After a weekend full of checking multiple sites for typhoon updates, seems as though Scott has survived his first typhoon. He's a bit annoyed with me that I posted multiple updates on Facebook, but I played the Mom card and that was that. Good thing he probably doesn't read my blog...
And Eric still hasn't seen a natural birth, though he did get to observe a C-Section of twins last week.
Got to spend time with both of them yesterday, Eric in person and Scott by phone. Nice family day.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Friday, September 14, 2012
Moms never stop worrying...
A mother never stops wondering and worrying about her boys. Even when they are 27 and 25.
When Scott first told us he was going to be stationed in South Korea for a year, I never envisioned South Korea as being a place where hurricanes or typhoons would head. Then came Typhoon Bolaven. Thankfully, Scott was on temporary duty in Alaska when Bolaven hit. Minimal damage in the area.
But now, Super Typhoon Sanba is heading his way. "Super Typhoon" is the hurricane equivalent of a Category 5 storm. It will probably still be a 3 or 4 when it hits the Korean mainland, by the 17th. Scott is back in Kunsan. He'll get to experience it this time. Thankfully, his dorm room is on the 7th floor so if there is flooding he shouldn't be affected that much.
Probably a mom worrying too much.
And then there's Eric. Classes and rotations have started again. He is now on his OB rotation. I'm not worried about him, per say. He's doing a great job in school and will make a wonderful nurse. But it gives me a weird feeling to think of him as a young unmarried man watching a strange woman give birth, which he will soon get to see if he hasn't already. But every nurse has to go through that rotation, even if they are guys. All part of nursing.
When Scott first told us he was going to be stationed in South Korea for a year, I never envisioned South Korea as being a place where hurricanes or typhoons would head. Then came Typhoon Bolaven. Thankfully, Scott was on temporary duty in Alaska when Bolaven hit. Minimal damage in the area.
But now, Super Typhoon Sanba is heading his way. "Super Typhoon" is the hurricane equivalent of a Category 5 storm. It will probably still be a 3 or 4 when it hits the Korean mainland, by the 17th. Scott is back in Kunsan. He'll get to experience it this time. Thankfully, his dorm room is on the 7th floor so if there is flooding he shouldn't be affected that much.
Probably a mom worrying too much.
And then there's Eric. Classes and rotations have started again. He is now on his OB rotation. I'm not worried about him, per say. He's doing a great job in school and will make a wonderful nurse. But it gives me a weird feeling to think of him as a young unmarried man watching a strange woman give birth, which he will soon get to see if he hasn't already. But every nurse has to go through that rotation, even if they are guys. All part of nursing.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
New Car Update
Well, it's been just over a week since we took delivery of our new 2012 Outback. We had gone for the test drive Friday night, committed to making the deal, but had forgotten to bring the title for the Montana with us. So we came back Saturday morning and did all the paperwork. We used eighteen $100 Subaru bucks that we'd earned from credit card use, so that was the ultimate couponing experience!
Steve spent a good part of the rest of the weekend undercoating the Subaru and other Cooperizing things to help prolong the life of this car. I was able to drive it to church, a bit nervously but still nice to drive it. We've had more than a few new cars over the years, but this is, to my recollection, the first new car that I've driven from the start.
I got to drive it to work all week. That was sweet. It drives very smoothly, and gets good gas mileage. Found out that my CDs weren't going bad, it had to have been the CD player in the Montana. They work fine now... It sits lower than the van, of course, so that takes a little getting used to. I bought a shallow tote that fits just right in the front passenger seat for my assorted things (many geo-related) that I like to have within reach. Bought a black laundry basket that holds bigger gear, for the back. There is a cargo net that is corraling my shopping bags and other stuff like that. Steve put an small Air Force sticker on the back. Instead of geocaching stickers, I ordered a geocaching license plate frame which should come this week.
Friday, I had to return my dog costume. That went well, by the way. Though it was VERY hot inside that costume. Anyway, took me a few hours to get back home after that. Went to a nearby nature trail and did Michigan's first Wherigo cache, placed a few years back. A nice walk down the trail, then back. Did a few more caches on the way back home.
Yesterday, drove to the Fruitport area for a geocaching event. Most of my caching was done at the park where the event was held, so didn't put many extra miles on the car. About a hundred altogether in driving back and forth though. I think it has 300 something on it right now. We took delivery with around 160 miles on it.
Holding my breath for that first ding or scratch. I am back to parking in the outlying areas of lots whenever possible. At Gilda's, I try for that first spot that has extra room on the one side. I know it won't be pristine forever, but I'd really like to keep this one nice for as long as possible. Wish me luck there!
Steve also bought mud flaps and trim for the wheel wells which he plans to install tomorrow. So I'll probably have to drive his van. Funny to think it's the ONLY van now...
There's a picture of the new Outback posted on my FB page if you haven't seen it yet....
Steve spent a good part of the rest of the weekend undercoating the Subaru and other Cooperizing things to help prolong the life of this car. I was able to drive it to church, a bit nervously but still nice to drive it. We've had more than a few new cars over the years, but this is, to my recollection, the first new car that I've driven from the start.
I got to drive it to work all week. That was sweet. It drives very smoothly, and gets good gas mileage. Found out that my CDs weren't going bad, it had to have been the CD player in the Montana. They work fine now... It sits lower than the van, of course, so that takes a little getting used to. I bought a shallow tote that fits just right in the front passenger seat for my assorted things (many geo-related) that I like to have within reach. Bought a black laundry basket that holds bigger gear, for the back. There is a cargo net that is corraling my shopping bags and other stuff like that. Steve put an small Air Force sticker on the back. Instead of geocaching stickers, I ordered a geocaching license plate frame which should come this week.
Friday, I had to return my dog costume. That went well, by the way. Though it was VERY hot inside that costume. Anyway, took me a few hours to get back home after that. Went to a nearby nature trail and did Michigan's first Wherigo cache, placed a few years back. A nice walk down the trail, then back. Did a few more caches on the way back home.
Yesterday, drove to the Fruitport area for a geocaching event. Most of my caching was done at the park where the event was held, so didn't put many extra miles on the car. About a hundred altogether in driving back and forth though. I think it has 300 something on it right now. We took delivery with around 160 miles on it.
Holding my breath for that first ding or scratch. I am back to parking in the outlying areas of lots whenever possible. At Gilda's, I try for that first spot that has extra room on the one side. I know it won't be pristine forever, but I'd really like to keep this one nice for as long as possible. Wish me luck there!
Steve also bought mud flaps and trim for the wheel wells which he plans to install tomorrow. So I'll probably have to drive his van. Funny to think it's the ONLY van now...
There's a picture of the new Outback posted on my FB page if you haven't seen it yet....
Friday, August 31, 2012
Goodbye, cachemobile! (?)
Tomorrow we may say goodbye to the cachemobile, aka our 2003 Pontiac Montana van. There have been more than a few signs as of late showing that it may be a good idea to trade it in while it is still running acceptably. Cost to fix these projected issues may be more than it's worth. So we started considering how/when/where to replace it.
First considerations were for a low mileage good used Subaru Outback. That evolved into either an Outback or a Forester. Then warranty came into play. Now we are going to go to a dealer tomorrow and test drive a '12 Outback. Basic model, but still a new car. I'm not geeked about the color, but Steve says it looks better in person than on the website. So we'll see.
Steve has spent much of this week detailing the Montana, making it look as good as it can. We're hoping to get Blue Book on it as a trade. I've made it clear (I hope) that this Outback (or whatever we end up deciding on) will be DRIVEN, not housed in the garage and hauled out on special occasions. I need to be able to go to work. And yes, driven will involve geocaching from time to time.
The cachemobile and I have had many good adventures over the past years. Think I've been driving it on a regular basis since '05 or '06 (it's an '03.) We just don't need all that passenger or hauling space anymore, either. I'll miss it though.
First considerations were for a low mileage good used Subaru Outback. That evolved into either an Outback or a Forester. Then warranty came into play. Now we are going to go to a dealer tomorrow and test drive a '12 Outback. Basic model, but still a new car. I'm not geeked about the color, but Steve says it looks better in person than on the website. So we'll see.
Steve has spent much of this week detailing the Montana, making it look as good as it can. We're hoping to get Blue Book on it as a trade. I've made it clear (I hope) that this Outback (or whatever we end up deciding on) will be DRIVEN, not housed in the garage and hauled out on special occasions. I need to be able to go to work. And yes, driven will involve geocaching from time to time.
The cachemobile and I have had many good adventures over the past years. Think I've been driving it on a regular basis since '05 or '06 (it's an '03.) We just don't need all that passenger or hauling space anymore, either. I'll miss it though.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
the new normal (plus a few weeks...)
It's been four weeks now since my new normal started at work. Three weeks at my usual hours (we were closed the first week.)
I'm feeling more comfortable in my new role. At first, it was hard to get used to so many phone conversations and other noises surrounding me. I am in a cubby-type area of four workspaces. Not all of us are there all the time, but usually there's at least one other person. I've picked up some good phone mannerisms by osmosis, though I haven't had much opportunity to use them yet. I'm keeping up on my regular responsibilities, and am gradually having new responsibilities given to me.
At first, I was running out of work by the end of the week. This week, I have work waiting for me when we return on Tuesday. (We have Monday off for Labor Day.) And there's enough of a variety that the days/evenings go by quickly. I'm definitely not bored!
Noogieland was out of commission for two weeks after the closed week. That was two weeks of finding space whereever we could, not to mention getting used to the Thursday group under different circumstances than normal. This week, we finally have the front half back to use. That was quite crowded on grief night (Wed.) with 14 kids in half the usual space. That was 19 at the beginning of the night before "graduation" when five first graders left us for the kids group. Tonight, the cancer night kids numbered only 4, with one first grader leaving us for a grand total of 3 kids. With two volunteers, we had a 1:1 ratio. If you look at my new FB cover photo, that is most of my Wednesday group at the graduation.
Some fun stuff coming up: On Wednesday, I get to play "Sparkle," the Gilda's dog, at school assemblies in Lowell. I used to sub at every school that we will be at. And of course most of my Sunday School kids, both present and past, go to Lowell Schools. But nobody will know it's me (unless I tell them) as I'll be in full costume, complete with head, and in a non-talking role. Still, it'd be fun to call my Sunday School kids by name and let them wonder why Sparkle knows them personally...
I'm feeling more comfortable in my new role. At first, it was hard to get used to so many phone conversations and other noises surrounding me. I am in a cubby-type area of four workspaces. Not all of us are there all the time, but usually there's at least one other person. I've picked up some good phone mannerisms by osmosis, though I haven't had much opportunity to use them yet. I'm keeping up on my regular responsibilities, and am gradually having new responsibilities given to me.
At first, I was running out of work by the end of the week. This week, I have work waiting for me when we return on Tuesday. (We have Monday off for Labor Day.) And there's enough of a variety that the days/evenings go by quickly. I'm definitely not bored!
Noogieland was out of commission for two weeks after the closed week. That was two weeks of finding space whereever we could, not to mention getting used to the Thursday group under different circumstances than normal. This week, we finally have the front half back to use. That was quite crowded on grief night (Wed.) with 14 kids in half the usual space. That was 19 at the beginning of the night before "graduation" when five first graders left us for the kids group. Tonight, the cancer night kids numbered only 4, with one first grader leaving us for a grand total of 3 kids. With two volunteers, we had a 1:1 ratio. If you look at my new FB cover photo, that is most of my Wednesday group at the graduation.
Some fun stuff coming up: On Wednesday, I get to play "Sparkle," the Gilda's dog, at school assemblies in Lowell. I used to sub at every school that we will be at. And of course most of my Sunday School kids, both present and past, go to Lowell Schools. But nobody will know it's me (unless I tell them) as I'll be in full costume, complete with head, and in a non-talking role. Still, it'd be fun to call my Sunday School kids by name and let them wonder why Sparkle knows them personally...
Thursday, August 2, 2012
The new normal (at work) for me
Came back to work Monday morning to find out that my little guy's last day would be Tuesday. Just had to look at it as a blessing that I had the two extra days from what I thought I'd have when I first found out he was leaving.
By the end of the day Monday, I had a better idea of what my work life would be like. My hours will be 1 pm to 9 pm, Monday through Thursday. That has its good points and bad points. (1) I get to sleep in - if my body will let me. (2) Steve and I can have mornings together, at least until he goes back to work. (3) I only have to cook supper three nights a week max. And I'll get to eat dinner at work at least three of the four nights I'm there. BUT - (4) my evenings are spoken for. That cuts out geocaching potlucks, most scouting meetings, Awana, and anything else I might want to be doing in the evening, including spending time with Steve. I have to keep looking at the positive, though - (5) I still have a job!
I will continue to do what I've been doing when Z was napping - processing obituaries, and entering program data into our database. I will also continue the Wednesday night Children's grief group, and I get to start doing the Children's cancer group on Thursday nights as well. I'll get additional program support work, have to start taking my turn answering phone calls, and a few other things. Formal job description is still being worked up.
Next week, we are closed for repairs - one major one is to pull up the Noogieland flooring and fix some drainage issues. So I'll be working days like everyone else. My new hours start on Monday, August 13. And yep, I have to work 1-9 on my birthday....I think our plans now are to go out to lunch that day, or wait until the weekend.
On Monday, I started packing up extra things in the NL office that I wouldn't need or have room for in my new "space." I have left some things in the NL office, things that I use for evening program. Things that I just used with the staff kids are most of what I've brought home. Took a load home Tuesday night and again last night.
Today was moving day. Brought over my files (that took one hand...) my office supplies, my photos, and a few other miscellaneous items. I now have a computer, chair, and desk space in a large cubicle shared with three other workspaces. It was such a change to go from my own private workspace to a smaller shared space. Not sure if I've ever worked in the same workspace as others in an office before. I will get used to it, though. Definitely right in the mix of things, after four and a half years this is part of what I longed for (feeling like being more of the team.)
By the end of the day I was ready for a break. More used to just doing this for an hour or two at a stretch when Z was napping. So went back into NL and packed up the contents of the storage cabinets as they will have to come down for the work to be done. I also had to pack a selection of toys and activities on what I've dubbed the "NL to go" cart so that we can give NL kids something to do when they need care. We'll be closed next week, but construction starts tomorrow and some of the Friday morning programs do have kids needing care. Plus they anticipate that construction won't be complete in one week - so have to make plans for the following week for alternate places. Then back to the data entry until it was time to go.
By the end of the day Monday, I had a better idea of what my work life would be like. My hours will be 1 pm to 9 pm, Monday through Thursday. That has its good points and bad points. (1) I get to sleep in - if my body will let me. (2) Steve and I can have mornings together, at least until he goes back to work. (3) I only have to cook supper three nights a week max. And I'll get to eat dinner at work at least three of the four nights I'm there. BUT - (4) my evenings are spoken for. That cuts out geocaching potlucks, most scouting meetings, Awana, and anything else I might want to be doing in the evening, including spending time with Steve. I have to keep looking at the positive, though - (5) I still have a job!
I will continue to do what I've been doing when Z was napping - processing obituaries, and entering program data into our database. I will also continue the Wednesday night Children's grief group, and I get to start doing the Children's cancer group on Thursday nights as well. I'll get additional program support work, have to start taking my turn answering phone calls, and a few other things. Formal job description is still being worked up.
Next week, we are closed for repairs - one major one is to pull up the Noogieland flooring and fix some drainage issues. So I'll be working days like everyone else. My new hours start on Monday, August 13. And yep, I have to work 1-9 on my birthday....I think our plans now are to go out to lunch that day, or wait until the weekend.
On Monday, I started packing up extra things in the NL office that I wouldn't need or have room for in my new "space." I have left some things in the NL office, things that I use for evening program. Things that I just used with the staff kids are most of what I've brought home. Took a load home Tuesday night and again last night.
Today was moving day. Brought over my files (that took one hand...) my office supplies, my photos, and a few other miscellaneous items. I now have a computer, chair, and desk space in a large cubicle shared with three other workspaces. It was such a change to go from my own private workspace to a smaller shared space. Not sure if I've ever worked in the same workspace as others in an office before. I will get used to it, though. Definitely right in the mix of things, after four and a half years this is part of what I longed for (feeling like being more of the team.)
By the end of the day I was ready for a break. More used to just doing this for an hour or two at a stretch when Z was napping. So went back into NL and packed up the contents of the storage cabinets as they will have to come down for the work to be done. I also had to pack a selection of toys and activities on what I've dubbed the "NL to go" cart so that we can give NL kids something to do when they need care. We'll be closed next week, but construction starts tomorrow and some of the Friday morning programs do have kids needing care. Plus they anticipate that construction won't be complete in one week - so have to make plans for the following week for alternate places. Then back to the data entry until it was time to go.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Going home - Sunday
Woke up and met my geo-friends for one last breakfast, after packing my stuff as best I could without having my car available to load it up.
After breakfast, walked down to the security gate to wait for the next shuttle to the campground for my car. Finally got to go and then we drove back in a caravan. Strange to be behind the wheel after a week! Once back at camp, I was given permission to go back to the cabin area and I was able to load the car. After that, I managed to find a broom and swept out the cabin from a week's accumulation of sand and dirt. That took a while!
Left camp at about 10 a.m., and of course you know what I did next. Did some geocaching in the area. Had planned to get to West Branch to get gas but found a gas station before I got there, so chose a different route.
The best stop I made was at a cache that had a great high-banks view of the Rifle River. I got there just as two bicyclers arrived. We all admired the view, then they left and I started looking for the cache. They came back and asked if I was geocaching. We talked, and they were from Sweden, geocachers but without any local geocaching information. They were staying with friends on the nearby lake and were bicycling around the lake. Of course, I let them help me search and we all found the cache about the same time. I passed along one of my travel bugs and they've taken it back to Sweden (saw the logs this morning.) What a great geocaching memory and way to end my stay at MIC!
Took my time getting home, and did some other great caches - at BSA's Cole Canoe Base, and about six in the Alma area. Stopped at the Big Boy in Alma for a chocolate shake, and got home about 6:30 p.m. to an empty house, except for Max. Steve had been out all day with the Gold Wing group, and arrived home just before I was to step into the shower.
Nice to be home!
After breakfast, walked down to the security gate to wait for the next shuttle to the campground for my car. Finally got to go and then we drove back in a caravan. Strange to be behind the wheel after a week! Once back at camp, I was given permission to go back to the cabin area and I was able to load the car. After that, I managed to find a broom and swept out the cabin from a week's accumulation of sand and dirt. That took a while!
Left camp at about 10 a.m., and of course you know what I did next. Did some geocaching in the area. Had planned to get to West Branch to get gas but found a gas station before I got there, so chose a different route.
The best stop I made was at a cache that had a great high-banks view of the Rifle River. I got there just as two bicyclers arrived. We all admired the view, then they left and I started looking for the cache. They came back and asked if I was geocaching. We talked, and they were from Sweden, geocachers but without any local geocaching information. They were staying with friends on the nearby lake and were bicycling around the lake. Of course, I let them help me search and we all found the cache about the same time. I passed along one of my travel bugs and they've taken it back to Sweden (saw the logs this morning.) What a great geocaching memory and way to end my stay at MIC!
Took my time getting home, and did some other great caches - at BSA's Cole Canoe Base, and about six in the Alma area. Stopped at the Big Boy in Alma for a chocolate shake, and got home about 6:30 p.m. to an empty house, except for Max. Steve had been out all day with the Gold Wing group, and arrived home just before I was to step into the shower.
Nice to be home!
MIC - Day 7 - Saturday
I'm actually writing this today, four days afterwards, so hope I can remember the details the way I want to!
Saturday morning started out with breakfast, of course. After breakfast, we headed up to Geo HQ to work on sorting out our geo equipment and pack it up. Rangers were there taking down one of our canopies already as it was needed for the international day. Since there was room in their truck, they brought down my geo stuff to my cabin, which was nice as it would have taken more than a couple of trips carrying it by hand. Michael opted to keep his stuff in our secure area until Sunday as he was responsible for the GPS receivers.
Headed back to my cabin and squared away my geo stuff, then rested for a while until the international festival started at 11. Decided to take Geo, my scouting bear, with me to the festival. This was a great idea as he served as an ice-breaker to people I'd not yet met. I had many people pose with Geo, and several groups gave him his own trinkets so he truly looks international now as well. The Canadians (who had met Geo back in April at staff weekend) had even brought a Canadian flag sweater just for him.
Each booth had information about their country (or area in the U.S. - Louisiana, Wisconsin, and California all had booths) and food samples as well. There wasn't a planned lunch as it was assumed correctly that all would get their fill of such items as cheese from the Isle of Man, New Orleans Beignets, Korean shaved ice, crepes from Austria, a liver and rice dish from Egypt, and other fun tasty treats. There were also performances, much a repeat of earlier in the week but still fun. It was open to the public as well as to the camp.
Geo and I toured the booths a couple of times, then went back to the cabin for a while. Took a shower about 3 pm and then went back to the festival in uniform this time. At 4 pm it was time for the closing flag ceremony. All of the contingents lowered their flags at the same time, there were presentations to the camp chief from the various international contingents, and we were dismissed to a last campwide supper of chicken and all the trimmings.
At 7pm there was a Catholic mass, concelebrated by a priest from the Gaylord Diocese and a priest from Tanzania. My friend Tom was in charge of coordinating it, so I went to the mass in support of him. It was held on the waterfront with the attendees sitting on the hill adjacent. It was a nice mass, though I left when communion was served. Headed down to the firebowl where the non-denominational service was to be held. I ended up having a small speaking role at the end of the service, after the peace candles had been lit by all the representatives from the contingents.
Watermelon had been served just prior to the service, and Scott the chaplain remarked that it was the first time he'd conducted a service where the attendees were eating watermelon in church!
Immediately after the service, our closing campfire started with a multimedia presentation of the week, put together by the media staff. Nicely done. Then the Golden Arrows were presented to each international contingent, and a closing ceremony followed. We weren't done until almost 11 pm, so it was midnight before any of us got to sleep.
Tomorrow morning we pack up and MIC is done for another four years. Will I come back? I'd like to. Time will tell if it will work out. Four years is a long time away.
Saturday morning started out with breakfast, of course. After breakfast, we headed up to Geo HQ to work on sorting out our geo equipment and pack it up. Rangers were there taking down one of our canopies already as it was needed for the international day. Since there was room in their truck, they brought down my geo stuff to my cabin, which was nice as it would have taken more than a couple of trips carrying it by hand. Michael opted to keep his stuff in our secure area until Sunday as he was responsible for the GPS receivers.
Headed back to my cabin and squared away my geo stuff, then rested for a while until the international festival started at 11. Decided to take Geo, my scouting bear, with me to the festival. This was a great idea as he served as an ice-breaker to people I'd not yet met. I had many people pose with Geo, and several groups gave him his own trinkets so he truly looks international now as well. The Canadians (who had met Geo back in April at staff weekend) had even brought a Canadian flag sweater just for him.
Each booth had information about their country (or area in the U.S. - Louisiana, Wisconsin, and California all had booths) and food samples as well. There wasn't a planned lunch as it was assumed correctly that all would get their fill of such items as cheese from the Isle of Man, New Orleans Beignets, Korean shaved ice, crepes from Austria, a liver and rice dish from Egypt, and other fun tasty treats. There were also performances, much a repeat of earlier in the week but still fun. It was open to the public as well as to the camp.
Geo and I toured the booths a couple of times, then went back to the cabin for a while. Took a shower about 3 pm and then went back to the festival in uniform this time. At 4 pm it was time for the closing flag ceremony. All of the contingents lowered their flags at the same time, there were presentations to the camp chief from the various international contingents, and we were dismissed to a last campwide supper of chicken and all the trimmings.
At 7pm there was a Catholic mass, concelebrated by a priest from the Gaylord Diocese and a priest from Tanzania. My friend Tom was in charge of coordinating it, so I went to the mass in support of him. It was held on the waterfront with the attendees sitting on the hill adjacent. It was a nice mass, though I left when communion was served. Headed down to the firebowl where the non-denominational service was to be held. I ended up having a small speaking role at the end of the service, after the peace candles had been lit by all the representatives from the contingents.
Watermelon had been served just prior to the service, and Scott the chaplain remarked that it was the first time he'd conducted a service where the attendees were eating watermelon in church!
Immediately after the service, our closing campfire started with a multimedia presentation of the week, put together by the media staff. Nicely done. Then the Golden Arrows were presented to each international contingent, and a closing ceremony followed. We weren't done until almost 11 pm, so it was midnight before any of us got to sleep.
Tomorrow morning we pack up and MIC is done for another four years. Will I come back? I'd like to. Time will tell if it will work out. Four years is a long time away.
MIC Day 6 - Friday
MIC Day 6 – Friday, July 27, 2012
An overcast morning greeted us again here at MIC. After a “McMuffin” type of breakfast, I had my toes re-taped. This time my “doc” was an international staffer – he had trouble finding the tape but finally got the job done. He did not tape my toes together, just covered the blisters and hot spots. That was ok by me! Blisters seem about the same tonight, though I’m not taking the tape off as I’m going to wait to shower and there’s no other reason to take it off. My feet are sore but that’s to be expected after six straight days of one or more two mile walks.
Our first group today, Huron, was from East Lansing; Economy, Pennsylvania; Puebla, Mexico; and Egypt. We had received a “heads up” from their commissioner that the Egypt group generally took their time going anywhere and marched to their own tune. So this should be interesting…. We got started without too much delay. As we were beginning to break into groups, the rains started coming down. Tom and I were staying back so that we could set up the advanced course. We set up six caches, including a two stage multi using my magnetic nut and bolt. As the groups came back, we determined that one GPS receiver was missing. Apparently one of the Egyptian leaders had it – and had gone back to camp with it instead of staying with the group. We kept the entire group while someone went back to their camp to retrieve it.
Lunchtime was rainy, so it was under the canopy for the first time this week. We had welcomed our last group – Mohawk. These were scouts from Bath & DeWitt, MI; Gastonia, NC; and Essex, England. Then we did the regular intro and headed out. Mohawk is the camp next door to geocaching, so we made a quick stop at their camp and then headed out. It poured most of the way – trails are getting muddy and full of puddles. Gave up on the poncho hood as it restricted my visibility and also muffled hearing just a bit. Dripping wet from the neck up, but everything else was protected. Back to camp and then we got ready for the advanced course.
We had less than a dozen scouts come during the open program period for the advanced course. We had them find one cache at a time, then the final which was the two stage multi. Pathtags were in the final stage. Went to dinner after the end of open program – hamburgers, mac salad, and pudding.
I convinced Tom & Mike to let me stay back from evening open period so that I could go to the other patch trading session. They didn’t have many come to Geo HQ for advanced course, so it worked out. And it ended up that Patrick volunteered to walk the regular course and pick up the containers, so we won’t have to do that tomorrow morning.
Patch trading tonight was fun. I started out at a table, but then decided to walk around. Commissioner Mary saw me and asked if I would trade some patches for her, trying to get international patches. I agreed to do so but then realized it would be best to go back to a table as then people could choose what they wanted a bit better. I was able to get some more patches that I really liked, including patches from Ireland and a Hungarian contingent patch. Nice!
Then back to the cabin for some rest and relaxation. Most people are out at campsites for campfire programs. I probably could have gone to one but since it was mainly for the contingents, I didn’t worry about it.
Tomorrow brings the international festival from 11-4. So I have a mostly free day – we do have to finish packing up our geocaching supplies and hope that someone can help us bring them back down to the housing area. Can’t get our cars until Sunday morning.
Looking forward to an interesting and less physically demanding day!
An overcast morning greeted us again here at MIC. After a “McMuffin” type of breakfast, I had my toes re-taped. This time my “doc” was an international staffer – he had trouble finding the tape but finally got the job done. He did not tape my toes together, just covered the blisters and hot spots. That was ok by me! Blisters seem about the same tonight, though I’m not taking the tape off as I’m going to wait to shower and there’s no other reason to take it off. My feet are sore but that’s to be expected after six straight days of one or more two mile walks.
Our first group today, Huron, was from East Lansing; Economy, Pennsylvania; Puebla, Mexico; and Egypt. We had received a “heads up” from their commissioner that the Egypt group generally took their time going anywhere and marched to their own tune. So this should be interesting…. We got started without too much delay. As we were beginning to break into groups, the rains started coming down. Tom and I were staying back so that we could set up the advanced course. We set up six caches, including a two stage multi using my magnetic nut and bolt. As the groups came back, we determined that one GPS receiver was missing. Apparently one of the Egyptian leaders had it – and had gone back to camp with it instead of staying with the group. We kept the entire group while someone went back to their camp to retrieve it.
Lunchtime was rainy, so it was under the canopy for the first time this week. We had welcomed our last group – Mohawk. These were scouts from Bath & DeWitt, MI; Gastonia, NC; and Essex, England. Then we did the regular intro and headed out. Mohawk is the camp next door to geocaching, so we made a quick stop at their camp and then headed out. It poured most of the way – trails are getting muddy and full of puddles. Gave up on the poncho hood as it restricted my visibility and also muffled hearing just a bit. Dripping wet from the neck up, but everything else was protected. Back to camp and then we got ready for the advanced course.
We had less than a dozen scouts come during the open program period for the advanced course. We had them find one cache at a time, then the final which was the two stage multi. Pathtags were in the final stage. Went to dinner after the end of open program – hamburgers, mac salad, and pudding.
I convinced Tom & Mike to let me stay back from evening open period so that I could go to the other patch trading session. They didn’t have many come to Geo HQ for advanced course, so it worked out. And it ended up that Patrick volunteered to walk the regular course and pick up the containers, so we won’t have to do that tomorrow morning.
Patch trading tonight was fun. I started out at a table, but then decided to walk around. Commissioner Mary saw me and asked if I would trade some patches for her, trying to get international patches. I agreed to do so but then realized it would be best to go back to a table as then people could choose what they wanted a bit better. I was able to get some more patches that I really liked, including patches from Ireland and a Hungarian contingent patch. Nice!
Then back to the cabin for some rest and relaxation. Most people are out at campsites for campfire programs. I probably could have gone to one but since it was mainly for the contingents, I didn’t worry about it.
Tomorrow brings the international festival from 11-4. So I have a mostly free day – we do have to finish packing up our geocaching supplies and hope that someone can help us bring them back down to the housing area. Can’t get our cars until Sunday morning.
Looking forward to an interesting and less physically demanding day!
MIC Day 5 - Thursday
MIC Day 5 – July 26, 2012
My taped bandages from last evening (on my blisters) needed changing after being dragged through the dirt last night on my way to and from patch trading. So went back to the health officer. It was great – he actually washed my feet, then dried them, then taped them up. The thing that I didn’t like was that he taped all my toes together to try to avoid the friction. Though it drove me nuts all day, I have to admit my blisters are no worse, and I have no new ones. He also had me wear a thin pair of socks under my hiking socks. Not sure if that helped or not but I did it.
Then breakfast, then the walk to Geo HQ. It’s getting routine. Unloaded our stuff, though not as much as it seemed like rain was coming again. The storms last night didn’t do any damage, other than probably some wet tents in the campsites. Though the commissioners were on standby to go alert the campers to move to safer areas.
We welcomed Blackfoot, our neighbors from across the street, to our 9:30 session. It had started to sprinkle by then so held opening under the canopy. Blackfoot consisted of scouts from Garden City, Michigan; Windsor, Ontario; Bonaire; and Ireland. I drew the short straw, actually a blessing for me because of my blisters, and stayed behind. Actually it was a bigger blessing than I had anticipated as it soon started pouring out. When everyone returned, they were all pretty wet.
Our second (and final for the day) group, at lunchtime, was late because they had been delayed by the downpour at shooting sports. Shawnee came from Lansing; Crete, Illinois; and Cumbria, England. Once they finally arrived, ate lunch, and were ready to go, we did the intro, again under the canopy, and then started off. I had a group of 8, including a leader from Crete. They did a great job, and the rain (for the most part) held off while we were hiking. Had some good geocaching and scouting conversations along the way.
After the session ended, we had been invited to “high tea” at Blackfoot, hosted by the Canadians from Windsor. I had met the Canadian leaders in April at the staff weekend, and they continued to be as friendly now as they were then. They even had me trying orange pekoe tea. I didn’t like it, but did take polite sips anyway. Along with biscuits, conversation, and a gift of a tiny Canadian flag pin, we had a good time. After tea we went back across the street to Geo HQ and brainstormed some more challenging caches for our open periods tomorrow afternoon and evening. Soon it was time to return to our cabins and dress in uniform for the international dinner.
We had been asked to sign up with a campsite at breakfast this morning, and I decided to eat with the Korean contingent so that I could try some of the foods that Scott has tried from Korea. Switzerland was the other international contingent in Chippewa, and they both served good food. Some kind of chicken soup with rice from the Koreans – not nearly as spicy as I thought (they may have toned it down for us Americans…) The Swiss made Apfel Kutchen and what I think was Russli – hash browns, bacon, with a fried egg on top. Oh, and a piece of Toblerone with a Swiss flag in it. Everything was good, I can’t wait until Saturday, though, when we can sample food from every country!
Then we walked over to the firebowl to see the Kwahadi Dancers, an Indian dance troup from Texas which is actually made up of a Venture Crew as well as Boy and Girl Scouts. The costumes were beautiful and the narration interesting, but I think I was too tired to really appreciate it, as well as dealing with sore feet. So I left after about 20 minutes, came back to the cabin, and got a shower in before the evening lines formed. Hope to get to bed early though there’s not much point as I doubt I could sleep through everyone else coming in. Two more days then home on Sunday.
My taped bandages from last evening (on my blisters) needed changing after being dragged through the dirt last night on my way to and from patch trading. So went back to the health officer. It was great – he actually washed my feet, then dried them, then taped them up. The thing that I didn’t like was that he taped all my toes together to try to avoid the friction. Though it drove me nuts all day, I have to admit my blisters are no worse, and I have no new ones. He also had me wear a thin pair of socks under my hiking socks. Not sure if that helped or not but I did it.
Then breakfast, then the walk to Geo HQ. It’s getting routine. Unloaded our stuff, though not as much as it seemed like rain was coming again. The storms last night didn’t do any damage, other than probably some wet tents in the campsites. Though the commissioners were on standby to go alert the campers to move to safer areas.
We welcomed Blackfoot, our neighbors from across the street, to our 9:30 session. It had started to sprinkle by then so held opening under the canopy. Blackfoot consisted of scouts from Garden City, Michigan; Windsor, Ontario; Bonaire; and Ireland. I drew the short straw, actually a blessing for me because of my blisters, and stayed behind. Actually it was a bigger blessing than I had anticipated as it soon started pouring out. When everyone returned, they were all pretty wet.
Our second (and final for the day) group, at lunchtime, was late because they had been delayed by the downpour at shooting sports. Shawnee came from Lansing; Crete, Illinois; and Cumbria, England. Once they finally arrived, ate lunch, and were ready to go, we did the intro, again under the canopy, and then started off. I had a group of 8, including a leader from Crete. They did a great job, and the rain (for the most part) held off while we were hiking. Had some good geocaching and scouting conversations along the way.
After the session ended, we had been invited to “high tea” at Blackfoot, hosted by the Canadians from Windsor. I had met the Canadian leaders in April at the staff weekend, and they continued to be as friendly now as they were then. They even had me trying orange pekoe tea. I didn’t like it, but did take polite sips anyway. Along with biscuits, conversation, and a gift of a tiny Canadian flag pin, we had a good time. After tea we went back across the street to Geo HQ and brainstormed some more challenging caches for our open periods tomorrow afternoon and evening. Soon it was time to return to our cabins and dress in uniform for the international dinner.
We had been asked to sign up with a campsite at breakfast this morning, and I decided to eat with the Korean contingent so that I could try some of the foods that Scott has tried from Korea. Switzerland was the other international contingent in Chippewa, and they both served good food. Some kind of chicken soup with rice from the Koreans – not nearly as spicy as I thought (they may have toned it down for us Americans…) The Swiss made Apfel Kutchen and what I think was Russli – hash browns, bacon, with a fried egg on top. Oh, and a piece of Toblerone with a Swiss flag in it. Everything was good, I can’t wait until Saturday, though, when we can sample food from every country!
Then we walked over to the firebowl to see the Kwahadi Dancers, an Indian dance troup from Texas which is actually made up of a Venture Crew as well as Boy and Girl Scouts. The costumes were beautiful and the narration interesting, but I think I was too tired to really appreciate it, as well as dealing with sore feet. So I left after about 20 minutes, came back to the cabin, and got a shower in before the evening lines formed. Hope to get to bed early though there’s not much point as I doubt I could sleep through everyone else coming in. Two more days then home on Sunday.
MIC Day 4 - Wednesday
MIC Day 4 – July 25, 2012
Today started noticeably cooler, and breezy. Felt good after the hot days we’ve been having. Breakfast then down to Geo HQ. Had to reset our canopies since they were turned around from last night. Amazed at just how much trash was left laying around, especially a lot of Canadian paper flags lying in the dust. Two nice water bottles as well.
Started in with our first group, giving the intro talk. We started with Chippewa, which had scouts from Mason and Pinckney in Michigan; Benton, Louisiana; Korea; and Switzerland. Even though I’d stayed back for the last group yesterday, all the groups were taken and I was left behind again. Not a problem but since all the work was done I played a good game of Scrabble on my iPod and showed some leaders that had stayed behind just a bit about geocaching. Good thing some leaders had stayed behind because the wind started picking up, blowing some weather in, and the canopy that was not tied down caught a gust and started rolling. This was one of the big long ones with eight poles – I would not have been able to catch it on my own. Groups came back about 15 minutes later. Rain came about 15 minutes after that, just in time for lunch.
It continued sporadically as we started getting our second group organized. This was a smaller campsite, Ottawa, with scouts from Williamston and East Lansing, MI as well as Orange County, California and the Isle of Man. We ended up under one canopy and I gave my instruction as best as I could with rain noisily coming down on the canopy. Rain slowed a bit and we headed out, in our rain gear. Thankfully the GPSrs are water resistant. I had a group of six this time, very nice scouts that were enthusiastic about caching and gave each other turns in using the GPSrs and finding caches. One in particular that was enthusiastic was Michael, from the Isle of Man, about 12-13 years old. Had cached before at home though it sounds like as much letterboxing as geocaching. Have a great picture of him with the ammo can with the Isle of Man stickers in it, holding the stickers he’d just retrieved. Rain stopped completely about half way through our trip around the course.
Our last group was late in coming. We learned they’d been delayed at Shooting Sports because of the rain. More scouts from East Lansing as well as Okemos; Delafield, Wisconsin; Mexico, and Taiwan. The Taiwanese spoke very little English which made explanations a bit more challenging. I took a larger group out, 10 in all, a mixed group from all the different troops. The SPL was with us, James, who at 15 has just turned in his Eagle paperwork. Flaming red hair halfway down his back, but a great scout nonetheless. Can’t judge a book by its cover. A bit larger group which can be a challenge, but everyone took part in at least one find.
Back to the dining hall for dinner after squaring away Geo HQ – Walking Tacos, sitting down in the dining hall as the water had been tested and approved so the scouts could cook in their campsites. Staff eats in the dining hall regardless, but we’d been outside since everyone had to eat at the dining hall….
Realized that I did have some blisters forming so decided to go soak my feet in the lake for a while. That worked well until I noticed the little fishies swimming in the water below. Still soaked a bit longer, but then decided I’d go see the health officer to square them away. She wasn’t too worried about them until I mentioned I was diabetic, well then I had antibiotic on them, then moleskin, then tape around that. She would rather I stay off my feet for a few days but understands that there are still two days of program left. Hopefully they won’t get too bad. Also noticing just now that I may have finally picked up a bit of poison ivy. Hope not. (and it must not have been, it went away.)
Went over to the patch trading session tonight. Have never participated in an organized patch trading at a major event before – WOW. Instead of a bunch of event patches from my area, and patches I’d found in geocaches, I now have a very nice assortment of patches from many of the countries represented at the jamboree. Also a few neckerchief slides including my favorite, one from the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee (from one of the British scouts, of course.) Sometimes the patch that was offered was one I already had, or didn’t particularly like, but I generally traded anyway and managed to trade them for something better every time. It was lots of fun!
Cut short early because there is developing weather – they sent everyone back to their sites. Right now, thunder and lightning and rain. I called home and talked to Steve and Clare was under tornado warnings. Hope it doesn’t come northeast because that’s where we are in relation to Clare. (the city in Michigan.) There are a lot of kids out there in tents and I’m just not sure where they plan to put them that would be safer.
Looking forward to the international dinner tomorrow night…provided the camp doesn’t blow away tonight!
Today started noticeably cooler, and breezy. Felt good after the hot days we’ve been having. Breakfast then down to Geo HQ. Had to reset our canopies since they were turned around from last night. Amazed at just how much trash was left laying around, especially a lot of Canadian paper flags lying in the dust. Two nice water bottles as well.
Started in with our first group, giving the intro talk. We started with Chippewa, which had scouts from Mason and Pinckney in Michigan; Benton, Louisiana; Korea; and Switzerland. Even though I’d stayed back for the last group yesterday, all the groups were taken and I was left behind again. Not a problem but since all the work was done I played a good game of Scrabble on my iPod and showed some leaders that had stayed behind just a bit about geocaching. Good thing some leaders had stayed behind because the wind started picking up, blowing some weather in, and the canopy that was not tied down caught a gust and started rolling. This was one of the big long ones with eight poles – I would not have been able to catch it on my own. Groups came back about 15 minutes later. Rain came about 15 minutes after that, just in time for lunch.
It continued sporadically as we started getting our second group organized. This was a smaller campsite, Ottawa, with scouts from Williamston and East Lansing, MI as well as Orange County, California and the Isle of Man. We ended up under one canopy and I gave my instruction as best as I could with rain noisily coming down on the canopy. Rain slowed a bit and we headed out, in our rain gear. Thankfully the GPSrs are water resistant. I had a group of six this time, very nice scouts that were enthusiastic about caching and gave each other turns in using the GPSrs and finding caches. One in particular that was enthusiastic was Michael, from the Isle of Man, about 12-13 years old. Had cached before at home though it sounds like as much letterboxing as geocaching. Have a great picture of him with the ammo can with the Isle of Man stickers in it, holding the stickers he’d just retrieved. Rain stopped completely about half way through our trip around the course.
Our last group was late in coming. We learned they’d been delayed at Shooting Sports because of the rain. More scouts from East Lansing as well as Okemos; Delafield, Wisconsin; Mexico, and Taiwan. The Taiwanese spoke very little English which made explanations a bit more challenging. I took a larger group out, 10 in all, a mixed group from all the different troops. The SPL was with us, James, who at 15 has just turned in his Eagle paperwork. Flaming red hair halfway down his back, but a great scout nonetheless. Can’t judge a book by its cover. A bit larger group which can be a challenge, but everyone took part in at least one find.
Back to the dining hall for dinner after squaring away Geo HQ – Walking Tacos, sitting down in the dining hall as the water had been tested and approved so the scouts could cook in their campsites. Staff eats in the dining hall regardless, but we’d been outside since everyone had to eat at the dining hall….
Realized that I did have some blisters forming so decided to go soak my feet in the lake for a while. That worked well until I noticed the little fishies swimming in the water below. Still soaked a bit longer, but then decided I’d go see the health officer to square them away. She wasn’t too worried about them until I mentioned I was diabetic, well then I had antibiotic on them, then moleskin, then tape around that. She would rather I stay off my feet for a few days but understands that there are still two days of program left. Hopefully they won’t get too bad. Also noticing just now that I may have finally picked up a bit of poison ivy. Hope not. (and it must not have been, it went away.)
Went over to the patch trading session tonight. Have never participated in an organized patch trading at a major event before – WOW. Instead of a bunch of event patches from my area, and patches I’d found in geocaches, I now have a very nice assortment of patches from many of the countries represented at the jamboree. Also a few neckerchief slides including my favorite, one from the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee (from one of the British scouts, of course.) Sometimes the patch that was offered was one I already had, or didn’t particularly like, but I generally traded anyway and managed to trade them for something better every time. It was lots of fun!
Cut short early because there is developing weather – they sent everyone back to their sites. Right now, thunder and lightning and rain. I called home and talked to Steve and Clare was under tornado warnings. Hope it doesn’t come northeast because that’s where we are in relation to Clare. (the city in Michigan.) There are a lot of kids out there in tents and I’m just not sure where they plan to put them that would be safer.
Looking forward to the international dinner tomorrow night…provided the camp doesn’t blow away tonight!
MIC Day 3 - Tuesday
MIC – Day 3
Another day in the world of MIC. First really full day as there were three program periods today. Started out with a nice breakfast as usual, then down to Geo HQ. We pulled everything back out, and welcomed our first group at 9:30. Scouts from Eaton Rapids, Charlotte, Somerset Ohio, Curacao, and Korea. After my introduction talk, we divided the group into four patrols and headed out. Tom stayed behind during the first program, and I got my first taste of taking a group around. We worked the course backwards, which turned me around in a few places. But the group soon figured out what they were doing, and enjoyed the experience. We returned to Geo HQ, and dismissed the group at 11:30. At 11:45 our next group, as well as lunch, came. We had roast beef and cheese on hot dog buns, chips & salsa, fruit, cookie, and Gatorade. At 12:30 we were ready to roll with the second group. We welcomed scouts from Haslett, MI; Indianapolis, White Plains NY, the Czech Republic, and the Isle of Man. My group was mostly from NY and the Isle of Man. We went the other direction than my first group, and we had a great time as well. One of the Isle of Man scouts, Shannon, actually found a cache that had been moved – we may never had found it otherwise. Another two scouts, both girls, were allowed to go back to the campsite by their leader because one’s wrist hurt… and the leader admitted after they left that it was probably because she had been texting too much. Life at a scout camp in the 21st century.
By now I was beat. Four miles plus of walking. So when I was given the chance to stay back and mind the store for the third session, I gladly accepted. Our scouts were from Kentwood & Walker; St. Paul, Minnesota, Costa Rica, and Hungary. After the scouts left, I showed several Kentwood/Walker leaders how to geocache, using the cache at our HQ as an example. I knew them as they’d taken COAST back when I was in co-charge. They may be interested in having me merit badge counsel the geocaching MB for them this fall, they’ll be in touch.
Walk back to the dining hall after the third session for a camp wide BBQ chicken dinner. Tasty! Then a bit of relaxing time before changing into uniform for the evening show. Every country (except the U.S.) put on a performance designed to help us better know their country. Felt like I was around the world! Lots of colorful national costumes with dances and songs. I had brought my little portable stool. A mistake as it doesn’t have a back and I wasn’t parked on level ground. I soon gave up and sat on a low stump. As scouts walked (or ran in some cases) to the stage, clouds of dust rose up. Felt like pig-pen by the end of the show. So went to the back of the firebowl during the last performance and quickly got back to the cabins right after it ended, grabbed my shower gear, and headed for the showers. Still had to wait but I was first in line.
Hope my feet hold up tomorrow!
Another day in the world of MIC. First really full day as there were three program periods today. Started out with a nice breakfast as usual, then down to Geo HQ. We pulled everything back out, and welcomed our first group at 9:30. Scouts from Eaton Rapids, Charlotte, Somerset Ohio, Curacao, and Korea. After my introduction talk, we divided the group into four patrols and headed out. Tom stayed behind during the first program, and I got my first taste of taking a group around. We worked the course backwards, which turned me around in a few places. But the group soon figured out what they were doing, and enjoyed the experience. We returned to Geo HQ, and dismissed the group at 11:30. At 11:45 our next group, as well as lunch, came. We had roast beef and cheese on hot dog buns, chips & salsa, fruit, cookie, and Gatorade. At 12:30 we were ready to roll with the second group. We welcomed scouts from Haslett, MI; Indianapolis, White Plains NY, the Czech Republic, and the Isle of Man. My group was mostly from NY and the Isle of Man. We went the other direction than my first group, and we had a great time as well. One of the Isle of Man scouts, Shannon, actually found a cache that had been moved – we may never had found it otherwise. Another two scouts, both girls, were allowed to go back to the campsite by their leader because one’s wrist hurt… and the leader admitted after they left that it was probably because she had been texting too much. Life at a scout camp in the 21st century.
By now I was beat. Four miles plus of walking. So when I was given the chance to stay back and mind the store for the third session, I gladly accepted. Our scouts were from Kentwood & Walker; St. Paul, Minnesota, Costa Rica, and Hungary. After the scouts left, I showed several Kentwood/Walker leaders how to geocache, using the cache at our HQ as an example. I knew them as they’d taken COAST back when I was in co-charge. They may be interested in having me merit badge counsel the geocaching MB for them this fall, they’ll be in touch.
Walk back to the dining hall after the third session for a camp wide BBQ chicken dinner. Tasty! Then a bit of relaxing time before changing into uniform for the evening show. Every country (except the U.S.) put on a performance designed to help us better know their country. Felt like I was around the world! Lots of colorful national costumes with dances and songs. I had brought my little portable stool. A mistake as it doesn’t have a back and I wasn’t parked on level ground. I soon gave up and sat on a low stump. As scouts walked (or ran in some cases) to the stage, clouds of dust rose up. Felt like pig-pen by the end of the show. So went to the back of the firebowl during the last performance and quickly got back to the cabins right after it ended, grabbed my shower gear, and headed for the showers. Still had to wait but I was first in line.
Hope my feet hold up tomorrow!
MIC Day 2 - Monday
MIC Day 2
Discovered the disadvantage of having a member of the kitchen staff in your cabin – their alarm goes off at 5:30 a.m.! Thankfully I was able to get back to sleep, and woke up, went to breakfast. Eggs, cereal, and fairly unripe bananas.
After breakfast we headed down to the geo-HQ to finish getting ready for our first program group. It was great to walk in and see a canopy – it was pretty hot working in the sun yesterday. We were also happy to welcome a new member to the team – Patrick from Louisiana, who was on the media team but was asked to move to our area since one of our staffers didn’t show up. He at least had been geocaching a couple of times. Patrick, Tom, and Mike cut more flag labels while I worked on CITO containers. Attila and Alex took two of the GPS receivers out on our course, and finished in an hour. Pretty good for no prior geo-experience!
We were joined for a while by Scott, the MIC chaplain. He is a pretty neat guy, served as chaplain at the national jamboree and has served other camps in that capacity as well. Very down to earth and friendly, really makes an effort to get to know other people. While Scott was with us, there was a camp wide disaster drill – sirens, then we were to stay in place and security came around to see if we were all accounted for. Yep.
We finished set up by pulling out geocaching items to show the scouts, and displaying items such as my scouting geocoin collection. Also hid a few of the tricky containers – my log from Obvious? , my electrical outlet cache, and Michael’s rock with a container inside.
At 11:30ish, lunch was delivered. Lunch plan for the week is that our lunch is delivered to our program site along with the lunches for the 12:30 program group. Today that was our first group. Tortillas, turkey meat, cheese, carrot & celery sticks, fruit, cookies, chips, and Gatorade. We are to eat first, so that we can finish getting our area ready for that group. We had plenty of water but were asked to save our Gatorade bottles to refill with water if we hadn’t brought our own water bottles as styro cups were already running low.
Our first group showed up for lunch – we had scouts from Michigan, Georgia, Austria, and Honduras. At 12:30, I started out with a welcome, then about 10 minutes worth of an intro to geocaching, adapted for MIC. We then gave a GPSr to every two people, divided them into their patrols, gave them some instruction in how to use the GPSr, and they were off, with their geo staff guide. I had to stay back for this first round as somebody needed to “mind the store” so to speak. While everyone was gone I worked on CITO containers some more, I actually used up all the bags that I’d brought so we’ll see if we run out of containers. We have a quantity of MiGO CITO containers that we could replace the labels with MIC labels or just hand out as is. We’ll see. Not so many took them as I thought would.
When each group came back to geo HQ, they still had one more cache to find, then were able to get the American flag sticker to complete their set. During the remainder of their time, they could look at the displays and ask questions. Three out of four groups came back with very little time to do so, though. Several of the scouts from Honduras had brought trade items, not sure if because of geocaching or they just liked to trade. So since I had brought some patches with me, I traded with many of them. I now have several scenic Honduras keychains and magnets. When I returned, my two Honduran cabin mates were “home” and they were able to tell me more about what I had traded for. The scenes painted on several magnets were representative of a typical Honduran village. Another keychain was a mini sandal with inscription on the back which (in English) said “remembrance from Daniel.”
Second group came. On their heels came one of the camp commissioners to let everyone know that the well pump which serves most of the camp was broken so water was unusable. So dinner would be together at the dining hall instead of in their campsites. Ok fine. I started my geo-introduction and was interrupted by the SPL, who announced he’d just been told that the camp had declared a heat emergency and that programs were shutting down for the afternoon. So that was that, so we thought.
After securing our area, we started walking toward the internet café area. Tom and I were able to access email, although very slow it was nice to be able to check. Went to the air conditioned trading post afterward where we ran into Bruce, the head of the camporee. Very nice older guy, BTW. Working very hard to pull together something he really believes in, for the fifth time. He assured us during our conversation that program had not been shut down…not sure where the miscommunication was between the SPL and someone, but clearly he’d been misinformed.
Went back to the dining hall to get ready for our 5 pm dinner (staff was to be first, then the participants staggered for the next hour.) Tom and I were recruited to be servers, so we went into the dining hall and I got to serve vanilla pudding, paired with Scott the chaplain who served the chocolate pudding. We had fun doing a tedious job.
After dinner was open program time. We’d previously made the decision to not open geocaching tonight as we weren’t ready for anything else besides what they will be doing during program time, and to do that twice, or before their session, wouldn’t be any fun. So we had free time! Since it was so hot and I was so sticky, opted to head for the waterfront. Since I didn’t have an opportunity to take a BSA swim test, I was relegated to the beginner area. Got to be swim buddies with a young scouter from Austria, and we got to share the beginner area with a bunch of twelve year oldish scouts that were intent on recreating a mud war. That got old fast for me, so got out and headed back to the cabin. Still pretty warm in there so I headed for the dock by the dining hall and got to have some nice conversations with several people as we watched the sun set.
Looking forward to another fun day tomorrow, though hope it’s not quite so hot!
Discovered the disadvantage of having a member of the kitchen staff in your cabin – their alarm goes off at 5:30 a.m.! Thankfully I was able to get back to sleep, and woke up, went to breakfast. Eggs, cereal, and fairly unripe bananas.
After breakfast we headed down to the geo-HQ to finish getting ready for our first program group. It was great to walk in and see a canopy – it was pretty hot working in the sun yesterday. We were also happy to welcome a new member to the team – Patrick from Louisiana, who was on the media team but was asked to move to our area since one of our staffers didn’t show up. He at least had been geocaching a couple of times. Patrick, Tom, and Mike cut more flag labels while I worked on CITO containers. Attila and Alex took two of the GPS receivers out on our course, and finished in an hour. Pretty good for no prior geo-experience!
We were joined for a while by Scott, the MIC chaplain. He is a pretty neat guy, served as chaplain at the national jamboree and has served other camps in that capacity as well. Very down to earth and friendly, really makes an effort to get to know other people. While Scott was with us, there was a camp wide disaster drill – sirens, then we were to stay in place and security came around to see if we were all accounted for. Yep.
We finished set up by pulling out geocaching items to show the scouts, and displaying items such as my scouting geocoin collection. Also hid a few of the tricky containers – my log from Obvious? , my electrical outlet cache, and Michael’s rock with a container inside.
At 11:30ish, lunch was delivered. Lunch plan for the week is that our lunch is delivered to our program site along with the lunches for the 12:30 program group. Today that was our first group. Tortillas, turkey meat, cheese, carrot & celery sticks, fruit, cookies, chips, and Gatorade. We are to eat first, so that we can finish getting our area ready for that group. We had plenty of water but were asked to save our Gatorade bottles to refill with water if we hadn’t brought our own water bottles as styro cups were already running low.
Our first group showed up for lunch – we had scouts from Michigan, Georgia, Austria, and Honduras. At 12:30, I started out with a welcome, then about 10 minutes worth of an intro to geocaching, adapted for MIC. We then gave a GPSr to every two people, divided them into their patrols, gave them some instruction in how to use the GPSr, and they were off, with their geo staff guide. I had to stay back for this first round as somebody needed to “mind the store” so to speak. While everyone was gone I worked on CITO containers some more, I actually used up all the bags that I’d brought so we’ll see if we run out of containers. We have a quantity of MiGO CITO containers that we could replace the labels with MIC labels or just hand out as is. We’ll see. Not so many took them as I thought would.
When each group came back to geo HQ, they still had one more cache to find, then were able to get the American flag sticker to complete their set. During the remainder of their time, they could look at the displays and ask questions. Three out of four groups came back with very little time to do so, though. Several of the scouts from Honduras had brought trade items, not sure if because of geocaching or they just liked to trade. So since I had brought some patches with me, I traded with many of them. I now have several scenic Honduras keychains and magnets. When I returned, my two Honduran cabin mates were “home” and they were able to tell me more about what I had traded for. The scenes painted on several magnets were representative of a typical Honduran village. Another keychain was a mini sandal with inscription on the back which (in English) said “remembrance from Daniel.”
Second group came. On their heels came one of the camp commissioners to let everyone know that the well pump which serves most of the camp was broken so water was unusable. So dinner would be together at the dining hall instead of in their campsites. Ok fine. I started my geo-introduction and was interrupted by the SPL, who announced he’d just been told that the camp had declared a heat emergency and that programs were shutting down for the afternoon. So that was that, so we thought.
After securing our area, we started walking toward the internet café area. Tom and I were able to access email, although very slow it was nice to be able to check. Went to the air conditioned trading post afterward where we ran into Bruce, the head of the camporee. Very nice older guy, BTW. Working very hard to pull together something he really believes in, for the fifth time. He assured us during our conversation that program had not been shut down…not sure where the miscommunication was between the SPL and someone, but clearly he’d been misinformed.
Went back to the dining hall to get ready for our 5 pm dinner (staff was to be first, then the participants staggered for the next hour.) Tom and I were recruited to be servers, so we went into the dining hall and I got to serve vanilla pudding, paired with Scott the chaplain who served the chocolate pudding. We had fun doing a tedious job.
After dinner was open program time. We’d previously made the decision to not open geocaching tonight as we weren’t ready for anything else besides what they will be doing during program time, and to do that twice, or before their session, wouldn’t be any fun. So we had free time! Since it was so hot and I was so sticky, opted to head for the waterfront. Since I didn’t have an opportunity to take a BSA swim test, I was relegated to the beginner area. Got to be swim buddies with a young scouter from Austria, and we got to share the beginner area with a bunch of twelve year oldish scouts that were intent on recreating a mud war. That got old fast for me, so got out and headed back to the cabin. Still pretty warm in there so I headed for the dock by the dining hall and got to have some nice conversations with several people as we watched the sun set.
Looking forward to another fun day tomorrow, though hope it’s not quite so hot!
Michigan International Camporee - Precamp and Day 1
MIC precamp and Day 1 (July 21/22)
Arrived at camp just before noon as that is when we were told check in was to start. Well, no. Finally got my cabin assignment and then we started working on geocaching materials. Finally was allowed to “check in” at about 4:30 p.m. The chief ranger is a particularly testy guy, and things don’t seem to run on schedule, at least during preparation time.
We spent the afternoon cutting apart flag stickers for the geocaches, and finally met Attila from Hungary (yep, Attila the Hun…) who is on our geocaching staff. Reminds me of Eric – tall, athletic looking, young (he is only 18) but unfortunately he is not a geocacher. We gave him a crash course today but it’ll take a bit more experience before he can take a group out on the course.
Dinner was spaghetti , salad, and garlic bread – and a short meeting afterwards. Just before dinner, we met Tom, who is from Roseville and thankfully an experienced cacher.
After dinner, we finally were able to get our geocaching supplies secure, and did some more cutting of stickers. A shower felt good and I was settled in for the night by dark.
I am in a cabin that holds 13 people. Since I was first in, I picked my favorite type of location, a corner bottom bunk. Electric outlet right next to the bed so I can keep my iPod plugged in and charging when I’m in bed. So far we have Bonnie, a unit commissioner from Michigan, Mary (not me) another unit commissioner from Michigan, Karla, media staff from Honduras, Sulma, also from Honduras and on the Media staff, and Denise, from Curacao, on the kitchen staff. Karla speaks very little English, but thankfully everyone else but me does speak some Spanish. I know very little, just a few words.
Sunday – Day 1
Woke up and had a good breakfast – egg casserole and bagel. Then had to join a caravan of cars – we had to move our cars to a campground several miles away so there would be room for participants to check in later in the day. That took a bit longer than I thought but eventually we were back in camp and headed for the geocaching headquarters. We chose a variety of containers and soon headed out to hike the route we’d laid out in April. We were joined by Paul, who was to be on our staff but has been called away to other scouting duties, though he was able to help us today.
Our route includes 12 geocaches and is about 2 miles long. As staff, we’ll be hiking it three times per day, though only twice tomorrow. We have a variety of containers and hides, though we’ve kept it simple as we assume we’ll have many beginners. We hid all but the last cache, at our headquarters, and then headed for lunch. Tacos hit the spot.
By now, many contingents had arrived and the sound of many languages was heard around camp. We headed back to the geo-HQ after lunch and that’s where Alex, our staffer from Austria, finally caught up with us. Nice guy, from Vienna, 24 years old and in law school. Also not a geocacher. We’ll get by.
Hid that final cache (Alex found the spot, great for a newbie!) and then Tom, Alex, and Attila spent some more time cutting flag labels. I put CITO containers together , and Michael entered information into GSAK so that we could load them into the GPSrs. Heard some rumbles of thunder so decided to move our operations to the chapel down the road where we would be under shelter. Got the GPSrs loaded then went back to our cabins to get ready for supper.
Supper was pizza, salad, and a brownie, served in four lines as the entire camp was eating together. All in their country’s scout uniform as we were going to the opening ceremonies after dinner. Really neat to see the many different uniforms and nationalities as we ate dinner and visited afterwards. Had really neat conversations with a man from Australia that works with international scouting , a woman from England that is really glad to be here rather than anywhere near the Olympics, and a scouter from Korea – we talked about Kunsan just a bit then he gave me his calling card which has a picture of his family in traditional Korean costume on one side and his contact info on the other. Many other conversations, too – and lots of pictures.
On to the opening ceremony. Flagpoles for every country – and the American scouts lined up by campsite, the international scouts paraded in one country at a time, we heard about the history of scouting in that country, then they brought their flag to the Americans in their campsite, and the Americans and the international scouts raised the flags together when all had been presented. Pictures afterwards, including a hovercraft equipped with a camera to get crowd shots.
After the ceremony was done, I headed back to my cabin and quickly gathered my things to get a shower in and avoid the crowds. Good plan. I’m sitting here relatively cool (Bonnie brought a box fan, and I brought my little personal fan) and comfortable. Got to know a new cabin mate, Chris from Louisiana. Traded patches with Karla from Honduras. Hope to get an early start on sleep tonight but not holding my breath as there are only three in our cabin right now.
Tomorrow’s schedule includes breakfast, a possible walk around the course to check the Magellans that the participants will be using, then lunch and our first group at 12:30 p.m. Looking forward to it though not to the heat!
Arrived at camp just before noon as that is when we were told check in was to start. Well, no. Finally got my cabin assignment and then we started working on geocaching materials. Finally was allowed to “check in” at about 4:30 p.m. The chief ranger is a particularly testy guy, and things don’t seem to run on schedule, at least during preparation time.
We spent the afternoon cutting apart flag stickers for the geocaches, and finally met Attila from Hungary (yep, Attila the Hun…) who is on our geocaching staff. Reminds me of Eric – tall, athletic looking, young (he is only 18) but unfortunately he is not a geocacher. We gave him a crash course today but it’ll take a bit more experience before he can take a group out on the course.
Dinner was spaghetti , salad, and garlic bread – and a short meeting afterwards. Just before dinner, we met Tom, who is from Roseville and thankfully an experienced cacher.
After dinner, we finally were able to get our geocaching supplies secure, and did some more cutting of stickers. A shower felt good and I was settled in for the night by dark.
I am in a cabin that holds 13 people. Since I was first in, I picked my favorite type of location, a corner bottom bunk. Electric outlet right next to the bed so I can keep my iPod plugged in and charging when I’m in bed. So far we have Bonnie, a unit commissioner from Michigan, Mary (not me) another unit commissioner from Michigan, Karla, media staff from Honduras, Sulma, also from Honduras and on the Media staff, and Denise, from Curacao, on the kitchen staff. Karla speaks very little English, but thankfully everyone else but me does speak some Spanish. I know very little, just a few words.
Sunday – Day 1
Woke up and had a good breakfast – egg casserole and bagel. Then had to join a caravan of cars – we had to move our cars to a campground several miles away so there would be room for participants to check in later in the day. That took a bit longer than I thought but eventually we were back in camp and headed for the geocaching headquarters. We chose a variety of containers and soon headed out to hike the route we’d laid out in April. We were joined by Paul, who was to be on our staff but has been called away to other scouting duties, though he was able to help us today.
Our route includes 12 geocaches and is about 2 miles long. As staff, we’ll be hiking it three times per day, though only twice tomorrow. We have a variety of containers and hides, though we’ve kept it simple as we assume we’ll have many beginners. We hid all but the last cache, at our headquarters, and then headed for lunch. Tacos hit the spot.
By now, many contingents had arrived and the sound of many languages was heard around camp. We headed back to the geo-HQ after lunch and that’s where Alex, our staffer from Austria, finally caught up with us. Nice guy, from Vienna, 24 years old and in law school. Also not a geocacher. We’ll get by.
Hid that final cache (Alex found the spot, great for a newbie!) and then Tom, Alex, and Attila spent some more time cutting flag labels. I put CITO containers together , and Michael entered information into GSAK so that we could load them into the GPSrs. Heard some rumbles of thunder so decided to move our operations to the chapel down the road where we would be under shelter. Got the GPSrs loaded then went back to our cabins to get ready for supper.
Supper was pizza, salad, and a brownie, served in four lines as the entire camp was eating together. All in their country’s scout uniform as we were going to the opening ceremonies after dinner. Really neat to see the many different uniforms and nationalities as we ate dinner and visited afterwards. Had really neat conversations with a man from Australia that works with international scouting , a woman from England that is really glad to be here rather than anywhere near the Olympics, and a scouter from Korea – we talked about Kunsan just a bit then he gave me his calling card which has a picture of his family in traditional Korean costume on one side and his contact info on the other. Many other conversations, too – and lots of pictures.
On to the opening ceremony. Flagpoles for every country – and the American scouts lined up by campsite, the international scouts paraded in one country at a time, we heard about the history of scouting in that country, then they brought their flag to the Americans in their campsite, and the Americans and the international scouts raised the flags together when all had been presented. Pictures afterwards, including a hovercraft equipped with a camera to get crowd shots.
After the ceremony was done, I headed back to my cabin and quickly gathered my things to get a shower in and avoid the crowds. Good plan. I’m sitting here relatively cool (Bonnie brought a box fan, and I brought my little personal fan) and comfortable. Got to know a new cabin mate, Chris from Louisiana. Traded patches with Karla from Honduras. Hope to get an early start on sleep tonight but not holding my breath as there are only three in our cabin right now.
Tomorrow’s schedule includes breakfast, a possible walk around the course to check the Magellans that the participants will be using, then lunch and our first group at 12:30 p.m. Looking forward to it though not to the heat!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
the trials and tribulations of working....
Our work week started out Monday morning with my little guy's mom telling me (even before she told our bosses) that she was giving her notice. So I'm losing my last staff child. Got to stew about possibly losing my job the rest of Monday and into Tuesday.
Tuesday, met with my supervisors and bottom line is that they are going to find me additional duties to keep me full time. A blessing as I sure didn't want to lose my insurance.
Today was our staff meeting, where the rest of the staff were to be informed of the changes.
An hour before staff meeting, I got an email from Steve. His last day at Magna will be Friday. Not enough work right now.
Staff meeting was emotional, but went well. I got a really good feeling of support as I move into a new role at Gilda's. That won't be until August 12. I won't know exactly what my added duties will be like until after I return from vacation next week. (next week is the scout international camporee.)
As for Steve, we'll see. First decision is COBRA vs. putting him on my insurance. It'll be $425 a month for my insurance to cover him, not sure about the current COBRA figures yet. He has already updated his resume, and I've already forwarded it to someone on Gilda's staff who knows someone at a company that may be hiring in Steve's field right now. Unemployment will kick back in in the meantime.
And there is always the option of going ahead and retiring. Our financial advisor said before that we could swing it if we wanted to.
Ah, the trials and tribulations of working!
Tuesday, met with my supervisors and bottom line is that they are going to find me additional duties to keep me full time. A blessing as I sure didn't want to lose my insurance.
Today was our staff meeting, where the rest of the staff were to be informed of the changes.
An hour before staff meeting, I got an email from Steve. His last day at Magna will be Friday. Not enough work right now.
Staff meeting was emotional, but went well. I got a really good feeling of support as I move into a new role at Gilda's. That won't be until August 12. I won't know exactly what my added duties will be like until after I return from vacation next week. (next week is the scout international camporee.)
As for Steve, we'll see. First decision is COBRA vs. putting him on my insurance. It'll be $425 a month for my insurance to cover him, not sure about the current COBRA figures yet. He has already updated his resume, and I've already forwarded it to someone on Gilda's staff who knows someone at a company that may be hiring in Steve's field right now. Unemployment will kick back in in the meantime.
And there is always the option of going ahead and retiring. Our financial advisor said before that we could swing it if we wanted to.
Ah, the trials and tribulations of working!
Monday, July 9, 2012
Motorcycle ride hotter than h-e-double toothpicks...
We left Friday morning on our motorcycle trip with three other couples and one other guy from our Gold Wing Road Riders chapter. Meeting everyone else at a centrally located truck stop, we all had breakfast first. Then got on the road about 9:45 a.m. It was already in the 90s when we left, and temperatures soon rose above 100 degrees. Now you would think that the breeze would feel good. But being safe motorcyclists, we were in full riding gear - jeans, riding jackets, and helmets. We also had cooling gear - a vest for Steve and a neckband for me, the kind you soak in water then the evaporative cooling is supposed to help. It did, somewhat, but it was still brutally hot.
Our destination was Fort Wayne, Indiana. A familiar city to us as we used to live less than an hour southwest of the Fort. We headed south and into Indiana. Finally stopped for a break. Wouldn't you know it, the gas station we stopped at did NOT have working air conditioning! We stayed in the shade, tanked up on water, and many of us even soaked our shirts to help stay cool. By the time we hit Auburn, where our hotel reservations were, we were about done in.
Thankfully, the LaQuinta Inn where we were staying let us check in early. We cooled off a bit, then rode another 20 minutes to get to Fort Wayne.
I must say that this really wasn't a whole lot more than a nice trip with friends and an expensive shopping venue. We were only there for the last day and a half of the convention, and all we did was go through the vender show. It was still fun but not worth the price we paid. We ended up buying some oil filters, patches, and souvenir shirts. Got a few giveaways including a teddy bear from Progressive motorcycle insurance.
When we returned to Auburn on Friday evening, we decided to go to Applebee's, within walking distance of the hotel. Also within walking distance of WalMart, and also within walking distance of (you guessed it) a geocache. So after a nice Applebee's dinner, we all walked back to the hotel and I soon afterwards walked back that way to get the cache. Ended up walking all the way around the WalMart building but did make the find. Returned to the hotel to find the lobby empty and then Steve not in the room. So put my swimsuit on and got ready to go down to the pool. Then Steve returned and told me some were in (the solo guy's) room. Since I already had my suit on, went swimming instead. Refreshing but there were way too many young ones whipping soaker balls around the pool area to make it relaxing.
Returned to the room about the same time Steve did, we relaxed a bit then called it a night.
Saturday - we woke up, had the hotel breakfast, then everyone got on the bikes and we headed back to Fort Wayne. Still brutally hot again. Did more shopping, and this is when I won the bear. I'd tried about a dozen times on Friday without any luck. Came back today, sat down, and nobody else sat down in 7 other spots. They finally let me play on my own. I won, of course, and they asked me what prize I wanted. The bear, of course. And they gave me one. They ran out of bears not too long after so got lots of longing looks from co-riders as I carried it around.
Headed back with our group in the early afternoon. We took some time to cool off then went to lunch at Mad Anthony's Brewery in downtown Auburn. One of those places with all sorts of cool old stuff on the walls, and good food too. Only one of our group had a beer since we were still riding.
After lunch we headed for the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum. On our own, Steve and I probably wouldn't have gone as we've been there before. But went with the group, and nice to revisit it. The a/c, if it was there, wasn't working well so that was the only drawback. And -yep- there was a cache. One of the co-riders walked behind the building with me to see what caching was all about. Too bad it was only a film canister cache.
Back to the hotel for another cool-off. Steve and I both went swimming, this time we were the only ones there so nice to have the pool to ourselves. After that, Steve watched a movie while I went out, yep in the 100 degree weather, and walked to two more caches. Grand total of four for the trip. Met everyone downstairs for supper about a half hour after I returned. We all walked, again, to the Steak & Shake next to Applebees and had another nice dinner, other than the fact that they didn't seat us all together when all they would have had to do was clear one other table. Oh well.
Sunday morning, it was noticeably cooler, thankfully so. But the wild card was an approaching storm front. Had we gone the same route home that we'd come down on, we would have headed right into the storm. So we headed north then west, and escaped it. Blue skies not long after we crossed the Michigan border. An uneventful ride home from that point, still quite warm but not nearly so bad as the previous two days.
Today was back-to-work. Reality bites when you've been off work for 10 days....
Our destination was Fort Wayne, Indiana. A familiar city to us as we used to live less than an hour southwest of the Fort. We headed south and into Indiana. Finally stopped for a break. Wouldn't you know it, the gas station we stopped at did NOT have working air conditioning! We stayed in the shade, tanked up on water, and many of us even soaked our shirts to help stay cool. By the time we hit Auburn, where our hotel reservations were, we were about done in.
Thankfully, the LaQuinta Inn where we were staying let us check in early. We cooled off a bit, then rode another 20 minutes to get to Fort Wayne.
I must say that this really wasn't a whole lot more than a nice trip with friends and an expensive shopping venue. We were only there for the last day and a half of the convention, and all we did was go through the vender show. It was still fun but not worth the price we paid. We ended up buying some oil filters, patches, and souvenir shirts. Got a few giveaways including a teddy bear from Progressive motorcycle insurance.
When we returned to Auburn on Friday evening, we decided to go to Applebee's, within walking distance of the hotel. Also within walking distance of WalMart, and also within walking distance of (you guessed it) a geocache. So after a nice Applebee's dinner, we all walked back to the hotel and I soon afterwards walked back that way to get the cache. Ended up walking all the way around the WalMart building but did make the find. Returned to the hotel to find the lobby empty and then Steve not in the room. So put my swimsuit on and got ready to go down to the pool. Then Steve returned and told me some were in (the solo guy's) room. Since I already had my suit on, went swimming instead. Refreshing but there were way too many young ones whipping soaker balls around the pool area to make it relaxing.
Returned to the room about the same time Steve did, we relaxed a bit then called it a night.
Saturday - we woke up, had the hotel breakfast, then everyone got on the bikes and we headed back to Fort Wayne. Still brutally hot again. Did more shopping, and this is when I won the bear. I'd tried about a dozen times on Friday without any luck. Came back today, sat down, and nobody else sat down in 7 other spots. They finally let me play on my own. I won, of course, and they asked me what prize I wanted. The bear, of course. And they gave me one. They ran out of bears not too long after so got lots of longing looks from co-riders as I carried it around.
Headed back with our group in the early afternoon. We took some time to cool off then went to lunch at Mad Anthony's Brewery in downtown Auburn. One of those places with all sorts of cool old stuff on the walls, and good food too. Only one of our group had a beer since we were still riding.
After lunch we headed for the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum. On our own, Steve and I probably wouldn't have gone as we've been there before. But went with the group, and nice to revisit it. The a/c, if it was there, wasn't working well so that was the only drawback. And -yep- there was a cache. One of the co-riders walked behind the building with me to see what caching was all about. Too bad it was only a film canister cache.
Back to the hotel for another cool-off. Steve and I both went swimming, this time we were the only ones there so nice to have the pool to ourselves. After that, Steve watched a movie while I went out, yep in the 100 degree weather, and walked to two more caches. Grand total of four for the trip. Met everyone downstairs for supper about a half hour after I returned. We all walked, again, to the Steak & Shake next to Applebees and had another nice dinner, other than the fact that they didn't seat us all together when all they would have had to do was clear one other table. Oh well.
Sunday morning, it was noticeably cooler, thankfully so. But the wild card was an approaching storm front. Had we gone the same route home that we'd come down on, we would have headed right into the storm. So we headed north then west, and escaped it. Blue skies not long after we crossed the Michigan border. An uneventful ride home from that point, still quite warm but not nearly so bad as the previous two days.
Today was back-to-work. Reality bites when you've been off work for 10 days....
Friday, July 6, 2012
The vacation from the vacation day
Today was our vacation from the vacation. By which I mean we were still on vacation, but back from our trip. And tomorrow morning we leave again, this time on the motorcycle for Wing Ding in Fort Wayne, Indiana. So today we were on vacation from our vacation.
Slept in. Ok, at least Steve did. Max woke me up at 7 with some barking, I had forgotten to cover his box last night.
Had breakfast, did some unpacking, finished the laundry. Steve got up. Already 95 degrees at 11 a.m. Did I mention it's hot around here?
Steve went outside to water trees to try to revive them. The grass is pretty much a lost cause, it's brown and crunchy like most of the grass in the area. After he came in and took a shower to cool off, we were off on some errands.
First stop, Trinity United Methodist Church in Grand Rapids where I'd had my picture taken for our church directory. Our church's appointments were when we were in Kentucky, so this was the "make-up" location. Still, seems like they could have either sent my picture in the mail or sent it to my church. Oh well.
Then a stop at Macatawa Bank to confirm that Dad's Social Security check had been deposited so that Steve could drop off the payment for Heather Hills. Then we stopped at the HH office and made the payment. Then stopped by to see Dad. He seemed a bit more out of it than the last time we'd visited. We had a nice visit though we had to keep explaining things like where Scott and Eric were. So hard to see his memory going ever more each time we're there.
Next stop after the nursing home was a stop to get a sympathy card for the Houlton's in Iowa. Dad's cousin Helen died on Monday. After that, last stop - to the tailor shop to pick up my leather vest. Had not wanted to go through the hassle of sewing large patches on it (for the Goldwing club) so paid to have it done. Well worth $21! Will have to post pictures of this "motorcycle mama" from this coming weekend.
This evening just brought supper and packing for our next trip. Wing Ding is the annual "convention" of the Gold Wing Road Riders Association, to which we belong. The event travels to different areas of the country, and this year it is in Fort Wayne, Indiana, only 3 hours south of us. So there are six bikes going from our local riding club. Steve and I gave serious consideration to driving down in the car instead of the bike. It will be fiercely hot tomorrow, more so the farther south we travel. But we are leaving early and wearing our cooling vests, bringing plenty of fluids. We will be back on Sunday afternoon, and Eric is coming home for the weekend and watching Max.
Probably won't blog about the weekend until we're home as I'm not taking the computer, just my iPod, and it's pretty tough to blog on the iPod. But hopefully I'm getting back into the habit of blogging and will keep this up.
Slept in. Ok, at least Steve did. Max woke me up at 7 with some barking, I had forgotten to cover his box last night.
Had breakfast, did some unpacking, finished the laundry. Steve got up. Already 95 degrees at 11 a.m. Did I mention it's hot around here?
Steve went outside to water trees to try to revive them. The grass is pretty much a lost cause, it's brown and crunchy like most of the grass in the area. After he came in and took a shower to cool off, we were off on some errands.
First stop, Trinity United Methodist Church in Grand Rapids where I'd had my picture taken for our church directory. Our church's appointments were when we were in Kentucky, so this was the "make-up" location. Still, seems like they could have either sent my picture in the mail or sent it to my church. Oh well.
Then a stop at Macatawa Bank to confirm that Dad's Social Security check had been deposited so that Steve could drop off the payment for Heather Hills. Then we stopped at the HH office and made the payment. Then stopped by to see Dad. He seemed a bit more out of it than the last time we'd visited. We had a nice visit though we had to keep explaining things like where Scott and Eric were. So hard to see his memory going ever more each time we're there.
Next stop after the nursing home was a stop to get a sympathy card for the Houlton's in Iowa. Dad's cousin Helen died on Monday. After that, last stop - to the tailor shop to pick up my leather vest. Had not wanted to go through the hassle of sewing large patches on it (for the Goldwing club) so paid to have it done. Well worth $21! Will have to post pictures of this "motorcycle mama" from this coming weekend.
This evening just brought supper and packing for our next trip. Wing Ding is the annual "convention" of the Gold Wing Road Riders Association, to which we belong. The event travels to different areas of the country, and this year it is in Fort Wayne, Indiana, only 3 hours south of us. So there are six bikes going from our local riding club. Steve and I gave serious consideration to driving down in the car instead of the bike. It will be fiercely hot tomorrow, more so the farther south we travel. But we are leaving early and wearing our cooling vests, bringing plenty of fluids. We will be back on Sunday afternoon, and Eric is coming home for the weekend and watching Max.
Probably won't blog about the weekend until we're home as I'm not taking the computer, just my iPod, and it's pretty tough to blog on the iPod. But hopefully I'm getting back into the habit of blogging and will keep this up.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Great Lakes Circle Tour, last day....
Woke up this morning in Port Colborne, did the usual pack and go. I had bought milk at the WalMart the day before so we did eat breakfast before we left. Went back into town so Steve could take pictures of the lock we'd seen the night before. Then headed west again along the northern shore of Lake Erie. Lots of small town roads with small town speeds. I found it interesting but Steve was getting impatient.
One thing that made it interesting for Steve was the amount of wind turbines that we saw on the lakeshore. Two caches that I'd marked earlier at wind turbine sites made for good starts - Steve for wind turbine pictures, me for wind turbine caches.
One wrong turn brought us to Port Bruce Provincial Park. We stopped and took a short walk on the beach and took some pictures. The next road after that that I led Steve to turned out to be a gravel road. Not good. At that point I decided to cut my losses, so to speak, and made a deal with Steve. We ended up going back to the 401 for the remainder of the trip to Windsor in return for being able to stop at the two westbound rest areas on I-96 in Michigan on the way home, that I hadn't yet found caches in. We weren't right at the lakeshore for the last part of the trip, but we did make it all the way around.
Stopped in Windsor at the duty free shop just before the Ambassador Bridge. Meant to exchange my remaining Canadian money for American dollars but ended up exchanging them for goods instead...couldn't let a trip to Canada pass without some maple candy! Had just enough leftover to pay the toll for the bridge.
We really noticed the heat wave once we were back in Michigan. Earlier along the lakeshore, it was in the low 80s. It was 102 degrees once we were on I-96 in Detroit. We also noticed a lot less traffic than usual. Coming through the area in the middle of the afternoon on a holiday is a pretty good idea...
Made the first rest area stop in Howell. Steve walked Max while I got the cache. Really feeling the heat just being outside for 10 minutes!
The second stop was in Okemos. Ended up with two caches as they were just a tenth of a mile apart in the same rest area. The second was a joker cache. Opened the ammo can and a fake snake popped out. Joker! But needless to say I was totally drained after another 10 minutes in the heat. Steve kept the car running to keep him and Max cool.
We made it all the way back to Grand Rapids by about 6 p.m. We had to unload the outback from the street as the driveway was done!!!! The end will need to cure still, we should be able to use it when we return from Fort Wayne on Sunday (a whole nother story....)
Then collapsed in our very warm house (as we'd turned the ac way down) as it cooled.
Then went over to Eric's to switch the outback for the van (don't want to park the outback outside.) Was able to cross the new bridge over the Grand River for the first time, it's been a year and a half in the making. About time!
Then went to Steak & Shake as I really didn't want to heat up the kitchen.
Decided it was too hot to sit outside for fireworks. Been there, done that.
We can now say we've been around all five Great Lakes
Michigan - 2007
Huron - 2008
Superior - 2010
Ontario - 2012
Erie - 2012
How many can say they've done that?
One thing that made it interesting for Steve was the amount of wind turbines that we saw on the lakeshore. Two caches that I'd marked earlier at wind turbine sites made for good starts - Steve for wind turbine pictures, me for wind turbine caches.
One wrong turn brought us to Port Bruce Provincial Park. We stopped and took a short walk on the beach and took some pictures. The next road after that that I led Steve to turned out to be a gravel road. Not good. At that point I decided to cut my losses, so to speak, and made a deal with Steve. We ended up going back to the 401 for the remainder of the trip to Windsor in return for being able to stop at the two westbound rest areas on I-96 in Michigan on the way home, that I hadn't yet found caches in. We weren't right at the lakeshore for the last part of the trip, but we did make it all the way around.
Stopped in Windsor at the duty free shop just before the Ambassador Bridge. Meant to exchange my remaining Canadian money for American dollars but ended up exchanging them for goods instead...couldn't let a trip to Canada pass without some maple candy! Had just enough leftover to pay the toll for the bridge.
We really noticed the heat wave once we were back in Michigan. Earlier along the lakeshore, it was in the low 80s. It was 102 degrees once we were on I-96 in Detroit. We also noticed a lot less traffic than usual. Coming through the area in the middle of the afternoon on a holiday is a pretty good idea...
Made the first rest area stop in Howell. Steve walked Max while I got the cache. Really feeling the heat just being outside for 10 minutes!
The second stop was in Okemos. Ended up with two caches as they were just a tenth of a mile apart in the same rest area. The second was a joker cache. Opened the ammo can and a fake snake popped out. Joker! But needless to say I was totally drained after another 10 minutes in the heat. Steve kept the car running to keep him and Max cool.
We made it all the way back to Grand Rapids by about 6 p.m. We had to unload the outback from the street as the driveway was done!!!! The end will need to cure still, we should be able to use it when we return from Fort Wayne on Sunday (a whole nother story....)
Then collapsed in our very warm house (as we'd turned the ac way down) as it cooled.
Then went over to Eric's to switch the outback for the van (don't want to park the outback outside.) Was able to cross the new bridge over the Grand River for the first time, it's been a year and a half in the making. About time!
Then went to Steak & Shake as I really didn't want to heat up the kitchen.
Decided it was too hot to sit outside for fireworks. Been there, done that.
We can now say we've been around all five Great Lakes
Michigan - 2007
Huron - 2008
Superior - 2010
Ontario - 2012
Erie - 2012
How many can say they've done that?
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Great Lakes Circle Tour, part 3 (day 4)
We started out the morning with the usual routine of getting packed up, checked out, etc. No breakfast with the room, and we hadn't bought milk the night before, so ended up at a Tim Horton's where we bought some donuts and a bagel, plus some milk for Steve. Then ended up with a breakfast picnic at the nearby Canadian Air Force National Museum in Trenton, Ontario. We were still in the car when some volunteers pulled up next to us in the parking lot, as the museum was about to open. They asked if we were going to go to the museum. We replied that it depended on whether or not we could take the dog, at least to the plane exhibits outside. They checked and we were allowed to do that. So we traded off with outside with planes and Max, and inside with the rest of the museum. Max got to see the planes twice... Not a large museum but it was still interesting.
Moved on from Trenton, following the Lake Ontario lakeshore as much as possible. Of course, not always possible but we did our best. Did persuade Steve to stop for one travel bug hotel cache in Trenton before we left. The last previous finder was a gencaching friend from Holland, Michigan - small world.
As we approached the Toronto area, we got back up to the 401 freeway. Lots of traffic but not unmanageable. We hadn't been to Toronto since 1999, seems even bigger than when we were there with the boys. Looking at the city map, easy to recall some of the places we'd been -- CN Tower, Canada's Wonderland, Ontario Science Center. Made it through and on to the QEW, the Queen Elizabeth Way to Niagara Falls. Got off at the Niagara Parkway in St. Catherine's, enjoyed the scenic route to Niagara even though there was light intermittent rain. As we approached, we made two stops. Once was at the Floral Clock at Niagara Power Company. I took pictures of the clock and found a cache with Max while Steve took pictures of the nearby dam that we'd seen a few days ago. Then a bit more down the road there was a scenic pulloff that Steve stopped at to take more pictures of the dam and power station. After we stopped I realized there was a cache there, too!
Arrived in Niagara Falls, Ontario, with light intermittent rain. Our last visit in 1999 with the boys was less than stellar - spawning the infamous story of the Denny's in Niagara Falls and the exorbitant parking fees. The falls were just as beautiful today as they were then, though. We managed to find some parking near the Skylon Tower for $5, and walked a few blocks to see the falls. Got some great shots and views of the falls, then walked a quarter mile north to get the virtual cache that was there. Then finally a bathroom break and the walk back to the car. At one area I found a lock that someone had fastened to the fence. Reminded me of the stories of locks on the Paris bridges that my aunt has blogged about.
Never did find the Denny's again - sorry boys.
Went on down the road and made our turn onto Route 3 in Fort Erie. Saw a WalMart and had Steve stop - I was out of drinks. So stocked up on water, some mini diete coke cans, KINDER EGGS (not available in the US), Quaker rice cakes - caramel corn/chocolate chip (also not available in the US), and a couple of bananas.
It was getting late in the day so when we arrived at the next mid-size town, Port Colborne, we decided to look for a room. Got one at a reasonable price, another small mom & pop motel. We went back into town for dinner at Subway, took our food to a nearby park which was at Lock No. 8 for the Welland Canal. We timed our visit right as we watched a large ship go through the lock, one of the longest locks in the world. Then went back to the motel after stopping for the "Welcome to Port Colborne" cache. Found a Gold Wing Road Riders Association pin in that cache. There was wifi but I spent most of the rest of the evening trying to pin down our route for the next day. So didn't get to the blog.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Great Lakes Circle Tour, Part Deux (after all, we're in Canada now...)
An interesting day to say the least. Nice accommodations last night at the Super 8 in Henrietta, New York (suburb of Rochester.) Found out yesterday, though, that Steve felt we needed to get the Outback's first oil change done before Canada, as it was "almost" to it's 3000 mile mark and engine break-in period. Took over a year to get to that point, much of which was in the last six weeks between our trip to Kentucky in May and this trip.
So we found the nearest Subaru dealer, about 20 minutes away in a town just southeast of Rochester, and called to see if we could get the oil change done. They fit us in, so after checking out of the motel and going to the nearby Sam's Club for gas (and a cache, 400 feet away!) we were on our way to Victor, New York. Must say it was a great dealership, though getting the oil changed was the last thing I'd imagined we'd be doing while on vacation. Nice waiting area, though, and they even let Max stay there with us. Refreshments and wifi, who could ask for more? Oil changed and we were on our way in less than an hour.
It took us a good half hour to make it back up to the Lake Ontario shoreline. Then we had a nice little drive along. Got to one point where we decided to make an ice cream/bathroom break. Coincidentally there was a cache nearby. But the ice cream wasn't nearby enough to the cache. So went on to the ice cream, only to discover there were no restrooms. By now I really needed a restroom so we went back to the cache location (a fishing area just back down the road) and I performed my best Brent Loudin LNT imitation without rope. Thankfully the cache was not where I chose to perform and I found it quickly soon thereafter. Never did get that ice cream. Made one more stop for view/cache, in Port Vincent at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. Nice.
On to Canadia. We had to take a couple of tall bridges over the St. Lawrence River, which connected several of the Thousand Islands. Yep, it's where that salad dressing was invented. I googled it tonight. Then on to Canadian customs. We were prepared with passports and a copy of Max's rabies vaccination record (which we'd found out we needed to take him into Canada) and all went relatively well. After we finally left the checkpoint, I saw a duty free shop and we stopped so we could change some money. Every other time we've gone to Canada, there's been a shop just after the border checkpoint. Well this one was a Canadian duty free shop, and not only would they not let us buy anything (they did change our money though) we ended up having to go back through the customs checkpoint AGAIN. Steve was not a happy camper, needless to say. And yep, you guessed it, just down the road once we were through the second time, there was a money exchange place. Live and learn. Started west on the Thousand Islands Parkway. Stopped at a scenic overlook after we drove past it and decided it might make a nice stop. Then I discovered there was a cache there, too. That made four for the day, not too bad for a trip with Muggle Hubby! Got back on the 401 (their expressway) for a while and started running into holiday traffic. Seems Canada Day was yesterday and as that was Sunday, Monday (today) is their legal holiday. So everyone was headed back to Toronto, I guess, and it was pretty much stop and go traffic. That made us get off the 401 at Belleville where we found a small motel for the night. We are at the Park Lane Motel, not the Hilton but it'll do for the night. And even wifi so can't complain. At the desk clerk's suggestion, we headed towards downtown and the harbor for dinner. There was a seafood place near the harbor that offered "to go" meals so we got shrimp dinners then walked down the main dock to a picnic table at the end. Max waited patiently with a few shrimp bite bribes while we ate a nice dinner "sitting on the dock of the bay." We took a walk in the riverfront park after dinner. Nice evening. The only drawback for me was not knowing where the caches (if any) were as I didn't have them in the nuvi. Life went on even without caching. Oh well.
Back to the motel and Steve fell asleep pretty quickly, I obviously am not asleep yet as I'm still writing this blog. Max is on the bed next to me, he's adopted bed sleeping as part of his vacation routine. Told him he'd better not get used to it, it would be back in his box when we get home! Not sure how far we'll get tomorrow - probably at least to Toronto and perhaps as far as Niagara Falls again. This time the Canadian side, to get back down to the northern shore of Lake Erie. I'd like to stop and enjoy the view once in a while. With or without a cache nearby.
So we found the nearest Subaru dealer, about 20 minutes away in a town just southeast of Rochester, and called to see if we could get the oil change done. They fit us in, so after checking out of the motel and going to the nearby Sam's Club for gas (and a cache, 400 feet away!) we were on our way to Victor, New York. Must say it was a great dealership, though getting the oil changed was the last thing I'd imagined we'd be doing while on vacation. Nice waiting area, though, and they even let Max stay there with us. Refreshments and wifi, who could ask for more? Oil changed and we were on our way in less than an hour.
It took us a good half hour to make it back up to the Lake Ontario shoreline. Then we had a nice little drive along. Got to one point where we decided to make an ice cream/bathroom break. Coincidentally there was a cache nearby. But the ice cream wasn't nearby enough to the cache. So went on to the ice cream, only to discover there were no restrooms. By now I really needed a restroom so we went back to the cache location (a fishing area just back down the road) and I performed my best Brent Loudin LNT imitation without rope. Thankfully the cache was not where I chose to perform and I found it quickly soon thereafter. Never did get that ice cream. Made one more stop for view/cache, in Port Vincent at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. Nice.
On to Canadia. We had to take a couple of tall bridges over the St. Lawrence River, which connected several of the Thousand Islands. Yep, it's where that salad dressing was invented. I googled it tonight. Then on to Canadian customs. We were prepared with passports and a copy of Max's rabies vaccination record (which we'd found out we needed to take him into Canada) and all went relatively well. After we finally left the checkpoint, I saw a duty free shop and we stopped so we could change some money. Every other time we've gone to Canada, there's been a shop just after the border checkpoint. Well this one was a Canadian duty free shop, and not only would they not let us buy anything (they did change our money though) we ended up having to go back through the customs checkpoint AGAIN. Steve was not a happy camper, needless to say. And yep, you guessed it, just down the road once we were through the second time, there was a money exchange place. Live and learn. Started west on the Thousand Islands Parkway. Stopped at a scenic overlook after we drove past it and decided it might make a nice stop. Then I discovered there was a cache there, too. That made four for the day, not too bad for a trip with Muggle Hubby! Got back on the 401 (their expressway) for a while and started running into holiday traffic. Seems Canada Day was yesterday and as that was Sunday, Monday (today) is their legal holiday. So everyone was headed back to Toronto, I guess, and it was pretty much stop and go traffic. That made us get off the 401 at Belleville where we found a small motel for the night. We are at the Park Lane Motel, not the Hilton but it'll do for the night. And even wifi so can't complain. At the desk clerk's suggestion, we headed towards downtown and the harbor for dinner. There was a seafood place near the harbor that offered "to go" meals so we got shrimp dinners then walked down the main dock to a picnic table at the end. Max waited patiently with a few shrimp bite bribes while we ate a nice dinner "sitting on the dock of the bay." We took a walk in the riverfront park after dinner. Nice evening. The only drawback for me was not knowing where the caches (if any) were as I didn't have them in the nuvi. Life went on even without caching. Oh well.
Back to the motel and Steve fell asleep pretty quickly, I obviously am not asleep yet as I'm still writing this blog. Max is on the bed next to me, he's adopted bed sleeping as part of his vacation routine. Told him he'd better not get used to it, it would be back in his box when we get home! Not sure how far we'll get tomorrow - probably at least to Toronto and perhaps as far as Niagara Falls again. This time the Canadian side, to get back down to the northern shore of Lake Erie. I'd like to stop and enjoy the view once in a while. With or without a cache nearby.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Great Lakes Circle Tour, Part 1
I'm finally adding something to my blog. Been too busy lately, so it seems, to jot down my wonderings, so since I'm wandering right now, here I am.
We left yesterday for a six day adventure completing our circle tours of the Great Lakes. We did Lake Michigan in 2007, Lake Huron in 2008, and Lake Superior in 2010. Found ourselves with some unexpected time off and decided it would be a good chance to tour Lakes Erie and Ontario to complete the set. One difference - we are on this trip in our Outback. The first three trips were all on the Gold Wing. We have Max with us and haven't figured out the whole scenario of taking him on the bike yet. Also, heat and motorcycling in full gear don't mix too well. And with this heat wave we've been having...
Complicating matters at our start was that we are having our driveway cemented. Knowing this in advance, we took the outback over to Eric's and stored it in his garage. So we had to pack the vans as they were parked on the street. Used the wheelbarrow, made for less trips all the way down our driveway. Then at Eric's, transferred everything to the outback. Then Steve realized he didn't have his outback keys, thankfully I did, so a quick trip back home on our way out of town.
Michigan took a few hours to get through, only ran into construction or something near Brighton. No obstacles that we observed so not sure why traffic was crawling. Max was a good traveler as he'd been on our Kentucky trip last month. Went through parts of Toledo then off at OH 2 to travel closer to the Lake Erie shoreline.
Stopped at Port Clinton, Ohio as we saw a sign for a Frisch's Big Boy. Of course Steve "needed" to stop for his Big Boy and chocolate shake fix. I gave him my order and walked around on the nearby beach with Max while Steve ordered to go. Shortly after we were on the road, we saw a Sam's Club gas station from the road and stopped to fill up. We paid only 2.90 a gallon which I suspect will be the lowest price we pay for the trip. Especially once we get to Canada and buy by the liter.
We took the scenic route across Ohio - lots of views of pretty lakeshore views and some equally nice houses, especially in the Western Cleveland suburbs. Lots of beautiful old apartment houses, all with their own specific names too. Continued through the little tip of Pennsylvania, including Erie, then into New York state where we had reservations at Westfield for the night. Lots of grapes in the area, it's known for winemaking.
Our room was at the Theater Motel, the site of a former drivein movie theater. Older, dated, not the best place but for a Saturday night stay in the region it was priced right. And, important factor on this trip, it allows dogs. Max was well behaved though I must confess he slept on the bed next to me. He's not allowed to at home but we wanted to see what he'd do. Not much but sleep though he barked once when a door slammed nearby. The cool coincidence here was that Steve had slept here when he came through Westfield on his BMW trip a few years ago. Even the same room. And I didn't know this was where he'd stayed.
Westfield is not the biggest town, so we had a choice between the grocery store and McDonald's for dinner. Went to the grocery store, bought some milk for breakfast (we had brought cereal) and pop with only a 5 cent deposit rather than a 10 cent Michigan deposit. Looked over the meal choices and decided to go ahead to McDonald's and get salads. Brought them back to the room and had dinner, then a pretty early bedtime. No wifi as advertised so not much I could do but read on my iPod.
Sunday
Woke up, ate breakfast, and were on our way. Headed up NY 5 toward Buffalo, and made a stop at the Lake Erie Seaway Center just before Buffalo where Steve caught a view of wind turbines which he really liked. I picked up the nearby geocache, of course, while he took the pictures. Wanted to let Max try swimming in Lake Erie but then we would have had a wet dog, probably not the best idea for a long trip. Drove through Buffalo on the Skyway, and headed for Niagara Falls.
Some might remember we had a less than ideal trip to Niagara Falls, Canada, with the boys when they were teenagers. We still talk about the Denny's in Niagara Falls... Anyway, it was nice to see the Falls from the American side. Not so much of a straight on view but still beautiful. Had to pay $10 for parking at Goat Island but it was worth it. Poor little Max got pretty tired out with the walking, even though we carried him whenever we were on hot asphalt. Saw the Horseshoe Falls, then Bridal Veil Falls, then walked over the pedestrian bridge and toward the observation tower. There was an admission fee (just $1) to the tower and dogs weren't allowed, that we could see. So Steve went on the tower with his nice camera and we waited in the shade nearby. Then a half mile walk back to the car. Oh, and two earthcaches along the way. Just had to take my picture in front of the falls and answer questions about flow rate and stuff like that.
Next headed up to the Niagara Power Station about 5 miles up the road. There was a visitor's center there that I thought Steve might enjoy, as well as a webcam geocache for me to enjoy! Max had to stay out of the building so we took turns.
After leaving the power station, headed along the shores of Lake Ontario toward Rochester, where we decided our stop for the night should be. Had three coupons for hotels that accepted dogs, at good rates. We are at the Super 8 tonight. We paid $40 and booking.com lists it at $65. Not bad at all. Dinner to go from Wendy's and we are just relaxing in the room tonight. Steve is watching TV and I'm using the wifi. Much better than scattered grabs while waiting for food to go...
Will try to keep this up on our trip, not sure where we'll be staying each night from here on out. Plan to get back home on Thursday, then Friday we leave (on the Gold Wing this time) for Wing Ding in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We'll be traveling with members of our riding group, and Max will stay home with Eric taking care of him. Yep, Eric is thrilled. But it's just for the weekend instead of a whole week...
We left yesterday for a six day adventure completing our circle tours of the Great Lakes. We did Lake Michigan in 2007, Lake Huron in 2008, and Lake Superior in 2010. Found ourselves with some unexpected time off and decided it would be a good chance to tour Lakes Erie and Ontario to complete the set. One difference - we are on this trip in our Outback. The first three trips were all on the Gold Wing. We have Max with us and haven't figured out the whole scenario of taking him on the bike yet. Also, heat and motorcycling in full gear don't mix too well. And with this heat wave we've been having...
Complicating matters at our start was that we are having our driveway cemented. Knowing this in advance, we took the outback over to Eric's and stored it in his garage. So we had to pack the vans as they were parked on the street. Used the wheelbarrow, made for less trips all the way down our driveway. Then at Eric's, transferred everything to the outback. Then Steve realized he didn't have his outback keys, thankfully I did, so a quick trip back home on our way out of town.
Michigan took a few hours to get through, only ran into construction or something near Brighton. No obstacles that we observed so not sure why traffic was crawling. Max was a good traveler as he'd been on our Kentucky trip last month. Went through parts of Toledo then off at OH 2 to travel closer to the Lake Erie shoreline.
Stopped at Port Clinton, Ohio as we saw a sign for a Frisch's Big Boy. Of course Steve "needed" to stop for his Big Boy and chocolate shake fix. I gave him my order and walked around on the nearby beach with Max while Steve ordered to go. Shortly after we were on the road, we saw a Sam's Club gas station from the road and stopped to fill up. We paid only 2.90 a gallon which I suspect will be the lowest price we pay for the trip. Especially once we get to Canada and buy by the liter.
We took the scenic route across Ohio - lots of views of pretty lakeshore views and some equally nice houses, especially in the Western Cleveland suburbs. Lots of beautiful old apartment houses, all with their own specific names too. Continued through the little tip of Pennsylvania, including Erie, then into New York state where we had reservations at Westfield for the night. Lots of grapes in the area, it's known for winemaking.
Our room was at the Theater Motel, the site of a former drivein movie theater. Older, dated, not the best place but for a Saturday night stay in the region it was priced right. And, important factor on this trip, it allows dogs. Max was well behaved though I must confess he slept on the bed next to me. He's not allowed to at home but we wanted to see what he'd do. Not much but sleep though he barked once when a door slammed nearby. The cool coincidence here was that Steve had slept here when he came through Westfield on his BMW trip a few years ago. Even the same room. And I didn't know this was where he'd stayed.
Westfield is not the biggest town, so we had a choice between the grocery store and McDonald's for dinner. Went to the grocery store, bought some milk for breakfast (we had brought cereal) and pop with only a 5 cent deposit rather than a 10 cent Michigan deposit. Looked over the meal choices and decided to go ahead to McDonald's and get salads. Brought them back to the room and had dinner, then a pretty early bedtime. No wifi as advertised so not much I could do but read on my iPod.
Sunday
Woke up, ate breakfast, and were on our way. Headed up NY 5 toward Buffalo, and made a stop at the Lake Erie Seaway Center just before Buffalo where Steve caught a view of wind turbines which he really liked. I picked up the nearby geocache, of course, while he took the pictures. Wanted to let Max try swimming in Lake Erie but then we would have had a wet dog, probably not the best idea for a long trip. Drove through Buffalo on the Skyway, and headed for Niagara Falls.
Some might remember we had a less than ideal trip to Niagara Falls, Canada, with the boys when they were teenagers. We still talk about the Denny's in Niagara Falls... Anyway, it was nice to see the Falls from the American side. Not so much of a straight on view but still beautiful. Had to pay $10 for parking at Goat Island but it was worth it. Poor little Max got pretty tired out with the walking, even though we carried him whenever we were on hot asphalt. Saw the Horseshoe Falls, then Bridal Veil Falls, then walked over the pedestrian bridge and toward the observation tower. There was an admission fee (just $1) to the tower and dogs weren't allowed, that we could see. So Steve went on the tower with his nice camera and we waited in the shade nearby. Then a half mile walk back to the car. Oh, and two earthcaches along the way. Just had to take my picture in front of the falls and answer questions about flow rate and stuff like that.
Next headed up to the Niagara Power Station about 5 miles up the road. There was a visitor's center there that I thought Steve might enjoy, as well as a webcam geocache for me to enjoy! Max had to stay out of the building so we took turns.
After leaving the power station, headed along the shores of Lake Ontario toward Rochester, where we decided our stop for the night should be. Had three coupons for hotels that accepted dogs, at good rates. We are at the Super 8 tonight. We paid $40 and booking.com lists it at $65. Not bad at all. Dinner to go from Wendy's and we are just relaxing in the room tonight. Steve is watching TV and I'm using the wifi. Much better than scattered grabs while waiting for food to go...
Will try to keep this up on our trip, not sure where we'll be staying each night from here on out. Plan to get back home on Thursday, then Friday we leave (on the Gold Wing this time) for Wing Ding in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We'll be traveling with members of our riding group, and Max will stay home with Eric taking care of him. Yep, Eric is thrilled. But it's just for the weekend instead of a whole week...
Friday, April 6, 2012
First bike (not motorcycle) ride of the year
Felt so good to get out on the bike yesterday (and I mean the bicycle, not the motorcycle!) Realized Steve would not be working on Good Friday, so my day off turned into a catch up day. So I took my Thursday (time off until evening) and made it a healthy day.
Headed for the Musketawa Trail where it is nice level riding. Ok, there WERE ten new caches put out on it the other day. But the fun was also in the riding. I installed my new bike mount for my GPSr that Scott had given me for Christmas. Makes caching on the bike a LOT easier. About 2 1/2 miles out and then 2 1/2 miles back to the trailhead. A bit brisk this morning but when pedaling you don't really notice it. Saw lots of signs of early spring along the way - wildflowers, trees budding out, frogs, birds, and even a snake that I stepped on while searching for a cache. Thankfully, it was in a leaf-filled area so I didn't do any damage to the snake.
After completing my ride, I went on to the nearby town of Coopersville and took a nice long hike in yet another pretty park (yep again, a cache involved) which was about a mile long. Found two caches there, too. Add together with a few other shorter walks for other caches and my mileage for the day was 5 miles biking, about 2 miles walking. Oh, and 14 caches too. Got to work with 10 minutes to spare. My last evening with the Thursday night Noogieland cancer support group.
Headed for the Musketawa Trail where it is nice level riding. Ok, there WERE ten new caches put out on it the other day. But the fun was also in the riding. I installed my new bike mount for my GPSr that Scott had given me for Christmas. Makes caching on the bike a LOT easier. About 2 1/2 miles out and then 2 1/2 miles back to the trailhead. A bit brisk this morning but when pedaling you don't really notice it. Saw lots of signs of early spring along the way - wildflowers, trees budding out, frogs, birds, and even a snake that I stepped on while searching for a cache. Thankfully, it was in a leaf-filled area so I didn't do any damage to the snake.
After completing my ride, I went on to the nearby town of Coopersville and took a nice long hike in yet another pretty park (yep again, a cache involved) which was about a mile long. Found two caches there, too. Add together with a few other shorter walks for other caches and my mileage for the day was 5 miles biking, about 2 miles walking. Oh, and 14 caches too. Got to work with 10 minutes to spare. My last evening with the Thursday night Noogieland cancer support group.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Naughty or nice?
The choice I had to make when trying to find a letterbox hybrid geocache this afternoon. Had a half day off work and the weather was beautiful - not so hot as it was a few weeks ago. So you know what I'm going to do, right? Geocaching.
I had made two previous attempts at this particular letterbox hybrid cache. A letterbox hybrid differs from a regular geocache in that, once you arrive at the starting coordinates, you have to follow specific directions to find the cache. This LBH was located in Prairie Wolf Park, a nice park with lots of acreage and some developed paths. In my first attempt, I followed the directions as far as I could. They included finding three other caches in the park, none of which I had previously found. That went well. The next direction was to find a fourth cache. Unfortunately for me I had already found this cache. Which meant that I didn't have the coordinates with me and my memory of where it was wasn't too good. So I was done for that day.
Came back a few weeks later with the coords to that cache so that I could continue on. Now the directions involved projecting waypoints from a particular spot indicated from the directions. It was one of March's record setting heat wave days - 87 degrees, way too hot for caching. The heat fried my brains, methinks, because I just could not remember how to project a waypoint with my etrex! And of course I didn't have a regular compass with me, either. So strike two.
Today I came back. I had refreshed my memory on how to project a waypoint, and I also brought a regular compass for backup. Worked my way down from Gilda's Club, found 5 caches along the way (along with 3 DNFs) and finally made it to the park.
Came back to the tree that I thought was the right spot, and after a few false starts I had projected waypoints for both "naughty" and "nice." You see, once you got to this point, you had to decide whether the cache was hidden in a naughty spot or a nice spot. And once you find it, you can switch them so you never know for sure which way to search.
The waypoints didn't work. And while I was trying them out, a couple came down the trail with equipment that sure looked like they were geocaching! I greeted them with "Naughty or nice?" I'm sure they thought I was strange but then I explained that I thought they were geocaching. They were measuring a trail, apparently.
I continued to struggle with the waypoints as there were a lot of thorny branches and dead wood blocking really quality access to the woods beyond the trail. As I ventured back and forth, the woman of the previously mentioned couple was standing on the trail talking to another woman who appeared out of nowhere. They proceeded to stand there and discuss something for about 20 minutes.
I finally decided that I might not have used the right spot to project my waypoints. Looked over everything again and chose a new spot. Projected naughty and nice again, decided to try "nice" first. After searching for a bit, I finally found the wooden plaque with the "nice" symbol. No cache. Ok, at least that means that I probably have the right projections at least! So went for "naughty." It really was a naughty hide as I got scratched up under my pants from the thorny branches in the area. Finally spotted the "naughty" symbol on another plaque, and this time there was a cache behind it!
Good to finally have this one done - definitely more of a challenge than a lot of the ones I've done over the winter!
I had made two previous attempts at this particular letterbox hybrid cache. A letterbox hybrid differs from a regular geocache in that, once you arrive at the starting coordinates, you have to follow specific directions to find the cache. This LBH was located in Prairie Wolf Park, a nice park with lots of acreage and some developed paths. In my first attempt, I followed the directions as far as I could. They included finding three other caches in the park, none of which I had previously found. That went well. The next direction was to find a fourth cache. Unfortunately for me I had already found this cache. Which meant that I didn't have the coordinates with me and my memory of where it was wasn't too good. So I was done for that day.
Came back a few weeks later with the coords to that cache so that I could continue on. Now the directions involved projecting waypoints from a particular spot indicated from the directions. It was one of March's record setting heat wave days - 87 degrees, way too hot for caching. The heat fried my brains, methinks, because I just could not remember how to project a waypoint with my etrex! And of course I didn't have a regular compass with me, either. So strike two.
Today I came back. I had refreshed my memory on how to project a waypoint, and I also brought a regular compass for backup. Worked my way down from Gilda's Club, found 5 caches along the way (along with 3 DNFs) and finally made it to the park.
Came back to the tree that I thought was the right spot, and after a few false starts I had projected waypoints for both "naughty" and "nice." You see, once you got to this point, you had to decide whether the cache was hidden in a naughty spot or a nice spot. And once you find it, you can switch them so you never know for sure which way to search.
The waypoints didn't work. And while I was trying them out, a couple came down the trail with equipment that sure looked like they were geocaching! I greeted them with "Naughty or nice?" I'm sure they thought I was strange but then I explained that I thought they were geocaching. They were measuring a trail, apparently.
I continued to struggle with the waypoints as there were a lot of thorny branches and dead wood blocking really quality access to the woods beyond the trail. As I ventured back and forth, the woman of the previously mentioned couple was standing on the trail talking to another woman who appeared out of nowhere. They proceeded to stand there and discuss something for about 20 minutes.
I finally decided that I might not have used the right spot to project my waypoints. Looked over everything again and chose a new spot. Projected naughty and nice again, decided to try "nice" first. After searching for a bit, I finally found the wooden plaque with the "nice" symbol. No cache. Ok, at least that means that I probably have the right projections at least! So went for "naughty." It really was a naughty hide as I got scratched up under my pants from the thorny branches in the area. Finally spotted the "naughty" symbol on another plaque, and this time there was a cache behind it!
Good to finally have this one done - definitely more of a challenge than a lot of the ones I've done over the winter!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Not since Christmas? Really?
Ok, it's just been a really hectic few months. Not to mention the fact that our dialup was working less and less. Adds up to not posting on this blog since Christmas. Really.
That will change. Yesterday, we FINALLY solved our internet problems with the installation of a WiMAX receiver and now have joined the 21st century.
It's really nice to be able to click on links and have them work. And have google work. And have YouTube work. And have a myriad of other sites work, too. Yes, I had access at work and wherever free WiFi was found. But generally in those cases I had specific things I had to accomplish and a limited time frame to accomplish them in.
So now I can just take care of what I want to when I want to. Internet wise that is.
More to come soon. I promise.
That will change. Yesterday, we FINALLY solved our internet problems with the installation of a WiMAX receiver and now have joined the 21st century.
It's really nice to be able to click on links and have them work. And have google work. And have YouTube work. And have a myriad of other sites work, too. Yes, I had access at work and wherever free WiFi was found. But generally in those cases I had specific things I had to accomplish and a limited time frame to accomplish them in.
So now I can just take care of what I want to when I want to. Internet wise that is.
More to come soon. I promise.
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