Greg’s birthday

Yesterday, we celebrated Greg’s birthday by going out for a seafood dinner at Chris and Marianne’s favorite restaurant, Tracey’s, in Sullivan, Maine.

Greg was in his element as the guest of honor.
The kids got some bonding time, which was nice to see.
I think my dad would have been proud at how thoroughly I demolished my lobster.

Before dinner, we stopped at Chris and Marianne’s new RV for a tour.

Chris and Marianne’s mansion away from home.
Everyone enjoying the view from their backyard.

I’ve been taking it very slowly this week, so no trips to Acadia yet. Instead, I’ve enjoyed going out on the pontoon boat with other members of the family.

Paul and Scott examine the depth finder, looking for the deepest part of the lake and the ideal fishing spot.
Paul and Greg check out their fishing gear while Christopher steers the boat.
Marianne enjoying the view.

Galen has been kayaking every chance he gets.

Put Galen in a kayak, and he is a happy camper.
Luckily, he’s been able to talk Debbie into joining him. Even Richard went along on this trip.
Richard got the slow kayak.
Galen getting some assistance from Neal, who had been on the dock taking photos of a loon in the water.
Brenda watching Debbie preparing to disembark. It didn’t go well. A complete change of clothes was required.

Today, the plan is to take the bus around the Acadia Loop Road.

Headed north

Greg and I are off on another extended camping trip. Yippee!

This time we are staying for a week near Acadia National Park to participate in a family reunion for Greg’s side of the family before heading further north into Canada to do New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia.

Greg did the planning for this trip, and boy, he did a great job! I told him that his second career should be as a travel agent.

The house we are staying in is perfect for a large family reunion. It is right on Branch Lake.

Our private dock
Yeah. I think I can do this.
Greg even rented a pontoon boat for our use this week.
A deck
A screened-in porch
A well-equipped kitchen
Plus, plenty of other areas for socializing

There is even a large garage that has been turned into a rec room. And it’s air conditioned!

Everyone has a bed, although Greg and I are staying in the camper. And there are three full bathrooms.

Family members who are participating include Greg, me, Neal, Lily, Galen, Scott, Debbie, Paul, Chris, Marianne, Wally, Migzie, Sean, Alex, Kelly, Brendan, Brenda, and Richard.

Paintings and a Park

Before we left for our trip, I managed to complete two assignments for my negative painting class with Rick Surowitz.

Although I don’t hate either one, I’d like to give them another try once I get back home.

Maumee Bay State Park

Yesterday was a weird day. One of my medications, either the Propranolol or the Viibryd (or I guess it could have been the lack of caffeine in the morning), made me extremely tired. I finally dragged myself out of bed around 3:00 p.m., but even then I felt like a zombie.

In a desire to not completely waste the day, Greg and I headed off to Maumee Bay State Park to see if we could do a little hiking.

The marina

This is a cute little park right on Lake Erie. It has a fancy lodge, a marina, a golf course, a small inland lake, two beaches, a campground, and a couple of hiking trails.

Greg and I managed to get our steps in, but I felt like my body was still asleep the entire walk. I was glad when we finally headed back to our campsite.

The trail along the lake
Some lucky home owner has his own personal lighthouse!
A prettier view of the marina looking toward the lodge

On to Indiana!

Child #4’s little camping invention

When we first purchased the travel trailer, I watched every YouTube video and camping-related article I could find on how to outfit an RV, and I bought ALL THE STUFF.

One of the items I invested in was a set of tension rods to use in our pantry to hold everything on the shelves when we were on the move.

Well, after a couple of camping trips, I decided that constantly tightening and loosening the tension rods before and after each trip was annoying.

I began to look for a solution. What I really wanted was some kind of hook that I could rest them on, something that would make putting up the tension rods as easy as setting them in place, no tightening required.

Greg decided that my wish would make a perfect project for our budding little inventor, Child #4. He commissioned him to invent and manufacture something that we could apply to the sides of the pantry closet that would hold the tension rods and keep them in place while bumping down the road.

Here is what Child #4 invented for us (with a little help from his dad and some additional help from Child #3 and his 3D printer):

We attached the white plastic holders to the sides of the pantry closet using Command strips. They work beautifully, and I love them.

I tried to encourage Child #4 to see if he could sell them, but he wasn’t interested. So I guess they will remain a one-of-a-kind feature just for our RV.

Here is what they look like in the RV’s pantry.

And with the pantry full…