Wednesday - May 31

 Wow....the end of May and 5 months have already flown by in 2023!

Pretty spring day (feels like summertime) and a great day for cruising, so decided to take off for Middle Bass and make sure Catrina performs well.

1st cruise of 2023

We left at 11 and 1 hour and a few minutes later we were docked.    Got the bikes off and checked in at office.    We always enjoy coming to this very remote little island - good biking, restaurant (J. F. Walleyes closed), general store (where we had lunch today) and coffee shop (closed).   Middle Bass has 32 year-round residents, 800-1000 seasonal residents  but swells in the summer to 1500 on a holiday weekend.   Their season has not officially opened - mainly weekend hours.

Rode bikes, had lunch and then back to relax.

Connor shot an 80 today and ended up in 3rd place for the tournament!    AWESOME! 

Connor (3rd); DJ (1st from Roanoke); Andre (2nd from Moline)

Congratulations boys!

Leftovers for supper and then a nice bike ride on paved roads (many are gravel) - we were in some new residential areas.

Tuesday - May 30

 Good 1st night sleep on Catrina....and ready to take on the day.   After light breakfast Mark was off to the courthouse for title registration for new dinghy and then to West Marine to get the letters and numbers.     He stopped at Biggby Coffee for an iced latte for me and a bagel sandwich for him.

Lots of activity here at the marina moving dirt/gravel around, taking out dock and replacing with track for big 75 ton travel lift to haul in and out the really big yachts.    

Brand new storage building (under construction all last summer and finally finished in February).  

  The big door weighs 3 tons.

Working away here moving docks, etc.

Catrina and Flo side-by-side

Transfer of stuff COMPLETE!!!!!

Mark walked downtown for his haircut with Gina.  

Sorry to hear from our neighbor at Cypress Trail (Dick) who wrote that he had to put his dog Rusty down this morning.    

Yesterday we talked to the owner or manager at Bootleggers about the lack of help at so many places.    She apologized if the service was slow (actually we had a young lady - 1st day on the job) and she did just fine.    She said "what is wrong with young people these days and what are they doing for $"?     Then Gina and Mark talked about the same thing and no one wants to work.....arghhhh!    Dave, the dockmaster said "you two could easily get a job for the summer up here"!   No thanks!

Mark needed some items at the hardware store so I rode along and got a few groceries at Baby Bassett's (stores are connected).  

On home to put groceries away and wash the car.   It got to 83 with lots of sunshine today.

Connor is playing in a 2-day golf tournament with 21 other junior/senior high school golfers from around the state at Fox Creek.    He tied for 1st place with 2 other guys all scoring a 74 today!     Congratulations!!!

It was so pleasant sitting up on Catrina's bridge this afternoon with a wonderful breeze.   Mark and brother Jim were chatting about continuous care facilities.

We walked to the Docks for dinner - pulled pork nachos and blackened salmon summer salad - both great and leftovers in our future!    😋

 

Memorial Day - 2023

God Bless America

 Another pretty day to remember and honor all those brave men and women who sacrificed their lives for our freedom!   

 We had a good day of finishing up the transfer and will spend tonight on Catrina.  

This afternoon we walked downtown and had drinks and shared a delicious piece of decadent chocolate cake at Bootleggers on the water.    Such a beautiful day and lots of people out and about!    As I was getting up from the table, I somehow knocked over my glass of water....glass, ice and water went flying and I got some wet pants!    Ha....we were outside and thankful it was just water and not my margarita!   😊

The CCHS Saints lost their super sectional game 13-1 tonight.   I imagine it was quite emotional for Quincy Notre Dame losing their player in such a tragic accident.

Sunday - May 28

 Today started out sunny and cool reaching a high of 70.   Just beautiful all day long - sorry for our kiddos in NC who are having a very wet, chilly weekend.

We went to 10:30 Mass at Immaculate Conception with Father Jonathan - so good to be back here on this Pentecost Sunday with lots of red apparel or red/white/blue, great homily by Father and ending Mass with America the Beautiful.   A special treat was the organist - 13 years old and my, could he ever play!   He was not afraid to hit those keys - very joyful!!! 

 Father said he would not be outdoors greeting folks after Mass cause he had to hightail it to the "Blessing of the Fleet" in Catawba and their huge marina with boat parade, etc.    Wish we could get a blessing for Catrina?

Back to Flo and worked away transferring more stuff.   Anne texted with the very tragic news that one of the baseball players from Quincy Notre Dame (CCHS Saints were supposed to play them tomorrow night in the super sectional) was killed in a car accident last night.  This young man graduated on May 14th, was a star player and had 2 RBI's in yesterday's sectional win.    Prayers for Tucker, his family, teammates, school, community, etc.    The game will be played at 5 in Springfield.

We took a break around 1:45 and walked downtown to the Walleye Festival.    Today is Day 4 and it was crowded as ever, but sooo good - fresh walleye and perch sandwiches (we shared), fries and lemon shake-ups.     Doesn't get much better.    Walked back home, rested a bit and then back at it.    Hoping to finish up tomorrow and spend the night on Catrina.  

Almost ready to be "happy boaters"

Catrina is 19 years old

Our neighbor Bob who sold his beautiful Fleming yacht last summer has a new yacht - a 54' Viking - - what a beauty at 25 years old)!   So good to see him again!    Bob's Fleming was named "Blessed" and the folks he sold it to, kept the name as they felt "blessed" as the wife was a cancer survivor.   Bob is calling his Viking "So blessed".

Eight on Zoom tonight - talked about memorial day plans, our nephew Danny's upcoming wedding, the tragedy of the Quincy Notre Dame baseball player, 2 nephews and a niece moving to new homes, retirement (CCRC) communities, etc., etc.   

Enjoy your Memorial Day!

Saturday - May 27

 Beautiful day but still cool - good "working" weather!   We were at all the tasks of getting Catrina ready - cleaning, transferring food, clothes and other stuff onboard.    I walked downtown to mail some cards and had wanted to get 1# of chicken salad at Coffee Express but the line was out the door, so....another time.

Today is Liam's graduation party celebrated with 6 friends.... wearing their college-bound shirts.

Invitation

and then party time!    Each graduate had a table with photos and other

 memorabilia of their college choice

Liam and proud Mama

Best of friends 

Exciting news that the CCHS baseball team won today and moving on to the super sectional game Monday night.   Connor went to the game - he's been a good supporter and fan during this tournament time.

We're amazed at how light it stays up here - switching from one time zone to another and being further north makes for more daylight and at 9:00 PM, wow....still really light out!

Friday - May 26

 HAPPY   HEAVENLY   BIRTHDAY

to Mark's Dad (aka Grandpa C)

We know he's looking down and smiling at the great family he created with Mom and so proud of his 13 children (11 living); 38 grandchildren (37 living) and 60+ great grands!

He is so missed and loved - today would've been his 102nd birthday!

We arrived in Port Clinton a 9:35 this morning from Archbold.    While Mark dumped the tanks, I went to The Doughbox Bakery for coffee and caramel/pecan rolls.    Delish and so reasonable.    The rolls were huge and only $1.50 - been paying $4-5 elsewhere.   Leftovers for tomorrow!

And then off to PC going thru the country and finally last 60 miles were on the Ohio turnpike (also I-80/90) heading east.

So good to see Dave and Brad here at Superior Marine.   Mark backed Flo into her spot alongside where Catrina will be launched for easy transfer of our stuff.

I went downtown to Coffee Express (our go-to place for coffee/muffins/sandwiches).    We shared a tuna salad croissant/chips + iced teas.   Mark got his projects done ahead of the launch including putting in the impellers and pumping up his new dinghy which was delivered after we had left for the season in September.    It was over a 1 1/2 year wait (coming on the s l o w boat from China).

Mark is happy assembling all the parts of his new dinghy

We went to West Marine for some parts to connect the new dinghy to Catrina and I got a dress - they have some really cute clothes and it was on sale!   Back home and Mark set to work on the dinghy.    We are happy to be back here and see all the familiar places - restaurants, shops, Baby Bassett's for groceries, etc.   It is a really nice day but chilly with the strong winds off the lake - 64.

This weekend is the Walleye festival (42nd annual) ay Waterworks Park (Thursday-Monday) - lots of vendors set up with tents, carnival, food, crafts, etc.   We must check that out!   😋😋😋

Talked to Blair this afternoon on her way with Mom and Dad to big dance recital - she'll be doing 4 routines with 3 costume changes.    It's a sold-out crowd (1,056 seats)!!!

Our little "Dancing Queen"

Tomorrow we start the transfer from Flo to Catrina....

Enjoy your holiday weekend!  

Thursday - May 25

 Big day of travel starting at 7:47 AM when we pulled out of Kamp Komfort and headed east on Route 24 across America's Heartland.

We stopped in Watseka, IL at "Recharge Coffee Co." for coffee, of course.   And then stopped for a quick lunch at McDonalds in Peru, IN.     Back in the eastern time zone so lost an hour, but weather was nice, traffic good and overall, a fine day UNTIL we got to Archbold, OH (less than 2 miles from our campground).    

We've heard about this town a lot over the years as our friend, Doug grew up on a turkey farm nearby in Wauseon.    Doug and Patty have been friends for over 50 years and now live in The Villages, FL.   

Okay, so we arrive in Archbold (pop 4,516) and so close to our campground, that traffic came to a halt.   Turns out a train was stopped on the tracks and we sat there for 40 minutes.    Mark checked on Google that this is a fairly common occurrence in Archbold (the locals know where to go under the tracks to avoid this hassle).   It has been a big problem and trying to solve, but.....the tracks have been closed up to 3-4 hours and with 4 trains coming thru town in an hour's time, it happens frequently.    What a mess.....Mark was finally able to figure out the alternate route and in a very short time we arrived at the Sauder Village Campground.  As we went under the tracks, everything still stopped.

Sauder Village (Ohio's largest destination settlement) was developed in 1976 and is 235 acres dating from 1803-1928 and the historic village has all the businesses, folks dressed in period costumes, etc.   However, they had closed by the time we got there (summer hours will start after Memorial Day.)    We walked around the huge parking lot (after sitting all day, needed to stretch the legs).    And then we enjoyed a very delicious meal at The Barn - great home cookin' with so many choices.    Mark had the roast beef dinner and I had honey glazed ham (5 slices) and excellent sides including beets 'n eggs (3 hard-boiled eggs with sliced beets - yummy).    VERY GOOD MEAL!

Back to the campground and settled in - going to get down to 42 overnight.   The site next to us is a tent!    BURRRRR....

 Mark's sister Joan called during dinner with the shock and sad news that a former classmate, John McCormick had passed away very unexpectedly.    Both John and his wife Julie were in Mark's class and we were with them at their 56th reunion in Branson 2 years ago.    Julie had the health issues including a very bad car accident and John has been her caregiver,   They were in Chandler, AZ and John had a heart attack and passed away 11 days after his 76th birthday.

We have just 84 miles to Port Clinton and Catrina tomorrow!

Wednesday - May 24

 Summery sunshiny day!   I was a happy little camper organizing and sorting thru clothes and stuff preparing for our departure tomorrow.    This was my 1st day in 2 1/2 weeks to have no plans so a great time to get Flo, truck and car ready for traveling.

Mark went into town to run some errands and then had lunch with his friend and former colleague, Henry at Applebees.    

These past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity with family and friends!   So happy to celebrate with Liam and have our boys, Drew and Auntie here.

 Our little birdie friend was flying frantically from Flo to Big Red all day.....Claire thinks it's a female cardinal?   Could be....just a crazy bird to me!  

I went to the KK office this afternoon and enjoyed wedding pics from Micci and Mark's (managers) daughter, Kylie's wedding last August.   I had the seen the video when we were here last fall, but now all the beautiful photos.  

Tonight we went to the Carlock Family Restaurant for some good home cookin' - fried chicken for Mark and pork tenderloin for me.    Then we walked around part of the residential area of Carlock - a lovely evening!

These days the graduates from high school and college get a blank diploma and the actual certificate comes later in the mail or however.    Today, Liam picked his up so he is now really official!   

The real deal

Pretty peonies at Kamp Komfort

Tomorrow we are off to Port Clinton - taking 2 days!

Tuesday - May 23

 I did a whole lotta yakkin' today.............met Claire at Crafted for coffee at 9:45.   We sat out on the patio under an umbrella and visited for 2 hours (we each had our "lists").   Then a short drive to Biaggi's for almost 3-hour lunch also outside - beautiful day - got to 86.

We covered just about everything under the sun (hadn't been together since March in Cabo).   She and Mike just returned from 16 days in Egypt - wonderful trip.    So, a fun day and then she ran errands and I came back to KK.

Cheers to our friendship and our friend, Kathy in Texas

Mark had a quiet day on Flo but got a bunch of stuff taken care of.    I took a little nap (all that talking wears a girl out 😊) and then we went for a walk - still really warm out.

We visited with 2 couples in the park.

Monday - May 22

 Beautiful day with temps reaching the 80's and lots of sunshine.    Anne picked up Ryan and Philip at 5:30 and took them to the Peoria airport for their early flight back to Charlotte - what a great big sister.     Michael stayed behind at the hotel and had a bunch of work phone calls and left on an early afternoon flight.

Mark and I left in the truck and picked up Anne (she took the day off) for breakfast with the Monday Morning Bunch at Shannon's.    Great to be with these folks again.    We took Anne home and then ran some errands including storage, put diesel in Big Red and on home.

Ken, Pat, Marty, Mark, Pat, Brenda, Sigrunn, Anne

Loaded up the car and off to Eureka with 5 loads of laundry,   I got the wash machines going and drove to Scottwood Floral one more time - LOVE this shop.   

This gorgeous red/white/blue wall/door hanging greeted me - perfect for Memorial Day, 

4th of July, Labor Day.....but with 2 tiny homes, not going to work for me! 

Stopped at Faire Coffee for an iced latte and some of their wonderful scones to go.....while Mark got the car washed and finally back to KK for the afternoon.   While we were in Eureka, there were lots of sirens going off, but it was happy news as they were celebrating their girls winning the state track meet and running around the fire trucks!

Tonight the Monday Night Friends met at Busy Corner for dinner and of course, a whole lot of yakking!    We always have the guys sit at one table and the gals at another.    2023 marks the 50th anniversary of our group that was founded by Marsha, Tamara and me.  We've seen a lot of friends come and go thru the years, but our current group of 11 have been together a long time.    At any rate, we want to do something special soooo after much talk, discussion, ideas, etc., we are planning a trip to the Biltmore in Asheville, NC during the Christmas season which is November 4-January 6.    It will be 25 years this fall that Mark and I toured during this same time frame - it is truly magnificent!!!

Ruth, Brenda, Marsha, Nadine, Sue, Pat, Sue

Gerry, Bob, Mark, Ed, Mike

A few more pics from yesterday.

The alumni parents of the graduates are honored by wearing gold gowns and processed in ahead of the Knights of Columbus, faculty, and graduates.    There were 11 "alumni honor graduates for 2023"

Anne - proud alumni parent 

Liam and his buddy Paul happy to start the walk down the aisle at Epiphany

Smiling graduate

Family pic

Drew, Connor, Liam, Anne, Philip, Ryan, Mark, Pat, Michael

Grandma BRAG......Connor shot a 71 today at the Den at Fox Creek!    Way to go!!!

Sunday - May 21, 2023

CENTRAL CATHOLIC GRADUATION

May 21, 2023

Liam Patrick Campbell

The day could not have been more perfect - weather wise and fun family time!    Some early birds (Connor, Philip and Ryan) started the day with a 10.2 mile walk (17,000 steps).    Mark and I stopped at Starbucks for a coffee run and we all arrived at Anne's for bountiful brunch (sausage/egg casserole, blueberry French toast, fresh fruit and magic marshmallow crescents.) 

The boys drove around town, including CCHS and other highlights.    Auntie Karen, Anne and I played 3-handed euchre (Auntie the winner) and then we all were off to Epiphany Church for the graduation - huge crowd.   Jaycee (Liam's girlfriend) sat with us.    The mass and graduation ceremony lasted 1 1/2 hours with 74 graduates and then it was picture time

Connor, Liam, Anne

Connor, Liam, Grandma, Grandpa, Anne

Liam and grandparents

The guys

Drew, Connor, Liam, Philip, Ryan, Michael

Liam and Jaycee

Auntie (Godmother) and Liam

Our kiddos with us

We all went back to Anne's for party time with pizza and all the trimmings from Monical's  compliments of Auntie!!!   

Wonderful spread from Monical's

Ready to cut his cake as Frankie looks on

A great gift from Auntie - big pillow pic of Frankie and Gibson

That will look awesome in Liam's dorm room and help with missing his fur babies

It was such a fun weekend and so happy our boys and Drew and Auntie could join us.   Thank you for all the hospitality, Anne!

 We all wish Liam the very best in his next chapter as he begins college life at the University of Iowa.

Saturday - May 20

 Pretty Saturday - 73, sunny but windy!   It was only 51 when we were up and at 'em this morning.   Mark took the truck to Home Depot for lumber to fix Anne's steps and ran some other errands.   I left shortly after for a manicure with Lisa, then to Crafted for a latte - what a busy place that was.....so many young adults playing sand volleyball, drinking their coffee, and waiting in long drive-thru lane.   Just up the road is CCHS and they have all the graduates continually showing up on their digitized bulletin board.    We saw Liam yesterday when we left the eye doctor.

I picked up gondolas from Avanti's for the boys lunch (a long-time favorite).   Drew drove from Cedar Rapids and the 3 boys flew from Charlotte to Peoria.   They all arrived within minutes of each other around 1:40.    Sooo good to see them all......they ate lunch, we gabbed a bit and then they were off to check into their hotel and onto Anne's for their step-fixing project (Mark, too).

The guys hard at it - building new steps

Philip, Ryan, Michael, Mark

I drove into town arriving at Anne's the same time as Auntie Karen.   We just hung out for awhile and later, all went to Baxter's for nice dinner

Ryan, Mark, Pat, Philip, Drew, Anne, Auntie, Connor, Liam, Jaycee, Michael

Friday - May 19

 Big day with an early morning trip (7:20) to town for my eye check-up rescheduled from 1 week ago.    While I was doing that, Mark dropped off some goodies from Braker's at Anne's and took some measurements for new steps on her deck.    He took me to Starbucks and went onto Home Depot to check out lumber.

We had lunch with Donna Rae at Westminster Village (thank you) - always a nice selection and of course, enjoyed our visit.    An extra treat this time was getting to see Rhea (long time friend of she and Earl who passed away a few months ago).   Rhea's son and daughter-in-law were visiting from Colorado.

Rhea with her daughter-in-law Melanie and son, Craig

After lunch we took Donna Rae to the beauty parlor at WV for her weekly appointment and then we left to run a few errands. 

Sweet Donna Rae at the beauty shop

 Delivered a cherry pie (from Busy Corner) to Roger and Carol and enjoyed another great visit along with ice cream and coffee.

Roger and Carol

Back to KK at 4 and Mark took a nap!!!

Annette's pretty peonies that she picked at her home - we both love this spring-time flower 

which smell so good

On our way back to KK, we noticed the temperature had dropped, the wind picked up and the sky was very hazy.    Then we got alerts on our phones about the bad air quality all coming from the wildfires in Canada.    Amazing how those fires from so far away have affected many areas of the US.

Each year the senior class at CCHS chooses a charity to raise funds for during the year.    The class of 2023 chose the Boys and Girls Club and presented them with a check for $10,000.    WOW.... soo proud of Liam and his classmates!!!   Congratulations!!!

Have a wonderful weekend - we are looking forward to partying with Liam......🎓

Thursday - May 18

 We are happy campers here at KK out in the country on this pretty spring day in central Illinois.

After breakfast, Mark cleaned off a bunch of bird poopie do on Flo and the truck....darn birds!   THANKS honey!

Butch and Joyce from Champaign came at 10:30 and we visited on the picnic table and then headed for Mackinaw and shopping/lunch at the tea room at the depot.    Delicious as always and lots of good catching up.   Stopped at Beth Ann's (boutique up the street from the tea room) and then to Braker's in Eureka where we found plenty of goodies.    Onto Scottwood Floral for iced coffee crunchers (delicious) for Joyce and me; regular coffee for Butch and nothing for Mark.   We browsed around this beautiful store and final stop was Busy Corner to pick up a pie for tomorrow.    Back to Flo and more visiting till 4ish when they left for home.    We'll see them in Florida hopefully this fall.

Fun day with these fun friends

Mark and I walked around the campground - new states tonight.....Texas, North Dakota, Georgia, Arizona and Utah.

Wednesday - May 18

 Another pretty day....we packed up our stuff and left with Bob and Linda for "Cindy's on 34" for breakfast as the cleaning ladies just arrived.    Good breakfast, they took us back to their place for our car, good bye hugs (hope to see them sometime this summer in Port Clinton) and we were off to Princeton to visit Annette's parents.

Bob and Linda - great host and hostess

Always enjoy going to Dave and Judy's and enjoy their beautiful home in the country.   They have done so much work to both their home and the landscape - LOTS of hard work has really paid off and it is a showplace!

After walking around their "farm", we enjoyed eclairs and iced tea and chatting away.    Great to see them and catch up.

                        Dave is taking Mark for a little ride on his pontoon which he built - amazing!

Pretty gazebo on the lake

The "White House"

Judy and Dave

Stopped in Princeton and I got a new pair of shoes while Mark got the car washed and gas.    On home, unloaded the car and we both took a nap!   

Sure had a fun little trip - and so good to see several kinfolk, celebrate Auntie Karen's retirement, great eating, etc.

We went for a walk, had some leftovers and called it a day!    Nice to have Flo's windows open and let the fresh air in!

My brother Bob loves to do puzzles....here's his latest accomplishment!

All about golf - 1000 pieces

Liam and Connor loved it!

Liam's class of 2023 from CCHS

wearing shirts for their respective college choice

 

Tuesday - May 16

 A beautiful spring day!    We had a light breakfast and then the 4 of us were off to Sublette for coffee and at "The Local Cup and Cake" in my little hometown.    Quite impressive little place with all the specialty coffees, pastries, etc.    What a nice surprise to see my cousin Dave's wife, Mary Jo, and then a another cousin and former classmate, Tom and finally, Don, a cousin and great historian of Sublette and the Dinges clan.

Bob and Pat with our cousin Tom ( went all thru grade and high school together)

Cousin Don - 87 years young!

After all the visiting we drove around town, thru the cemetery and out in the country.    

Linda and I had planned to visit Ruth (canceled lunch from yesterday), but she's not feeling well today.    So, the 4 of us played SkyJo and the got ready for our guests coming.....Aunt Marian and her daughter, Paulette visiting from Cocoa Beach, FL, and cousin Dick and Mary.    We had such a fun evening visiting, playing cards (4 and 6-handed euchre), enjoying lasagna, salad, garlic toast and Door County Cherry pie.   

Aunt Marian with nephew Bob, niece Pat, daughter Paulette and nephew Dick

Aunt Marian (94 and going strong)

Bob, Paulette, Mary, Linda

Mark, Dick