Family, friends and off again

  August 11th and we are off again. But to catch up on what we have been doing. We spent the month of July back with family and friends in West Virginia. During the month we had a great time with family including celebrating Brielle's first birthday and watching Lydia turn five months. (our first grandchildren) We also made two side trips with family to Natural Bridge Virginia and Williamsport Md. Many great meals were consumed with friends catching up on what we have been doing and with that I'm afraid to look at the scale until we get back on our daily routine of biking and walking!

 Sunday the 11th we started our trip out west. Our first couple of days we spent in Ohio with the intention of going to Indiana next. All that change when we remembered the Worlds largest Christmas store mentioned on the travel channel in Michigan. So off to Bronners in Frankenmuth Mi. we headed. From there we turned north to the upper peninsula of Michigan or the upper as the local refer to it. Michigan turned out to be a great state with many things to see and experience.  Now its off to Wisconsin, Idaho, South Dakota, Arizona and California. Below are some of the places and things we have done in the last month.

 We took my mom and dad and two of my nephews Camden and Ethan to Natural Bridge, below are some of the things we did.

                                     
                                                Natural Bridge with my nephew Ethan

                                            Me feeding an elk at the Natural Bridge Safari.

 

Sitting by the river that runs under the bridge.

 The park takes about an hour and a half to drive through and the animals come right up to the car to eat. There must be several hundred animals you can feed including zebras, camels, elk, rain deer, ostrich, kangaroo's and lamas to name a few.

  Our next outing was to Williamsport Md. with Cathy's niece and nephew Ben and Greta,

                                         Here we are preparing to canoe for the first time!

      
                                          Cathy and Greta leaving shore, we had a great time
                                           and no one fell in!

 

Me ready to blast off!

 

                                         Cathy checking out a space capsule at the Neil
                                          Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Ohio.

 

                
                                         Bronners Christmas store in Frankenmunth MI.
                                         Over five football fields of Christmas items!!!!!

 

We watched this awesome lumberjack show in

Mackinac city, these guys participate on the ESPN

show.

 

 

Crossing the Mackinac bridge to

the upper peninsula.

 

 

We visited Mackinac Island where the are three

modes of transportation, foot, bikes or horse and

wagon. No personal autos are permitted on the island.

Everything comes over by ferry and is delivered by

horse and wagon, we even seen the UPS guy riding one!

 

 

   These are just some of the adventures we have experienced so far on our second trip out. There are many more and I will continuing to post photos in future blogs. Cathy and I have been very blessed to live this lifestyle and we thank God everyday for it. I will say it is bittersweet sometime because of leaving family and friends. But todays technology makes it easier with Facebook, Facetime and Skype. Plus we plan on being home late November for the holidays to spend  with the ones we love.

  

                           Until then remember life is the journey not the destination.