One happy family, wheelbarrow rides will do that!




Leo thinks there is nothing like a smore with HUGE marshmallows

 After 3,000+ miles with car and camper, 25,000+ miles in the air, 11 nights in the camper, 4 three day stays with either family or friends, a toast with wine on the Great Wall and lunch at Katz's Deli we arrived in St. Paul Sunday night. Of course we brought with us warm 80 degree temps but now that we are here the temps are supposed to dip into the 40s again by the end of the week.
Some of the highlights of our trip back were"

• camping along the east coast
• the great wall in china (almost our only highlight in China)
• lunch at Katz's in New York
• three nights with John and Mary and family
• three nights with Terry's sister and husband Bill.  This visit also included a train ride into Chicago for an afternoon
• three nights with Aaron and Amy and family
• staying with Anita and Bruce Brand in DC
• Paying as little as $3.25 for gas!!!  Who would have said that just a few years ago?

We are now into the "unpack" mode and "gear up" for summer projects.  All this as we await a new grandchild that Cynthia plans to deliver any time now.  When the excitement of that new one passes we will wait for the little girl John and Mary expect in July.  I would say that in our family things are happening!!
As I write brother Dave is traveling to Mayo Clinic for a heart procedure with the hope that it will improve his life style.  If the procedure is successful (he says it is not a serious thing) he may have more medical work down the road.  We are expecting him and Marlys to stop over night Friday on their way back to Jamestown ND.
Wow, I enjoyed my first MN fresh FP coffee this morning and it was outstanding.  BUT it is over, finished, no more so I sign off.

That is one huge marshmellow!!!!



Can you really eat that Amy?




Ruby thinks that looks GREAT

 Huge marshmallows were the hit of the day.  Grandpa's, on the right, turned out kind of burned while Aaron came through with the best in the west. 
We spent Friday walking Leo to school, having lunch with Aaron, getting Leo from school and then stopping for ice cream, enjoying pizza and ending the day with huge marshmallows roasted over the fire.
Today we may take in the farmer's market around the capital, if the weather is warm enough. 
Tomorrow we head towards St. Paul where we will finally land after 31 days on the road.  It may take us a few days to gather our thoughts, unpack and get into the swing of things.  We have BIG plans that need to happen if we are to get some things done.  We will see. 
We are expecting warm temps in MN but will see what happens. 
It is almost May which means gardens, flowers, clean up and of course property taxes!!

Into Wisconsin

We will leave IL today and head to Madison to spend a couple of days with Aaron and Amy.
Have had a fun time with Jen (Terry's sister) and her husband Bill.  Visited a hardwood lumber yard yesterday that has the largest inventory of hardwood that I have ever seen and then got on the train to spend most of the day in Chicago.  We met Jen and Bill's son and future daughter in law for dinner before getting home. 
We have now been on the road for 4 weeks and perhaps are getting just a bit road weary.  It will be good to arrive in St. Paul Sunday.  Travis has promised that all the snow will be melted by then and the temp will be up to 70+!
We had a great time with John and Mary and family over the weekend.  Spent half a day at the dunes on Lake Michigan and it was so fun.  We were invited to a Saturday dinner where about 35 people gathered so met some of there friends.  We slept in the camper each night with temps at the freezing point but kept warm.
The picture is how we ate most of our meals in China.  Believe me, it looks better than it was. 

Katz's in New York City

Thanks to google, Terry's directions and mostly our GPS we zipped into NYC, ate at Katz's Deli, wandered in the park near the Stature of liberty and headed back to our campsite.  Now for Katz's.  The Reuben sandwich with fries a bowl of soup with a 16 oz beer came to $37, tip $5, parking $20, tolls to get there $18 and a hat for memories $11.  We sure enjoyed our lunch!!!!!!
We are camped in a New Jersey State Park an hour from NYC and we are the only ones here!  I suppose in a short time it will change but for today it is peaceful, quiet and a bit of heaven. 
We are headed west today and will spend the next two days and 665 miles on I80 as we head towards Audrey, Liam, Henry, John and Mary.  Since the fall of 2010 it has been to few visits with them so we are excited for a couple of days in SB.  Hard to believe it has been three years since John and Mary went off for a weekend to talk, pray and decide about moving to SB. 
My FP coffee gets cold almost before I drink it out  here but it is gone and I am done.

New meaning to the term ?"bike"

There seemed to be as many different bikes as people in China.  Pretty much saw everything but the kitchen sick on bikes and then perhaps most of the homes do not have a sink!!

On USA soil again

We arrived back in the US Monday shortly after noon as we touched down in NY.  After customs and getting a connecting flight we finally arrived in DC about 6:00 and were so blessed to have Bruce Brand pick us up at the airport.  We will head north to New Jersey today, spend tomorrow in New York City and then head west on Thursday.
It was so so good to climb into a home bed and sleep last night.  Not really enough sleep but will try to catch up in the days ahead.
China was an experience to never forget.  The three cities we spent most of our time in have a population of 67,000,000+!!!  Many pictures will follow in days ahead but a few of the highlights/lowlights:

• taking a 3 hour ride in a taxis with no money and with a driver who knows NO english
• having NO money and having the bank turn us down for cash!
• staying in the hotel an extra day because we were sick!  Then missing about 1/3 of our triip with sickness
• avoiding the lunch and dinner because the smell of food was NOT good
• sitting through many lectures for products!
• taking pictures of EVERYTHING on bikes--I mean everything
• seeing mile after mile after mile after mile of highrise apt where people live.  I would say that if Dale Binde's farm were in China perhaps a million people would live there!
• being shoved from the front, the side and the back by sight seeing people
• CLIMBING A SMALL SMALL PART OF THE GREAT WALL

I could go on forever but we need to reorganize, repack and get on the road by mid to late morning.

DC



This girl would wave to sailors as their ship came in.  She did this for 40 years and would get much mail from around the world.  This is in Savannah.

We arrived in DC yesterday about 4:00 PM.  At the North Carolina/Virginia border we traveled 5 miles in 50 minutes only to find the road work happening was about 15 people redoing the shoulder on the left side:( : :(  As we got near Bruce and Anita Brands we had a bit of a delay with traffic but I guess that is the east coast so you live with it or stay away!  Will venture towards the middle of DC today and see if we can take in some cherry blossoms.  I am guessing the temp is in the high 30s or low 40s with a rain/sleet last night so am not sure how much we will take in. Tomorrow we are scheduled to lift off for China about 12:30 PM.  At this point it looks like we will be leaving the states with me having a cold.  I am sure the 14 hour flight from Toronto to China will be good for that.  We do need to recheck our bags to be sure we have what we need.  I have said it before but will say it again, not sure it was a good idea to schedule camping, cherry blossoms, China and visits into our trip north.  Maybe we are prone to putting too much into too little time. I am sitting in the Brand's kitchen drinking my FP and it is almost gone.  Nice to sit at a table instead of sitting on a folding chair with the computer on my lap.
We had a nice Mexican dinner last night as we treated Bruce and Anita out.  That was fun.  This morning Bruce was out the door before seven as he walks 6 blocks and catches a train to his work.  I think it is about 20-25 miles and the train beats driving.
Enough, the next entry may be April 16 or later.

Savannah Pictures



the church where Jingle Bells was first sung




A popular mode of transportation




Where Robert Louis Stevenson got the idea for Treasure Island




Need to call home?

 I am sitting near the ocean, but not on the beach, just north of Myrtle Beach NC.  Our campsite was the cheapest we could find and it looks the part.  All sand, no TP in the bathrooms, not desirable showers but no complaints!  We are almost 1000 miles from Naples and will camp not too far outside of Washington DC tonight.  The highlight of our trip so far has been a 90 min tour of Savannah SC.  I history lesson was had and the sights were so so special.  We debated over taking a tour as we usually just wing it and do things on our own but it was a super decision to spend the $27.
We found a growler in Charleston NC.  This brewery was tucked between two tall walls and even though our GPS said we were there we almost missed it.  A fun place to find.  The owner told us of a good seafood place just down the road.  As we arrived there parking was at a premium so Terry jumped out of the car and I continued on to find a spot to park.  An hour later, after a mile walk and sitting in traffic forever, I arrived to eat.  The food was very good but not sure worth the hour parking search!  I guess if one puts the growler in with the seafood I would do it again.
We can feel we are a bit farther north as I would say the temp is maybe 15 degrees cooler.  However that may be a good thing as the last three nights of camping were so buggy that it was not fun.  This morning as I sit in somewhat of a chill there are no bugs so I can live with cold hands.
We do not have an agenda today except it does seem that the coastal highway we have been on, #17, now goes too far east which would put us way out of our way so we will travel most of the day on I95 north which will make for less interesting travel but much easier driving.  I do think we need to find a more classy campsite for tonight so showers are in the works.  It also may be nice to have some TP in the restrooms!
My FP is gone which means my hands have nothing to keep them warm :(