Isaac

Thanks for your indulgence. I had to share a small part of our trip to Minnesota. It's like the standard joke where you visit a home and out comes the family photo's! Well, this was part of our loop. One of the best parts from my perspective. It was a beautiful month and the time spent will be a treasure for many years to come.

Trips to the Zoo and Week's end of VBS

VBS is Vacation Bible School for those of you who may not know. The penguin was a part of the weeks' theme.

Bon Fire's and Paddle Boat Rides

We went where THEY went!!!

Off to the park

We had the boys for a few days while their parents went to Ohio. Grandpa did pretty well in "getting the lead out" as he navigated with another 60 lbs. behind him.

The Best Part of our trip to Minnesota

Joshua is on the left and Isaac on the right. I know Gilligan looks like "the dog possessed" but in truth, they were great buddies! Inseparable. Isaac had spent the night with us on the boat when our son came to pick us up. When Gilligan returned, we couldn't find him. It's a 37' boat folks. How far could he have gone. We found him in Isaac's room, resting up against the pillow.

Minnesota State Fair

Literally, 10's of thousands of people attended this State Fair. Our son and daughter had wanted us to attend for the past number of years. We were able to extend our visit by five days to share the experience. I thought the Big E back home was big. THIS was great fun. Family first, the animals, food of every kind imaginable, crafts, homemade goods, laughter and even more special than all of that, was to see it yet again, through the eyes of our grandchildren.

Bernie's Meats

Walking back from the "Stairway Experience", someone called out to us and asked if we'd been in Sheboygan this morning. They recognized Gilligan. They were sail boaters home based in Manitowoc. Each summer they do a northern tour and a southern tour to places along Lake Michigan. This was their southern trip. They told us about "Bernie's." In the 6 years they have been coming to Port Washington, they never miss Bernie's. Aged and marbled steaks, homemade bratwurst and homemade smoked bacon along with Polish sausage rich with garlic added! Close you eyes and picture a touch of heaven! Mouth watering would not do it justice! This was truly a wonderful find. Thanks Gilligan!!!

Pt. Washington, WI

The Stairways of Port Washington. We arrived today after spending two nights at Sheboygan. Small craft warnings held us back at Sheboygan one more night. Port Washington has been known as the "City of Seven Hills" due to topography upon which the city is built. So off we go to discover the famous stairways. Well, this is it! 60 stairs up and 80 down (another set of stairs folks) but what you find at the top ---- is the center of a residential area with no scenic view as you'd expect. So we asked the locals just what were we to look for up here and they told us (no joke) the other set that brings you down again! Now, far be it from me to operate with an intent of being "politically incorrect" here, but they do tell me it's a Polish neighborhood! Hummm!

Missing the grandchildren

When we left, these little guys were newborn chicks, learning what to do with bread tossed their way. We returned on 25 August. They were every bit as big as the Momma and I was happy to see, a bit leery of my feet in the water while enticing them to come a little closer for the feast. Ron and I enjoyed the children. They were the highlight of the Loop. It was a blessed month.
Anyone suffering from arachnophobia, do NOT read on! We've Never Seen Anything Like It! When we returned to the boat, the entire thing was covered with spiders! We had to break through webbing to get to and through the aft salon door! Thank goodness there were no spiders Inside, but o, what a job they did on the OUTside! It literally took us 4 1/2 hours the following day to wash, no scrub, droppings and remains. Huge spiders scurrying everywhere! Certainly not a highlight of the trip, believe me. Working together, we thought we had them until the next morning, when those that were hidden resurfaced and we started in all over again. Ahhh, no!

Back in 3 or 4 weeks

Our son Brian and grandson Isaac came to pick us up yesterday in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. We are storing the boat there and spending the next few weeks in Minnesota with Brian and his family. This will definitely be one of the best parts of the Loop and we'll be "bloggin" when we return. Loved the comments and the connection this blog has provided with all of you! We still have E-mail up and running and look forward to hearing from you while we are here. We'll be back on by the middle of August.