry Hill Resort in Maryland for 2 nights, then we will work our way to NY, arriving in Ithaca on the 17th. We want to stop at a couple state parks in PA first.

Sat, 5/8/10 Brookgreen Gardens and Carolina Opry

Again the weather was wonderful in Myrtle Beach. The sun was shinning and a gentle breeze kept us comfortable as we expored Brookgreen Gardens. If you love flowers, Brookgreen is a place to go in the springtime. We think it is one of the most spectacular gardens. The Gardens are decorated with wonderful sculptures throughout. This is a highly recommended stop in your journeys.

In the evening we visited the Carolina Opry, voted the No. 1 show in every poll for the last 23 years. It is highly acclaimed by the New York Times, USA Today, NBC Nightly News and CNN. The 2-hour show blends in high energy music, comedy and dance into a wonderful performance.

Fri, 5/7/10 - Medieval times

Medieval Times was gracious to give us tickets for tonight to their dinner and attraction for a very small stipend (must have been the cost of the food) so we went. This was the first time we went to a medieval show. It was wonderful. The show is held in a huge arena with seating around the arena. It is North America's No. 1 and longest running dinner attraction, where the glory of the Middle Ages bursts into action! It was full of pagentry, romance and excitement - featuring knights on spirited Andalusian horses. The story line had 4 acts making the evening very enjoyable. Between acts , we enjoyed a medieval "hands-on" feast as the performance unfolded. All was very delicious and tasteful. We enjoyed the evening.

Fri, 5/7/10 - Riplys Aquarium

I know, an aquarium. We have all been to lots of aquariums and after a while they all blend in together. But Ripley's gave us free tickets to attend so what could we do? We went and it was wonderful. Not your usual run-for-the-money aquariums. It is hands-on and state of the art aquarium with hourly dive show, 330 foot underwater moving glide path with 10-foot sharks, barracuda, eels and a giant octopus. The fish swim along the side and overhead. It gives you the opportunity to see the underside of the fish (sharks, little fish, big fish -- all types of fish). We loved it.

Thur, 5/6/10 - Le Grand Cirque

The Palace Theatre gave us complimentary tickets to attend their show "Le Grand cirque" Thursday night. It was wonderful. Can you believe not one performer said a word during the whole show? The opening act was a Mime. The show was comprised of men and women from China, Russia and Europe performing circus acts and contortionist performances which made my body ache with all of their twists and turns with their body that I didn't even know was possible!

They did have a TV Screen which made announcements about upcoming shows that played before the show and during intermission.

Wed, 5/5/10 - "One, the Show" at Alabama Theatre

Because of our association with Adventure Caravans, Carolina Theatre they gave us free tickets in the 9th row! It is one of our many perks working with Adventure Caravans.

Last night we went to see "One, the Show" in Myrtle Beach, SC. It was voted # 1 by visitors. It is a high-energy musical variety show featuring America's favorite music. The music was fantastic and very lively. The show had little bit of everything from Vegas, Nashville and NYC all wrapped up in one; comedy, classic country and lots of variety. The talent was outstanding! We loved it and would recommend anyone going through Myrtle Beach to stop and see the show!

We are haveing a great time in Myrtle Beach for a week. Just went to a great show at the Alabama Theater and are doing more shows this week as well as visit the beach. Spent 10 days in Charleston, SC visiting Duane and family.

Myrtle Beach, SC

Wednesday, May 5, 2010 - We are currently in Myrtle Beach, SC. We arrived yesterday while it was raining and it continued to rain most of the evening. Today we are going into town to see what shows are playing and play a round of minature golf.