Sept 11-16, 2019 Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia

We left Elmore on Sept 10 & drove south to the Kentucky Horse Farm Campground in Lexington. It's a nice campground, we had electric, water & a dump station. It's hot, they broke a high temperature record here today @ 90 degrees.

The next day, we arrived in Blue Ridge, Georgia at Doug's brother Steve's art studio.  We had decided because it is so hot, that we wouldn't stay in the RV because we didn't have an electrical hook-up, we couldn't turn our AC on.  Steve was there to greet us & we told him we wanted to get a place to stay in town.  With Steve & Amado's help, they took us to a Realtor in town & she showed us what was available. We chose a great place, a small one bedroom apartment with a great kitchen & fireplace on Main Street. As it turns out, Steve had cleaned & fixed his studio up and we could have stayed there, maybe next visit!

We had a great visit with the guys. Our first evening, we walked around town a bit with Steve & Amado. Steve has some of his artwork on sale in one of the shops.  We enjoyed dinner @ Chesters.  The next day, Steve & Amado came back to town after I had gone to the coffee shop. We walked the town, did some shopping & had lunch @ Cantaberry's. Today is Doug's birthday so we celebrated @ Steve & Amado's adorable cabin in the woods. Steve made an awesome Chicken potpie from scratch & Amado used his pastry skills to bake & decorate a beautiful, delicious layer cake. This was a birthday celebration to remember!

My good High School buddy Fro & his wonderful wife Jane, picked us up @ Steve's Art Studio, took us to dinner downtown and then drove us up to their spectacular cabin on the Blue Ridge Mountain in Mineral Bluff. Their cabin/home is so high up, we couldn't drive the RV due to the twisty, tight turned narrow roads.  They wined & dined us for 2 days while we reminisced and laughed. They are gourmet cooks, have a superb wine cellar and I woke each day with a headache from overindulging but it was worth it.

Jane took Doug & I for a 4 mile hike to Turtletown Falls-the weather was mild & sunny and the hike was picturesque. John & Jane outdid themselves with our last dinner together: Beef tenderloin on the grill, amazing morel mushroom orzo & Caprese salad, with chocolate cake & Graters (Ohio born) ice cream for dessert. They definitely spoiled us!

We are so lucky to have such great friends & family to visit and it has meant so much for us to spend time with many of our favorite folks making lifetime memories.

Some of Steve's amazing Art!

Sept.3-8, 2019 Ohio: Maumee Bay SP/Middle Bass Island

We survived the Paul & Jess's beautiful destination wedding and now we are taking the RV to Maumee Bay State Park to camp for a few days so we can have some Toledo friends easily come visit us. We walked the shoreline of Lake Erie and we were pleasantly surprised that we didn't see obvious algae & it didn't smell bad either.

Our first evening, we had a gang come by for dinner & a campfire. Wayne, Tana, Doris Jerry M, Craig, Cheryl Jerry O & Jeri showed up. Jeri made Chili & we had left over snacks from the wedding. As always there were many laughs & memories shared.

The next day, Terrie & Jim came by during the day and then Joe, Barb & Sabrina came & picked us up & took us to Oregon Inn, nearby for dinner.

Early summer, we had hoped to take the RV over to Middle Bass Island & stay at the cottage for awhile but the Lake was too high & the island was flooded.  Now the Lake level had gone down enough that the flooding had receded over parts of the island, enough for us to get over safely with the RV.  Our first night, we were there all by ourselves just like old times. Doug cut the grass & I watered Cheryl's flowers.  We walked around inspecting the damage from the long term flooding.  For most of the summer, the water had been over the roads & in most of the yards. We stopped to see Jessie & Carl, Jessie wasn't feeling well so she was lying down but Carl was out working in his yard and wanted to visit. We drove up to Bar 3, Eddies' place.  We were showered with hugs from Eddie, Carrie, Sandy, Linda, Martin, Johnny, Katie & Ann Huber. It's like Cheers, where everybody knows your name. Some things don't change much on the island.

The next day, Craig & Jerry O showed up early via the Pozelure, first time they've had the boat over this summer. Jeri & Cheryl arrived on 2 different ferries.  Their friends on the island: Mark & Jan brought City Barbq brisket for dinner and then we all went back to Bar 3 for a drink or two. While @ Bar 3 we ran into Gary & Joan Byers who also have a cottage on MBI.

With all 6 of us at the cottage, we decided to take our bikes over on the Sonny S to Put in Bay.  We biked to visit Jean & Bob Hilt, Jean was gone to Croatia but we enjoyed a visit with Bob. We stopped @ Joe's Bar for a drink & then rode out to tour the Lighthouse, which none of us had toured before.  On the grounds, they were catching & tagging Monarchs. They told us these Monarchs that stop on the Islands have been found all the way into Mexico. A visit to PIB wouldn't be complete without some Lobster Bisque from the BoardWalk. We think we've started a new must have from The Keys Bar: Blended Bushwackers-Yum.

On our 8:00 PM Sonny S ferry ride back from PIB, we were lucky to be out on the water when the Islands were celebrating with their flares along the shorelines in the harbors of PIB & MBI. What an awesome spectacle. One of the many things that we love about these islands & the locals. Once off the ferry, we went up to Lonz winery patio where we enjoyed a great view of the red flickering lights, the full moon & our shadows. Of course, on the way back to the cottage, we stopped @ Bar 3-can't go by @ night without stopping! While on the island, we enjoyed a nice visit with Roman & Sue in their fab log cabin home.

Once we returned to Elmore, we were invited to the newlyweds home for dinner.  Paul & Jess outdid theirselves with a delicious meal & good drinks.  We downloaded all the videos for them from the wedding events. We feel so fortunate to have spent this time with all of our dear friends, who really are family to us.

August 27-Sept 2, 2019 Elmore/ Paul Douglas & Jessica's wedding

We drove to Craig & Cheryl's in Elmore, Jeri & Jerry were there when we arrived, then Craig showed up shortly after.  Cheryl arrived somewhere after midnight. Jeri & Jerry have been living @ C&C's for over a year while looking for a house.  Our mission this week is to prepare for Paul & Jess's rehearsal dinner & wedding.

First on the list is a bit of pampering for the 3 old gals.  Jeri, Cheryl & I went to Soto Salon for mani & pedi's, Cheryl's treat! We then had to do some shopping for our rehearsal dinner attire.

We took an evening to see Jim & Elaine Deaton for dinner @ Biaggi's. (sorry no pic)

The 6 of us, C&C and J&J loaded up the 2 vans with lots of White Claw, beer & decorations for both the rehearsal dinner & wedding.  The venue is a barn in Bellville, Ohio. We stayed in The Wishmaker's B&B, which Jess found for all of us, including Sally, Emily, Ray & Patty & Robin & Melinda.  It's a beautiful restored home in downtown Bellville but the breakfasts needed improvement.

Being the grooms' parents, the Rehearsal dinner was Craig & Cheryl's responsibility.  They chose a Mexican theme with colorful decorations & Margaritas.  With such a large bridal party, the rehearsal dinner was as large as some weddings. Fun was had by all.  The weather was perfect for both outdoor events.

The wedding was picture perfect. The ceremony was officiated by Paul's friend Noah & took place in the green, grass valley below the barn overlooking the picturesque pond.  Many of Paul & Jessie's family & dear friends were in attendance. Doug did a reading that Jess had chosen & their vows were sincere with a bit of humor thrown in. After the ceremony, the Father of the bride led us all in prayer & Craig gave a memorable toast.  Then the party got started.  Food & drink was plentiful. There were lawn games for the kids & kids at heart.  The DJ did a great job of getting everyone up on the outdoor dance floor in front of the stone fireplace. We are so happy for Paul & Jess. We love them & wish them a lifetime of happiness & contentment.

Father & Godfather

The day after the wedding, we drove to Mohican State Park where Jess's parents & siblings were staying.  Paul & Jess opened their Wedding  presents. After the formalities were finished C&C, J&J, P&J, Robin, Melinda, Sally, Emily & most of the wedding party drove to the Mohican River livery & we rented inflatable rafts & a couple of canoes.  We couldn't take the coolers with all the remaining beer & white Claw in the rafts because of the soft floor so the canoes were to carry the coolers. It was a crazy, wet, drunken Fun ride down the river. We were attacked from the shore with water balloons, fire hoses & plastic spiders dropping from the trees. Little did we know that the river would be packed with people on various floating devices & the campers along the shore would entertain themselves by harassing us river rats.  We were drenched by the attacks & also from the sudden downpour of rain. It took us most of the day to travel a few miles but it sure was fun!

We feel so lucky to have been part of Paul's life & that we
now are part of Paul & Jess's life together