Family, Friends, Ministry, and Mystery

Minnesota Grandkids

8/10-14/2022 – We made a quick trip to Minnesota to see our Minnesota grandkids and to help Nate & Heather celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary. This video captures some of the fun. We drove our little Fiat car rather than make this trip in the motorhome, but it was fun to see the tanker truck with our name on it.

Salt Fork State Park

Tall Ships

7/9/22 Tall Ships – Our son, David, and I spent some time together enjoying the Tall Ships event in Cleveland. It was interesting to see how basic ocean travel was hundreds of years ago. Well…except for the diesel engine. They may not have had that in 1492.

Demolition Project

7/4/22 Demolition Project – My Uncle Eldon asked me to demolish a small building on his property. It was something he had wanted to have done for some time, but just couldn’t bring everything together to make it happen. He knows I like to operate equipment so he asked a cousin if he could rent his small excavator. The cousin was happy to provide the machine and I was happy to operate it. I completed the task in three hours. I really enjoyed doing it!

Headed North

6/13-17/22 Headed North – We left Florida on Monday, June 13 for travel to Ohio. Our practice is to stay overnight at Harvest Hosts locations. Harvest Hosts is a directory of more than 3,600 hosts in the United States and Canada who welcome RV travelers to stop for an overnight stay. Learn more about harvesthosts.com at this link. During this journey we stayed at three hosts then arrived at the Wolf Family Kompound Thursday evening. The “Kompound” is the farm I grew up on milking cows. I began working at farm chores at 8 years old when my Dad & Mom decided to begin dairy farming in January of 1959. I loved it! When Dad decided to retire in 2001 they parceled the 47 acre farm out to us seven siblings. For several years we siblings lived near each other on the “Kompound”. My wife and I sold our house to a nephew and his family in 2020 and we became Florida residents. Now when we come north to the Kompound we park at the house of one of my brothers. We love family!

This is NOT Good!!!

6/13/22 – This is NOT Good!!! – We traveled 300 miles today. The first 240 miles were perfect. Easy driving, smooth roads, easy access to refuel at a gas station, all is well…I thought. Then, after refueling we were on the interstate going up a slight grade passing over a road below the highway. I felt something odd that was similar to the feeling of the transmission shifting a gear. But it wasn’t that. Soon I felt a slight quick swaying from side to side. I looked in the mirrors and saw the trailer going from side to side. The hitch had slipped out of the receiver and was dragging on the highway. I quickly pulled to the shoulder which was wide, level, and asphalt surfaced. All the safety measures worked as intended so there was no accident or damage. I had the jacks and tools and parts I needed to get hooked up. 40 minutes later I was back on the highway. 60 miles later we were parked safely behind a Brewery type restaurant enjoying a pulled pork sandwich. I am thankful for the safe outcome of what could have been a very bad situation. Later I spoke with a fellow RV traveler who is also parked here with us. My new friend Steve. I shared this story with him and told him it happened about 60 miles south on I-95. He said they saw us along side the road as they were traveling to this same overnight location.

Camp Legacy

3/14-28/22 – Annual Support Trip to Camp Legacy – This is the third year we spent time at Camp Legacy in Luverne, Alabama. We worked for two weeks weeding flower beds and performing annual maintenance on lawn equipment. During our stay nine men from Battlefield Baptist Church in Virginia spent one week building a dormitory. In that period of time they framed the dormitory including the roof and framed rooms and petitions in two other buildings. At this time all four buildings needed to operate the camp are framed. The Lord has provided in an amazing way with all types of resources in the construction of this camp. It is likely these facilities will be complete by the end of this year. This will allow the beginning of ministry to young people in 2023. Please go to camplegacy.net to learn more about this ministry.

Grandchildren visit us in Florida

2/17-21/22 – Nate, Heather & Grandchildren Visit – Nate, Heather and the kids traveled to Florida from Minnesota for a time of warm relaxation during a cold Minnesota winter. We went to LEGO Land, the Clearwater Aquarium, Clearwater Beach, and other fun stuff during their short stay. Two of their aunts joined us for some activities. We had great time with a great family. Love those kids!

Dave & Faye 50th Wedding Anniversary

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2021 _(below) – 2022 ^_(above)

12/25/21 – Christmas Day Parade in Pinecraft, FL – Pinecraft is a community near Sarasota, FL that is a popular place for Amish & Mennonite family snowbirds. We have several friends from Hartville, OH. and other upper mid-west locations who spend the winter months in Pinecraft. This year we, and another couple from Zephyrhills joined them for their Christmas Day parade. Of course there were several tractors in the parade because many of the community are farmers and have a special tractor on hand as a toy or hobby. A Mennonite motorcycle gang was also part of the parade. We enjoyed our time with friends.

We’re dedicated to a focus on family!

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News

9/7-9/21 – Traveling to Florida – On Sunday evening we gathered with family to say goodbye before leaving for Florida. It is amazing to spend time with our Great Nephews and Nieces and realize in our conversations that they are talking as adults. Austin will be the first of that generation to be married. They plan to get married October 16th in the back yard of the house where his parents live near Hartville. It is the house we built in 2004 and owned it until last year when his parents bought it from us. Just as I never could have imagined a motorhome trip with our motorcycle friends so many years ago, see paragraph below, I never would have imagined our Great Nephew getting married in “our” back yard. Austin and Madison will live in Pittsburgh, PA. It is becoming more and more difficult to keep up with all the changes as we go through this part of our life. But it’s a wonderful experience. We love our family.

8/24-27/21 – Gettysburg visit – We traveled with friends to Gettysburg, PA primarily to enjoy a period of motorhome travel with each other. We have ridden motorcycles together for several years. About 12 years ago we rode to New York City with them to visit our daughter and son-in-law. We rode in the city and around the area. It never crossed my mind that years later we might make another trip east with them in our motorhomes. We had a great time together, but I was surprised at the sadness I felt as I learned how tragic that war was for Gettysburg and our country. I posted more thoughts and photos in the blog section of this website.

8/15-16/21 – Cousin Visit – Cindy and Ron stopped by our place in Ohio on their journey from Nashville, TN to the state of Maine. About one year ago we visited them at their home near Nashville. They looked through our motor home and asked about our experience. Early this spring they bought a motor home and began traveling the country to see family, friends, and sites. They went to the state of Washington and spent several days with their grandchildren and now on to Maine. We can’t keep up with them, but it was a blessing to spend time with them.

8/7-12/21 – Sears & Goodrich, MI – After our visit to Charlevoix, MI. we moved south to Faye’s brother’s farm at Sears, MI. We spent time with Leon & Connie sharing experiences and ideas through some great conversation. We also spent time with our nephew, Stephen, his wife Mindy, their son Seth, and Mindy’s mother Sharon. We had a classic Sunday, after church dinner that provided a wonderful time with family. Monday the 9th we moved to the farm of Jerry & Diana Hartman in Goodrich, MI. Jerry and I have been friends for about 53 years. This is the most time we have spent together in the past 45 years. We also visited with Faye’s aunt LaVonne and LaVonne’s daughter, cousin Connie. In addition we visited Faye’s uncle Leroy and aunt Connie in Flushing, MI. It can be confusing to keep all the Connies straight in our conversations…sister-in-law Connie, aunt Connie, and cousin Connie. We visited the graves of Faye’s Mom & Dad in Carland, MI. and the graves of her brother Wayne and my cousin LaVern in Ortonville, MI. Wayne and Vern were were high school age when killed instantly in a very bad traffic accident Feb. 19, 1969. So many memories and precious moments.

8/3-6/21 – Charlevoix, MI – We parked at Dave & Eva’s farm to spend time with them and visit our Charlevoix family. Wednesday morning we went to Aunt Carman’s house to join a zoom call to Uncle Chuck who is in a health care facility. Mike and Sue joined in. Afterwords Aunt Carman, Faye and I went to The Landing for lunch. We really enjoyed the time together in a great lakeside environment. We took the Ironton ferry across Lake Charlevoix, then went back to the farm and baled hay. The next day we went to the Charlevoix Farmer’s Market. More pictures are in the blog.

7/16-31/21 – Minnesota Travel Tales: This has been a busy two weeks. Each of the grandchildren had an overnight stay in the motor home, MoBetta. Some of the activities were miniature golf, swimming, UNO, and ball games. We watched Nehemiah’s Little League baseball team win the league championship. That was a big deal. Another interesting event was the Combine demolition derby at the Scott County Fair. The last two days were spent at Duluth, MN where we watched an ore freighter pass through a canal to the loading docks. That included a lift bridge demonstration. We wrapped up with a drive along the North Shore visiting Gooseberry falls and the town of Two Harbors. We will rest a day or two before moving on to Michigan.

6/24-27/21 – Brady Family @ Salt Fork: We had a great family gathering a Salt Fork State Park in Ohio. Boating, hiking, hoverboards, campfires, great food and fellowship made the gathering a great success. Much appreciation to the effort of travel and preparation of each family.

6/20/21 – Kompound Kids Day: We held the 4th annual Compound Kids Day the the farm we grew up on. It is an event designed to bring cousins of all ages together for family time. We had 65 people this year as some came and went during the day. This is becoming a highlight of the year to all.

6/4-11/21 – Our New Jersey Adventure: We spent a week with Charity and Felipe at their place in Denville, NJ. The main event was a graduation party for Megan who graduated from Fordham Law School. It was a wonderful experience because in addition to the very special occasion we met Felipe’s parents, siblings, and their families. We also recognized Kelsy’s accomplishment of graduation in cosmetology and her current practice. My sister, Denise, and Randy attended as well. They were a great help with setup and teardown. They also helped with some final kitchen remodeling tasks. They are amazing helpers. I believe their motto is, “Git’r Done. I did some outdoor drainage work and Faye helped with sewing tasks. We left MoBetta at home. We traveled in FeeBee, our little Fiat 500C convertible. FeeBee gas mileage is 43 mpg. MoBetta is 6.8 mpg.

3/10-19/21 – Camp Legacy: This is the second season we have gone to Camp Legacy in Luverne, AL. to help with spring preparation for mowing. Activities include servicing mowers, picking up sticks, weeding, and building stuff. Camp Legacy is one of the ministries led by Pastor & Mrs. Ira Walton. Other of these ministries are Crenshaw Community Baptist Church, and Alabama Baptist Seminary. The camp website is, www.camplegacy.net