May, 2003
Back in the Toledo area we parked once again in our old neighborhood.  We enjoyed seeing several of our old neighbors and especially are thankful to Dick and Liz for letting us use the  "creature comforts" of a "stick" house.  We took advantage of their land-line phone, washer and dryer and cable TV for various periods of time.  Dick is also an excellent "grill guy"  and we enjoyed some good food as well.  We were able to visit Tom's mom easily and visit with friends Kathie and Dennie Dew and Jacques Everhart, too.
Friday morning we subjected ourselves to the lab work connected to our annual physicals - ouch!  And later in the day we moved the Bounder into the lot at the Homewood Suites Hotel in Maumee.  We eventually checked in after having discovered that our reservations had been totally screwed up.  We had gone over there on Wednesday afternoon and re-checked our month old reservations and thought all was in order.  But, by Friday they had disappeared and there were no two-bedroom units available.  We settled for two one bedroom units and were quite comfortable with all the space.  Our son Reid arrived from Colorado and our daughter and family from Marysville around 8pm - and suddenly the place was lively and noisy.  We headed to the indoor pool to work off steam!  When it was time to get the kids quiet again, we headed back out to the Bounder and slept in our own bed!
On Saturday we attended the wedding of Tom's nephew, John Kaminski, to his lovely bride, Denise.  The weather could have been better - but at least it wasn't raining.  They had a beautiful looking wedding party, including their two daughters.  The evening reception was lots of fun and our two oldest granddaughters "danced the night away."  Merrick decided that she needed a nap and found a corner to occupy.
Mary's side of the family joined us at the hotel on Sunday.  We used a conference room and had an "indoor picnic."  We were happy to see Mary's mother and step-father who had just returned from Texas, and her brother Bill and his wife from here in Toledo.  One of Reid's good friends drove up from Columbus to join us as well.  After we had used up our time in the hotel rooms, we moved to the Bounder for some more visiting.  We're glad we didn't have to all eat and sleep there...there were 13 of us!  After all our guests had headed for home, Tom went over to Dick and Liz's house to get their grass cut before the next big rain.
It was back to the old neighborhood once again on Monday morning, May 5.  The Bounder was parked there for several days while Tom tended the lawn for our former neighbors who were away for a few days and we "borrowed" their laundry facilities.  Mary took a quick trip to Marysville on Tuesday and Wednesday to help out with the grandchildren and learned that she didn't want a steady routine of caring for six children under 6 at once.  On Wednesday we moved out to the Maumee Bay State Park.....a beautiful place right on Lake Erie with beautiful RV sites.  During our week at the park we made trips into town to take care of more doctor appointments and various personal errands and to enjoy dinners with old friends,   We sold our second car, which has been in storage most of the last 3 years.  It's been handy to have it while in town, but a nuisance to keep stored and in running condition.  Unfortunately, the weather for the week we were at Maumee Bay was not the greatest...we had plenty of rain accompanied by thunder and lightning.  Saturday, Mary spent several hours at "Quiltmakers," the shop that Tom's sister runs in Pemberville, OH. The shop was celebrating its first year anniversary and Mary enjoyed seeing what all the shop has to offer and having the time to visit with Judy and the quilting patrons.
1 - 2 - 3 - jump!!!
Mr. and Mrs. John Kaminski
Denise's daughter, Ari and John's daughter, Sydnie.
Merrick's solution for a stress-free party.

On Mother's Day, May 11, we had somewhat of a family get-together at Tom's sister's home with their mother and some of Judy and Ron's kids and grandkids.  The wind was so string we were glad that we were not on the road in the Bounder.  On Wednesday afternoon we moved our home once again....back again to Marysville - parking in front of Ann and Matt's.  Thursday morning we attended the end-of-the-year program at middle granddaughter, Chloe's, preschool.  The little ones gave a great performance of their favorite songs and finger-plays. We spent the next several days playing with the kids and helping around the house.  After much begging and urging by the girls over several days, Mary and Ann took the girls to the mall in Dublin so that Coffey and Close could have their ears pierced. (Merrick didn't want any part of it!!!)  They both were a little surprised at how much it hurt, but it seemed to pass quickly and they are both very proud of their "beautiful earrings."    

Coffey's and Close's pretty new earrings.

Click on "forward" and "back" above to see more of our May adventures.
Close Ann performing with her class.
On Saturday we made a sad trip to Toledo to attend the funeral mass for Major John Gardiner who had been in charge of the JROTC program at Springfield High School when our kids attended there.  He was an incomparable mentor and inspiration to many kids at the high school over the years - and will be greatly missed.
May, 2003  page 2
Sunday found us moving the coach once again.  We left Marysville, OH and drove to Decatur, Indiana and pulled in at the Fleetwood Service Facility. There were about a dozen coaches "camped " there and we joined the friendship circle (minus a campfire) for a while.  We were able to use the dump and water facilities and have an electric hookup for the night.  Most of the other coaches were waiting for service appointments, but on Monday morning we moved on the Nappanee, Indiana.  There we parked at the Newmar Coach factory...down at the end of their "overflow" parking area.  We hooked up with friend Jacques Everhart, and our Bounders "stuck out like a sore thumb."  But, the people in the other coaches...all Newmars...were quite friendly.  They even invited us inside to see some of the features in their coach and share some travel adventures.  Tuesday morning we headed over to the Newmar factory where we joined about 30 other people to take a tour of the Newmar factory.  We had taken the tour last fall, but were interested in seeing it all again.  It's quite a place, with about 85% of their workers being Amish.  All of the Newmar products (various size motor homes -gas and diesel- and fifth wheels) go through on the same assembly line.  Each coach is made to order by teams of workers who specialize in each task.  The coaches are moved along the line on air cushions, and it takes about 12 to 16 work days for each coach to make it all the way through the factory.  A very interesting tour!  Later in the day we drove to Hart City RV in Elkhart to see what finished Newmar models they had in stock.  In the "campground" at the Newmar service facility, we ran into Rich and Diane Emond who own a Dutch Star and who we had met several years ago at a rally in Arizona.  We also visited with them near Port Clinton, Ohio last summer.  A chance meeting - and we enjoyed having them over for "Happy Hour" and then going to dinner with them in town.  They will be attending some rallies in the area and then heading to the Canadian Maritimes...so perhaps we'll see them there in July or August.
We made the trip to Berrien Springs, Michigan, about an hour from Nappanee, on Wednesday morning, May 21 and entered the grounds of the Berrien County Youth Fair for the Family Motor Coach Association, "Great Lakes Area Spring Spree."  We were there for the entire Memorial Day Weekend as one of about 900 coaches.  We attended various seminars and toured the vendor booths and new coaches.  Mary spent quite a bit of time at the "Swedish Weaving" seminars helping some of the ladies learn the craft. (Somehow it seemed like more fun than another session on holding tanks or batteries).  And, even though we have attended quite a few rallies by now, we continue to pick up a few new hints each time.  On Saturday afternoon we went on a trip to tour a local vineyard and winery.  We gained a little more respect for the grape farmer after they explained how labor intensive it is to grow grapes in the Michigan area...hand tying each vine up on the fence in the summer, then down on the ground in the winter so that the vines are covered with a protective layer of snow to guard against freezing, then back up in the spring again!!  The evening entertainment was fairly decent, the food was pretty good, and the weather could have been a lot warmer!  But we enjoyed seeing quite a few people that we had met through the Michigan-O-Bounders over the years.  We were surprised to also run into a couple that we had met at Palm Creek in Arizona.  Tom and Diane Conerty were at the rally as a vendor, selling their "Cover Catcher" for the bed.  Tom also is a Dutch Star salesman from Aurora, Colorado.  We may just be seeing them again soon.  The final activity on Monday morning was the memorial service.  The local school band played and some FMCA members who are also some of our MOB friends conducted a nice service.  As usual, the GLASS Rally staff did a good job of handling the many coaches and people attending the rally.  It was a great weekend.
Click on "forward" and "back" above to see more of our May adventures.
MOB and GLASS member, Bob Metevia raising the Flag at the Memorial Day ceremony.
Our patriotic MOB friends, Jacques Everhart and Irma Spiedel attending the Memorial Day services at the GLASS Rally.
On Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, we drove from Berrien Springs to Jackson, MI.  We parked on the street in front of Mary's mother's condo and celebrated (a day late) the 87th birthday of Mary's stepfather, Fran.  It was a fun evening of visiting and "Hillbilly Rummy."  The next morning, we shared breakfast and some more visiting.  Then we headed on down to Lake LeAnn to visit with old friends Jan and Jim Duwve.  They now live just a few houses down from Mary's Mother's old house on the lake.  Jan and Mary used to teach first grade together at Holland Elementary.  Interestingly, another now retired teacher from Holland now lives in Fran's old house at the lake...weird coincidences!  We had a great lunch on Duwve's deck overlooking the water and later took a leisurely boat ride around the lake.  We noticed quite a few changes over the last several years.    In the late afternoon we drove on to Dundee, Michigan, to the large lot behind Cabella's.  We spent quite a bit of time browsing in their huge store and gazing at all the animal exhibits.  We remembered that when the store first opened several years ago, we took our oldest granddaughter through the store and we think she thought she was at the zoo, and didn't realize that all the animals, except the fish swimming in the aquariums, are "stuffed."  We spent the night there at Cabella's and on Wednesday morning went on in to Toledo.    We had planned to park in our old neighborhood, but due to major driveway construction equipment blocking the street, we decided to just leave the Bounder in the Target store lot for the day.  We took Tom's mother to her doctor's appointment and out to lunch. (Her report was good!).  In the afternoon, Tom had an appointment with one of his doctors.  Later we went to dinner with former neighbor Liz Lehto (Dick was out of town) and then retrieved the Bounder and went on to the rest area on I-75 just south of Bowling Green.
Thursday we arrived in Marysville and were greeted warmly by the granddaughters.  Coffey's dance recital dress rehearsal was at 5:30 and Grandpa baby-sat with a sleeping Merrick while the rest of us went to watch and take photographs and videos.  The final performance was on Saturday (no photos allowed) and it was quite a show.  The many little girls - and one little boy - had worked hard and looked so cute in their costumes.  It was a great performance.  We celebrated the show (and the end of a cold and wet May with dinner at Casa Fiesta in Marysville.
Mary's Mother and Step-father, Fran in Jackson, MI.
Tom with Jan and Jim Duwve at Lake LeAnn.
The dueling bears in front of Cabella's store in Dundee, MI.
Coffey as a ballerina in "Just a Spoonful of Medicine"  and as a tap dancer with "Pots and Pans."