June, 2003
June, already!  Where did it come from?  Seems like all we've had is a few warm days and the rest have been cold and/or wet.  Temperatures are running about 20* below normal for the first week of June....brr!!!  On Sunday, the first of June, we moved from Marysville to the Thousand Trails Preserve near Wilmington, OH.  We parked in the woods where the trees protected us from lots of raindrops, but it was still pretty muddy.  On Monday we had the nicest day of the week...which was great because we had brought our middle granddaughter, Close Ann, to stay with us for one night.  She and Tom dug for worms and went fishing (Unsuccessful even in the ponds we'd been told were loaded with fish!)  We went for a boat ride and had a picnic lunch...a great day.  In the evening we drove the car back to Marysville to attend the end-of-the-year program of oldest granddaughter, Coffey's, kindergarten class.  They did a fantastic job.  So, now she's a first grader.  Where did the last 6 years go?         On Tuesday we escaped the rain by driving to the Argosy Casino in Lawrenceburg, IN, just west of Cincinnati.  We came away ahead, thanks to a coupon we'd gotten in the mail.      The rest of the week we just took it easy.
Friday morning, June 6 we went northeast - and drove to Berlin, OH to join the Pioneer Chapter of the Bounders of America for our annual "Anniversary Weekend" at the Scenic Hills Campground.  We had a great rally with campfires in the evening, tasty food at mealtimes (especially our Amish-cooked dinner Saturday night), and a fun visit to some of the Amish establishments on Sat. afternoon.  It was good to see our old Bounder friends.    On Sunday we headed back to the Toledo area and parked at our favorite "local" campground, the Harbortown RV Resort in Monroe, Michigan. (We'd spent most of the summer of 2002 here.) 
For the next 10 days we took care of the rest of our doctor and dentist appointments, had some car service taken care of, met with county authorities to assure that Tom's mother's Medicaid status will continue for the next year and, of course, found time for dinners and lunches with various family and friends.  On Wednesday, June 11 we drove the car to Berrien Springs, MI (site of our Memorial Day Rally) and met up once again with Rich and Diane Emond, whom we'd seen last month in Indiana.  They and some other great people we'd met at a rally in Arizona several years ago were attending the "Newmar Coach" rally.  We attended a seminar with Rich, shopped the vendor buildings, toured the 2004 Newmar coaches and enjoyed a fun dinner with a group Newmar owners.  It was a long day, but we enjoyed it!           Also during our time at Harbortown we experienced our "first-ever" computer crash.  Mary's laptop must have decided that after three years of heavy use it was ready for a vacation.  Tom spent many hours on the phone with various tech-support people and at the time this web-page is published, has been successful in getting most of the software and programs up and running.  A few nuisance items remain, but at least we're functioning.  Luckily, Tom's laptop has continued to serve us well, but there were some things that were not loaded on both computers.
On Wednesday, June 18, we drove the Bounder to Marysville, OH, for one night.  Early the following morning we left for Hershey, Pennsylvania with our three granddaughters riding along as passengers.  They did very well on the long drive, strapped into their car-seats.  We stopped several times for gas and a picnic lunch and arrived at the Thousand Trails Preserve near Hershey near dinnertime.  During the night it began to rain and it continued all day Friday, bringing a total of about 3 1/2 inches by evening.  We passed the day inside the RV with various games and activities and the girls were very creative...they got out all our pots and pans and "opened a restaurant."  The showers slowed down on Saturday and by the time Ann and Matt arrived from Ohio in the afternoon, we were able to get outside.  On Sunday we visited the Hershey Chocolate World....a fun and tasty tour where we also enjoyed the 3-D movie presentation.  The Wilbur Chocolate Factory in Lititz, PA was our destination on Monday where we learned a little more about candy making.  We also took time to take some boat rides and swims at the Preserve and enjoyed cooking hot dogs and 'Smores over a campfire.
We spent the rest of Saturday doing laundry, cleaning up the Bounder, and missing the grandkids!  The campground was also the scene of a gathering of "renaissance" lovers...complete with costumes and various weapons which they used to stage "battles."  They were "eating, drinking, and being merry" well into the night.  On Sunday, June 29, we moved on.....into New Jersey and to the "Chestnut Lake Preserve" of Thousand Trails just 15 miles from Atlantic City.  And somehow, June was ending, already.
Grandpa teaching Close the fine art of baiting a hook with a worm.
Coffey and her kindergarten singing about their "return trip from the Caribbean."
Dinner in Berrien Springs with Paynes on the left, Emonds on the right, and a fun group of Newmar owners.
Tom with Mary's brother Bill and sister-in-law Beth enjoying the Toledo riverfront after dinner at "The Docks."
The Welcome sign at Hershey's Chocolate World, PA.
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'Smores night at the Thousand Trails Preserve in Hershey, PA.
We spent the rest of Saturday doing laundry, cleaning up the Bounder, and missing the grandkids!  The campground was also the scene of a gathering of "renaissance" lovers...complete with costumes and various weapons which they used to stage "battles."  They were "eating, drinking, and being merry" well into the night.  On Sunday, June 29, we moved on.....into New Jersey and to the "Chestnut Lake Preserve" of Thousand Trails just 15 miles from Atlantic City.  And somehow, June was ending, already.
We moved from Hershey to a campground in the woods near Quakertown, PA (north of Philadelphia) on Tuesday, June 24.  Our first problem in arriving there occurred when we followed the campground's directions to get there and couldn't go the last 100 yards because we couldn't fit through the 100+ year old wooden covered bridge.  You would think they would know that when they sent us the directions in the mail with our reservation confirmation which listed our RV size!  We had to unhook the car and turn the RV around on a very narrow road and driveway, and then of course, drive another several miles "around the block."  The Tohickan Family Campground is fairly large and filled mostly with "seasonal" residents.  The manager told us we were lucky that we hadn't been there over the weekend because they'd had to evacuate the area used by the "itinerant" RVers.  It didn't rain while we were there for 6 nights...but, boy did they have the mosquitoes!!  We also had trouble doing laundry when the only 2 dryers merely heated the wet clothes.  The manager returned some of our money and Tom cleaned out the exhaust ducts. 
June, 2003
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Burt with Coffey and Close at Sesame Place.
Merrick getting a big hug from her favorite...Elmo.
Mary, Ann, Matt, Coffey, Close and Merrick enjoyed Rubber Duckie's Sky Splash several times during the visit to Sesame Place.
Merrick working on one of her creations at the Crayola Factory.
Three happy granddaughters and Mr. Red Crayon in Easton, PA.
Click on "forward" and "back" above to see more of our June, 2003 adventures.
But, the real reason we had gone to the area was so that we could go to "Sesame Place."  We underestimated how long it would take us to drive there on Wednesday morning, so we were too late to participate in "Breakfast with Elmo."  On Thursday we took a different route and left earlier and enjoyed a nice buffet breakfast complete with visits with the various Sesame Street characters.  The girls were "in heaven."  We spent two whole days in the "Sesame Place" park and it was fantastic!  The shows were great, the crowds not bad, and the attractions were really fun!  Many of them were "water" attractions - which felt wonderful during the 97* and 95% humidity days!  The park is definitely geared to young children, but the rides and attractions are fun for the adults as well.  Our advice to anyone interested in visiting the park would include.....1) wear water socks and your bathing suit, 2) go to the "dry" attractions first each day,  3) if possible, have one adult for each child and another to take care of all the "stuff,"(there were lots of grandparents there!) 4) take advantage of the "2 days for one price" admission, 5) attend the buffet breakfast,  6) bring lots of film.          Our Friday trip was to the Crayola Factory in Easton, PA.  This is another great place to visit with kids.  They got to create all sorts of things using the various Crayola products.  We also watched crayons and markers being made on the facsimile assembly line.  The price of admission there also includes a "Canal Museum" which was pretty interesting, too. During the week at Tohickan we also took advantage of the great playground, pool and once more grilled dinner and made 'Smores.  Ann, Matt and the 3 girls loaded up their car and headed back to Ohio on Saturday morning and it was a quiet and lonely Bounder after they left.  Seven of us staying in the RV for a week and riding through the hills of PA in Ann and Matt's Durango took some patience and organization, but it was great fun!  The heat, humidity and bugs kept us inside more than we'd planned but, it all worked!