BEN'S BIRTHDAY and RR MUSEUM IN SCRANTON, PA

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEN!!

Saturday, May 11th we hit the road with our oldest son, Victor, to visit our youngest, Ben.  We went to celebrate his birthday - - - - which means that we are getting older also!!  We had not seen Ben since before Christmas when he moved to eastern Pennsylvania.  It was a good change for us and a chance to sight see a little more and a good reason to celebrate!

Dunmore, Pa.

We had forgotten how many hills there are within the cities of eastern Pennsylvania!!  And this is not the worst by a long shot!!

On Sunday after attending church with Ben we went to Texas Roadhouse for his birthday dinner and returned to his apartment and watched movies.  Much to our dismay, when we went to go back to our motel we found our front tire flatter than a pancake!!  Since it was Sunday and after 6pm all we could do was have it changed to the donut and wait for Monday to see about a new tire.  Did I say tire???  It ended up being four new tires since we had put so many miles on all of them!!!

Gary spent the Monday morning hours at the tire shop, so we did not get to sight seeing early.  We started and ended with a trip to the Scranton Railroad Roundhouse Museum.  We had been through one of these in Savannah, Ga., however, this one had much more restoration of trains going on.  All very interesting!!!

This is the train "turnabout" in the center of the yard, museum and work buildings.  I could not get back far enough to get it all in one shot.




Gary and the tour guide.

Gary, Ben and Victor listening to the guide (who is hidden behind the equipment.

See the feet under this car on the right?

Here he is leaving his work stool!!

They had a welder, and an engineer on duty, as well as other workers and volunteers.  It appears to be a full time operation.
It was very interesting to see this engine with the "cut away areas".  The guide was good at explaining the function of it all.

Steam Dome and Sand Box

Steam pipes



Coal Furnace

Steam Dome "cut away"

Well preserved Mail Car.

Since it was such a long tour on concrete, we were glad to take a lunch break at Glider's Dinner!!  They have some awesome sandwiches and those we saw eating breakfast, that looked awful good also!!

 

Gary, Victor and Ben

Check out that Pastrami !!  Guess that is going home.

After our late lunch we decided that we would take in the Coal Mine Tour on another visit.  What wimps we are!!

We went to the Loading Dock Restaurant after a nap and again had more than we could eat.  Guess the pizza will feed us on our trip home. The appetizer of potato wedges with cheese and ranch dressing was sure piled high!! 
We had a good visit, Ben, and look forward to doing it again, hopefully before we head south this fall.  Take care and have a great summer!!  Love you!!

BEGINNING OF MAY IN OHIO

The week of April 29th began with more trips to the Jeep Garage for car care!!  Seems that is happening much too frequently recently, but must take care of it for our travels.  Gary has a week of breakfasts with various friends and I began attending a Bible study with several gal friends.  They meet weekly at the home of Cheryl and Tex.  Of course, Tex is not with out gathering, but they sure have an awesome place in the country!!  The prayer time, study and fellowship has been so rewarding for me.

I went back for another day of scrapbooking with our group on Perry Street.  This included a session of card making with a guest, and that proved interesting as a first for me.  And Gary had a party to attend for a retiring friend/co-worker at SES.  He then also had a Men's Rally in the Valley all day Saturday at the Covelli Center in Youngstown.

We followed that with a South Range Band Concert that our grandson was in.  So glad that we were back here in Ohio for that.  He played suspended cymbals that evening and it was awesome!!  Can you pick him out in the back row?  Just pick out those eyes, as you can't see much more!!

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Richie on cymbals.

 

The Jazz band was awesome as well!!  There were Seniors presented with solo parts throughout the selections also!!  I always enjoy the music concerts.  I guess I am living my dreams vicariously through the lives of my children and grandchildren!!  I wouldn't want to live those years again, but I can fantasize that my life had included that.

 

The rest of the week was more of the same: breakfasts, doctor appointment for Gary and a visit from my sister, Pearl.  She and I spent a day buying flowers and wandering through the cemetery where our parents and brother are buried.  We needed that time after the past year with Claude.  We also got in dinner at the motorhome and a few games of Five Crowns.  We need to do it again.

 

I met my friend, Louise, for lunch at B.B.Rooners and for a long visit.

 

B B Rooners with Danny and Margaret

Louise and Audrey

We also were much in need of that visit since we had lost our dear friend, Ruthie, this past year.  I hate to admit that it might indicate that we are getting older!!

When walking into BB's I saw that he still has Gary's drawing on display.  Way to go Danny!!

 

 

 



On Thursday, we began the day with breakfast at Bob Evans with our dear friend, Marian!! It is always great catching up with her and her family!!  

Marian, Audrey and Gary

Thank you Marian, and we will do it again while here this summer.


On to lunch at The Dutch Haus in Columbiana with Don and Lois.  Though they are from our area of Ohio, we first met them in Bushnell FL at the camp ground where we spent our first winter on the road in 2008-09.  We have kept up with that relationship and enjoy each visit.  Unfortunately, Don's health has made the trip south each year, more than he can handle.  Of course, it is best to stay near his doctors.

Gary, Audrey, Lois and Don

After lunch, we went out to their condo for a longer visit.  Don was anxious to sit and look at the first printing of our Blog.  We had just received our first hardback of the first six months on the road in 2008.  I wanted to see it in print before I go ahead and have each following year put into book form.  Our friends use theirs for reference and I thought we could also, as well as using it in our later years after we stop traveling.  I don't see the traveling ending for quite some time though.  How is that for planning ahead?  

Lois on their lovely patio. 

I look forward to seeing your patio after the flowers are planted!!  Wonderful visit Don and Lois!!  Hope to do it again before summer's end.

Saturday we started our trip to eastern PA to visit our youngest son on his birthday.  We will let you know how that trip goes.  We are looking forward to it.

THE PAST TWO WEEKS IN OHIO

On Sunday, April 14th, we did get set up on a permanent site here at Timashamie. It is a little lower in front though!!  Rather than have the front jacks maxed out, Gary put blocks under those and raised it more so that he could also put blocks under the front wheels.  Good thing that he did as he accidently bumped the buttons to retract the jacks.  What a catastrophe that would have been with the slides out!!  If there is something new to do in the way of catastrophe, you can bet that we will have a "First" with it!!  Just like the MUD!!



 

We don't have the awning out yet.  Just waiting for the spring winds to be over??  The rain has finally let up and I have been sitting out a few days now.  I wish the lot was a little smoother terrain and was all covered with grass.  But we will make the best of it.

We have gotten acquainted with neighbors to our left, Mandy and Rob, who bought the trailer to begin their camping experiences.  They have an eleven year old son, so it should be enjoyed by all.  We love it when we get nice neighbors.  We have also visited with others who are here every year, Ro and Joe and Tony,  Sue and Tom, Eddie and Jerry.  We are still looking forward to Sandy and Mickey's return from Florida also.

We continued that week with doctor appointments, when Audrey was told that she would have to have surgery for cancer again.  It was what we expected, so she will have another appointment and then the date will be scheduled. 

The Jeep has been in the garage a couple times, as well.  Guess it is beginning to feel it's age and miles!!  We just need to know that it will get us to Cleveland for Audrey's appointments when needed. 

We lightened our load a little by taking some of the stuff from Audrey's brother's house and put it in our storage unit.  We plan to pass things on to others as the opportunity presents itself.  The estate is all settled, so that is one less thing on Audrey's mind.  Laundry is now caught up and groceries bought.  Audrey went into the bank for business, but found it depressing since there is not any of her former co-workers in that office any longer.  So she scheduled dinner out with three and enjoyed a wonderful visit.  There are more to catch up with though.

Friends, Esther and Bill, came out and took us down to N. Georgetown to The Stage Coach for their famous fish dinners!  Wonderful visit and wonderful dinner, with food to spare.  Will have to do it again, but not Friday night as they were too busy!!  Esther had broken her foot that day so was not navigating very well and not up to steps up into the motorhome this time. 

Gary has made the rounds with some former co-workers, friends, and the former work-place.  He sure does not let grass grow under his feet!!

On Saturday, Audrey went off with some friends to the Women's Rally in the Valley in Lowellville at the Victory Christian Center.  This Rally was sponsored by Women of HIS Vision. 

Sonja Williams, wife of former mayor of Youngstown

Donna McAfee was in from the west coast to lead some of the singing and to do some solos.  She is a soprano with a 4 1/2 octave range to sing His praise!!  The other speakers were Tia Ciferno from Bella the medical crisis pregnancy center in Warren, Pat Sciaretta who is Director of Social Services at the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley, Danetta Claybrook a co-owner of Exousia Rehabilitation Services, Melanie Miller a former Miss Ohio and Mrs. Ohio America and currently serves as the Youth Ministries Director for The Salvation Army and Kathie Thomas and Allison Thomas of The Victory Christian Center.  Wonderful speeches, but way too many for one day!!  More music would have been great!!

Sunday the 21st, we met with our two (local) sons and a daughter-in-law and grandson for dinner at Kings Buffet.  We like it there as we can sit and chat as long as we like!!  Wonderful visit!!

Audrey has again lost a dear friend, this past year to cancer.  What a dreaded disease!!  However, she and Louise are keeping in contact as the last two of the pact.  They made an afternoon excursion to Hartville Kitchen with much catching up.

We managed to make another trip to Cleveland for a doctor visit and also a visit with Audrey's brother and sister.  We need more visiting time though, but imagine that will not be a problem with so many trips to Cleveland.  And the summer is young.

Gary managed to squeeze in a CT scan and a Saturday to help one son on his remodeling projects and with the other one to watch movies!!  How is that for recreation??  While he was off on that jaunt, Audrey went with her scrapbooking friends on a full day out. 

We stopped at the Scrapbooking Vendors show at the Akron Civic Center, then went on to lunch at Rocknes.  After that we went to New Brunswick to Hollos for more scrapbooking supplies, then to Archiver's and Hobby Lobby near Summit Mall.  By then our feet and knees were telling us it was time to quit.  Imagine that!!

Some of us rested while others were die hard shoppers!!

An Awesome Make and Take Item!!

I did not sit in on any of the Make and Take items at the Vendor's Show, but think that I would have liked to have been in on this one.  And I did miss out on a couple bargains, but did not see them!!  There was so much to see that it usually overwhelms me, so I do not look close enough.  Next time I will do better.

Sunday after church service at First Friends and our friendly Sunday School Class, we went to dinner at Salem Hills again and then stopped to visit with Gary's sister, Janet.  We also went to calling hours for a friend.  Those are always tough.

That about wraps up the last two weeks for us.  I promise to try to keep up more often and take more pictures!!  It seems that lately the camera has not been the closest  partner that it had been over the past five years. We need to correct that!!  You all have a wonderful weekend.