Tuesday we headed up to my brother's place in Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border. On Thursday we picked up my Mom at the airport in Cleveland.
Most days while we were staying at Gary's, Mom and I went for a hike down the country lanes. These are just a few pictures of the country side.
Papa, Mama and babies.
On Saturday we got in on a little surprise birthday party for Adam with the family and his girlfriend, Tiffany.
Tiffany is very nice and seems to fit right in with the family. She got Adam a tackle box.
Sunday was the main event that we came for, Sarah's graduation. They had 84 graduates and the whole thing took 47 minutes! John said, "Now that's the way all graduations should be."
The proud Grandma with her granddaughters. No that's not me, or my sister! It's my Mother.
Back at the ranch, the menfolk are spiffing up the homestead after several days of rain. Soon they will be setting up the swimming pool next to the ladder. We could have used it those few days it was in the 90s.
They have a dog, two cats and four kittens. I'm usually not much of an animal person, but the kittens were only a couple weeks old and they were so cute.
The man of the house, grilling the steaks to perfection. Mom took us all out for supper one night. Don't anyone tell Claude that she was spending more of his inheritance!
Another day we got to attend Kinsie's school awards program, where she received several honors awards. Here she is with her proud parents and Grandma.
We couldn't leave without finding at least one historical marker. Our kids would be totally disappointed in us. Clarence Darrow was born in nearby Farmdale and lived in this octagon home in Kinsman from age 6 to 17 (1864-1875). He is one of the most prominent trial lawyers of the 20th century. He championed the powerless and steadfastly opposed the death penalty. He is best known for Tennessee v. Scopes, the famous 1925 "monkey trial" that first tested the legality of teaching the theory of evolution in public schools.
We were getting ready to leave, when my brother came out with props and insisted on this picture. Some people think they are so funny. Oh well, what can you say when you just got two weeks of free camping?
On Tuesday, June 7th, we stayed overnight in Nappanee, Indiana at the Newmar RV factory and toured the factory the next morning. They provide free camp sites with water and electric. A lot of their employees are Amish, so they do not allow pictures. This picture was taken downtown at a strip mall where they had several hitching rails for their horses and buggies. The factory has a stable where they can keep their horses during their work shift. They are not allowed to use technology, such as cars, for pleasure, but they can use machinery for business. The owner of the factory is Amish, but owns an RV and an airplane for "business reasons". A lot of Amish women work in the local factories and ride bike to work. Amish refers to Jakob Ammann, a Swiss Mennonite of the 17th century, and his followers. The Amish workers in the factory all appeared to have the bowl-shaped haircut. The older men had very scraggly, gray beards, while the younger men had very neatly trimmed beards. The ladies we saw downtown wore dresses and bonnets. Their town motto was on several signs around town, "Embrace the Pace" with a silouhette of the back end of a buggy. We will be in Greenfield, Iowa, John's hometown, on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Then on to Dawn's in Sioux Falls Friday for the weekend. Then straight out to Idaho for our grandson's baseball tournaments the next two weekends. We will be back in Brookings the last week in August.
Tarra
