Finally Back On Internet, Was MIA for a Week!

Internet Problems:
   We were back in the trees on our last site and our MiFi couldn't get a signal. This new site is out in the open and we are getting a signal just fine. I'll have to remember that when I make reservations next time! 

Grand Daughters:
   Our 3 Grand Daughters are now home. I'm afraid we didn't pick a very good week for them to come up to Indian Lake camping. It was cold and rainy most of this past week and they only went swimming about 3 times. The water was really cold and I only ventured in with them once. We tried to find things to do so they didn't get bored. We did some crafts, and yesterday, we took them to Ohio Caverns. I think they really enjoyed that. 

                                           Tehya ^

                                              Kara  ^

                                           Autumn ^

Ohio Caverns:
   The Ohio Caverns are located 4 miles East of West Liberty, Ohio on State Route 245. If you have never seen it and are not claustrophobic it is really something to see! Grandpa stayed topside because he is really claustrophobic and it wouldn't be a good place for him to be. It is the largest and most beautiful of all Ohio caves. It has crystal white stalactite and stalagmite formations that are very beautiful. They offer two different tours, one is the historic tour, which tells how the caverns were made and about the farm they were found on and the people who lived there and the history of the caverns. The other tour has the most stalactites and stalagmites and the most beautiful colors. We took the historic tour, you go down 48 steps underground. The temperature in the caverns is a constant 54 degrees year round. The air inside the caverns is always fresh, and cool. Now bear in mind that I have knee replacements in both knees, and I had no trouble doing the tour. Going down the steps was not a problem and walking the paths through the caverns was not a problem. However the 32 steps up to the top to get out of the caverns seemed like 132 steps. I made it all the way up the steps but boy was I out of breath when I got there. I had to sit for a while before walking to the truck. It showed me how out of shape I really am!

Here are just a few of the pics I took on the tour, if you are one of my Facebook friends you can see the whole album on there.  As you can see it is quite colorful. There are much more colors and crystals on the other tour. If there is a next time I want to take them on the other tour, but I will have to work up to 
that one because it is longer 
and has more steps. There is a lot of signatures from between the 1800's through the 1920's when people were allowed to go tour the caverns on their own. They were given an oil lantern and left  to go through

the caverns on their own.  At the end of the day the farmer who owned the land counted the lanterns. If any were missing he went down after the people. Can you imaging if the lantern blew out? They turned out the lights for about a minute on the tour, and you couldn't even see your hand in front of your face! I think it would be very scary to have had your lantern go out. There is a small baseball bat sized stalagmite that is estimated to be about 600 years old. How do you estimate a stalagmite you ask? Well they tracked the rate of growth for one year, then they measured how tall it is and finally you multiply the height by the rate of growth for one year. Then that gives you the approximate age  of it. The are very slow growing too.

Happy Belated Father's Day:
   I want to wish my Poppy, my step Dad and Hubby Mike a Happy Father's Day, cos I couldn't since we had no internet then. So to them, and all Fathers out there here in person and in heaven Happy Father's Day!

Well I think I am up to date now, but I may have forgotten something, I'm not sure if I did I'll try to write about it tomorrow. So that's it for now until I see ya's next time...
   

Swimming and Evening Storms

Yesterday:
   Yesterday we went swimming most of the afternoon until the girls got cold and wanted to go back to the fiver. Then as soon as we got back and changed they wanted to go right back to the beach. Sorry Girls, didn't happen. We sat around and played Everyword Crossing on my Kindle. They are all hooked on the game now! Lol ! It is kind of like Scrabble, but I don't mind because it is teaching them how to spell things. I have been told that they now all want a Kindle for Christmas.  Haha! After dinner we got everything put away because of the storms coming.

Storms:
   The storms forecast hit around 11:30 p.m. up here. We had put all the chairs under the trailer and taken the covers off the canopy frames. With the wind supposed to be so high we brought the slides in, you talk about cramped quarters, we had them!  There was a lot of complaining about no room, but I'd have rather them be safe. With the slides in the recliners touch the the couch, so 2 of the girls had to put their feet on the couch and one had to sleep on the couch.   Our bedroom slide was also pulled in but at least we had a bed to sleep on, if only I could have slept! This morning all I heard was , and I quote, " I never want to spend another night like that again" ! Better safe than sorry, Girls!  We had to take the dog cage down and put the dogs in the bathroom to sleep. They did really well though. I am thinking about letting them sleep in the bathroom the rest of the trip, cos the cage takes up so much room in the fiver. The dogs have been so good for this being their first time camping. I am pretty impressed with them!

Dinner:
   I promised the girls  ravioli and meatballs for dinner, so I am going to put that in the crock pot before we go wash some towels, and get showers. I love crock pot meals when we're camping. Nice and easy when using frozen ravioli and frozen meatballs, with spaghetti sauce.  It is something they all like and it takes minimal effort from me! Lol! 

Time to go:
   Well I will be talkin' to ya's later, so have a good day, and I hope everyone survived the storms last night with little or no damage. Take care ya'll !  Until next time see ya's...

First 24 Hours @ Indian Lake

Monday:
   We arrived at Indian Lake about 3:30 p.m. and got set up with no mishaps and no campground comedy. The dogs even behaved!  Wonders will never cease! The girls just had to get their swimsuits wet so they went to the beach and I sat and watched them. I wasn't about to get into that water it was COLD!  After the beach it started to rain, so we came in the fiver and I fixed pizzas for dinner, I never fix a very big meal on travel day and that suited the girls and Mike just fine! Me I'm not too fond of pizza, but I made do. For their first time camping, the dogs did really well, almost better than at home!

Tuesday:
   This morning I mixed up our one cup coffee makers, I got the coffee one and Mike got the one I use for tea. I had coffee flavored hot tea! Yuck, it tasted terrible! Autumn requested french toast for breakfast this a.m. before we even left home, so I honored her request. Ham and french toast was enjoyed by everyone, with leftovers for another morning. So tomorrow they can reheat french toast or have cereal, this chick isn't cooking. I'm going to sit back and enjoy my cuppa tea, now that I scrubbed the filter baskets.   After dishes were done, and things in the fiver straightened up we went to the beach. Even though we are close enough to walk to the beach from the campsite I drove the Beast, because my foot is hurting when I walk very far. Last year we always walked to and from the beach, and carried a chair, pulled a cooler, and a beach bag. I actually got into the water up to my waist, but it was still cool and not in a very good way!
I know this is short, but the girls are ready to go to bed and I am keeping them up. They are tired after swimming today. So I'll write more in the morning! See ya's...

Ready To Roll ?!!!!!!!!!!

Ready to Roll:
   Well it's Monday morning and here I sit with my cuppa  hot Tea.Check in time at the campground is 3 p.m. so we have some time. Not everything is in the fiver yet either! I thought I'd get the blog written before we go, now there's a novel idea! Haha! It is only an hour drive to Indian Lake  campground so it won't take too long to get there! I'll take lots of pics it is a very neat state park near Lima, Ohio. It is where the old Indian Lake Amusement  Park was too back in the 1960's. They had riots there in the 60's, and then they closed the park and tore the whole thing down. The only thing left from that time of the Amusement Park is the bridge over the canal that the old wooden roller coaster used. The lake itself is a nice lake and has lots of scenic areas. I once found a long branch on the beach that had the name Sacajawea etched into it. I brought it home and sanded it and varnished ti and we used it for a while as a walking stick. Now, I know it didn't really belong to Sacajawea, she was probably never anywhere Indian Lake. Lol, but I thought it was a neat little joke someone was trying to play on someone else, we still have it. The wood is pretty even if the name on it is a joke!  Indian Lake was built as a huge reservoir  and the water in the lake was used for the canal systems in northern Ohio. I don't know how they got the water to the canals, I guess I didn't pay much attention in Ohio History class. Haha! Or else I have forgotten all that stuff that was deemed important in school that ya never use after you get out of school! Lol! Mike to the rescue, it was used create a water supply for the Miami Canal here in Ohio before the turn of the century! This from a guy who once got an F in Ohio History! Haha! He Googled it for me! Hehe! Wow, I didn't know this was going to turn into a history lesson! Okay no more time for history lessons. Onward we go.

Finish Packing the Fiver:
   I have to get out to the fiver and rearrange things for  travel so nothing shifts while going down the road. Guess what? It is raining today too! Now won't that be fun to carry things out to the fiver in the rain? NOT! Haha! The girls won't be swimming today!  So anyway, on to packing the fiver. All that's left is our clothes and Mike's coffee maker, and a few minor things. So I'll be heading out, in the rain, to the fiver in a few. I guess the song by Herman's Hermits, "Don't Go Out Into the Rain You're Going to Melt" doesn't apply to me! Haha now I'll have that song stuck in my head all day!  Well, I know this is short, but I have to get busy or I won't have things ready when our son Jamie gets here to help hook up the fiver ( trailer) to the Beast ( the truck). He usually gives Mike directions when backing up and then they test the lights on the outside of the fiver etc... if everything isn't ready to take to the fiver I may get grounded! Haha!  Okay as we get ready to head out on our great journey of an hour to Indian Lake, I am thinking about all the new kinds of adventures the dogs are going to give us since this will be their first time camping. I think we should have had a trial run of  about 3 days before we attempted this adventure! I hope we don't live to regret this, I already told them (the dogs) and I'm sure they listened (not) that there is a kennel up at Indian Lake that they will go to if they are bad! Haha! Let's hope that they don't make fools of us while we're trying to get things set up, and did I mention we'll be doing that in the rain? Lol! Oh well I did get the rain poncho's. Haha! We'll see ya's this evening and I'm sure I'll have a few tales to tell ya! So until then, see ya's... 

It's Been A Very Busy Two Days!

Friday:
   The wedding was beautiful! It was at a venue called the Darby House not far from Columbus, Ohio. Very picturesque, out in the country overlooking a river. It was outside and a tad chilly because the wind kicked up about the time we got there. I was sure glad when it was over so we could go inside the building. There were lights in the trees and flowers everywhere. The keepsake bouquet I made had a place of honor right beside the main table in the entry way. I couldn't believe how close the one I made using silk flowers was went to her real bouquet. Having not seen her colors, and just being told what they were I was very pleased it was so close to the original. She came over and hugged me and thanked me again for making it and told me how much she loved it. I was glad that I was able to do it for my gift to them.

Graduation Party: 
   Tonight was the graduation party for one of our friend's Grand Daughter, she graduated from high school last Sunday. It was also very nice, with lots of friends and family there to wish Taylor well in her next big step, college.

Also Today:
   We are one step closer to getting ready for our trip on Monday. We went to Sam's this afternoon, and got most of the things  we needed for the week. I have to stop, and get 3 more things at the grocery store tomorrow, then that will be it. After that we need to run by Petsmart and get the halters for the dogs. Then all the running will be done. Just a matter of getting the rest of the things in the fiver. I may have to call my helpers back over here tomorrow, and have them take stuff out to the fiver as I get stuff ready. Autumn and Tehya were a big help the other day. At least most of the food is put away in the fiver, we just took it straight from the truck and put it away in the trailer. Now it's just a matter of getting everything on my lists into the fiver. So we'll have to get up and be busy in the a.m.
I watched Charli at 6 a.m. again this morning, I wasn't supposed to, but I couldn't say no, I won't see her for the next  2 weeks. So I am a little tired tonight. Travel days are usually pretty laid back, with not too much activity besides setting up the fiver, and getting things ready at the campsite. We'll see how the dogs react, and pray that we don't add too much campground comedy for the other campers! 

    I think this is gonna be it for tonight, I just have all these check lists running around in my head and my mind is going in circles. So I'll be back tomorrow, same time, same channel. So until then: See Ya's...

Thursday, June 6th, 2013

Today is Thursday:
   Time is getting short and I am starting to freak, cos everything isn't loaded into the fiver. We still haven't been to Sam's, Pet Smart, or to get groceries, and I haven't even made a menu or a list for the groceries.  Lists, eek, I need to make lists, lot's of lists. Yikes!!! The wedding is tomorrow early evening, and I have Charli again at 6 a.m. until noonish. Then showers, and getting ready etc... I did straighten up everything this afternoon in the fiver after I got back from getting my hair cut. I also got the pics that I promised you. They are not in any particular order, and there is these weird orbs or circles in some of them, I think it might be a reflection 

of the light, the spots are not on the items in the pics. So just ignore the spots, that's what I am doing, cos it can't be ghosts, right? Lol! I watch too many of Celebrity Ghost stories. I think it has warped my mind. Haha!  Well ya never know! Okay, I'll quit teasing and kidding around.  

Anyway the first pic is of the hitch in the back of the Beast! I will get a pic when we get the Beast and the Bear hitched up together on Monday.  The next 3 are of the living room, then you have the dining table and 2 of the 4 chairs, and the extra fridge, and the gazebos we use        
                                                      outside are in the blue cases.
                                                      The next 2 are of the bed
                                                      room and then you have the
                                                      hallway. Next is the bath

room. Then finally 2 of the kitchen area. It is a nice size, except like I said when ya get 3 pre- teen girls in there with all their stuff, all over the place! Then it seems very small! We lived in this fiver for 3 months when we first got it, just to see if we felt claustrophobic. I am happy to 

say we didn't, so we know we can live in it should we ever get to go full time Rving. Which is what we bought the fiver for. Right now we're holding onto that dream, and waiting to see what happens with our settlement from the accident we were in 2 years ago this coming November. I

hope we'll  be in better shape  after the trial is over so we can enjoy some traveling and warm temps in the winter. As you can see from the pictures, we have everything we need, and then some. It's just like a mini home. The only thing it doesn't have is a washer and dryer, and most places and 

campgrounds have them for your use when you stay there, so we're good! One thing I wish I had was a pantry, somehow we  missed that. I use the cabinets under the television.  It's not in the kitchen, but it doesn't hurt me to walk a few feet to get a can of something right now. 

It might be different when we live in it most of the time, but barring hitting the lottery I don't foresee us getting a different fifth wheel trailer. Haha! So we'll be satisfied with what we have, cos it is enough, and it does what we want it to. If we had an overabundance of money, 

(who does in this economy) we would consider getting a Mobile Suite, cos they are really plush, they are the ultimate for me! Having said that, there is nothing wrong with the fiver we have.  They have come out with some really nice upgrades in the recent years that would be 
                                                      nice to have, but we're doing

fine with what we have. I think I'd rather pay the one we have off than buy a new one.  That is unless we hit the lottery, as I said earlier. There is one problem with winning the lottery though, ya have to play it, in order to have a chance of winning it. I'm not much of a gambler,

 so I have about as much chance of hitting the lottery as a snowball in you know where. Lol!

Busy:

   Enough now, I have to get busy and do a few things and  as I said earlier I have to make those ever important lists, so I can cross off stuff as it goes in the fiver. That is the only way I remember everything. I'd be lost without my lists, I've tried going without them, and It's not good. It required me going to the store to get everything I forgot! Haha!  That being said I'm sure I'll forget something, but at least I know with my lists, it will be something minor. So ya'll take care and I'll see ya's when I see ya's... Probably not til Saturday. Ta ta for now!

Wednesday Work

Wednesday:
   We got a lot accomplished today. Autumn and Tehya rode their bikes over at about noon. We got right to work, they carried my hanging plants outside for me first. Then we started taking things out to the trailer. They made lots of trips for me and even put some stuff away, when they knew where it went. They worked hard for me today! I didn't get everything put away on the counter, so no pics today, hopefully I can finish up tomorrow afternoon. Then I can take some pics for you. Since the girls worked so hard today I took them to lunch at McDonald's before I took them home. Mike put their bikes in the back of the Beast (truck) and off we went. We got the food and took it to the park for a impromptu picnic. I didn't want to go in McD's with their bikes in the back of the truck, no sense in taking a chance on them getting stolen.  

The Beast:
   The Beast is happy again, her hitch for the fiver is back in the  bed of the truck! Jamie and Mike put it back in this afternoon. The hitch is like her saddle, bet ya didn't know she could talk to us, and tell us how she feels did ya! Haha! Now all she needs is a wash job before we leave for Indian Lake on Monday. After that she ought to be down right ecstatic! Lol! Well maybe ecstatic is too much to ask for with only a wash job, we'll say she will be extremely happy. I guess we should save ecstatic for after she gets waxed! Maybe Mike will get inspired, and do that next week while the girls and I are swimming, since he doesn't go to the beach with us.  We usually head out after lunch for the beach, and stay all afternoon until time for dinner.  That should give him plenty of quiet time for the all important nap, and time left over to maybe make the Beast happy with some waxing. You know like the Karate Kid, wax on, wax off, hehe! He will probably say he is there to relax, not to work! Lol!

Swimsuit Shopping:
   Kara got some money for her report card from her Dad, (our  Son Jamie) her GPA was 3.4 for the year! So she wanted to get a new swimsuit. Well off we went to Meijer and Walmart to see what we could find. Kara thought Walmart's selection of swimsuits kinda left a lot to be desired, and I have to agree with her. They were kind of ugly and looked cheap.  She did get a couple pair of shorts at Walmart to wear over her swimsuit bottoms, (must be the style now days) to swim in swim shorts over your two piece bottom.  Why??? Don't ask me, I have no idea! So we ended up at Meijer, and she got a new swimsuit top. She found one that she really liked, and it was 30% off. She decided to use the bottoms from her swimsuit last year since they are black, and the ones that went with the suit were black too. The top has several different colors of polka dots on it with a black background. It only took us about 3 hours to find one she likes! Lol! I tell ya shopping with teenage girls can make you feel like you have been put through a wringer!  They stress over finding just the right one!  Funny, I never had that much trouble shopping with my boys, they were just like, here I'll take this, this, and this, now let's go! Haha! They are definitely Mike's Sons, cos he is the same way! Lol!

Tomorrow:
   Tomorrow is an early day, Charli will be here at 6 a.m. until noon, and then I have an appointment to get my hair cut at 1:30 p.m. It has gotten  so long I can put it up in a high pony tail and it touches the back of my neck at the bottom. Most definitely time for a hair cut! More about that tomorrow.  Well I think this is going to be all for today and tonight. So I'll see ya's, somewhere in time...