Oh I wish I was an Oscar Mayer wiener!

After a HOT, but good weekend at Sangchris Lake w/the Sangamon Valley Campers Club made even more enjoyable w/the Kendall's joining us SA, and after 3 out of 4 of us having to move to a different spot AGAIN, we headed up to our friend's, Tim & Trish, to spend a week at their beautiful home in MI.

We left MO morning and thought we might drive into a bit cooler weather. Nope. It followed us so was hot there too. Nonetheless, we had a great time while there. TU night they took us to the Pix Theater (an old movie house showing local movies made by some talented Michigan folk). Afterwards, we had some terrific ice cream. On WE, while the guys played 18 holes of golf (the weather was overcast so it wasn't too stifling for them), Trish and I went to Frankenmuth. What a quaint little area w/lots of unique shops and a H U G E Christmas store where I was able to buy a Michigan ornament for our 4' Christmas "travels" tree. Only ornaments on it are from places we've traveled to around the country. Unlike our state map that SOME people won't let me put Hawaii on because we didn't actually camp there, this tree is for our overall travels with or without the camper.

We spent all day TH (7-21) at the Henry Ford Museum. Saw some neat cars including the limo President & Mrs. John F. Kennedy was riding in when he was fatally shot, a big train that they had to remove the wall for in order to bring it into the building, and quite a few other displays of agriculture, the Civil War, aviation and, yes, an ORIGINAL Wiener Mobile. I remember having a wiener whistle but never had the wiener harmonica or wiener ring. And, of course, "Oh I Wish I Was an Oscar Mayer Wiener" song played in my mind the rest of the day. It was a neat museum and, with the renovations going on, I hope we'll get to go back to see some new stuff sometime.

We left MI last FR (7-22) and got to Valerie & Scott's on SA, July 23rd, just in time to celebrate my birthday w/dinner at Fisherman's Wharf. It's a great seafood restaurant and was actually breezy enough that we were able to sit outside to eat and watch the boats and birds. Sophia got to hear her 1st live entertainment as a guy and his guitar serenaded us while eating and visiting. She loved it and danced a little bit but enjoyed clapping after every song.

This past TU-TH were gloomy, rainy and damped our plans quite a bit. To break up the monotony, us 3 adults went to see Harry Potter 2 on WE. I should have had a "refresher" from Part 1 in order for the beginning of this movie to flow better. But, it was just as good as all the others. However, today (FR, 7-29) has made up for it w/lots of sunshine and hot temps. Grandpa and I even took Sophia to the beach on the Santa Rosa Sound side. She is getting such a cute little tan and would make a beautiful little Coppertone baby! Hope to make another splash on the beach sometime over the weekend.

Hot, hot, hot!

After a great time in TN, including a trip up the Great Smokey Mtns and Cades Cove, we headed back out a week after returning home. The Sangamon Valley Campers Club went to a new spot we'd never been to called Argyle Lake State Park near Macomb, IL. Several members of Audie's family joined us on SA and it seemed like old times w/a big potluck in, well, a long time.

Luckily, we survived several days of thunderstorms and flooding all across central IL mid-June. And now we're hitting 3-digit heat index days of summer w/high temps in the mid- to upper-90s and high humidity. Sure glad Tom is letting me run BOTH air-conditioners, which seem to be doing a really nice job of keeping us cool...until we step outside the door!

Sure glad we moved Clay, Kim and Kenley into their beautiful new home 2 weeks ago as it would've been miserable to move them the last 2 weekends. Downside to that weekend was that we took our camper to Trailer Masters to put new shock brackets on while we were up in Bloomington. Unfortunately, when we picked it up that SU afternoon, the camper battery was dead. After taking it over to Wal-Mart and getting a new one, we came home and had to toss all of the food from the refrigerator and freezer. Ughhh. Groceries are SOOO expensive when you have to start all over again w/everything.

July 4th weekend was fun as Don & Phyllis, one of the couples we chummed with while in FL last winter, brought their motor home to the campground and stayed FR-MO. Except for us gals losing most games of pegs and jokers, it was a great weekend and they were impressed w/the fireworks display that NSPOA puts on every year. Clay, Kim and Kenley joined us that SA and the 5 of us had fun jumping in the pool to cool off. Tom then grilled some burgers and dogs but, instead of getting to eat outdoors since it was too hot, hot, hot, all of us plus Don & Phyllis ate inside the cool confines of our home.

On SU (July 3), Tom and I went to Chatham to help celebrate my brother, Chic's, 60th birthday that my sister-in-law, Kim, pulled off. It was great seeing the smile on Chic's face and everyone had a nice time.

Yesterday (July 10), we went back up to Bloomington for Clay's inauguration of the new grill he got from Kim & Kenley for Father's Day. I was hoping we could eat our yummy steaks and grilled veggies outdoors in the shade but, once again, it was too hot, hot, hot.

I don't think we're going to get much of a break from the heat over the new few weeks when we head up to Michigan next week then down to Florida for 3 weeks after that. But, I'm sure we'll find some fun and interesting things to do to help us stay cool.