A Day of Visiting

Monday, August 31, 2015
Our visits today took us first on the long drive to Saline and the home of David and Susan Luttenbacher where his father and mother are now living in the downstairs area they have created for them.  It has a walkout to a lovely patio and huge yard with a large gardinia in a pot just for Mary Elizabeth to enjoy as those flowers mean so much to her.  The thoughtfulness of the whole family is evident throughout with all they've done to make this a comfortable spot for Cecil and Mary Elizabeth to live.

I took a pot of my chili soup and some crackers along with peanut butter cookies and red grapes for them to enjoy for lunch.  The family had already set up a table for us to sit at and have a leisurely meal.  In fact, Diane came in a couple of different times to join with us in between doing some wash for her mom and dad as well as get an evening meal started for everyone including a guest that would be coming home with David from work.

We left there around 3:30 and then drove about 45 minutes to Canton and the bd Mongolian Grill there where we met Rick and Bev Ratcliffe.

And what a delightful time we had just chatting for better than an hour over a drink before heading off to fill our bowls and have it stir fried.

Yes, we went to the same restaurant two days in a row but as Ken says, we could do it seven days a week.  We love the variety they offer and the various combinations we can make.  It is all delicious.

On our way back to the campground I borrowed Ken's smartphone to check email and Facebook messages.  We absolutely loved this shared message on Facebook from our daughter Sue:

Standing outside at recess a few of my students were commenting on how some classes had consequences during recess...
student:"Mrs. Guilfoyle why don't we have consequences at recess?" 
Me: "Well, so far our class is doing a great job following the rules so hopefully we won't have to ever worry about that" 
Student: "Did your class last year get consequences? " 
Me: "No, last year my class also did a great job following the rules" 
Second student: "That's because of Mrs. Guilfoyle ' s eyes. She just looks at you and casts this magic spell on all the students" 
Me (laughing) "How do I cast a spell over you?" 
Second student: "Because your eyes are so blue. They're magical and they make us all behave" 
First student: "Oooh. Ya. I knew I felt something that first day whenever she looked at us. I just couldn't help myself. I had to behave"

Life is grand!!!!! Full of all kinds of special moments

Sunday Experiences

Sunday, August 30, 2015
This morning we were able to attend the church where we met, married and raised all of our children. I even worked there for several years after retiring from Ferndale Adult Ed.  But this morning we were attending with real mixed emotions.  Yes we worshipped but it was the last time we would have Dr. Thomas Rice leading the worship service with his wife Rev. Betsy Rice by his side.

Ken was thrilled to be back and singing with the choir which did a very special piece for the service.

And after the postlude, the choir did a closing piece before Tom and Betsy processed out to lots of heartfelt applause and thanksgiving for all they have done while here at First Pres.

Following the service there was a wonderful reception with several different speakers sharing memories of the eleven years that the Rice family was here with us. But one of the most memorable moments was the retelling of the story of the woman who wanted a fork in her hand in her casket when she died because it always meant "the best was yet to come" (in reference to meals when told to keep the fork cause dessert was coming). Then a large serving fork was presented to the Rices with that phrase engraved on the handle.  We sent them off with best wish and thanksgiving that we had had the opportunity to know and worship with them for eleven years.

We then went over to Beth and Dean's.  Once we'd changed clothes Beth, Jason, Scott and I went downtown first to drop Scott at the Hard Rock Cafe to cheer on his girlfriend whose band was performing.  Then the three of us parked at the Ren Cen and did the new River Walk along the Detroit River.  How beautiful!!!!!!!! Where we started there was this series of water fountains jutting out of the walkway with lots of kids having fun running through them.  The Ambassador Bridge to Canada can be seen in the background

This is a map of the walk from Joe Louis Arena to Belle Isle.  We did about half of it getting as far as Chene Park.

Huge pots of flowers like these decorated the walkway

Paintings like this stretched out for quite away with each featuring some photos of tourist areas within the state of Michigan

And then of course there was the beauty of the water and views of Windsor, Ontario in Canada across the water.  Lots of boats too,

We found this cute little library in one green area

And paintings like this featuring reproductions of art work that is at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

This little merry go round was drawing all kinds of visitors with its dolphins, herons, sea horses and even mermaids to ride.

There also was a sand volleyball court though noone was playing when we went by with a refreshment area next to it.

Beth and Jason stopped there for a slice of pizza and drink before we continued on

We continued on through into the Milliken State Park

that included a  wet lands area with signage and a walk way through the "weeds" and along side the water

These little ponds and the statue are in recognition of Peter Stroh who helped lead the creation of this walk

This is a little hard to read but gives some of the background information

Under this little shelter was signage about the freighter traffic and flags that help tell the story of the ship.  One of the fun things about being along here is watching all the freighters go by since this is part of the water way through all of the Great Lakes, the St Lawrence River all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.

This lighthouse is at the head of an inlet into a small marina area

And on the far side looking back you can see the tall buildings of the downtown area including the Ren Cen.  Not only could we see that but all of these storm clouds gathering and we were now a couple of miles from the car with one umbrella.

But we continued on

hoping to see a bit more like several historical signs such as this one

And taking time to watch the Detroit Princess tour boat go by along with a freighter right beside it.

Then just after I took this shot of all the beautiful trees and grass along the walkway 

The heavens opened up and we were mighty wet within a matter of minutes despite ducking under one of the trees with our umbrella over head.

So we headed back to the car fully drenched and drove home to change clothes.  Once we were dry and warmed up a bit, we drove over to bd Mongolian Grill for supper.  Ken joined us but Dean had to forgo as he was in the midst of the prep for a colonoscopy on Monday.

While this is not the original restaurant it is the closest thing possible since the original is no more but was just down the street from this spot.  We've introduced so many people to the restaurant down in Florida we took this picture to post on Facebook and share it with them.

A University Day

Saturday, August 29, 2015
Ken and I enjoyed sleeping in this morning after our late night watching Scott's band.  And the leisurely morning was even better after all the going and going we've been doing.  But by 11:00 we were off to Flint to meet Winnebago friends (and Florida) who are spending some time here in Michigan seeing some of the sites as well as visiting friends of theirs and getting their motorhome fixed.  Dave and Donna will be leaving shortly for Niagara Falls and the beginning of the Upstate New York caravan that they are hosting.  But meanwhile we had a delightful long long long lunch with them at Copperwood Grille just catching up on all we've both been doing since we were last together at a Mid Florida Winnies gathering in Cedar Key, Florida in mid April.

After we parted, we decided to take advantage of being in Flint and go check out Kettering University (formerly GMI) where he earned his bachelors degree - our daughter Janet too.  When he attended there was only one building

Students boarded in homes in the area basically living out of their cars since they left to work at jobs provided by their sponsors every 4 weeks - so it was 4 weeks at school and 4 weeks on the job and living somewhere else often another boarding home.  

Now their is a dorm, a recreational building, fields for sports, a huge green, a student center and one more classroom building. 

General Determination, a huge dog statue still remains and has had many many more coats of paint, a tradition through the years done for a variety of reasons during the school year.  We could still smell the fresh paint when Ken checked it out

We wandered through the Student Activities building that included a huge honorary board with names on it of people who have given monetary gifts to the university over a period of years.  Since we do each year his name is on it (he has also been a class agent for many years and helped with several activities)

In the center court area there are flags hanging representing the countries that have students in attendance.  It is a pretty impressive site 

It was fun just to walk around the campus area and see all the changes that have taken place since he graduated 50 years ago.

We then drove to the nearby store called The Great Divide that carries all kinds of merchandise for Michigan State University and University of Michigan - the great rivals of Michigan.  Since Ken has master's degrees from each of these schools we decided to stop and see if they still carry a shirt that has both schools on it.  Sure enough they did so of course he had to have it.

We then headed back toward the campground sharing all kinds of memories of all those years of schooling.  And since we were in a reflecting mood we decided to stop at a place across from the campground for a dish of Cook's delicious ice cream from the Cook Farm Dairy that we use to visit so often.  Hmmm good!!!!!!

Once into the campground we decided to drive around to see how full it was and check out the group sites to see if there were any interesting groups.  And there was!!! The Tin Can Tourists were occupying one entire circle with many many attendees.  What fun to drive around the circle and just check out some of the RVs in attendance. 

It drizzled off and on all day but shortly after we returned it got more persistent so we decided to just enjoy a quiet evening at home listening to the rain drops on our roof.

A Sunny Day!

Friday, August 28, 2015
It was 46 degrees when we got up this morning BUT there was sunshine and the promise of a warmer day.  In fact, it finally got up into the lower 70s before the day came to a close. A glance out our window revealed lots of natural beauty.

By 10:30 we were on the road first heading to our friends, Bill and Terri Halbert, home in Bloomfield Township.  What a beautiful place.  They got it just a couple of years ago shortly before they were married.  Bill was a college friend of Ken's and the guy who gave us a pup tent for a wedding gift in anticipation of a canoe trip we'd be doing later that year.  Now Bill and Terri are the proud owners of a 32 foot motorhome that has given them the opportunity to travel with their kids and grandkids. (They actually have two MH at the moment as they bought this one in the spring and are still trying to sell their smaller one)

 Bill gave us a tour of the house while Terri was putting the finishing touches on our lunch.  One fun spot was in the basement where he keeps an old jukebox his first wife gave him almost 30 years ago.

 It holds all of his old rock and roll 45 records so we had fun listening to them and watching the mechanism work.

Right next to it he has created a wall arrangement of pennants from all of the colleges he, Kathy (his first wife) and four children and their spouses have attended.  It makes a very impressive display.

 Kathy and Terri had been good friends for years and thus Bill and Terri found solace in each other when they each lost their spouses to cancer.  The tour included walking along the common green space behind their house to Wing Lake, a peaceful little lake great for canoeing and kyaking.

 On the way we passed a home built by Edsel Ford back in 1929 when he owned all the land in this little community of nine homes.  But he never lived in it since before he finished land became available in Grosse Pointe on Lake St Clare and he ended up moving there instead.  But what a beautiful place it is.

By the time we returned Terri had the delicious food on the table ready for us to enjoy together.

Following lunch we had some time to relax and chat on their huge deck

before we had to say good bye so we could get to General RV out in White Lake Township for our appointment to have them check our tow break (which they declared unfixable by them).

Because both I 75 and Dixie were closed along our route home (due to an accident investigation) we had to do some detouring that took us by a Dollar Tree where we stopped to pick up a couple of items and then Ollie's which has moved into the same plaza.  I like to keep my eyes open for possible rally basket items for the Florida State Rally so love going into places like that (in fact I found a couple of items)

By that time it was closing in on 6:00 so we decided to go to Wing Lauk a favorite Chinese restaurant that was very close by to have dinner and hope that the roads would open before we continued on back to the campground. (and they did open up)

We were home just a very short time and then had to head back out to drive to Rochester and the Classic Lanes where Scott's band, Leah and the Troublemakers, was entertaining for part of the evening.  

This was their last gig as two of the guitar players are off to college. His girlfriend, Bella, plays in a band as well and they also were entertaining tonight.