JUNE 2015
June 11-14
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| Katie |
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Ed, Danette, Aliyah, Darline,
Susan, Mike, Lisa |
Danette flew to Fargo to pick up her Mom and Ed. They drove to Minneapolis to see Katie, Danette's niece, in a dance recital. Susan, Danette's sister, came from Fargo. Katie was in seven varied performances throughout the evening. She is an outstanding dancer at age 12. 13 as of July 2015.
Danette and Darline, Danette's mother, stopped to see Kayla, Danette's niece, in Minneapolis and her four children.
June 15-August 4, 2015
Danette flew home on Sunday and on Monday Jim and Danette took off in Casper from Palm Coast and toured around for seven weeks. We put 6,000 miles on Casper, our 1997 VW EuroVan. We traveled part of the US, Ontario and Manitoba Canada.
Our first stop was in
Nashville, where we met Kathy and Gary, Jim's sister and husband. We went to the Country Music Hall of Fame and went to Tooties to hear local musicians. The main event was going to the Rolling Stones concert. Brad Paisley was the back up band.
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| Brad Paisley |
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| Brad and Carrie Underwood |
After Nashville, we drove to
Ontario Canada. Georgian Bay area.
We stayed with John and Pam Mitchell, people we had met through boating. The only way to get to their home is via a boat. The scenery is beautiful with granite and trees everywhere. Boaters need to be aware and stay within the markings so as not to hit a granite boulder.
We continued north along
Georgian Bay,
North Channel and along the north shore of
Lake Superior.
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| Lake Superior details |
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Wawa, Ontario
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Winnie, a black bear, was purchased in White River by a soldier from Winnipeg
He used him as a mascot then left him at the London Zoo.
A.A. Milne and his son, Christopher, would visit Winnie. |
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| Chutes waterfall |
We went to the Lake of the Woods area which is world known for fishing.
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| Driving from Lake of the Woods toward Manitoba |
July 1 is Canada Day. We were able to arrive in
Manitoba right before Canada Day and spend time with Greg and Corinne, good friends we met in Bahamas and have gone to Europe with. The live on Lake Winnipeg in Hecla Provincial Park. We ate, drank, went biking and boating.
We spent part of a day in Winnipeg at the Human Right Museum. If you ever have the opportunity, it is a must see.
Since July 4 was coming up, we traveled south and made a stop at Danette's cousin and family. Bill and Marilyn Wahouske and family were all there. We enjoyed our time together.
We then spent some time in Fargo and at the lakes in MN. It was Marv's, Danette's uncle, 80th birthday so the family got together.
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| Jim, Ed, Mike, Lisa, Danette, Marv, Darline |
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| In Vergas at the big loon with Danette's mother and Ed. |
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| Teri and Deb with their dogs. |
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| Jim and Mike (Danette's brother) |
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| Lisa (sister in law of Danette) |
We had arranged to meet Jim's family in Chicago for weekend of July 17. We drove east with stops in Minneapolis, MN and three stops in Wisconsin. We saw Danette's brother and family in MN.
We stopped to see Dan, the best man in our wedding, and his wife.
We met Jim's relatives for a dinner in Milwaukee.
Pat and Bill with Jim in Racine, WI.
The big summer trip for Jim's two grand daughters was a trip to
Chicago to see Taylor Swift. They flew in from CA and FL and we all stayed at Kathy and Gary's, Jim's sister and husband. Jim's two daughters, grandson, and son-in-law also flew in.
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| Chloe and Sofia outside Soldier Field, where Taylor Swift held her concert. |
We then all took the pilgrimage to Tom and Kris home, Jim's brother, in western WI. The kids enjoyed seeing the sheep they care for, driving the ATV, playing games on the lawn, catching fireflies at night, and taking a pontoon ride on the Mississippi.
Since Tom lives on the western edge of WI, everyone flew out of Minneapolis. We drove there and stopped to have lunch at a brew pub with Danette's brother, Mike, before flying out later afternoon. So we were only four hours away from Fargo so took the trip for a second time this summer. We saw Danette's mother, Danette's cousins, Deb and Teri, and Nancy and Erroll.
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| Double rainbow at Deb and Teri's lake home. |
On July 27 we started working our way home. We went further east before we went south as we had talked earlier in the trip about doing Niagra Falls. Danette and never been and Jim had been there over 30 years ago. We stayed in the
Cleveland area and saw the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We spent over five hours at the hall of fame and a person could spend an entire day. We also spent time with Renee, a friend from when we lived in CA, who now lives in OH.
Niagara Falls was a great way to top off our summer trip. We spent the weekend riding bike between the US and Canada sides as you get different views of the falls. The bus system is great in the city because we were able to put our bikes on the bus to get places and then ride. We took the Hornblower boat out in the morning to get a close up view of the falls. We biked the entire day to the varied parks and attractions along the waterway.
After leaving Niagra Falls we drove through New York and stopped at Watkins Glen. It is known as having race car driving in the area and we stayed at a beautiful State Park campground.
We left Watkins Glen and drove to PA and spent a couple hours with Gail and Joe, Palm Coast friends who live in PA for summer. We continued south to Palm Coast, FL and arrived home August 4, 2015.
The summer was great seeing new territory, old familiar territory, and spending time with friends and family. It is also always nice to come home.
Our first stop was in Nashville, where we met Kathy and Gary, Jim's sister and husband. We went to the Country Music Hall of Fame and went to Tooties to hear local musicians. The main event was going to the Rolling Stones concert. Brad Paisley was the back up band.
After Nashville, we drove to Ontario Canada. Georgian Bay area.
We stopped to see Dan, the best man in our wedding, and his wife.
We met Jim's relatives for a dinner in Milwaukee.
Pat and Bill with Jim in Racine, WI.
The big summer trip for Jim's two grand daughters was a trip to Chicago to see Taylor Swift. They flew in from CA and FL and we all stayed at Kathy and Gary's, Jim's sister and husband. Jim's two daughters, grandson, and son-in-law also flew in. 
We then all took the pilgrimage to Tom and Kris home, Jim's brother, in western WI. The kids enjoyed seeing the sheep they care for, driving the ATV, playing games on the lawn, catching fireflies at night, and taking a pontoon ride on the Mississippi.
Since Tom lives on the western edge of WI, everyone flew out of Minneapolis. We drove there and stopped to have lunch at a brew pub with Danette's brother, Mike, before flying out later afternoon. So we were only four hours away from Fargo so took the trip for a second time this summer. We saw Danette's mother, Danette's cousins, Deb and Teri, and Nancy and Erroll.
On July 27 we started working our way home. We went further east before we went south as we had talked earlier in the trip about doing Niagra Falls. Danette and never been and Jim had been there over 30 years ago. We stayed in the Cleveland area and saw the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We spent over five hours at the hall of fame and a person could spend an entire day. We also spent time with Renee, a friend from when we lived in CA, who now lives in OH.
Niagara Falls was a great way to top off our summer trip. We spent the weekend riding bike between the US and Canada sides as you get different views of the falls. The bus system is great in the city because we were able to put our bikes on the bus to get places and then ride. We took the Hornblower boat out in the morning to get a close up view of the falls. We biked the entire day to the varied parks and attractions along the waterway. 
