It has been a few months since we updated the blog — the summer flew by fast! We moved into our new home in June and what a blessing it has been to be settled in and adjusting to our larger surroundings! So many things had been in storage for 4 years – it was almost like Christmas opening boxes and finding our treasures… nearly everything made it through without damage. We still have some boxes to unpack, but the house is quite livable! We thank God for helping us find great contractors to build a beautiful home!
Linda helped out at our church’s Vacation Bible School in July. The key verse we focused on was “Whenever I am afraid, I put my trust in You” Psalm 56:3 emphasizing that we can trust God to give us peace, trust Him to spark joy, to lead us and to go with us.
It was a fun week and the kids were adorable! Linda was sorry to miss the last day on Friday.
We took off with Acey on July 19 for South Carolina to get away for our 45th anniversary and to have a break from the building and moving scenario! We left home at 7:45am with 100,872.8 miles on Acey and 127,010 on Thor, arriving at Carolina Landing in Fair Play, SC at 5:20 (Eastern time).
We walked around the RV park and down to the lake most days; about a mile each time – the temperatures were in the 80’s, so that seemed long enough!
On our anniversary, we drove up to Sapphire, NC to view the Summer Colors Fine Art Show, as we did last year. Our friend Terry Warren was exhibiting there. We were excited for him to be awarded his first ever ribbon in a juried art show. This is Terry with his honorable mention ribbon for this painting!
We had a lovely lunch in Cashiers at Cornucopia – kind of like dining on a large porch!
We did a little sightseeing on the way back. The Summer Chapel has services Memorial Day thru Labor Day at the historic schoolhouse on Whiteside Road.
Just down the road, we saw the nation’s smallest Post Office! 6 feet long, 6 feet 5 inches wide!
The building was moved from its original site on top of Whiteside Mountain.
On the 23rd, we went for a bike ride on the Doodle Trail which goes from Easley to Pickens and back again. After riding 12 miles, and about a mile and a half from the end, Linda was pooped; this was the first time she couldn’t complete a ride – perhaps her low iron, the 78° sunny weather with 80% humidity and not having biked in 4 months did her in! Jim rode on to get the Jeep and picked her up!
We headed home on July 26 with 101,290.9 miles on Acey and 129,348 on Thor. As usual, Herman sat in the driver’s seat as we towed Thor behind Acey!
It was a pretty drive through the Smoky Mountains.
As it began to rain, a Tesla Cyber Truck passed us.
Morris and Keron (who we met on our Alaska caravan) visited – which called for another visit to Yazoo!
We have furry and feathered friends visit in our front yard…
and the back yard too!
September was a busy month; Linda hosted a group of ladies for Book Club and another group came to play Bridge – ooops – no photos of either event!
Jim had been planning a modernization of a paper machine at Phoenix Paper in Wycliffe, KY for the past several months. He had worked at that plant quite often since the early 80’s and the papermill had changed hands several times over the 40 years he has done contract work there. It was out of production for four years and then a Chinese firm purchased it in 2019. Jim was called on to help the new management figure out how to get it running again in the Fall of 2019. As a reward, he got sick with what we think was COVID before COVID was a “thing”. Phoenix seemed a fitting name for the mill; “rising out of the ashes” so to speak! They produce paper for white envelopes and a food grade paper. The plant was in dire need of updating, so Jim took some time out of retirement to help out! He took Acey for the two weeks he worked in the mill and had all the comforts of home.
Linda’s brother Ted and his son Steve flew in from Oregon on Thursday Sept 20 to visit us in Tennessee for a couple of days before they drove on to North Carolina to ride their bikes on the Blue Ridge Parkway with a cycling group. Steve is vegan and enjoyed cooking his breakfast!
Linda suggested going for a short hike at nearby Hidden Lake.
We came across some kind of train car – maybe a boiler?
We could see The Middle Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery from the park.
We visited the Magnuson gravesite at the cemetery.
Later, we headed to the Yazoo Brewery – we had to take 2 cars, so Steve and Linda stopped to see the longhorns. (Linda found out that the woman that has these cows in her front yard does not own them – they belong to the neighbor who has more cattle behind his house. She said it’s fine to stop by and take photos!)
And also took a brief detour to see the Parthenon (a full-size replica of the one in Athens, Greece).
We had a nice time at Yazoo where Chris and Eve joined us.
After Yazoo, we celebrated Jim’s birthday by having dinner out but got no photos!
Ted experienced bad neck pain and went to urgent care for treatment. By Sunday, he was feeling better, and they took off for Asheville with Steve driving their rental car and we took off in Acey — heading to Michigan for a 50-year high school reunion. Ted and Steve were to meet up with their group that planned to bike on the Blue Ridge Parkway, starting on Tuesday the 24th.
Monday 23rd – Ted had pain going into his jaw and felt really bad, so one of the cycle group guys took him to the ER – Steve went on a bike ride up Elk Mt with some of the group and saw a bear!
Later, he went to the hospital and stayed with Ted. The medical team thought maybe it was his heart; (both Ted and Steve have a pacemaker) Ted was short of breath, had pain when speaking, pain in his cheek, hard to swallow; so, he was admitted for suspicion of heart attack – and it turned out that was the diagnosis! Fortunately, he had great care in the hospital – and with the coming of Hurricane Helene, it was just as well that they did not go on the ride after all – the riders got stranded for a time due to the storm. Ted was released on Wednesday and planned a flight for Saturday to get back to Oregon – so they had a few days’ rest before the flight. Steve arranged for the bikes to be shipped back home. The hotel lost power on Saturday morning – due to the storm, and no internet… Asheville water was shut off by 4:30am; they met a hotel guest with a rental car who offered to take them to the Asheville airport. Finding it closed, he drove them and another guest the Atlanta airport. They did get home safely and apparently the other cyclists who were stranded for a time in NC, also made it out. What an adventure, but certainly not the adventure they were planning on! Ted started cardiac rehab when he returned home and is doing well.
Just to give you an idea of the impact of Helene, even a week later, many homes were still without power – this graphic was updated October 1, 2024!
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Meanwhile, on Sunday, September 22 we left home at 8:30am, just after Ted & Steve’s departure. There were 102,385.8 miles on Acey and 130,739 miles on Thor. We spent the night at a Harvest Host site – the Wandering Griffin Brewery in Beavercreek, OH. It was just outside of Dayton. We arrived at 4:11pm (Eastern) – in time to enjoy a few brews before we fixed dinner.
Monday, we left just before 9am with 102,385.8 miles on Acey, and no additional miles on Thor. We arrived at the St Clair RV resort at 2:10 and got settled in. Both of us grew up in suburban Detroit, so it was nostalgic to be visiting the area.
We met up with some of Linda’s long-time friends and former schoolmates for dinner.
We did some bicycle riding…
Sometimes when we rode along the river, we would see a freighter.
We stopped for lunch at a park by the river and saw more ships. A tug passed by pulling a barge.
And John J Boland followed soon afterwards.
This beautiful home on the St. Clair River is one of many large residences we passed as we rode.
We enjoy going to Palmer Park to watch for freighters sailing on the St. Clair River.
Nancy and Jack joined us on September 26!
Soon the Federal Kushiro came downriver.
This dog seemed to enjoy swimming in the cold water! He kept getting out and going back in! (Jack does NOT like to swim!)
As we waited, this little beauty sailed by!
The CSL Niagara was coming upriver – a Canadian flagged Self Discharging Bulk Carrier built in 1972 is 225 meters (738 feet).
And coming downriver was the EASTERLY AS OMARIA a Chemical/Oil Products Tanker built in 2007, currently sailing under the flag of Marshall Islands is 146 meters long (479 feet).
These two ships passed by each other right in front of us – an unusual sight!
Our last ship for our afternoon viewing was the Canadian flagged ALGONOVA. Another Chemical/Oil Products Tanker, built in 2008, is 130 meters (426 feet).
The next morning, we met up with Nancy (and Jack!) once again – at the Franklin Cider Mill. Jim grew up very close by, but his childhood house cannot be seen from the road because of the trees and all… The cider mill is only open August 31 through December 1. We were glad to be in town while it was open – a very nostalgic place to visit with fresh cider and delicious donuts! Before Nancy arrived, we were able to see the 90-ton press in use. First, they chop about 5,000 apples and send them down a chute to distribute them on 7 layers of boards, wrapping the apples in cloth to trap the pulp. Then the press squeezes the apples. Each pressing produces about 150 gallons of cider!
We enjoyed our donuts and cider but took no photos for you to drool over!
After visiting the Cider Mill, we took a detour to see the homes Linda lived in; the one on Schoenith Lane was hard to see because of the trees, but what little we could see, it appeared the house has been changed quite a bit and is no longer the sprawling ranch. The home on Whispering Pine Lane looked much the same, with some updating.
We also drove by the home in Clawson where Jim’s sister Gwen and Bruce raised their children. It had also been updated.
The scheduling of our trip centered around Linda’s 50-year high school reunion – she didn’t actually graduate in Michigan because her family moved to Florida before her junior year. But many of the people that would be at the reunion were classmates she grew up with! We went to a pre-reunion gathering and saw Maurice and Ted who rode on the same school bus as Linda to elementary and Jr High schools!
The reunion was a lot of fun and we talked with many folks but didn’t get a lot of photos… here are a couple! It was like herding cats to get the class photo – (Jim took this one) we will have the “professional” one eventually…
Linda with some of her classmates – Laura, Nancy and Leslie.
Nancy had travel plans after the reunion, so we parted ways – until next time! We stayed in St Clair a while longer and were able to watch for more freighters on the river the next day. When we arrived, TWO freighters were making their way upriver. The Canadian flagged CSL ASSINIBOINE, a self-discharging bulk carrier built in 1977, is 225 meters long (738 feet)…
…was followed by the “Queen of the Great Lakes” Paul R Tregurtha; at 309 meters (1013 feet) she is the largest ship currently sailing on the Great Lakes. A self- discharging bulk carrier, she was built in 1981 and sails under the flag of United States.
It’s amazing to us that these big ships make hardly any wake!
Some interesting information about the Paul R. Tregurtha: She can carry up to 68,000 gross tons of taconite pellets or 71,000 net tons of coal. Her unloading system and 260-foot boom empty her five cargo holds in about eight hours. Built by American Ship Building Company at Lorain, Ohio, in 1981, this vessel was first named William J. DeLancey. She has an elevator and quite luxurious owner’s accommodations which earned her the original nickname of “Fancy DeLancey”. In 1990, she was renamed Paul R. Tregurtha in honor of Interlake’s Vice Chairman of the Board.
On October 1, we watched for more freighters. This dark black vessel was a different color scheme! OSOGOVO is a bulk carrier built in 2011and sails under the flag of Malta. She is 186 meters long (610 feet).
Next, sailing downriver, came the LEE A. TREGURTHA. Named for Paul Tregurtha’s wife (1937-2023) this self- discharging bulk carrier, built in 1942 sails under the flag of United States. She is 452 meters long (827 feet).
A Canadian Coast Guard ship came next. LIMNOS is a Research Vessel built in 1968 and is 45 meters long (147 feet).
The Canadian flagged ALGOMA BUFFALO is a self- discharging bulk carrier built in 1978. It is 194 meters long (636 feet). We saw 4 ships in an hour!
Candi and Mark invited us to go to the Jack O’Lantern Journey at the Detroit Zoo on October 5. We met up for dinner at Lockhart’s BBQ and then headed to the zoo.
It was just beginning to get dark when we arrived at the zoo. Several carved pumpkins greeted us!
These illuminated pumpkin structures represent Detroit’s 4 famous sports teams. Quite imaginative how these pumpkins were carved and put together!
Here’s a closer look!
Some of these carvings had intricate details!
We were not able to see many animal exhibits, but we did see some otters – and a skunk was hanging out by a food area that was closed… Here’s a little graveyard humor?!
Not all the displays along the path were jack o-lanterns, and there were MANY of them!
The polar bear fountain was all lit up!
We had a fun evening with Candi and Mark!
On October 7, we left St Clair at 9:15 with 102,660.4 miles on Acey and 131,672 on Thor. We stayed at Wandering Griffin again, arriving at 2:15 They liked seeing Herman “driving” Thor and posted a short video to their Facebook page!!
We had hoped to stay there 2 nights, enabling us to visit the National Museum of the Air Force on Tuesday. But the temperatures would be in the 40’s, so we opted to just stay one night. With no hookups, it would be cold, and we really didn’t want to run the generator all night! Since we arrived early in the afternoon, we spent just a few hours at the museum before it closed at 5. We had been there before, but it’s always fun to see the displays. It could take DAYS to see everything. Here is a video of some of the amazing aircraft on display.
Lots of aircraft in several galleries – and so little time!
This is a model of the Wright 1909 Military Flyer: the first military heavier-than-air flying machine.
The Twin Mustang was an unusual looking plane! This F-82B, Betty-Jo flew from Hawaii to New York on February 27-28, 1947, a distance of 5,051miles, the longest non-stop flight ever made by a propeller driven fighter.
There was a lot to see in the Missile gallery – but hard to get a good photo – these missiles were HUGE. We didn’t spend any time there – so much more we wanted to see!
Air Force One (SAM 26000)– an aircraft so big we couldn’t get back far enough to fit it in one frame! This was the first jet aircraft built specifically to carry the president. It carried 8 American presidents: Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H W Bush and Clinton.
The cockpit looked quite complicated!
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The space shuttle was another enormous aircraft – and the cargo bay was open on its back.
It was getting to be closing time, so we headed back to Acey and made dinner. We left Tuesday morning at 8:50 with 102,937.2 miles on Acey and 131,681 on Thor. We had great weather for the drive up and back – for which we were thankful! We arrived home again at 3:40 Central time.
In October, Chris helped Jim remove the RV refrigerator from Acey. We think the control card was damaged when we had a water problem a while back. It occasionally decided to turn off!
The new residential refrigerator is a big improvement – more space and we don’t have to defrost it every 6 months!
Longhorn update! There is a new calf in the pasture!
We finally got the roll-down screen door installed on our detached garage.
We had seen these screens in Florida and thought it would be a good way to keep insects and birds out of the garage when we have the door open. We have had a few birds in there and they are hard to get out with the high ceiling.
Linda got a new sewing machine in July and has done a few repairs and projects. She covered a brick with some fabric and put a non-skid material on the bottom.
It’s very useful to hold the front door open and allow some air flow through the house when the weather is right! (The sliding screen door is a nice feature)
She also went to a class and made a seasonal pillow top and later finished the pillow at home.
She also made a few more pillows!
With Halloween coming, we decided to let Herman sit on the front porch for a spell!
Even though we have not had much rain, the fall colors were still pretty!
We don’t often see the toms “strutting their stuff” but these guys put on a show!
In November, we took a Caribbean cruise with Chris and sailed out of New Orleans on the 10th. It rained off and on, but we were glad to be on board!
We passed by a few ships as we left the port.
The shore excursion we had scheduled to go snorkeling in Jamaica was cancelled for some reason, so we decided to go swimming with the dolphins. We had thought about doing that someday – so here was our opportunity! Here’s where we went.
Our dolphin’s name was Pepper and he was BIG!
Next was Linda’s turn!
And then Pepper came to see Christopher!
Chris returned the kiss and… surprise! He got splashed!
For the next act, Pepper swam on his back, and we held on to his flippers for a ride!
Then Pepper pushed us by our feet while we held on to a boogie board! Jim made quite a wake, Linda – not so much…
What a fun experience to swim with Pepper!
After that, the bus took us to a beach to relax a bit. Interesting that there was a catamaran with snorkelers. Maybe they weren’t from our ship?!
The next day we were at Grand Cayman.
It was raining and we got wet when we arrived at the Cayman Turtle Centre where we were to swim with sea turtles. There was a guide that introduced us to the Centre and talked about their mission here helping boost the sea turtle population. Some of these sea turtles weigh over 500 pounds!
There were several small pools with turtles of different ages.
It wasn’t easy to get a photo of Smiley the crocodile. She is 11.5 feet long and weighs well over 300 pounds!
She puts on an impressive show at feeding time – whenever that is… we missed it. But here’s a photo from their website!
We had a nice lunch and then went snorkeling in the lagoon. There were fish as well as turtles. Jim got some nice shots with the underwater camera!
The butterfly house did not have many butterflies, and the ones we saw were hard to get a photo of!
We also visited the aviary and saw a few birds.
The Centre was very interesting – there is a beach where the turtles lay eggs. The eggs are gathered and incubated. They have really helped the sea turtle population. The Cayman Turtle Centre is one of several facilities in the world where you have the opportunity to see Green Sea Turtles at every stage of their life cycle, from egg to fully matured adult, all in one place. We did not have time for the hatchery – actually, we didn’t know it was something we could see until we were leaving!
Our last port of call was Cozumel, Mexico. Here’s the Carnival Liberty our home this week!
We had not been to Cozumel for a few years, and we visited Juan at La Internacional Cerveceria. He served us several tasty beers that we shared.
These towel birds were perched on the deck at the towel stand!
Towel animals are always “a thing” – and our room steward did not disappoint!
The sunset on our last evening aboard was beautiful – a nice ending to a fun cruise!
We were back home just a couple of days when Bill and Charlene flew in from California for a visit. They were excited to see our new home and it was great to see them again! Just a few days after that, Linda’s friend Nancy came for a couple of days, she wanted to be here for Linda’s birthday! We went for a hike at Radnor Lake.
We all went to Yazoo for Linda’s birthday — Chris and Eve joined us; had dinner there and brought a cake.
We were chatting in the living room, and tried to get a few photos with Jack…
Jack decided to go sit with Jim and a few minutes later, they were both asleep!
Nancy and Jack were only here a couple of days, but we sure enjoyed having them stop by. Nancy loves to travel and was off to see her grandkids!
We went for a short hike at Hidden Lake.
Just after Nancy left, we noticed the longhorns had another new calf, so we went to get some photos as we headed back to the house.
The Monday before Thanksgiving, Linda’s brother Rob arrived with Marlin.
Bill went for a walk in the mornings, and some of us joined him – Rob went almost every morning! There were some horses at the point where we turned back to go home.
Charlene took a few photos in the house.
Amanda joined us when we went out for dinner at our favorite Thai place.
Due to Amanda’s work schedule, we had Thanksgiving Dinner on Wednesday.
Bill helped Jim carve up the turkey.
We had cranberry pudding for dessert – and we didn’t get a photo – but Ted made some in Portland and sent a photo of his! YUMM! A family tradition for many years.
How interesting that we had not seen turkeys the last few days, but we did see deer!
We were out one evening and looked for some Christmas displays. This one was quite chaotic!
This one – a bit more peaceful and celebrating the true meaning of Christmas!
We did not do much in the way of decorating, but Linda did put up this window cling!
Here’s Chris making himself at home while doing some tech support for one of his customers!
Marlin is a beautiful macaw; Rob has had him for over 40 years!
Sometimes he fluffs his feathers – Jimi Hendrix style!
So why not take photos with Rob and Marlin?
On his last day with us. Rob joined us for worship at Stephens Valley Church. There were several nativity sets on display.
As Rob left, Linda tried to get a photo of Marlin on his perch in the passenger seat. Rob said he has people pass him on the road then slow down to check out the passenger!
Later that evening, it snowed! Charlene, being a California girl has seen snow in her travels but never saw it snow! That was pretty exciting for her to see the snow falling! Here’s our deck the next morning…
And some turkeys returned – perhaps they knew the threat of becoming Thanksgiving dinner had passed?
We played a fun game of Mexican Train on Bill and Charlene’s last night with us. It was great to have them here visiting; we will be traveling with them again before too long!
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The children were darling as they opened the worship service, singing praises to Jesus!
The sky was beautiful as the sun was setting on our way to the Advent Dinner at church.
Our delicious dinner was accompanied by a band playing Christmas classics.
After a several year hiatus, Chris and Linda made snickerdoodles and spritz cookies. The new kitchen island is ideal for cookie making!
Our best Christmas surprise was the arrival of Chuck on Christmas Day! 😊
Jim, Chris and Linda enjoyed the usual Friday at Yazoo – but with Eve and Chuck!
Until next time – we wish you many blessings in the coming new year!
Great blog Linda!
Enjoyed this blog so much. You guys keep going – I’ll continue reading – safe travels!
What an eventful year! Liked the pictures and details of all the Great Lake freighters, the Jack O’Lantern journey at the D’ Zoo, and so much more. Thanks for posting.
What a full and busy year. Grateful that Ted’s bike ride didn’t become a sad story. Let the new year bring new adventures and memories. God bless. Peace.
Thanks Linda JOY for sharing your wonder ful life with me. I do enjoy them.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
from Theresa JOY Powers…
Great catching up. You have had an interesting year. Congratulations on your 45th anniversary! Our 45th is next June and hope to have a major trip to celebrate.
Be safe in your travels ahead.
Looking forward to your future adventures.
As always, thanks for taking the time to post all the great pictures and blogging.