Paper Work!

This morning was 40F (4C) and very sunny. I took what has become my usual walk this week.

Gordon left early to go to the Columbus Zoo. Michelle and the kids were meeting him there after Luke’s morning nap. I elected not to go as I still had to go through all our receipts and get them straightened out for the border. While I was at it I went through our little filing cabinet that we have in the form of a coffee table in the living room and sorted through all the papers and tried to get them organized. It took a long time!

After that I settled down to see what I could do on this month’s Conde Naste Where Are You contest but I think it’s got me stumped this month. It’s definitely somewhere in South America but the clues have me confused. I’ve relayed what I have to my sister, Betty who is also involved in this contest with me every month so maybe she can make some sense of it.

We got to a high of 70F (21C) today. A really beautiful spring day!

Gordon stayed at Michelle’s for dinner so I didn’t have to make dinner either. Bonus!

Back to Dayton

A security guard patrols the parking lot on a segway at the new mall, The Greene, in Beavercreek, a suburb of Dayton, OH.

This morning was cooler than it has been but it was very bright and sunny and 41F (5C). I took the same road south from the campground as I did yesterday.

After breakfast and getting ready we headed back to Dayton where Gordon had made arrangements to meet Mel and Janice (our friends who visited us in Ottawa last summer) and some folks that used to work with Mel that Gordon knew of or had met. We met at The Cheesecake Factory at a new mall called The Greene in Beavercreek. It was great to see Mel and Janice again. Both have had serious health problems since we last saw them but they both looked well today. We had an excellent lunch (I had the best shepherd’s pie I’ve ever had) and met the other people (10 in all counting us).

We had left Columbus early so took a detour to Gordon’s boyhood home area in New Carlisle. We arrived at the mall early and walked around. It’s one of the new concept malls that are all outside. This one is built in streets and even has a town square. My preference, however, is for indoor malls but this one was interesting anyway.

After lunch broke up around 3:30 p.m. we headed back to Columbus to read and nap! Today was a beautiful day and we hit a high of 72F (22C).

More Family Visiting

More Photos of Luke (below)

This morning was mostly sunny and 44f (7C). Across the road from the campground there’s a road that goes south so I walked along it this morning. It has more of a shoulder than the one I walked on yesterday.

Late this morning we went over to Michelle’s but she had called to say she had to go out so we went to a new store near them called Whole Foods Market – quite expensive, I thought, then went to Taco Bell for lunch.

This afternoon, Gordon’s sister, Carol drove up from the Cincinnati area to Michelle’s to see the kids and Michelle and visit with us as we didn’t stay very long in their area this time. It’s always good to see Carol. She has a very positive outlook and besides that she reads my blog every day (almost).

Although it was cloudy most of the day, the temperature did reach 65F (18C) and the sun came out late in the day.

We stayed at Michelle’s for dinner (and an excellent one it was) and Eric arrived home after two days of being away flying executives around the country. We got back to the RV around 7:30 p.m. – very tired!

Housework and Shopping

This morning was 44F and mostly sunny when I went out for my walk. I headed west on Hwy 40 and then turned right on Cole Street and walked a ways down that road. There are no shoulders but luckily the traffic was sparse so I didn’t get run over!

After getting the vacuuming done yesterday I decided I’d better get the laundry done as it was piling up so I had Gordon drop me at the local Laundromat (this campground doesn’t have laundry facilities). It was done and I was back before noon.

Today I had the first shower I’ve had all winter in the RV. The washrooms here are closed for repair and their shower facilities aren’t the best so we usually use our own facilities when we’re here.

After lunch, I went to Meijer. Meijer is a Walmart type store but it’s only in the Midwest states. It’s more expensive than Walmart but has a better quality of things for the most part. I also found that they don’t carry some items that I usually buy at Walmart so I guess I’ll have to make a stop at Walmart before we leave. We're stocking up on things that we can't buy at home.

When I got back, Gordon went out and got a much needed haircut!

No photos today!

We Visit With Michelle, Luke, Faith and Grace

Grandpa and Luke

Grace with Faith on her back

Luke having his lunch

At the Playground

Faith on the slide

Grace rock-climbing

Grace and Faith on the slide

Grace wanted me to take her picture when we were in the van on the way home from the playground

Grace on her scooter in front of their house

This morning was bright and sunny, 39F (4C), with no wind. Quite a change from the wind we had yesterday. The RV park here isn’t very large so I usually walk around the small town. Even with doing that it only took me about 20 minutes so I probably didn’t walk for ½ hour today but then I haven’t been doing that lately anyway. There’s something about being back in the cold weather that doesn’t motivate me very much.

Late this morning we got ready and headed over to Gordon’s daughter, Michelle’s. Grace (our oldest granddaughter) was at school and Luke was asleep. Faith wasn’t interested and went downstairs to watch TV so we sat and talked to Michelle. When Luke got up he went right to his Grandpa. At that point Faith too became interested. Grace got home from school at lunch time and after we had lunch, we all went out in Michelle’s van to look at some scenic spots around the west side of Columbus. We found a new playground that the girls were really fascinated with. They had rock climbing walls, lots of slides, swings and things to climb on. They also had a fireman’s pole which the girls really had fun on as well.

When we got back from our drive, we headed home, stopping to fuel up – 2.89.9/gal. and I doubt it will get any cheaper as we head towards home.

Back in Columbus, OH

This morning was 1 degree warmer than yesterday but bright and sunny. We left Lebanon at 11:15 a.m. under bright sunny skies, 46F (8C) and very windy. For most of the 88.7 mile drive to Columbus, OH it was a crosswind.

We arrived around 1:00 p.m. and Sue, who owns the park came running out when she saw us arrive and guided us to our spot. It’s a different spot than we’ve had before and was more of a parallel park along the side of the park but Gordon did it without much problem. We got at 50 amp spot this time as it was so cold when we were here in October/November. We can run our electric heater on high with 50 amp. It took us till about 3:00 p.m. to set up with all the satellites including getting checked in and paying for the site. When we were set up I drove down the road to Kroger, a local Ohio grocery store and picked up a few things we were out of.

Gordon talked to his daughter, Michelle and told her that we weren’t coming over today as we were tired and we read and had a nap.

When I turned the TV on at dinner time, the satellite dish had moved so Gordon had to go up and tune it in again. The wind was very strong all day although our weather station only measured it at 9 mph. It had to be at least 35 mph so we’re not sure what’s wrong with the weather station.

Another Day With Family

It was only 36F this morning when I got up, later than usual but at least there was no snow and it wasn’t raining so I got to go for my walk. I think the grandchildren really wore us out yesterday. Just watching them run around is exhausting!

This morning we didn’t do much. I read and napped while Gordon was on his computer. At noon, we headed north to Dayton to visit Ian, Tracy and the kids stopping at Walmart on the way as I was out of fruit.

We spent about 2 ½ hours at Ian and Tracy’s place visiting and interacting with the kids. Lilly was asleep when we arrived and slept for about 1 ½ hours but Caden was up and playing his favorite video game on their new HD TV.

Another exhausting day although we got home a lot earlier – about 4:30 p.m.

Tonight we’ll be watching TV and getting ready to leave for Columbus tomorrow.

Thanks to Gordon for the photo of me with Lilly.