Home Sweet Home

Poky Growing Up

2011-03-24T07:48:00.000-07:00

It's been nearly a year since I've posted on my blog. Since I left off with our new puppy, I will start off with Poky. She celebrated her first birthday March 18th. It's been a "puppy year". I think we forgot how much energy a puppy can exert and their ability to destroy anything they can get their teeth on. Fortunately she has outgrown most of that. Poky is already on a diet...is about 5 lbs over weight. She loves to go in the car with us, goes on a walk everyday, and likes to be in the same room whereever we are and she crowds us in bed.

Poky and her friend "Little One". They often chase each other.

We took Poky to Obedience School. Here's Larry
learning obedience !!! Haha

Poky loves Katie and the feeling is mutual.
We are thankful that Poky loves kids.

Whenever Katie would watch tv on the couch, Poky would
be right there with her.

Naughty Dog

Poky's Graduation Certificate
She learned quickly and enjoyed being with the other dogs.
She has learned several tricks, among them , sits up on command,
jumps through a hoop, shakes hands

OUR NEW PUPPY

2010-05-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

We are so excited over our new puppy, a Jack Russell
We rescued her from a shelter. She's 9 week old and is
so sweet. We knew instantly when we saw her that she
was "the one" and she picked us too.

We haven't named her yet, except that Dad/Larry keeps calling
her "Pokey" like the story "Pokey Little Puppy".

So far the suggestions
from family and friends are: Addy, Tera, Lucky, Kiwi, Daisy,
Lottie, Jackie. What do you think is a good name? I'll be
posting her name soon, so keep checking my blog

HOME

2010-05-11T16:51:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe we've been home for two weeks already. Son Steve says that I'm still in Chicago according to my blog, so I thought I'd better post that we arrived home safe and sound April 28th. The night before we stopped overnight at Sue and Chris, then came on home the next day.

Sammy getting ready for the day

Good bye Gma and Gpa, see you in a couple of weeks.

Mackenzie ready for school

Katie eating her breakfast before we left

IKEA

2010-04-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

Hey Robin and Kim, I finally found an IKEA to go to. We hadn't planned on going near Chicago, but Larry changed our route so I we'd go near an IKEA.

I had a blast looking at all the designer rooms and all the gadgets. I didn't buy a lot, only spent about $30.00 but did get some great ideas. I'd love to have my office ( and Larry's) in the cabin dont over in IKEA. Steve could design it for us. He's good at that.

Larry took several pictures of me as I was checking things out. I'm only going to include one.

After shopping at IKEA we found an RV park just over into Indiana. In the morning as we were leaving we found these neat looking towers. .

On our way Sunday morning (just 30 miles) to Shipshewana, Indiana, where Larry wants to go to the Hudson Museum there Monday morning we'll shop there in the Amish stores, head East in the afternoon, hopefully getting close to the Pennsylvania border. Then Tuesday morning "Heading for the barn". May stop to Sue's if we are in need of an over night break. We're taking route 20 home.

IOWA

2010-04-23T20:52:00.001-07:00

.....rolling hills, neat farms, huge fields ready to be planted, windmills, green meadows, cattle grazing, dirt roads and windy.

Here is a rest area I thought was unusual. IOWA is in huge calligraphy letters on the building and this humongous pen nib.

It rained all day, so picture isn't very clear, but you can see some farm buildings in the background.

One of thousands of fields ready for planting.

Crossing the Mississippi in Iowa

One of the nicest campsites we've stayed in, reminded me more of NY. It was a state park, beautiful little lake with some geese swimming around. Electricity and water and nice showers provided and for only $11. a night. We picked our site and left the money in an envelope.

On to Illinois today.

Pioneer Village Con't

2010-04-23T20:17:00.000-07:00

This post is a continuation of the previous post. Be sure and look at that one first. This first picture is a 1939 motor home. Looks like real siding, with brick look alike around the bottom. The inside was very roomy, had a kitchen, bedrooms and living area. It looked very clutsey though.

Thought of the Canary's when I took this picture. There were twice this many.

These pictures are for Shari. Larry/Dad said....these remind me of Shari's toy and games , Shari should see this.

I talked to Shari on FB and she said she knows of the game. It's an English Pub game. She also said she should make one.

Pony Express Log Cabin. There was a bed in it, stove, table, dishes and one of Buffalo Bill's saddles. It's an authentic relay station that was moved to the museum.

I thought the corners/log ends were unique. Very roughly hewn and pointed

This was in one of the handout papers in the museum. I loved it. Read it, you'll enjoy it. (You can click on it to make it larger)

One of the displays was about the many different ways of weather forcasting.

PIONEER VILLAGE, Minden, Nebraska

2010-04-23T17:45:00.000-07:00

AMAZING MUSEUM The brochure states:

" The Story of America and How it Grew More than 50,000 items from every Field of Human Endeavor. 28 buildings on 20 acres..Authentic Originals arranged in their order of Development..All Mechanical Items in Operating Condition."

This is the most amazing museum we've ever seen. It literally didn't leave anything out. Farm machinery, a country church, 350 antique autos, bicycles, covered wagons, thousands of collections of every item you can think of. We kept saying "this is amazing"

The oldest cars and numerous air planes were over head.

Several steroscopes of 3 D pictures of pictures depicting the old west, old cars, etc

This was in the Bloomington Land Office. It was moved to the museum. It actually served pioneers filling theri homestead clains. It contains early maps, and old land records. Read this old Homestead Act of 1862 which was posted on the wall.

There were a number of large buildings containing the collections, but in the center was a circular area with the church, log cabin, school house, China house, Firehouse, general store, small fortress, all around a large grassy area with picnic table, flowers and flowering trees such as this magnolia tree.

The display of old records and recording machines. There were two long rows of them.

One area had room after room showing old stores and businesses. Here's part of the drugstore.

You wouldn't think there'd be antique computers in a musuem but some of them are history. Larry saw some of the first card machines that he worked with in the late 50's with the 330th DPU, his army data processing unit, like the key punch, sorter, collator, and accounting machine, and a System 35 he helped convert to the System 38 in IBM in the mid 70s.

There was a 34 and 35 Terraplane, a couple of Essex, a 24 and a 25 Hudson and a 49 Hudson Super Six, as well as Brushes, Moons, Packards, Stars, Cords etc. LPC

To be continued......

NORTH PLATT, NEB.

2010-04-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

TO MINDEN, NEBRASKA
April 20 and 21

Around the corner from our campsite was this fort. It was really a museum.
There were a lot of gift items but also lots of history about Buffalo Bill. They had a replica of the Wild West Show that he traveled with. It was in miniature, hand carved, over 20,000 animated pieces. It was fascinating!

Bill Cody "Buffalo Bill"

Who's that Red Neck?

Two peas in a pod.

Union Pacific's Bailey Yard...The World's Largest Train Yard. It's where east meets west on the U.P. line, and where 10,000 cars are handled each day, stretching out eight miles.

This is the tower. We took the elevator to the top ( 8 floors) where we could look out over the whole freight yard. We must have been up there for nearly an hour. Larry got to talking to the guide. He was very knowledgable and interesting, but then the converstion went to cars...then Hudson's. I'm going to get Larry/Dad a button to wear that says..."Warning, do not push this man's button". The man did enjoy talking to Larry...was very interested in the extra Hudson truck that Larry has. He liked the business card, said he wanted to keep it. A picture of one of the big train engines will appear here when Larry uploads his pictures.

When we left North Platt we took a road that paralled route 80. so we could see some of the country.. Was it just coincidence that we came upon this huge junk yard? Of course we turned around and went back to it. Larry took lots of pictures, he said there had to be over 500 cars there. I don't think he saw one Hudson though.

I finally was able to get a snapshot of a real working windmill. Almost every farm had one. I think I noticed and commented on everyone that I saw.

These grain elevators are everywhere along the way. They are huge.

The Great Platte River Road Archway. We drove under it, but now wish we'd taken the time to stop and visit it. Apparently it pays tribute to the pioneers that cross our great country. Go to
www.archway.org/About/default.aspx

Tom and Ginger better stop there on your way east or on your way back.

Cheyenne, Wyo to Platt, NB.

2010-04-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

We don't like to travel on Sunday so stayed here in Cheyenne, Wyo. over Sunday. They conduct a Cowboy Church here. They belong to Christian Cowboys International.

The folks that were camped next to us had these two dogs. The Shih Tsu is 9 mo old. What a sweatheart. Made us want another Shih Tzu for sure. The other little dog was nice too and took to me, jumped up on my lap. They said he doesn't ever go to anyone but them. These folks are thinking of getting a MH, so we invited them in to see ours. They thought it perfect for two people. Asked us all kinds of questions.

We left the campground around 9 a.m. and went to breakfast at Shari's restaurant. Sure wish they had them out east. They're a chain out here. Anyway, they are known for their good pies so we bought one. That's what we had for lunch. Just pie!! It's so nice to do what we want to do, parents can't tell us that we can't just have pie. Hehehe

Nebraska Country

All along the way we saw the old kind of windmills. I tried and tried to get a picture as we sped by at 65 miles an hour. When we got into town I found this one. It was where they build them.

We happened onto Cabela's store. It's their main store. We must have spent an hour in there. Saw lots of neat stuff. We get their catalog and I drool everytime I look at it. I only bought a few things.

This statue was outside Cabela's. Two elk fighting.

They had a section of live looking animals, along with the largest display of camping equipment, cabin/home section, fishing, hunting, clothes and miscellanious.

FROM WIDDLETOWN TO WADDLETOWN

2010-04-18T07:54:00.000-07:00

it's 15 miles. From Waddletown to Widdletown it's 15 miles".....U. J

But in this case, "From Evanton to Laramie Wyo it was 305 miles"...a long day

The terrain in Wyo was somewhat the same but always a little different on down the road. There were straight roads with not much to see other than the flats, then all of a sudden we'd come into mountain canyons.

By the time we reached Laramie it was raining with some sleet. (Saturday April 17)

We crossed the Continental Divide here in Wyo. We also saw the C. D. from the kitchen window at Alan and Laura Kested's in Colorado.
.

Now, you've heard of Blood Hounds that can sniff out people and drugs. Well did you know that some people have that same ability but not for the same things the blood hounds do. We were about 200 miles into our trip through Wyo, when Larry said he thought we needed a break, so he pulled over to a little town (just a break, right?) The first thing he saw on a back street was this Union Pacific RR Engine. How nice . Then going down another back street (sniff sniff) what do we see? Of course.....a Hudson. Now there were other towns we could have taken a break in but of course there wasn't any signals in them. Anyway, Larry thought it was neat and couldn't believe he came across this '49 Hudson.

UTAH

2010-04-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

Friday April 16 we drove all the way across Utah.

Salt Flats along route 80 in UT.

Morton Salt Processing Plant. We could see a picture of the Morton Salt Girl that is on the boxes of salt we buy.

Route 80 took us around Salt Lake City, we could see a lot of the homes which are built on the side of the mountains.

Leaving the city limits we immediately came into these mountains/canyons, which went for miles. They still amaze me. We were up over 4000 ft. at this point. Occasionally there'd be a valley with some houses. The snow was still very deep there and it's April.

Some of the rock formations were red and some were yellow/mustard color.

We didn't stay in Utah, we went on to Evanston, Wyo. and stayed at a Good Sam's RV Park. On our way to Laramie, Wyo today where we'll stay overnight at a KOA RV Park.

Elko, Nevada

2010-04-17T22:23:00.000-07:00

The first good sized town after Reno was Elko. We didn't know anything about it so stopped at the visitors center, which happened to be a very old original log cabin. There were other small log cabin buildings around it; a school house, barn, creamery, blacksmiths. The gal that was incharge at the visitors center was very friendly and helpful. She recommended we also visit the museum, which we did.

The logs were hand hewn with these neat dovetail corners. This is a very historic building that was moved to accommodate the visitors center.

The museum was one of the best I've ever seen. The history of the West was well depicted with artifacts, pictures and text. We didn't arrive until a little after 4 and it closed at 5. The lady in charge said we could come back the next day useing the same ticket, which we did.

I'm standing beside a stage coach which is similiar to the one my great grandfather Jackson Green use to drive from Northville to Lake Pleasant

I bet you never thought you'd see me serving behind a bar. This was in the museum. I found a paper cup and a bottle of water under the bar.

There was a huge room full of animal trophies. They were displayed very realistically. I'm not fond of viewing such things but this was done exeptionally well.

We stayed at an RV Park in Elko.

NEVADA

2010-04-17T20:55:00.000-07:00

How do I describe it? First of all, there's Casino's on every corner in the towns/cities, it's amazing. The terrain goes from snow covered mountains, high desert, salt flats, miles and miles without seeing a building or human being other than in the cars, trucks, motorhomes, trailers etc. The name Nevada comes from Spanish word nieve meaning "snow-capped." We passed by hill country that contains gold mines. There are many other minerals that is mined here, as well as gold.

Miles and miles of this terrain

And I don't like tunnels. When we got inside Larry said, "Hope there isn't an earthquake while we're in here". I didn't need that!!!

Snow? Nope Salt. Miles and miles of salt flats.

"There's gold in them there hills"

The next blog will be about the city of Elko, NV.

RENO, NV

2010-04-16T20:45:00.000-07:00

172 miles into Reno, NV from Colusa, CA. We first found the RV park that we'd be staying in, then went to find the National Automobile Museum.

The museum building was huge. There were streets with curbs, street lights, shops and wooden side walks. A lot of the cars where parked on the streets. http://automuseum.org/

Larry probably took 25 or 30 pictures, but I'm only including the Hudson's. This one is a '36 Hudson. It looks like his '36 Terraplane. I think he said the hood is longer than on the Terraplane, and it's an 8 cylinder.

1929 Hudson Dual Cowl PhaetonOne of 16 built. An AACA classic. One of them is owned by a man in Northville.

1932 Essex
Boattail Speedster

1953 Hudson Jet

Can you tell Larry edited this?

SIERRA MOUNTAINS

2010-04-16T20:07:00.000-07:00

We left Colusa, CA and had to go over the Sierra Mountains on route 80. This road had been closed the week b efore because of a snowstorm. We were a bit apprehensive the trip, but found that it was absolutely beautiful.

There was 4 feet of snow off the sides of the road, but the roads were clear. We did follow a sand truck for awhile and also caught up to a snow plow.

I couldn't stop taking pictures. Every scene was breath taking. These pictures just don't do the views justice.

ESCAPEES

2010-04-16T19:52:00.000-07:00

Tom and Ginger belong to several RV Clubs, one being the Escapees. They invited us to go to one of their club rallies, which was in Colusa, CA. It was on our way, so we went with them. We thought we might only stay one night but we had so much fun and the people were so friendly we decided stay two days. We found out there is an Escapees club in NYS, so we just might look them up.

Some of the ladies teaching me how to play "Hand and Foot". It was a little complicated at first, but think I figured it out. They were very patient with me.

I think they called this "Friendly Hour". Everyone brought a snack to share and it was a time of getting to know each other and catching up on friendships.

The second day there Tom volunteered Uncle Josh to entertain them. They must have enjoyed it because they all were laughing.

Cramer's and Moulton's "Rigs" side by side again.

Ginger and Tom

Larry discovered the big wheel/machine and of course had to find out what it was. It is a steam powered wheel to power a rice processing plant.

Happy Birthday Larry

2010-04-15T20:57:00.000-07:00

Family Reunion and Birthday Party
April 10th

Late Saturday afternoon about 38 Moulton/Kested/Cramer families gathered at Tommy Moulton's for a feast, reunion and birthday party. Just 20 years ago this month the same group met, but a lot of new ones have been born since then. A video from April 1990 was shown. Many laughs and awwwwww's were expressed. Concensus was that the best of show was, Alysha and Holly and the least changed was Larry Cramer.

Robin made this cake for Larry...a super job Robin. He really appreciated it.

Hot taco sauce and refried beans. Just what he wanted!!!! Haha

They made him wear this hat to celebrate. He received several neat cards.

I made jello wiggles for the kids, just like I do for my grandkids

Alysha and Holly. They were just toddlers 20 years ago. There were some cute shots of them on the video playing with each other. Who pulled who's hair??? They were the stars of the video.

Kevin Moulton (Richie's son) He wants to be a cartoonist. He had his sketch pad with him and was practising. He drew a basketball player for me. Nice job Kevin

Tom trying to get everyone to be quiet so he can tell them to sit down so they can watch U. Josh perform and then have a group picture taken.

Good job Tom. You got everyone sitting at one time and looking at the camera

This is part of Robin's family. They had to leave unexpectedly before the party, so we made sure we got a picture of them.

Michele and her baby, Mark, Matt. Robin and Liana

They asked UJ to tell a story. He told the one about the circus and put Tom in the cage...they loved it.

Watching the video

Part of the kitchen crew. Actually everyone contributed to the meal. Lasagna, salad, chips/dip, jello wiggles, garlic bread, cake etcetc

Red Bluff's Chili Cook-Off

2010-04-15T08:46:00.000-07:00

Saturday afternoon on Larry's birthday, Tom took us into town (Red Bluff) to the annual Red Bluff Chili Cook-Off. Everyone has been teasing Larry about eating Mexican food. Anything "hot" or spicey, makes his head sweat. We went to two different Mexican restaurants, Laura Kested served some Mexican foods and seems like he was getting more than his share of hot stuff. Then Tom took us to the Chili Cook Off. You bought a small paper cup for $2.00, then you could sample all the chili in the contest. Some was extremely hot, others mild, and others very tolerable to NY palates. You were also given a ticket to vote on your favorite one.

This booth not only made chili but bbq ribs and gave out samples.
Here's Larry and "T" Moulton getting a sample of chili

Tom and Richie getting another helping of chili

One of the chef's stirring his brew/chili

Some of our crew at the cookoff.
Alysha, Kevin, Mike, Tom, Larry, "T", and Joe.

Of course there was a car show there too. Tom and Larry enjoyed that before the tasted the chili.

Each chili booth had their own advertisements. Here are a few.

Trip to Redding

2010-04-13T23:03:00.000-07:00

One day they drove us north to Redding and Mount Shasta. It was a beautiful drive, and we could see MS towering above the other mountains as we drove up there. We could also see Mt Shasta from T and G's.

My cousin Jackie(aka John), (Tom's brother) and his wife have an apartment in Redding, but they are in Spain right now as missionaries. Their daughter Mindy and her family also live in Redding. http://web.compulog.com/

Jackie started a business in Redding, "Computer Logistics" His son Richie and daughter Mindy run the business now. Jackie is retired. This picture is taken in the front office of C.L. Mindy is standing next to Tom. After we visited C.L. we went to lunch at Olive Garden where we enjoyed the soup, salad and bread sticks.

One view on our way to Shasta Lake

Shasta Lake

Sundial Bridge, a most interesting unique bridge. We walked across it. It spans the Sacramento River. The sun casts a shadow on it and tells the time.

Go to this site to read more about it.

http://www.turtlebay.org/sundialbridge

One of the stones/marker that the shadow is cast on it, that shows the time.

Another marker

Mackenzie...this is for you. You wanted a picture of Taylor. She says to say "hi" to you. This is her dog who is blind.

Taylor's brother, Alex, broke his leg about 5 weeks ago. He drags himself along on this board that has casters.

This is their daughter they adopted. She will be 3 in May. She was a lively one and so cute. She was busy every minute.

The Stephen's family: John, holding

Taylor, Alex, Mindy and Abby.

Tom and Ginger's

2010-04-13T22:06:00.000-07:00

Tom is my cousin. Our mother's were sisters.

On our way north to Tom and Ginger's we stopped Easter morning at a Baptist Church. They were having brunch between the two services so we joined them, then went to the second service.

We arrived in Red Bluff on Monday, April 5, after we visited Old Sacramento. Our week here was relaxing, but also did some neat things, which I will blog about separately. Three of T and G's children are their neighbors. How nice to have them so close. They all enjoy going back and forth to each others homes. T and G live about 9 miles out of town, a very country setting but they have neighbors. We rode our bikes "around the country block" and everyone seemed to have horses and big dogs and fences.

This is where Tommy and his son "T" live. T and G park their MH on the right side of the house. Kim's house is on the other side of the MH. I didn't get a picture of the outside of Kim's, but have one inside. Robin lives in one of the apartments on the left side of the house. Kim's daughter lives in the apartment next to Robin.

One evening we played Sequence at Kim's house. It was a fun evening with much kidding and laughter.

Going around the table: Me, Tom, Ed, Kim, Ginger and Larry

Jessica's (Kim's daughter) Golden Retriever has 6 puppies. It's a good thing they weren't Shih Tzu's or we might have brought one home with us. They were all so cute though.

One of the pups and Robin. Kim in the background

Tommy and Rhonda's horses which are in the field behind Tommy's house

Their other horse, April.

There were three new born foals across the street. We enjoyed watching them frolic around.

OLD SACRAMENTO

2010-04-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

APRIL 3

Old Sacramento is a California Historical Landmark. The National Park Service named the entire original historic 1850s business district of Old Sacramento a National Historic Landmark in 1965. There are over 50 historic buildings, Old Sacramento has more buildings of historic value in its 28 acres than any area of similar size in the West

Old Sacramento was a taste of the Old West, complete with dirt and cobblestone streets flanked with wide wooden sidewalks and old west style buildings. There is a train museum there that had many actual train engines, memorabelia and miniature trains. We spent a lot of time in there, even I liked it. Larry has a lot of pictures on his camera. I'd recommend anyone going there. I should have Larry post about the museum on my blog.

Looks like the old West

Lots of shops and restaurants along the boardwalk

Note horse an buggy on the corner.

Love this architecture

Note Larry in the window

Crystal Cathedral

2010-04-11T15:20:00.000-07:00

APRIL 3

We had wanted to visit the C. C. if we got to California again. So when we were making plans for our trip, we included it our itinerary. To make a long story short, I had done some Kested research and met a Kested in Johnstown, NY that I had never met or known about. In the process of exchanging genealogy information with him, he sent it on to his sister in California. She wrote to me and thanked me for the research and information that I'd done on the Kested's. She told me she was living in California and that she gave tours of the Crystal Cathedral. I told her we were going to be in CA, so she said she'd give us a tour. We happened to be there the day she was giving the tour so we joined the tour group. Afterwards we spent a good hour getting to know my (3rd cousin). She even had a gift for me. We also got to meet her son.

Donna
Me in the back seat

Donna's favorite statue, I think I liked it best too

Me and Donna in the Welcome Center. Hopefully sometime when Donna goes to NY she'll have time to visit at our home.

(P.S. I'm still having difficulty uploading my blog, that's why I'm so far behind. It's very slow today)

Stephanie/Venice, CA

2010-04-10T13:11:00.000-07:00

APRIL 1 AND 2

We found a campsite right on the beach/ocean before we went over to Stephanie's. We visited for awhile and then we rode our bikes over to the beach. We rode through some busy streets and in some walk ways that were unique.

Stephanie outside her apartment just before we went biking.

This is the walkway. There were houses on each side of the walkway. They all had neat little gardens, fences, and porches. We were riding our bikes until I mentioned that I couldn't really view each one when we were biking so we got off the bikes and walked.

Venice Canal Walkway

Venice Beach Midway

Riding our bikes on the Venice Beach Bike/Walking Path

The building where Stephanie works, which is just about half a block off of Venice Beach

Some of Stephanie's Co -Workers.

We went out to supper at a "50's restaurant that was just a block or so from Stephanie's apartemnt. I took a picture of Steph's cat but I can't find the picture. Steph stayed with us in our MH. The next morning we walked on the beach, watch Gpa/Larry fly his little kite, then drove back to Steph's apartment. We ate lunch in our MH, then spent the rest of the afternoon in her apartment. We left Venice around 5 and headed for

Garden Grove, so we'd be there in the morning for the tour of Crystal Cathdral.

Nancie and Joel's Ranch

2010-04-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

We stayed at Joel and Nancie's Monday thru Thursday.

They have quite a ranch! They have a cherry orchard,

Lilacs for sale, beehives and sell honey. Here is their web site.

http://www.rtcherryranch.com

Nancie prepared some delicious meals,

Joel was very generous to give us several neat gifts

(mine was a Magic Bullet) and Larry got some

tools,and Christine gave us her bedroom.

We enjoyed every minute of our visit there,

they were so good to us.

We parked our MH on the top level overlooking the orchard and barn

This is the view from our MH., looking toward the cherry orchard

The properties lower level

Nancie and I
One of the best things that happened was that I got to know Nancie better. We had some good chats. She also took us over to Lancaster to her favorite christian book store. We spent quite some time there just looking around. Before we went back to her house we went to Panera's for lunch. Thanks Nancie that was fun.

Very nice barn. It houses Joel's '57 Chevy and Nancie's Chevy El Camino Truck Nancie fired it up while we were there. whoo hoo !!! Joel gave Larry a ride in his Chevy. Larry said, "It took me awhile to peel myself off the seat"

Joe'ls "57 Chevy

They have goats and chickens on the ranch

The third level of their property is a monntain that goes straight up behing their house. Joel found this half an old Ford on the property. He made a neat seat out of it that overlooks their ranch and the mountains.

Another neat seat, which was along side our MH.
The orchard is cherry trees. "Pick Your Own" They also grow and sell lilacs to a local flower shop. They keep them trimmed low so that the branches are long and thick

This is out in front of my cousin Larry and his wife Donna,s. That mountain is what you see at the beginning of every "Mash" show. There weren't any houses in this area when that show was filmed. I thought we got a better picture of it than this.

Larry, Donna, Joel Nancie, Gail, Larry

Donna and Larry have an elegant home, one of their next door neighbors was Scott Hamilton before Scott moved back East. Larry gave us a tour of the area and pointed out several celebrities houses, one costly 25 million dollars. The dinner was delicious and the story telling, reminiceing, and "confessions" around the table was great fun. Thanks Larry and Donna for a nice evening

This is Joel's neighbor,s car. He had two antique ones in his garage. Their house was nestled in a mountain. The have a donkey the raised from a baby, llamas, chickens, horses, goats and two big dogs. The view was awesome and so was the house.

They also had a baby goat that was running around in the house when we got there. They are hand feeding it

Our last night at Joel's we went out to this Mexican Restaurant for supper
Joel and Nancie's neighbor's that have the baby goat went with us.
Starting from the left and going around the table: Jason Crannell,
Loren C, Rich and Nancy, the two neighbors, Larry, Gail,
Nancie, Joel and Shari, and Nick standing on the stairs.

Shari and Loren's

2010-04-08T11:24:00.000-07:00

March 27th

We left Thousand Oaks campground around 10 a.m. Ginger and Tom were headed for Red Bluff. Shari and Loren live in Aqua Dulce about 15 miles from the Acton where the campground is. We arrived, set up our MH, then promptly left with Shari and Loren to go to their son Nick's baseball game. Nick broke his arm a couple months ago so he was a pinch hitter. He is usually the teams pitcher. Nick's team won 18 to 2.

After we got back from Nick's game, Shari and Loren took us out to a neat restaurant. It was an old railroad station. Here's a picture of Larry outside the restaurant. The meal was great and we got a chance to know Nick and Jason a little better. The last time we'd seen them was in Northville (2006)

Sunday morning we had coffee on their patio before going to church

They have a beautiful home. They've done a great job decorating it

We liked their church. Excellent message and friendly people

After church they took us out for breakfast. "Sweetwater" Cafe. There was an antique store next door where we looked around at some of the "goodies" which were outside. The name of their town is Aqua Dulce which means Sweetwater.

On the way home Loren drove us up the mountain behind their house, in his 4 wheel drive truck. It was a dirt, bumpy road. Nick and Jason ride their dirt bikes on it. On top we could see their house and the valley they live in. Made me weak in the knees up there!

Sunday afternoon was very relaxing. Here's Joel and Larry chatting, probably about cars. Later in the afternoon, Shari's parents arrived, as did Joel, Nancie, Christine and C's boyfriend, Bonnie (friend of Shari's) and her son, They had a nice bbq of steak, fish, salad, grilled scallops, potato casserole, crackers/cheese etc. We played farkle with Shari's parents, Nick and Joel.

Loren grilling the fish and scallops.

Note the nice bbq and bar

They have a beautiful backyard with a pool, patio, hot tub, fire pit , a table with umbrella and lots of comfortable chairs to relax in. We had a great time and enjoyed all the scrumpuous food.

Nick, Jason and friend playing pool

Have any idea what they are watching, listening too?
They didn't know what to expect from the guest performer.

Yup, Uncle Josh was asked to tell his stories.
Not sure what the kids thought of him, but they seemed to enjoy him.

We enjoyed our stay at Shari and Loren's. They treated us like royalty. We are thankful for
having such nice relatives. We were also impressed with Nate, Jason and Christine. Nice kids.

MOULTON LOGISTICS

2010-04-07T13:26:00.000-07:00

While we were camping with Tom and Ginger, Tom drove us down to my cousin Larry's company, "Moulton Logistics". Larry gave us a nice tour of the place and told us the history of the business. I was very impressed with all of it. The offices were impressive, but I enjoyed the warehouse area where they actually package their products and ship them. I never knew what they actually did. A lot of the products they ship out are "as seen on tv" products. Larry M. told us that most of the tv products are just what they say they are and are government regulated so the companies have to live up to what they advertise. I recognized most all the products that I saw in the warehouse.

Larry and his wife and their son, Patrick work there, as well as Tom (who is suppose to be retired, but helps out a lot), and our nephews; Loren and Joel Crannell. Lori Crannell Nelson works from her home office in Northville. She travels to California a couple times a year to touch base.

The Conference Room. What a huge table and there are 2 more leaves to it

Tom, Larry and me Donna M, Larry M and Ginger

After our tour, Larry M took us out to dinner at the Oddessey Restaurant which was on a mountain that over looked the San Fernando Valley. As darkness closed in we could see all the lights of the valley. A beautiful place...thanks Larry and Donna .

ARRIVED IN CA. March 23

2010-04-06T22:33:00.000-07:00

Blythe, Calfornia (KOA Campsite)

This was our first night in CA.

Coming into California through the mountains was such

a surprise. We were also greated with thousands of huge

windmills. The wind through the mts./canyons was very

strong. No wonder they have so many windmills.

Coming over the mountains in Arizona our MH got covered in

red mud. When we arrived in CA we had the MH washed at

a truck stop. When 3 men started to use long handled brushes

as the water and soap sprayed, the cats freaked. They crawled on

on their bellies. Landfill hid behind the toilet and I had to

put a blanket over Little One and hold him tight .

We stopped for a break and cup of coffee in Summit, Ca

Larry spied a "Vintage Garage", where this man restored

Ford's. They chatted for awhile and I checked out the

antique store. Gen Geo. Patton's museum was there also.

We stayed just one night at Blythe then..on to Pamona BUT before

we got there. We stopped at THE HUDSON RANCH in Fontana.

Looks like home without the woods

These were for sale.

Larry took a lot more pictures of the Hudson's but this

is all the room I'm giving him on my blog.

I'M BACK

2010-04-06T12:29:00.001-07:00

Blog is straighten out...trying to catch up

I took these pictures for Mackenzie, Kate and Sammy.

This is the campsite we stayed in after we left the Grand C.

Cortez to Grand Canyon

2010-03-23T21:55:00.000-07:00

March 22

We drove 305 miles this day and the scene continually changed.

We were driving through an Indian reservation.

There were unusual rock structures, eroded sand, miles of flat

land with nothing but scrub bushes and an occasional old trailer

with broken down cars scattered about, then a small group

of Indian Homes

These were called Elephant Feet

We stopped at a small roadside stand, where this man and his

wife were selling their wares. He was carving out of stone and

she was making jewelry. He told us he'd been to Salamanca, NY

and Syracuse. I asked him if I could take his picture. He said,

after you buy something, I told him then I'd charge him

for the picture. He laughed and let me take it.

THE GRAND CANYON

This is a must see for everyone

I don't like heights so this was scary for me to look down

in the canyon. I kinda stood back in some places. Larry

took the pictures. It's amazing, if you don't see it in person,

you can't imagine the beauty and how awesome it is.

I did take this one but notice how far away from the edge I was !

Wish these pictures could be in 3D so you could see how deep and

beautiful it really is. Well, make plans to visit it, you won't be sorry

Hopefully we'll reach California tomorrow. Larry wants to visit a

man who collects and restores Hudsons. On Saturday we'll meet

a Kested relative that I've never met. She gives tours of Crystal

Cathedral, so will give us a personal tour. Then on to visit the

Crannell's, Moulton's and our granddaugther Stephanie.

FOR COUSIN TOM

2010-03-23T20:22:00.000-07:00

Time out Folks while I pamper

my Cousin Tom !!!

Cousin Tom had a request re: pictures of the

steam train. So, this is especially for you Tom

This next RR is The Durango to Silverton

We arrived just as the train was about to leave on it's 4 hr

trip over the mountain. Larry took several videos. The best

one is too big for my blog. I'll try and upload a smaller one.

Tom, you'll have to wait to see the long one when we

get to Red Bluff.

From Pagosa to Durango & Cortez

2010-03-21T17:23:00.000-07:00

round every curve or mountain is another picture!!!

Colorado is an absolutely beautiful state.

Entering Durango, CO

Syracuse Plays at McDonald's

Here I am with my computer, watching Syracuse on my computer.

We were on our way to the RV park in Cortez. Stopped half way

there in Durango where Larry wanted to see the steam train.

The wifi connection was in the playland area. We had it to our

selves way in the back of the dining area. Syracuse had a good

game even without Arneze O.

As we drove up to McDonald's the Durango Steam train was just

starting up, getting ready for the ride over the mountains.

NEW MEXICO

2010-03-20T22:32:00.000-07:00

Saturday March 21

We left Colorado around noon when the roads finally

were clear. We headed for Pasago, CO by way of

New Mexico. We'd never been in New Mexico.

The scenery was breath taking. Miles and Miles of

very crooked roads, snow, snow and more snow. Miles

of just snow and going up a mountain and then back down

again...over 7,000 feet high.

Enlarge so you can the direction sign. Others like this was every

few miles. We went about 30 and saw just snow, mountains,

trees and beautiful scenery and not one house for all those miles

These pictures just don't show how it really was.

We arrived in Pagosa around 4 o'clock. Found our RV park,

then went to the Hot Mineral Springs. The water that comes

out of the mountains is 154 degrees. There are at least 20

areas/springs to get into. They start at 94 degrees, up to 110

degrees. We got in one of the 102 degrees, then decided to

walk in the pool which led over to a one that was 104. There

was a grandmother, daughter and granddaughter already in it.

We asked each other where we were from.....the grandmother \

is a neighbor of Alan Kested in Loveland, CO.

Can you see the blue areas between the river and the white

building? They are some of the 20 hot pools.

We were in this one, overlooking all the others.

Like my new black swim suit? hehehe

See the posts and ropes? We walked between them over to
the pool at the end. That's where we met the people from
Loveland, neighbors of Kested's.

While Larry was changing in the men's locker room. He got
to talking to someone and they were telling each othere
where they were from. All Larry said was NYS, north of
Alband and west of Lake George. A young fella standing
near them spoke up and said that his parents live in
Northville, NY. He was Acquira's son. They live across
from Kings cemetery which borders our property. I use to
be in garden club with his mother and have been to
their house.
.

http://www.pagosa.com/pagosa_hot_springs.php

MISCELLANIOUS

2010-03-19T18:15:00.000-07:00

We are camped at a KOA campsite in Alamosa, CO.

Big snow storm north and east of us, so we decided to

stay here for a couple of days. The campers next to us

headed for Denver this morning and turned back.

I thought it would be a good time to post some odds

and ends pictures. They probably won't be in order.

Larry: "Grab your camera and take the picture of that car, it just might

be a Hudson." We never did find out, it went down a different road.

Taken under the St Louis Arch.."The builders of the Arch"

The church near the St. Louis Arch.

We couldn't find a parking place less than a 1/2 mile walk, so pulled

into the parking lot of this church. Sign: No parking for Arch

and No RV's. OOPS One of the priests was in the

parking lot, so Larry said to him, "You look like you

know what's what here. We told him we couldn't find a

place to park close enough for me to walk. He

called the police on his cell phone and told them

that he was letting an RV park in the church parking

lot so he'd know not to ticket it. Nice guy..he didn't

have to do that. Larry asked him if he was preaching

that day and he said with a big smile, he was going to try.

Paxico, Kansas

A nice little town, where we camped. The houses and stores all

looked like they were in the early 1900's. No one was at the office

when we arrived so we just found a spot, parked and hooked up.

We were also the only campers !!! Later the owner stopped by and

came into the MH where we had a nice visit. (and pd for our site)

She told us all about her church, Bible study, ministry etc. It's nice

to meet christians along the way.

Paxico, Kansas

Going down Kested's Mountain Road and this doesn't begin

to show you how steep and scarey it was!

Alan Kested is also a pilot...He is on the right in the picture

(click on picture to enlarge)

These two elk crossed right in front of our car

We took this picture right near the Belgian horse farm. This man

maintains the roads up the mountain. This day he was removing

tree limbs and some trees that fell in the road. He was a character

Note: Smoking a cigarette and pouring gas!

Looking out Kested's window at the Buffalo

(click to enlarge)

Carved Indian on our way to Thompson Canyon

Wild sheep in Thompson Canyon. They had come down the steep

mountain side. We could see more of them on the ledges.

Alan drove us up the mountain past his house and the Belgian

horse farm. The green roof is the horse.farm. It was a narrow

snow road covered road. Only a 4 wheel drive would make it.

At the top of the mountain was a canal and power station that

provides the water for Loveland, Denver

and I think Colorado Springs.

When we went to Estes Park we visited the Stanley Hotel

http://www.stanleyhotel.com/

The Stanley family lived here.The brothers who were twins

invented the Stanley Steamer Car. Here's Larry

drooling over the Stanley. The hotel is beautiful

(see the website above) We walked through it and also had some

coffee and pastries in the visitors snackbar.

It was Saturday when we were there, so we went to

church in town and afterwards the church served

a corn beef and cabbage dinner.

We took this picture from Kested's kitchen window. About 8 of

them showed up the morning we were to leave.

What beautiful animals.

ALONG THE WAY

2010-03-18T17:42:00.000-07:00

Castle Rock, Colorado

This is a huge rock on the top of isolated mountain.

We ate our lunch near the foot of it on our way to

Colorado Springs

Antique Shop

This was on the San Luis Mountain /ValleyPass. We needed a

break and a place to eat lunch (in the MH). We went inside which

was a lot less messy, than outside. The lady asked us where

we were from. She told us that her son went to Union Colleg

in Schnectady and that he wasn't going to return to Colorado,

so she was selling the shop and going to move to NYS, but

didn't know where. Larry told her he had a house for sale in the

ADK's. She's interested and took down all the information.

I bought a small restaurant creamer/pitcher here for my collection

Great Sand Dunes National Park

The Great Sand Dunes are the tallest sand dunes in North America.

Some of their heighths are up to 750 feet. They cover about 30 sq.

miles. You can climb them, but we only walked out part way to

them. They continue to change by the hour. The wind is blowing

constantly. The sand is very fine and is constantly changing the

the ridges, gullies etc and even the flat sandy part.

We were walking here. The wind is constantly changing

the design on the sand. I was thinking how much my grand

kids would love to climb on these..my kids would too.

Scenes from Colorado City to Alamosa

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO

2010-03-17T22:26:00.000-07:00

Monday morning, after another delicious breakfast at

Kested's we drove down to Colorado Springs where my

best friend from high school days has lived since she

started teaching there in the 1960's. Her husband Jim

and Bev raised 3 children. Two of them live near them

and one in Iowa. They have 5 grandchildren.

It had been 44 yrs. since we visited them last. I did see Bev.

at a class reunion about 20+ yrs ago. We reminisced,

looked at old pictures, talked about our families, went out

to lunch at Fargo Restaurant, and toured the U.S Air

Force Academy, Focus on the Family, Garden of the God's

and Navigator's.

Bev Fountain Snyder and husband Jim

Me and Bev

Bev and I at our high school graduation 1953

Northville Central High School

Another picture of the "old days"

Jim Aston, Me, Bev, and Bruce Fountain

Focus on the Family

US Airforce Chapel

Jim and I

Larry talking to one of the Cadets who had just graduated

Inside the visitor's center, note the airplane

The rocks here were amazing. They were red in color and some

were like tall chimneys, standing all alone.

Out to lunch at the Fargo Restaurant

The Castle at Navigators where our friend Cindy Hyle Bezek works.

We met Cindy Wednesday afternoon at the Navigator's Bookstore

Courtyard. We hadn't seen her in nearly 20 years.

Cindy and Us

Kested Mini Reunion

2010-03-17T20:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday Alan, Laura, Larry and I drove down to Denver, CO from

Loveland. We first visited Marjorie Kested Berteau who lives in

a retirement home. Her daughter Debbie and her husband were

there, as were Betsey Kested Luftus and and her husband. Lots

of questions from each person. It was fun relating what we knew

about the Kested family genealogy. They were excited about

what I had to share with them and they filled me in on more history.

First row: Betsy and husband, Alan Kested, Marjorie Kested

Berteau, Back row: Larry and Gail, Debbie and Bob

Betsy, her husband, Debbie Kovack and Gail

After about an hour and half we left Margie and drove to Littleton,

to Alan's daughter's house where we met Alan's son Chandler,Alans'

daughter, Vickie, Alan's gson, and Debbie and Bob's son, Alan.

More family history was shared as well as pictures. They had been

warned about Uncle Josh, so UJ had to tell them a few stories.

Vickie had prepared a nice bbq and lunch and "red velvet cake".

Lauran, UJ, Vickie and Vickie's husband

Very interesting that some of these folks had never met

until this day even though some lived close by each other.

It's a long story of how they lost contact and how they are

now united. A call to Alan from myself started the ball rolling

The tall man in the center (Betsy's husband) was drafted by

the NY Giants Football team back when he was in college.

He was a star athlete. He said he was a better basketball

player, so was surprised that he was picked for football.

The scouts saw him play but when they found out that he

was nearly deaf, they didn't hire him on to the team.

Thompson Canyon, CO

2010-03-14T19:03:00.000-07:00

We drove down through Thompson Canyon to Estes Park/Do you

remember the huge flood in that canyon? A rain cloud stalled

over the canyon for 3 hrs, filling the river to 19 ft deep. It was

usually 2 ft deep.There were many camps, campers, cars, huge

boulders and people that were swept away. These pictures can't

begin to show you the heighth and beauty of the canyon

Thompson River and Canyon

Belgian Horse Farm

2010-03-13T21:14:00.000-08:00

Neighbors of the Kested's run a Belgian Horse Farm

about 3 miles on up the mountain. They have about 18

horses, one of them is 19 hands. (Sharah I thought of you

all the while we were there, wishing you could see them)

The farm has some nice barns, nestled in the Rocky Mts.

Maty Kay and Bernard run the farm by themselves. They
were very friendly and invited us to their log home.

Theo is two years old. They had just brought him in from

a training session with him.

Everything was well organized, neat and clean.

Bernard made this wagon for the horses to draw

Over looking the farm buildings is their log home.

. They have 3 huge dogs that welcomed us.

Uncle Josh told them the story about horse trading. They enjoyed

it and thought it was very funny and Bernard played his banjo.

There were wild turkeys in their yard while we were there.

Here's Theo again. He was so friendly and gentle

Inside Kested's Loghome

2010-03-12T21:22:00.000-08:00

Miscellanious Pictures

I was trying to organize these pictures but my computer

is so slow here. I decided to just randomly show them.

(Click on the pictures to enlarge)

This is the Master Bedroom

Pictures below...joints at corners, Alan's Office, Designs on the floors

A couple views from the kitchen window

Kested's Log Home

2010-03-12T06:05:00.000-08:00

This log house is in the Rocky Mountains. We had to drive

up a long winding road that about scared me to death.

No guardrails in some places, as you looked down

thousands of feet. The logs came from Vancover.

The first floor is 6000 sq feet. There's also a loft

with two bedrooms, living room area and bath.

There's even a elevator from the garage area

to the first floor. 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, 3

fireplaces. Each room is beautifully decorated ,

all my rustic adirondack style.

Abilene, Kansas

2010-03-09T21:24:00.000-08:00

The hometown of Dwight D Eisenhower

We had a tour of the house where he grew up with 5

brothers. Tours weren't scheduled today but one

of the guides took us through and gave us a personal

tour with many extra stories about the Eisenhowers.

The museum was awesome. Every one in the U.S. should be required

to visit this museum. It was a very emotional, informative museum.

It would make you so grateful for the part that DDE played in defending

our country as a 5 star general and as President of the U. S. A. I was

visiably moved to tears as I told the receptionist how moved I was.

Ike and Mamie are buried in this chapel

Go to this site for more info http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/

ARE WE THERE YET?

2010-03-09T20:58:00.000-08:00

Landfill and Little One

St Louis Arch and Crannell's

2010-03-09T19:31:00.000-08:00

Sunday we visited the Arch. It was awesome standing beside the

end of the arch. There was a museum inside (under) the Arch, a

gift store and an old general store. The museum was outstanding.

I enjoyed the Mercantile Store. Bought several books

Carol Crannell, my cousin Roger's wife lives just outside the city

in Fenton, Mo. Several of Carol and Roger's children live near

her, but only Karen was able to come over while we were there.

It was nice talking over memories. Karen remembered camping

at our pond as a kid. She remembered Steve and Shari and just

barely remembered Scott. She has fond memories there. Sure

would love to have a Crannell reunion one of these years.

Carol's dog "Shadow" was very friendly and wanted

to sit on your lap. When we were sitting on the couch

she'd back up to you and half sit on you.

Standing on Carol's front porch

St Louis, Mo

2010-03-07T16:16:00.000-08:00

We stayed in a McDonald's parking lot last night (Friday)

which was about 2 blocks from where our MH broke down

the second time. It was dark by the time we got the new

part, so was ready to stop for the night. It was ok.

We arrived in St Louis early afternoon and set up in the Queen

Casino RV Park. See pics below..No Wifi there so had to go

to a McDonald's Sunday. We visited the Arch and my Crannell

relatives today (Sunday). Will blog about them tomorrow night

at the next campsite in Salina, Kansas.

You can see the Arch from our camper.

There's a casino here, we took the shuttle over to it to see what

it was like. Wasn't very appealing..looked around and left.

Getting dark and Larry'd like to get back to the Campsite before it's

totally dark. By the way, it's been in the 70's today. So nice.

Will blog about the Crannell's and the Arch tomorrow .

"An Unexpected Adventure"

2010-03-05T08:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday right after we filled the gas tank, the MH

started to sputter, then choked, then after about 3 or 4

miles it just quit. Larry figured we got some bad gas.

It just wouldn't start so we called for a tow truck (thank

goodness for Sam's Club RV Insurance). We were towed

about 30 miles to an RV shop. We had to leave it over

night so we stayed in a Holiday Inn over night.

Diagnosis: No water in tank. It was the module. We are

having them do a tune up too, while it's there in the shop;

plugs, cap, rotor. Holiday Inn doesn't take pets but they

let us bring the cats in and also letting us stay past check

out. Still enjoying our adventure...we were a day ahead of

schedule so not behind. Supposedly it will be done by

two o'clock this afternoon.

Miscel. along the way

2010-03-05T08:48:00.000-08:00

Cincinnati, Ohio

2010-03-04T05:50:00.000-08:00

Cara Dietzman.........Granddaughter #10

Cara is one of those special people in ones life. She is the

daughter of our dear friends, Cheri and Kirk. Cara was

born in Vestal, NY on our anniversary. Cara went to college

in Cincinnati and currently working on her BA in nursing.

After much reminiscing and a tour of her cute apartment, we

invited her to go out for lunch with us. She suggested going

to a popular Cincinnati restaurant, "Skyline Chili" that serves

Chile a recipe from Greece We weren't disapponted.

Also the Coney Dogs were especially good.

After lunch we got to meet Tim (Cara's BF) Seems like a neat

guy. We were impressed!

Carlisle, Pa

2010-03-03T20:05:00.000-08:00

Stayed at a campground in Carlisle, Pa. Sunday night. then

Monday morning we drove over to the Christian and Missionary

Alliance etirement Home where we visited Evelyn Putnam.

She also attended the CMA church in Endicott when we did.

Her kids were in our youth group. Note her

computer which keeps her in touch

with the outside world, family and friends.

This picture doesn't do her justice. She was smiling

most of the time while we were there We chatted about old times

and got caught up a bit on our families and mutual friends.

We are so glad that we took the time to stop for a visit.

We left Carlisle and drove through the mountains of West Virginia.

I took some pictures but they don't do justice to the beauty of

them. It was a very scenic drive.

California Here We Come

2010-02-28T16:34:00.000-08:00

We left Northville yesterday about 11:30 a.m.

It was snowing hard, roads were good all the way

to Johnson City/Endwell. Arrived at Scott's around

3:30, our first stop on our long adventure.

Scott and Kathy's House in Johnson City

Larry, Jessie and Scott

Mocha and Megan

It was a nice surprise for us that while we were there,

Megan arrived home from college for her Winter Break.

After supper/pizza at Scott and Kathy's, our second stop was at

our friends, Anita and Dick Shipway. We parked our MH in their

driveway for over night. It's always a pleasure to spend time with them.

While at Shipways' we called our friends Jane and Si Baldwin

...good to chat with them.

Dick, Anita, Me and Larry

Sunday morning breakfast at the Acropolis Restaurant in Endicott

After bfast they left for church and we started on our 2nd day of our

journey Westward.

One more picture

We have our two cat with us again. Landfill adjusts so well to whatever,

but it takes awhile for Little One.. L. O. is still a little freaky. Not a happy

camper....yet. Here is Landfill on our bed

Hi Stephanie, I'll see you soon. Not sure I'm going to like your cat,

maybe you better not tell him about me. (Landfill)

We had a good trip to day...we're staying in Carlisle, Pa tonight.

Going to visit a friend at the C & M A Senior Home in the

morning before we head out for Ohio.

Local Historical Book

2010-02-22T08:18:00.000-08:00

The book I complied for the Barney/Leonard Family

At long last a limited edition of Blanche Barney Leonard's

book has been completed. It tells the story of her life and

contains pictures of her early days of growing up in the Edinburg,

New York area. For years it was her dream to publish this book.

She finally had most of it written before she passed away in

1993. Daughter, Betty Ginter, also worked with her to see the

book's completion. Finally, through the extensive efforts

of Gail Cramer of Northville the finished product was printed in

Gloversville and is now ready for distribution at $20.00 per copy.

It is being offered to family members and to a select group on a

"first come first served" basis due to the limited number of copies

printed. Richard Leonard, son of Blanche

(There may be a second printing)

A Week with the Gkids

2010-02-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

"Winter Break"

It's always a privilege to have gkids come to stay.

I miss the ones that can't come any more..how dare

they grow up, get jobs, go to college, get married etc.

Oops, I did that too and that's what they are suppose

to do, but I miss them coming for vacations. You

will note though that they do visit once in awhile.

A picture below shows that they do honor us with

their presents when they have some extra time.

Gpa plowed off part of the pond for the girls. It was rather

rough, but they had a good time anyway. The chair helps

until you start feeling more confident.

Don't know what was with wearing that hat in the house!!!

Sharah and Bruce stopped by to see the kids and have lunch with us.

Kenzie and Katie

2010-02-15T11:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we met Sue in Richfield Springs,

after some hot chocolate etc at Stewart's, Sue left

for home and Kenzie and Katie came home with us

for the week. They have a list of thing they want

to do this week. One is to make cookies with Gma.

It took a little longer to mix them up, especially

when I told Katie to turn the mixer on very slow.

She turned it on full blast....flour went everywhere.

She was so surprized.. "I'm sorry Gma". Then we laughed.

Kenzie helped too, as you can see.

Kenzie on my exercise ball.

More to come as the week progresses

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE

2010-02-10T19:54:00.000-08:00

Today is our eldest son's 53rd birthday.

So many great memories bringing Steve up.

He's the jokester of the family.

He has many great qualities and accomplishments.

If I could pick his most outstanding quality,

I'd say Fairness.

Steve's accomplishments are many including

a successful career, but his success for being a

Great Father to his two daughters

is an outstanding accomplishment.

Steph and Abby are fortunate to have you as their Dad.

We are thankful for you, Steve.

Sacandaga Book Discussion

2010-02-10T14:14:00.000-08:00

At the Northville Library

We've been meeting since September. A group

of ladies from our town who are interested

in reading selected books and discussing them.

Not everyone is there every months so we average

about 10 each time. We chose the books, and the

librarian orders them from other libraries so that we

all have a copy. We have very lively interesting discussions.

The latest book we did was a couple short stories by Falkener

"Rose" and "Spotted Horses"

We've also read, "Water for Elephants"

"Guersey Literary and Sweet Potato Pie"

"Mohawk" and "Great Gatsby". Coming

up next month is "Adirondack Portraits"

which I've already read. I'm sorry that

I won't be there for the discussion.

A real treat for me is that an old high school

friend is in the group so afterwards her

and I go out for lunch. Marge and I graduated

in the same H.S. class. She was dating a guy from

our class and so was I. We use to double date with

them. Both couples eventually married.

Weekend in Springfield, Mass.

2010-02-10T11:30:00.000-08:00

Hello Gail? Hey this is Andrew. What are you guys

doing this weekend?" Uhhhhhhh, not much that we can't cancel.

Mary, the girls and I are going to Springfield, Mass for

the weeknd. Want to go with us? I have enough

points to pay for your room. We'll be staying at the

Sheridan Hotel...we'll have a great time. Sure, we'd love to.

So Saturday morning we left..the K's and the C's

See below, as we're leaving Sunday afternoon.

Anna and Jennifer in the front

Larry, Me, Mary and Andrew in the back

(Click on picture to enlarge)

It was a fun - relaxing weekend. I even got talked

into having a massage. Now that could get habit forming.

It was a beautiful hotel with many amenities that we took

advantage of. Mary and Andrew won the Catch Phase

game, but just wait til next time, now that we've caught on.

We decided that Mary and Andrew were the winners,

Jennifer the MVP, Larry and Anna were the craziest

and me, well I tried real hard.

Thanks Kovalovich's for inviting us.

We had a great time.

Sharing Local History

2010-02-10T07:08:00.000-08:00

It's so easy to talk about something you love.

Prior to sharing with them, there was a nice

luncheon at BCON or Pink Chicken, as the

youth group calls it.

As town and village historian the Sr. Citizens group

in Northville invited me to talk about local history.

I showed many slides of old Northville and gave

an outline beginning with the settlement of Fish House

in 1762. After the Rev. War, in 1788, Samuel Olmstead

arrived by canoe up the Sacandaga River where he

built a small shack along the riverbank, then exploring

the area that is now Northville, he sent for his family.

That was the beginning of our village of Northville.

They've asked me to come back and share more

history with them. There are so many areas of

local history, I'm sure I could teach a semester

of classes on it.

Our 54th Anniversary

2010-01-26T18:02:00.000-08:00

JANUARY 21, 1956 WAS THE DAY

4 CHILDREN AND 11 GRANDKIDS LATER

JANUARY 21, 2010

It's been a wonderful trip. I wish I'd recorded

how we celebrated each anniversary.

We celebrated our 54th by going

to NYC for 3 nights. Thanks Laura and

Alan Kested from Colorado for paying

for our hotel room. We stayed in the Roosevelt

Hotel on Madison Street between 45 & 46th.

Todd met us at the train/Penn station.

He went with us to our hotel where we

left our luggage, freshened up a bit, then

went to a Cuban Restaurant for dinner,

where Kelli joined us. After dinner we
walked around Times Sq. for awhile.

When we arrived back at our hotel, we were

surprised with a special treat from our kids.
Thanks Steve, Shari, Scott, & Sue.

That was a nice surprise and very thoughtful .

We're so thankful for our friend Todd Watkins

who was our personal tour guide all weekend.

Without him we wouldn't have seen half of

what we did, nor learned half as much.

We bought tickets to ride the tour buses.

They were good for two days.

Below are pictures taken on the tour.

Thursday the 21st we rode the Amtrak from Albany to NYC

Returning by Amtrak Sunday evening.

New Amsterdam/Manhattan

2010-01-26T17:18:00.000-08:00

DR. HANS KIERSTEDE'S
STOMPING GROUNDS

***

This was on the top of my list to visit while in

NYC . I was thrilled to be walking the

streets where my ancesters lived in 1640's.

***

Stone Street was fascinating. No traffic

on the street. In warm weather they put

tables in the street for diners. I want to

go back there in nice weather. I also want

to go to the museums down there and the

Federal building which has lots of history

of New Amsterdam/Manhattan.

More research to do!

Broadway Musical

2010-01-26T17:16:00.000-08:00

MARY POPPINS

at the Amsterdam Theatre

NYC

We had seen the movie many years ago, but seeing

it live was fantastic. The stage/props, costumes, and

acting was superb. The Amsterdam theatre was

stunningly beautiful. We had great seats..8 rows back

from the orchestra. Thanks Jeremy for recommending it.

Todd and Kelli went with us.

Researching in NYC

2010-01-26T09:30:00.000-08:00

I just can't seem to go anywhere

without researching something.

The first Surgeon in New Amsterdam

was my 9th great grandfather. I wanted

to find out where his house was. You'll

see on this map where it was. I was able

to find it. What a thrill it was to stand on

that corner and realize that he once stood there.

The upper map is New Amsterdam(Manhattan)

in 1660, with an overlay from 2009.

Close up of the area where Dr. Hans Kierstede's house was.

The house is circled in pencil.

When they dug out for the WTC they

used the fill which made 90 more acres of

land in lower Manhattan, which is the

blue area on the map.

Visiting Grandson in NYC

2010-01-26T08:46:00.000-08:00

Jeremy's job is in Time Square and Jenny

teaches vocal music in a private school.

Jeremy subs teaching and also plays

for Off Broadway Musicals.

Sunday we met Jeremy and Jenny for lunch

at DiNapolis's. My friend Mary recommended

it. Thanks Mary it was great. Take a look at

the huge Strawberry shortcake.

Preview of NYC Trip

2010-01-25T13:10:00.000-08:00

Just a few odds and ends pictures
"The rest of the story later"

Hand Crocheted Dishcloths

2010-01-19T11:32:00.000-08:00

THESE ARE THE NEATEST AND MOST

USEFUL DISH CLOTHS

Handmade by my granddaughter, Stephanie

They aren't the first ones I've had. A friend

of mine in Rochester, Mn. made me some.

She sells them on her blog

These wash in the washing machine very nicely.

They are soft but are able to scrub

the counters and dishes.

Thanks again Stephanie

REQUESTED RECIPES

2010-01-14T15:33:00.000-08:00

For those who have recently asked for the

following recipes.

Grandma Cramer's

Baked Beans/Bean Soup

1 lb of great northern beans

(Look them over good for bad ones)

Soak them over night..drain and rinse

Put beans in plenty of cold water with about

1 TBS. Baking Soda ... and boil for 15 minutes

Drain and Rinse

Put beans in "hot" water, enough to cover them

by a little more than an inch.

Add salt, pepper, and a little oil

Cook slowly for 1 to 1/2 hr or until very tender

Add 1/2 to 1 cup of granulated sugar

and 1/2 stick of butter.

To Bake: Add 2 tbls mustard.

350 degrees for about an hr.

Remove from oven when there's still

some liquid on top of the beans.

Gma Cramer's Mollases Cookies

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups light mollases

2/3 cup shortening (melted)

2/3 cup hot water or coffee

Add to hot water, 2 rounded tsp baking soda

Mix all the above together

then add the dry ingredients

5 cups flour

1 tsp cinn.

1/2 tsp ginger

Let it stand for at least an hour

Roll them out...Bake at375

10 to 12 minutes

Cramer Bars

(or Chocolate Scotcheroos)

1 cup sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

6 cups rice krispies

Combine sugar and syrup in sauce pan

Cook over moderate heat, stirring frequaintly

until mixture begins to bubble.

Remove from heat and stir

in peanut butter Mix well

Add Rice Krispies

Mix well

Press mixture in buttered 13 by 9 pan

Melt 1 cup (6 oz pkg.) of semi choc. morsels

and 1 cup (6oz.) of butterscotch morsels.

Spread evenly over rice krispie mixture

Cool until firm...cut into bars.

TWO DAY VACATION

2009-10-27T18:20:00.000-07:00

A Fall Biking Vacation

Sunday and Monday

Went to church at the C&MA Church in Glens Falls, NY

Parked our motor home at the Cooper's Cave Park

The beginning of the Regional Bike Trail

Biking here was only about 3 miles, which was

along the Hudson River.

The water falls at Glens Falls, which is on the trail

Remember James Fennamore Cooper's "The Last of the Mohigan's"?

He mentions Cooper's Caves in this book

On the overlook at Cooper's Cave

Note Larry's new bike

I couldn't get a good picture of the cave. If you want

see a picture and learn more about it, go to

www.sgfny.com/Cooper's-Cave.htm

Sunday night we stayed at this RV Park

where we watched the Giants get beat

and the Yankees win.... in our cozy little MH.

Monday morning...a nice bfast in the MH...lounged around til

around 10 a.m., then headed for the Saratoga Spa State Park.

There are miles of beautiful nature trails, most all

are blacktopped. We rode for 9.5 miles.

http://www.saratogaspastatepark.org/

We topped the day off with supper at Golden Coral

Two perfect Fall days

COPELAND COVERED BRIDGE

2009-10-27T11:45:00.000-07:00

This small covered bridge is located in Edinburg, NY

about 5 miles from our house. It was built to be used

for Mr. Copeland's cows to cross over the creek for

better pastures. The waterfalls there are beautiful.

We took Laura and Alan there on our way home

from Lake George. Ate supper at a diner

just around the corner from here.

Alan and Laura entering the covered bridge

Looking through one of the windows of the bridge

toward the water falls.

Laura and Alan Kested

COLORADO KESTED'S CON'T

2009-10-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

Lake George Cruise

It was a beautiful day as we drove over North

Shore Road, past the Conklinville dam

that holds back the waters of the Great Sacandaga

Lake. The trees were showing off their

oranges, yellows and reds, a picture of the

Adirondack Mountain's in all it's glory.

Lake George is a tourist town in the Adirondacks,

about 35 miles east of Northville.

Many shops, camps, hotels, and a lake where

they have several cruise boats, one of which is run by steam.

This is the boat we took. We had a buffet luncheon

from 11 - 1. The cruise was from noon to 2.

People kept asking Laura if she were the captain of the cruise boat.

(Click on the above to enlarge)

MEETING RELATIVES FROM CO.

2009-10-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

ALAN AND LAURA KESTED

from Loveland, Colorado

About two years ago I found Alan Kested on Zaba

White Pages, while looking for the Kested family that

moved to Colorado somewhere between 1900 - 02.

Alan and I have been corresponding and chatting on

the phone for the past two years. We thought it'd be

great if we could meet in person so last week Alan

and his wife Laura flew to Buffalo, NY..visited some

of Laura's relatives in Canada and then took the Amtrac

to Saratoga, NY where we picked them up.

What a great week we had getting to know each other,

me teaching Alan about his ancesters, visiting gravesites

going on a short cruise, a Kested party (meeting more

Kested's, eating out, shopping etc etc etc.

Tuesday night I invited my brother and his family and Marty
and Nancy Kested to our home for a Kested get together.
It was fun talking "ancesters" and getting to know each other.
There were 14 of us in all.

The 4 Kested Cousins: Alan, Bill, Gail, Marty

Alan from Colorado, Bill and Gail (bro & sister), Marty from Johnstown, NY

Donna Crannell, Lori Crannell Nelson, Rory Crannell

Rory Crannell and Laura Kested

Laura was facinated with Rory's higheth of 6' 6"

Meeting for the first time: Alan and Marty

The is Jonas Kested's Bible. Marty's grandfather, Harvey

passed it on to Marty's gfather, Benjamin. Harvey was my

ggrandfather Frank Kested's brother.

SHAKE DOWN

2009-09-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

We thought we'd better try out the new

M. H. before we took it on a trip. We

drove the 2 miles down to our favorite

state campsite where we stayed just one

night. We also got to do some kayaking

and biking. Everything worked fine and

it fits our every need and wants. We love it.

California Here We Come....in March 2010

Camping at one of the inlets of the Great Sacandaga Lake

On the beach

This morning, can't you just feel that heat?

Easier than carrying it

My new bike. It's very light and rides so smoothly

L.L. Bean, but made by Schwinn

By POPULAR DEMAND

2009-09-23T07:53:00.000-07:00

OK OK....I'M FINALLY GOING TO SHOW

YOU OUR NEW MOTOR HOME

We love it...it's just exactly what we were

looking for. It's only 21' but has everything

in it that we wanted.

Couch next to refrig.

That's the bathroom door...to the left is a clothes closet

The stairs/doorway is between the refrig and the clothes closet

Coming up the steps past the clothes closet

KATIE AND SAMMY

2009-09-16T09:49:00.000-07:00

Baptism/Dedication

of Katie and Sammy

at the Erieville Methodist Church

September 13, 2009

(Click the photo to enlarge)

What a priviledge it was to have a part

in this ceremony. The pastor did a great

job of challenging the parents, gparents and

other family members who were gathered

at the alter to live a godly life, and

be committed to Christ as we have influence

and guidence for these two beautiful children.

It was especially nice for me to

have some of our family there.

Scott and Jessie from Johnson City,

Stephanie (Katie's Godmother and Cousin)

from California. and of course Sue, Chris,

Mackenzie, Katie and Sammy.

WHAT IS A STONE BOAT?

2009-09-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

The dictionary states that "A stone-boat is a device for

moving heavy objects such as stones or hay bales.

It was used with horses by the settlers of the American West.

Larry/Dad says that his Dad and grandfather used a stone boat to

move rocks on their farm. Hardscrabble is known for its rocks.

Here is the one that Larry built and is useing to move rocks.

Note the front curves upwards like a sled.

They were also called stoneboat sleds.

Google "Stone boat" and you'll find pictures of old stone boats in use

THE DAM (Phase Two)

2009-08-20T09:06:00.000-07:00

The Repair of the Dam Project Continued

Monday Mike and Owen arrived to work on repairing

the dam and on Wednesday they were finished.

UNBELIEVABLE

But they aren't the only ones who worked

on it, you'll notice in these pictures that

Larry/Dad is still hard at it.

(Click on the picture to enlarge)

Thanks Larry for all your hard work !!!

WHAT IS THIS IN OUR POND?

2009-08-18T12:50:00.000-07:00

Back in the 60's, my cousin Phyllis Crannell Canary

and her husband Ken Canary would drive their amphibious

car into our pond to the amazement of folks camping here.

Many years latter they restored the car and just this week

brought it back to our pond.

HERE WE GO AGAIN RE: The Dam

2009-08-18T08:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (Monday the17th) they started to repair the dam.

Hopefully they finish today.

More info and pictures coming as the dam progresses

THE POND/DAM IS DONE

2009-07-31T06:45:00.000-07:00

FINISHED...LOTS OF WATER..GRADED..NEW BRIDGE.

BEAUTIFUL !!!

The above pictures were taken on Sunday July 26

THEN

ON TUESDAY

July 28th

5 INCHES OF RAIN IN LESS THAN AN HOUR

What a shock...a downer and discouraging

But after we adjusted to what happened

and talked to Mike who did the work in the

first place....we consider a lot worse things

could happen, so we can still be thankful

for the good things in our lives.

The Dam will be repaired.

LARRY'S FAVORITE OF THE SHOW

2009-07-16T08:21:00.000-07:00

1928 ROADSTER

TECH SESSION..MUSEUM..AND...

2009-07-16T06:30:00.000-07:00

CHATTING WITH HUDSON PEOPLE FROM

ALL OVER THE COUNTRY

Larry's Tech Session

"Search and Rescue"

There were about 30+ at the class

At the end of the session he tells

"Uncle Josh Buys an Automobile"

They love it!!!!

We went to Ypsilanti via bus (4 buses full)

They served us a nice buffet before we went

through the museum.

Quite a few years ago we were driving to Northville

from Endwell and saw a Hudson stopped at a gas

station just outside of Cobleskill. Larry turned around

and went back and talked to the owner. It was the

man who owns this museum. It was the first time that

Larry/Dad had heard of a Hudson Club, and then the

fun began !!!!

More to come!!!

Hudson's Hudson's and Hudson's

2009-07-15T19:44:00.000-07:00

Tuesday July 14th

They say there's over 600 Hudson's here

This is the Step down section, there are

sections designated for 10 yr spans

HUDSON HEAVEN

Can you find our Hudson? Find this camper above..our

car is the red Hudson with the hood up.

Out to dinner with friends from New York

ON THE WAY

2009-07-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

Our second day (Monday July 13)

Another beautiful day to travel.

Seems like every place we stopped somone came up

to look at the Hudson and wanted to talk.

We took the scenic route around Cleveland, along

Lake Erie shore line. Beautiful homes for miles

We stopped at a Subshop, then ate them here

overlooking the lake.

When this little boy saw our car he said, "There's

Doc Hudson". He was thrilled to beable to get

in it but was somewhat shy so one of his sisters

got in with him.

Another interested soul and a willing Hudson Man

sharing Hudson stories.

We stopped at the Michigan Welcome Center

Another interested person. Every stop takes

extra time as Mr. C talks to whoever is interested.

And while Mr Hudson chats I take pictures of flowers

and scenery. This was so dark it looked almost black.

I picked a couple of seed podsoff the ground

to take home and see if I can grow some.

I'm trying to catch up here...it's Wednesday already and

I'm stil bloggin for Monday. Not my fault, couldn't

get on the internet until last night. More coming!!!!