OK, while this is a nondescript picture of the Flying Scotsman in its present location ... that ain't the message. If you look very close at the silver maple over the coach to our rear the tree is beginning to change color (colour in Canadian). It is officially "Fall" here ... wow that was a quick summer! The leaves are fallin', school's starting, and get the sleds and hockey sticks ready, eh?

I forgot to mention that poor Buster had a rough time last weekend. Early Saturday morning he started to throw up and continued every half hour or so until we got concerned by about 2pm. We rushed him over to a local vet who was willing to see us and gave the poor chubby one a shot to stop the tummy problem and also gave him a good check out. The vet found nothing significant and by Sunday afternoon Buster was back to normal ... the problem probably coming from all the crap he picks up as we walk around the park ... including one of his favorites, Canadian goose poop!

Today it was "chamber of commerce" type weather again here in Meaford, Ontario; 68 degrees, calm, and sunny. It was actually 51 when we woke up this morning and the fire pits in the park go constantly.

Here are a couple of more shots of South Haven Michigan where we were last week. This is on the main street in the center of the village, looking west toward the harbor.

And this is down at the harbor, again looking west toward Lake Michigan and the lighthouse on the jetty. Very pretty little town where the town fathers have obviously done a lot to blend the old with trying to keep up with the tourist business.

We are now back in the Memorial Park in Meaford and will be here for the next several weeks ... please scroll down to see the the last couple of weeks as computer coverage and fun have precluded many inputs to the blog.

We then went to attend a family reunion hosted by my cousin in Saugatuck, Michigan. The closest RV park was in South Haven about 20 miles to the south. You can see the Flying Scotsman just to the right of center here. This particular park is a condominium style where you can buy your lot for $57000 and then rent it out when you are not there. Nice little lake and plenty of Canadian geese, but a bit overpriced for the area I think.

This area is just south of Holland, Michigan, which is famous for its Dutch immigrants and the millions of tulips which bloom here in the spring. Here is a shot in Holland at one of the city parks showing the Netherlands heritage.

We had an absolutely wonderful time at the reunion with Virginia and Colin Steel and their offspring. It was coincidentally their 50th wedding anniversary and the events of the evening relating to their past half-century was really entertaining and enlightening. Super people and a wonderful night.

After the Okemos reunion, we headed south to Ohio, to Wright-Patterson AFB to get some prescriptions filled, shop on the base, and meet with old friends. The park on the base is one of the best we have been in and a really good deal at $20 a night. Nice level, paved sites, and of course access to all the base stuff. Of course, at the end of this road in the picture is where they store all the explosive stuff ...

And just outside the gate near the campground is a fully active drive in theater ... yeah I know, what is that! As you can see, the latest Batman movie is playing. No we didn't go, as the main feature starts at 10pm ... when it gets dark ... and way past our bedtime.

As always while in Ohio, we met and had dinner with our good friends the O'briens. Greg and Char have been our friends since we went to Officer Training School together and then on to Strategic Missile duty in Tucson in 1975.

Wow, we got really behind! Having too much fun, I guess.

After we left the Okemos High School reunion we did a quick tour of the Michigan State University campus where Dad spent many years until they relocated to Texas in the 60s. This shot is of the Carollon Tower on the campus. This is a remarkable instrument with 49 bells in the tower played by a person with a keyboard similar to a piano. The bells are awesome and the tunes, depending upon the season, really special. While attending MSU I was able to go up and watch the organist or pianist or carollist or whatever they are called pound the keyboard. And they really do pound it with a semi-closed fist, and the bells respond accordingly. Really special.

On the 1st and 2nd we attended my 45th year high school reunion of the class of 1963 from Okemos High School, Michigan. There were 100 members originally as we graduated and there were 21 in attendance last weekend. There have been more in previous years and as this was an in-between sort of event there should be more at the 50th. Even our 10th grade biology teacher was there with his wife ... really special!

My ex wife Linda was in the same class and also came to the reunion. Let's see ... the ex-wife is chatting with the current wife ... I'm in trouble. Not really as we all had a great evening catching up from the reunion five years ago.

All during the weekend we did several things with Pete Cummins and his wife Emily. I think I met Pete in the 4th grade and have been friends ever since in spite of both of our many travels. Pete and I and Emily and her sister double-dated in high school and it is wonderful to see these kind of old friends again.

Here is Pete and Emily at the Clara's Restaurant which is the old Lansing railroad station. I actually boarded a train from here to go visit my grandparents in Grand Rapids, probably in the 50s. We ate in one of the dining cars attached to the station platform. You could also eat in the station itself which was extensively restored to its 1920s fine craftmanship.

And a longer shot of the dining car ... with Emily clowning a bit. I told her to act natural ... so there she is deep into the menu. This was truly a fine job of restoring the old railroad car.

I just thought I'd try a couple of images to see if the system is working better. Here's a picture of us at the Sarnia/Port Huron border last week, coming into the US, with the "Blue Water Bridge" in the background. It took a little more than an hour to get across and through customs on the other side.

And here is a shot from the top of the bridge as we continued to wait to get across and the reason for its name. What you are seeing is Sarnia, Ontario, to the right and Port Huron, Michigan to the left, with the St Clair River between

We are now in Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, campground after a nice travel down US 127, a two-lane road from Lansing, Mich. I don't think there will be any pics today as Google is goggling me and the pics I try to upload .... don't/won't. So here is a quick text update.

Last Thursday we left Meaford and headed west on highway 21/26 toward Sarnia, Ontario. This is always a pretty trip as it works west past the Bruce penninsula and then down the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. We had a longer than usual wait at the border with Port Huron, Michigan ... about an hour. Once there, we got the three obligatory questions .... the first being "you got a gun?" And then on the way again. That night we stayed in a campground in Emmett, MI, which is about 30 miles west of Port Huron. On previous trips we found the KOA in Port Huron to be very expensive and so tried this new one, which was cheaper $40 instead of $50+ and very nice.

Then on Friday we were off to Okemos. We found only one campground in Lansing, the Cottonwood Campground off Aurelius Road ... kinda south-central in relation to Lansing. We attended the first part of my high school reunion on Friday night at the Paul Revere Bar which is owned by one of our classmates. There were 100 of us in the class of 63 and 21 of those were in attendance.

Then on Saturday the reunion moved over to a golf course in Haslett and we had a great time talking over old times.

For those that know the bunch ... Pete Cummins, Norm Eberly, and of course, my ex-wife, Linda were there ... more on the ex-connection later with pics. Unfortunately Dave and Karen Hammond couldn't make it. When I get the photo part of Google to work there will be a lot more.

After the reunion stuff we relaxed on Sunday and then came down to Ohio today. We'll be here till the 7th when we head over to Saugatuck, Michigan.
Hopefully the picture function will work by then .... jeez!