End of the Midwest Tour

What an adventure! After a long day from Toledo to K.C., and then a somewhat long day to Boulder from there, my Midwest journey comes to an end. I cannot even express my thanks to all of my hosts and hostesses, my tour guides, my family, and the good Lord for making this trip such a wonderful memory for me and for my safety along the way. Not one driving hitch (unless you count the torrential rains in Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois) and so many unforgettable sights and opportunities. A trip of a lifetime! Wow!

Library Day

Accompanied Lainie and Sarah to the local library for Story Time. Lainie loves her library! After singing and dancing and listening to pizza stories, she got 9 new books to read over the next week.

Movie Critic for a Day

Had the opportunity to go to Detroit for a press screening for "The Informant!" -- the new Matt Damon movie. Kirk was going so he could write a review and invited me along. The theater was packed, and if I were writing the review, I MIGHT give it 2 stars but no more than that. Very long and tedious in my opinion. Nonetheless, it was fun to get to go. We got there a little early and went to an arcade to pass the 20 minutes -- I won over 500 tickets on a 50-cent Deal or No Deal game, so that was fun! They even had Whack-a-Mole! Haven't seen that since we were kids in Vegas! Anyway, an experience I won't forget.

Goin' to the Zoo!

Toledo has an awesome zoo! We had so much fun seeing the monkeys, gorillas, chimps, giraffes, zebras, and all the other animals. We also got to ride the train and the merry-go-round, play in the interactive children's center where Sarah painted Lainie's face, she climbed the spider web and dressed up like a bee near the honeycomb. We saw ants carrying food and leaves in the giant ant farm, and we got to play in the stream with our shoes off! The flowers were gorgeous and fragrant, and the whole place just screams "Family Fun!" We topped it all off with a picnic (you can take in whatever you want, no problem) and play time on the playground. What a great way to spend half a day (had to get home for nap, you know)!

New Playroom for Lainie

Thanks to Aunt Ruthy, Uncle Roger, and Cousin Travis, Miss Lainie has an Ariel princess costume that is on anytime she's at the house! She loves to cook in her new play kitchen while wearing her dress up clothes and then she serves tea. She has a puffy lounge chair, table and chairs, a bookcase, most of her toys, and even a computer down there in addition to her kitchen! Only put three pics on the blog since most of you have seen the album through Picasa. I don't know how to embed it so it shows up on the blog. Miss Lainie wants to have a tea party every waking minute, so I guess that means she likes it all. What a princess she is!

Playin' in the Park!

The Toledo parks are incredible! There are bike paths, education areas, huge playgrounds with lots of structures and fun things to do, picnic areas aplenty, and big trees and fields all around. We were climbing around one big tree and found a fuzzy caterpillar that was one heck of a climber -- very fast! Check out Lainie's flying hair on the slide -- electrifying! We hope to go back for a picnic later in the week.

Greek For A Day!

We all went down to the Greek Festival in downtown Toledo for some fun this weekend. After watching the dancers and listening to the music, we dined on authentic Greek food, sans falafel which were nowhere to be found, and then Miss Lainie decided to try the ferris wheel all by herself. She loved it! She ended up riding it twice. She also got her first porta-potty experience, and yes, it was a good one. Pristine! It had not been used once (lucky for us!) and she was fine with it. All in all, a very good day!

Back in the USA! Shopping at Toledo Farmers' Market

Left Ontario, Canada, on Friday morning bright and early to miss the rush hour traffic in Toronto. Got to Sarah's about 1:30 p.m. and got a hero's welcome from Miss Lainie. I think she missed me! Then Sarah, Lainie and I made our way down to the Farmers' Market in downtown Toledo on Saturday morning. What a delight to see all the fresh veggies, gladiolas, mums, and fruits. Unfortunately for me, the Apple Festival is next weekend, so I'll miss it. They have a pie-baking contest and you can bet I would have entered had I been here! Miss Lainie loved the pumpkins the most; as you can see, they had one just her size!

Golf Courses Galore!

Can't believe I forgot to mention that there are at least 3 golf courses on every road you turn down around Stouffville and Toronto! There are something in the neighborhood of 600 courses here! Erick would be in heaven! And they're entirely green -- no desert to walk between the tee off and the fairways! I know when we come back he'll be playing golf every day, and I may be playing right along side him!

Treated like the Queen!

I see I got the pictures in chronologically backwards, so I'll describe them as we go. Rudi and Leanna Wobito took me to the CN Tower for a 4-course delight of a gourmet dinner in the tallest building in Canada. The room rotates so that you get an aerial view of the whole area, hence the other pictures with Lake Ontario and the city of Toronto. The sailboats were out in full force, littering the lake but looking tiny from our sky view. There is an area of the floor that is glass so you can look down to the ground level and experience the feeling of just how high you are. Some folks won't even get on it; too scary for them. I wanted to do it! After dinner we took the scenic route home; Toronto has a breathtaking skyline!

The two lowest pictures are of my host, Ralph Wobito, and a town called Unionville that takes you back in time to a quaint little English village. There's a blacksmith and a candy shop and restaurants and such; it's so cute! We had lunch at an Austrian restaurant with Ralph's wife, Kim, and had schnitzel sandwiches -- yum! Had no idea what they were before seeing it on the menu, but I am sure glad I tried it! Ralph and Kim were kind enough to open their home to me for my stay, and Ralph was my personal tour guide in and around the Toronto/Stouffville area.

Upon my arrival at Stouffville on Wednesday, Ralph and Rudy gave me a demonstration at their shop of the various workstations and processes involved from taking a piece of rough stone, cutting out the best parts, cutting and sand and grinding it into a beautiful gem that folks would want to buy or use in a piece of jewelry. Gemcutting has been in their family for generations, and they build all of their own equipment for the shop. Their pieces are breathtaking! I feel very honored to have been allowed to see the whole process. These guys are the salt of the earth, and they treated me like a queen the whole time I was in Canada. I am truly blessed to count them among my friends.

Niagara Falls and Niagara on the Lake

Seeing Niagara Falls from the Canadian side was a real treat! The view of the straight set of the falls (what you usually see from the U.S. side) is only half of the picture -- the horseshoe-shaped falls are really spectacular! Ralph and his mom took me through the wine country of Niagara on the Lake after we saw the horseshoe falls with its spray overtopping the 4-lane road and soaking everything and everyone in sight. The Maid of the Mist is a boat that you can buy a ticket to ride on and get drenched if you want to as it travels under the falls. We opted not to do that! We then visited several wineries and I bought some new wines that taste delicious. Our fish 'n chips lunch was in the town of Niagara on the Lake at a quaint little restaurant; it was delicious! We made the most of the day and just had a ball! Got back in time for Ralph to grill a fabulous steak dinner. Delightful.

Up North

John and Vickie's place Up North is just delightful, and the view of the lake with all the sailboats is simply breathtaking. We watched a little regata going on the first day, and throughout the week I was there we saw boats out there every day with the weather being the best of the summer. Vickie and I drove to Charlevoix one day and the town is very cozy and cute. We walked about, did a little shopping, and toured the marina in town. The gardens at some of the houses along the waterfront in Charlevoix are just unbelievable! I can see the attraction for spending the summer there.

Labor Day Weekend

We had two beautiful days for boating while John was Up North. Lake Charlevoix was dancing with sailboats and powerboats of all sizes. Sue and Brian and their families, and Dan and Martha joined in and we swam in both Lake Michigan and in Lake Charlevoix. A bit chilly but refreshing. John and Vickie's boat is fantastic! The water was like glass in the morning. Fun, fun, fun!!

We be Jammin'!

The blackberries are ripening in Upper Lower Michigan, so Miss Vickie and I went berry picking. Their lot was full of blackberry bushes (and thorns, too!), so we picked enough for one batch and took them back to make jam. We had so much fun we went back the next day and picked enough for another batch. Never knew how much sugar there was in jam before, but even with the knowledge, it is so good that I'm going to keep eating it. We were very proud of ourselves!

Mackinac Island

Okay, so here's the deal: I don't know how to create a slideshow for the blog, so I just have to post pic after pic for you to see. So be tolerant! There won't be a lot of text, just a lot of pics!

Vickie and I took the ferry over. The bridge is 5 miles long to Mackinac Island and it's something to see. Lake Huron is on the east side of the bridge; Lake Michigan is on the west side. The view of the lighthouse, the fort, and the Grand Hotel is spectacular! It's only a 15-minute ride and then you land at a dock right in the middle of the shopping district. A quick right and we rented bikes (yellow -- my lucky day!) and headed off for an 8-mile self directed tour around the island. We stopped at an old church that was just gorgeous inside. Arch Rock was the second stop -- after hiking up a gajillion stairs -- well, maybe not that many, but it was a good steep hike to the top. After that hike, had to put my toes into Lake Huron. Pretty chilly! The views there and all around the island were pretty incredible. We rode up to the Grand Hotel and took some photos there. Brilliantly colored flowers, bushes cut to look like a coach and buggy, manicured lawns, and the hotel structure itself all lend to the transport back in time you feel while on the island. No cars, just horses and horse drawn carriages -- and bikes, of course! Then we had lunch on the waterfront at the Pink Pony followed by shopping and strolling the main street area. Ice cream at Kilwin's and more strolling around some of the B&B's finished off our time on the island. For the ferry ride back, we opted to sit inside because it was 5:00 and the sun was getting low. I knew I'd be cold! Several folks opted for the open-air top level, but they were quickly inside once we got going on the water and the spray started to soak them! Down they came in droves for the safety and warmth of the inside seating. The family in front of us had two darling little boys, one of whom reminded me so much of Mr. K with his inquisitive questions and friendly, funny disposition. It was just a perfect day.