May, 2002

We began May by returning to Ohio and stopping for a few days at the Thousand Trails Preserve in Wilmington, OH (northeast of Cincinnati.)  They hadn't officially opened for the season yet, so we enjoyed a few days of peace and quiet.  We took side trips to Caesar Creek State Park and Waynesville.  On Friday, May 3 we drove up to Marysville and parked in front of the home of our daughter, Ann.  We enjoyed the weekend opportunities of playing with our three granddaughters and their golden/lab, Jack.  On Monday we headed on to our home in the Toledo area and slowly began the task on unloading "our stuff."

We thought we would have time to unload leisurely and get ourselves organized for a longer stay in our house...but that was not to be.  Early Tuesday morning we received the sad news that our son-in-law's father had passed away after an 18-month struggle with a brain tumor.  We made plans to travel to Zanesville and help out with the girls.  On Tuesday afternoon we were given an offer on our house.  After some discussion and counters, an acceptable offer was signed.  On Thursday we attended the Quarterly Care Meeting for Tom's mother at the nursing home and then headed for Zanesville in the Bounder.  While on the road, we got a call with an offer on Tom's parents home in Florida.  We had to find a fax machine when we got to Zanesville.  After evening calling hours at the mortuary, Ann and the girls came back to the Bounder which we had parked in a campground near Matt's family home.  Ann got them all asleep and left us in charge for the night.  Close and Merrick decided about an hour later to make Grandma and Grandpa work for their money, but we did get them back asleep by about midnight.  Our peace was not to be, however, as the cell phone rang at about 2am to tell us that Tom's Dad had passed away.  Then about 4, the two girls were awake again.  Coffey Ann slept through the night, but by morning Tom and I and the two younger ones were cozy together on the sleeper sofa!  Immediately after Tim McCurdy's funeral service we were headed back to Toledo.
Over the next several days we spent time with Tom's mother at the nursing home and met with various family members and others to plan the memorial service for Tom's Dad.  We also had to complete arrangements for the sale of the mobile home and of our house..and what to do with all our "stuff?" And, we need to find a place to park the Bounder so that we can live in it while still in the Toledo area.  There certainly are not many RV parks or campgrounds around here!!!
If you look closely you can see them all...Close on top, Coffey, Jack and Merrick inside the playhouse.
Memorial Services for Tom's Dad were held on May 20.  Reid came from Colorado and Ann and Matt and the three girls were here as well.  We had a houseful for one last time and we enjoyed having them here.  We had a nice lunch at a neighborhood church and shared fond memories of Dad with friends and family.
On Wednesday, May 22 we went in the Bounder to meet some Buckeye Bounder friends and travel to the FMCA Great Lakes Area Spring Spree (GLASS) Rally at the Youth Fair Grounds in Berrien Springs, Michigan.  There were 1201 coaches registered at the rally and we had a great time over the long holiday weekend.  We shopped the vendor area where we bought a new modem for the laptop computer which allows us to get our e-mail while in "analog" cell phone service areas.  And we attended many seminars and classes and toured lots of new coaches during the four days.  We dressed up in winter coats, hats, gloves and blankets to attend the evening entertainment in the grandstand which is open on two ends, but the daytime weather was bearable, if cool.  And we discovered that if we all sit still, we can entertain ten people in our Bounder!
Back home on Monday afternoon, May 27, we got back to our list of "things to do."  We have investigated many campgrounds and have found one major possibility in all that we've seen, where we would be comfortable staying for a month or two while we stay here in the Toledo area.  We have decided on an auction as the way to empty our house of all the unwanted items.  Ann and Matt will take some things and we are planning to put just a few things into a storage unit.  But, the rest will be sold.  We are waiting for all the inspections, approvals and paperwork to fall into place before we actually schedule the move and auction.  Meanwhile we are trying to clean out the few remaining small things from closets and drawers, etc.
It was "on the road again" on Thursday, May 30.  Once again we teamed up with Jacques Everhart and Aly in their Bounder and headed south.  We spent the night at one of our new favorite truck stops, Williams, near Lima, OH.  On Friday morning we moved on to the Wapakoneta KOA campground for a weekend rally of the Buckeye Bounders chapter of Bounders United.   It was a fun weekend in a really nice campground.  We had nine coaches lined up under the shade trees, and our hosts, the Truetts, made sure we had plenty to eat at breakfasts each day and around the campfires at night.  The whole group enjoyed Saturday dinner at the historic Koneta Inn.  The rest of the time we enjoyed just relaxing and getting to know some of the members that we had not previously met.  The weather was perfect and we enjoyed being outside.  It was a pleasant way to end a hectic month.
Ed "Billy Bob" Sims, Buckeye Bounders Vice-President, entertained us.

The Buckeye Bounders enjoyed home-made ice cream around the campfire on Saturday night.

Sue & "Doc" Wallick, Sue & Ed Sims, Jacques Everhart visited while in the fast moving line for dinner at the G.L.A.S.S. rally.
The G.L.A.S.S. Diner  --  It takes a lot of organization to feed over 2000 people in less than an hour!