Sunday - October 12

 Stressful day of travel....we left the fairgrounds and South Bend at 9 this morning.    Traffic was heavy for a Sunday, but we kept on truckin'.    What a mess when we got to 465 South in Indianapolis - 4 lanes of traffic merged to 1 lane.   This back-up cost us 1/2 hour + some frustration.   😖

We arrived at Whispering Hills Campground in Georgetown, KY around 3:30.   We've been here several times and a really nice place and very large.    They are pretty full tonight - folks  must be heading south or returning home from football games.    Today is beautiful here with sunshine and low 70's.

Brady was with us on a visit here on July 30, 2015 as we were headed to Bloomington and a week with his cousins Liam and Connor.   

10 years ago and now they're college men

Luke belongs to an adventure club and they rappelled 200' this weekend.   Next outing, they are doing 1000' .  YIKES!    But he loves it, so that's all that matters and look at that incredible scenery.

  Luke is on the left.

We went to Mass with Father Jonathan in Port Clinton.    Another great homily,   Zoom had 8 siblings tonight.   Updates on Lydia and Janet's surgeries this past week.   Janet is doing well; Lydia has a long recovery and right now, the hardest is getting in and out of bed.   Tom talked about their big weekend at the Illini/OSU game with their family present and enjoying box office seats.

Michael and Davis are back home tonight - they had a much longer day of travel, but happy to be back at Lake James and Winston-Salem.

Have a great week - loving this fall-like weather but still not seeing much color.

Saturday - October 11

 WOW!!!    We are back on Flo after an awesome day getting the full Notre Dame experience with the Irish winning 36-7.  

We arrived at 9 AM at Embassy Suites and met Michael.    There was a cute coffee truck "Travelin' Tom's Coffee" outside the hotel, so I got a latte.  

White chocolate mocha - yum!

Welcome at hotel

 Michael, Mark and I walked around campus.  

Touchdown Jesus and us

 The tailgating was underway - a real mob on an absolutely gorgeous day.   We met up with Davis and Brady.   Brady's friends' parents had a big array of game-day goodies - sooo much yummy food and the ND fans were a lively bunch!    

The Embassy Suites is very close to the stadium, so really handy for us to go back and forth before the game started at 3:30.    Michael got us very good seats - 4 rows up from the 40-yard line.   And the seats were all nicely padded which Mark's back really appreciated!

Grandpa is showing loyalty to both grandsons! 

Mark and I have only been to one other college football game and that was in 1989 when Michael was a freshman at Iowa against the Oregon Ducks.   So, a thrill for us to come see Brady and soak up all this Irish hoopla!

Davis (NC State fan), Michael, Brady, Pat, Mark

We saw grassy areas to park for $50 and then this sign - OUCH, but in

the area where the tailgating was going on, the parking was $600.   And it was packed!

The mounted police directing foot traffic

The band

The crowd

Erin's best friend was at this sellout game!

So enjoyed the Notre Dame band....wow, wow, more wow!!!

A family of 5 (girl, 3 boys and baby girl @ 3 months) sat beside us - they are from Bloomington, IL and the kiddos go to Corpus Christi grade school (where our kids went when it was called St. Clare and then Liam and Connor).    The Mother is a Pre-K teacher at the school!   Small world! 

HUGE thanks to this guy for making today possible!!!

Leaving the game - Michael, Mark, Brady

By the start of the 4th quarter, the sun had gone behind the stands and the temp dropped....burrrr   

Just a phenomenal day!   Tomorrow we start the long trek to Fort Myers.  

Only 4 RV's here - Nevada, California, Texas and Florida (us).

Nighty night!

Friday - October 10

 Another very pretty day in South Bend....we left around 10:30 for Shipshewana.   We were here in early September with Bob, Linda, Dick and Mary.   Nothing special going on today, so decided to take a little day trip.   It was very busy with so many tourists enjoying this neat Amish community.   We were back in the thick of horses/buggies/electric bikes.

Shipshewana is beautiful in the fall

 

This area is near Elkhart which is big-time camper country - sooo many brands of campers/RV's and stores, distribution centers, etc.   Campers are EVERYWHERE!

Mark settled in with coffee and his I-pad at The Kitchen Cupboard.    I browsed some shops and bought a few things.   We had lunch at Jo Jo's Pretzels and then walked around a bit more.   Stopped at the Yoder shops on the way out of town  including Paige's Books (the owner said her lifelong dream was to own a small bookstore)!

Fast-working pretzel maker

Back to South Bend and home to Flo at the fairgrounds.    

Yesterday I took these pics at Essenhaus - a little bit of summertime beauty still remains

This afternoon Mark and I walked around the fairgrounds - the St. Joe fair was June 27-July 5, but now it's all forlorn.    They are stacking up the picnic tables, benches, shutting off the fountains and draining the ponds.  So many memories from when we were in 4-H (late 50s-60s).   Seeing all the empty barns, exhibit halls, Midway, etc.....oh my!   If it hadn't been for 4-H we wouldn't have met back in 1965....

Our new recliners and temporary table

We've sure enjoyed our time in South Bend.    Mark and I could do our own thing while Michael and Davis worked from their hotel room and Brady was in class.   Then we could get together at night for dinner.  Tonight was another winner - we met at Rohr's and one of Brady's friends from last night, Jack's parents were there, along with other friends including a family from Lake James.   Brady took us to his dorm room and we met his roommate, Louis from Philadelphia who who is one of the 4 Notre Dame leprechauns.  

Brady and Louis

Brady also showed us the chapel (there's one in every dorm) - his is St. Patrick.   

Michael and his boys

  Then back to Rohr's for dinner with Michael, Davis and Brady - what a fun and busy place - every 50 minutes, they played the Notre Dame fight song and the guests cheered and clapped wildly.

On home and we'll be ready for the big game tomorrow - Notre Dame vs. NC State (Brooke and Davis's alma mater)!    The game starts at 3:30 eastern time, but we'll be going early to tailgate.   Should be quite the experience,  Can't wait.

Thursday - October 9

 Crisp 39 degrees when we got up with some frost on the ground....

Mark wanted to work on the makeshift temporary table between the 2 recliners that he built when we were at KK.  He then anchored down the recliners and temporary table.   We will be taking pictures and measurements for our crafty woodworker (Philip) as he's going to build a permanent table for Flo.

I left for The Essenhaus in Middlebury (27 miles NE of South Bend).   Checked out the shops, got a latte at the bakery and read a bit + people watched.    Bought a few things at the bakery and on back to the fairgrounds.    Mark had texted that it was safe to come home😂

It is a spectacular fall day...we had lunch and then ran some errands (Target and Menards).   Mark worked some more on the table and I went for a walk.   We have a nature center (Charles Phillip Martin) behind Flo here at the fairgrounds and it is so pretty....2 ponds, gazebo, little bridge, benches, and a nice walking path all around.   There's a plaque telling that the fencing and bridge were an Eagle Scout project thru the Osceola United Methodist Church in Osceola, IN and dedicated June 26, 2017.....nicely done, boys!

Nature center

Beauty here at the fairgrounds  

The grass is so green here compared to back in IL.   But trees are still very green, too....guess we won't be seeing much fall color before we head south.

We went to WalMart and then the South Bend Chocolate Co. for some goodies - wow, what a neat place!

Then we met Michael and Davis at Barnaby's Pizza.   Saved some tables as Brady and 6 friends arrived later.    What a very busy place....

Brendan (Washington, DC); Jake, (Carmel, IN); Sebu (Boston); Stephen (Manhattan, NY); 

Jack (South Bend); Kyle (Seattle, WA); Brady (Lake James, NC)

Pizza was excellent and a popular spot for the college kiddos and others   We sat beside a Dad with 2 sons and a younger daughter who were doing a Notre Dame visit.   They were from San Diego.

Connor, Anne, Liam

between the wedding and reception

So sorry to hear Dolly Parton is dealing with kidney stones (infection).     Yikes, sure feel for her.    Anne said she was on Good Morning America today talking about it.

Wednesday - October 8

 Woke up to a nippy 44 degrees but clear blue skies and no wind!    We left Loves truck stop at 8:05 and another short day, but lost an hour and back on eastern time.    We arrived at the St. Joseph County 4-H Fairgrounds and left Ruby.   I hopped in Big Red and we were off to Middlebury, IN and the RecPro distribution center to pick up our new recliners.   3 strong young men bought them to us in the parking lot on a forklift, removed the carboard boxes and carried them into Flo.    NICE!!!!

13 minutes after arriving, we were on our way and drove to the Essenhaus Inn (7.5 miles).   Mark parked Big Red and Flo in a large empty space at the conference center.   We walked around a bit - nice area with the Village shops, the Essenhaus Amish Country restaurant, and lots of pretty flowers.

I got a latte but didn't stay too long - Mark said we could come back tomorrow or Friday.    Back to the fairgrounds, I got into Ruby and we went to our site for the next 4 nights.   It is such a pretty day and only 1 other RV here.  

We met Michael and Davis at O'Rourke's Public House and Brady joined us a short time later.    Fun to hang out with the guys and enjoy some beverages, yummy food while watching the Cubbies play the Brewers and win 4-3.   We rehashed happy memories of Drew and Tessa's wedding!

My yummy huge chicken pot pie

Mark and Michael had shepherd's pie and the boys had fish and chips

Mark, Brady, Michael, Davis, Pat

Tuesday - October 7

Had a very nice rain early this morning - 8/10" but wow, what a difference from yesterday when it was mid 80s.    We left KK at 9:40 and only 59 with occasional drizzle.    Back on the road again with our little caravan of Big Red pulling Flo and Ruby following behind.   Bye bye to KK, Busy Corner, Revive Coffee and in Eureka, Braker's, Scottwood Floral and Pickled Radish.....till next spring!

We stopped in El Paso - Mark picked up a few groceries at Kirby Foods and I went to the post office and got a latte at Java Eats 'n Sweets.   Short day of just 115 miles after we left El Paso   Had lunch in Gilman, IL at Monical's - sooo good but surprised that instead of the normal little squares that Monials is famous for, they cut our individual pleasers in the regular pizza shape.    Oh well....still good!

We arrived at the Loves Truck Stop (RV Park) in Demotte, IN.    Loves does a really nice job for we campers with nice long pull-thru sites, 2 fire pits, dog park, 2 shelters, etc.    It is crazy windy here.....glad to be off the road and hunkered down for the night!

Ahhh, the sun came out brightly around 4:30 - nice treat after the gloomy day.   And the wind is dying down.

We went for a walk after supper but didn't last long with "feels like" 58.   Burrr....overnight low is to be  48.   😕

Monday - October 6

 We met the Monday morning group at Hornet's Nest in Heyworth for another really good and very reasonable breakfast.   Then we all left for Wesley United Methodist Church for the visitation of our long-time neighbor, Darrel Kline who passed away last Friday at the age of 93.    He and Norma lived 3 doors away from us for many years and then moved into the next block on Jackson Street.    Norma passed away in 2019.    It was so good see their 4 children, the grands and great grands.  

Said our good byes to Marty, Darrel, Ken and Sigrun and Pat (I'll see Brenda and Sue tonight with the MNF's).    

Next stop was the laundry and got that all caught up.   On home - rested a bit, put the clean clothes away and started getting things stowed in Flo as we are leaving tomorrow.  

Our last night here at KK - new license plate from Oregon.   Went for a final walk around the campground and told Micci good bye and big thanks for Kamp Komfort being so special to us.!

An interesting tidbit from the wedding - guests came from 18 different states!   Family all made it to their homes safely - others still traveling.   This Grandma is still on a high!

Small group of Monday Night Friends but Sigrunn was our guest at Schooners on the patio.....fun chatting and reminiscing about restaurants, etc., that used to be in town, wedding talk, grandchildren, etc.

Sigrunn, Brenda, Nadine, Sue, Pat

  

Sunday - October 5

 We are back after a wonderful wedding weekend in Cedar Rapids celebrating Drew and Tessa's marriage.  

Saturday - we walked with Ryan and Erin to Coffee Republic and then back to hotel to get dressed.    Mark drove Bob and Linda's car to the wedding - what a lovely Mass in beautiful St. Patrick's downtown.   Back to hotel to visit before we boarded the bus to take us to the Epic Event Center (about 20 minutes away in very rural Iowa surrounded by corn/bean fields).

What a beautiful place - we enjoyed drinks and appetizers before dinner; wedding party introductions, dinner and dancing.   Took the shuttle back to hotel around 10 and off to dreamland with happy memories.

Our clan

Philip, Maeve, Annette Luke, Ryan, Erin, Davis, Brady, Blair, Tessa, Drew

Brooke, Michael, Pat, Mark, Anne, Connor, Liam

Drew's grandparents

Gram and GrandBob beat us out of the anniversary dance by 8 years!

Sunday (today) is Bob's 86th birthday

Maeve, Annette, Erin

Gram, Blair, Grandma

Maeve and Grandma

First dance

Mom  and son

Michael and Brooke

Sunday - we had breakfast on the 16th floor of the Doubletree with Bob and Linda.   Several from Brooke's family sat beside us.    Packed up our stuff, said good bye to Bob and Linda and we left shortly after arriving back at KK at 2:20.   It was very windy and we saw a big semi lying on its side along the interstate.

Brother Bob and Linda leaving for home today

So happy they could join us along with several from Mark's family + Annette's parents.   

Zoom tonight started with 7 but Sharon lost internet - discussed the wedding, health issues (praying for Janet and Lydia both having surgery this week), nephew Tim's 50th birthday party yesterday, etc.....

Have a great week!

Saturday - October 4

 Today was Drew and Tessa's wedding............wonderful celebration!

Tessa and Drew Chamberlain

More details coming tomorrow!

Friday - October 3

 Beautiful sunny day here in Iowa but 87 for a high!    So crazy for October.    Mark and I left at 8:30 and drove to Walford, IA to pick up his college friend, Mike at his home in the country.   Mike and Mark graduated in 1969 from Loras College, Dubuque, IA and have kept in touch thru the years.   We visited a few other times when we've been in the area.    Mike lost his wife Dorothy to cancer in 2014.  They have 3 children and 6 grandchildren.

Mike

Mike wanted to treat us to breakfast in the Amana Colonies - long time since we had been there (celebrated Michael's graduation from U of Iowa in 1993 here).    This weekend is Oktoberfest so lots going on.   We ate at Ronneburg restaurant and enjoyed good hearty food and a great visit.    Back to Mike's home and got in his truck and he took us around his property to a lovely pond with lots of trees and big building with full kitchen, lots of tables and chairs for entertaining their large family and friends. 

                                       Pretty country setting                                       

                                       

We came back to the hotel - several guests for the wedding were arriving.   Mark and I left at 3:30 for Iowa City to pick up Liam.   Back to the Big Grove Brewery for rehearsal dinner.   We had a big room reserved and so much fun visiting and enjoying the buffet.

Some of the family...

Brooke, Anne, Pat, Blair, Tessa

Liam, Connor, Drew, Davis, Brady, Mark, Michael

Erin and Ryan 

4 handsome grandsons

Brady, Liam, Connor, Davis

  

Thursday - October 2

 Hello from Cedar Rapids where we arrived around 2 this afternoon,    We left KK at 8:40 and stopped at Revive in Goodfield for a harvest latte.   I drove all the way to just past the Mississippi River into Iowa.   Mark took over from there and we met up with Liam and walked together to the Dandy Lion for lunch.   It was very good - Mark and I shared the fried green tomato BLT and Liam had the Reuben.   We walked back to his apartment and met his roommate, Raymond.   Very impressed with Liam's apartment and room - neat and tidy!

Liam

Onto Cedar Rapids - very warm and sunny - 86.   Checked into our hotel and settled in.....and then Blair appeared outside our door!    Let the fun begin for this long-awaited big weekend for Drew and Tessa.

Anne and I walked to the Pickle Palace where several were playing pickleball from 4-6.   So good to meet some of Tessa's family, cheer on the pickleball players and watch the Cubs game against San Diego.    We all went into the restaurant for dinner - 2 big tables and watched the Cubs game AND the big win!   The place erupted in cheers as it was nail biter right to the last out!!   Mark and I shared a Thai peanut bowl - it was delicious!   

Grandpa and Drew (Groom-to-be)

Mark and I shared this bowl full of veggies, rice, chicken and peanuts - sooo good

Walking back to the hotel and Alliance Energy Building all lit up 

 

Bob, Judy, (Brooke's parents) Anne, Mark and I walked back to the hotel and went to the 16th floor for chocolate/raspberry martinis (Anne and me) and Grand Marnier for Bob and Mark.    We played 5-handed euchre with Judy and me the winners.   More of our kiddos stopped by  - great 1st evening of the big weekend.

Mark, Bob, Judy, Anne, Pat