At Uncle Wendell's we had dinner. After dinner we sat around visiting while we waited for the rest of the guests to arrive.
We also had a fire and made smores but got rained out after a while. Wendy made arrangements for us to stay with cousin Don and his wife Linda. So far it looks like lots of fun in store for everyone visiting for the reunion.
| The airshow was great but we only allocated 3 days to be there so reluctantly (at least for Grover) we headed to our next destination, Chicago. We drove through Milwaukee and through a couple of the neighborhoods on our way to find I-94. Goni said that the neighborhoods had "character" because of the different people and buildings we saw. Grover had other descriptions. We stopped at a Cabelas in Wisconsin so Goni could get more Jeff Foxworthy beef jerky. She really likes his jerky and Cabelas is the only place that has it. So we bought two big bags and headed south. We arrived at Greer's house around 2:30 and had a good time visiting the rest of the afternoon. We had Chicago pizza which is the best in the world. Then we went for a walk in unseasonably nice weather (low humidity & temperatures). Later in the evening the Mia and Erica invited us for a swim in their back yard pool. It isn't real big but we had a good time cooling off before it was time for bed. Tomorrow it is on to Uncle Wendell's in Michigan for the family reunion. We are looking forward to seeing relatives we haven't seen in years. |
| It rained during the night with thunder and lightning. I slept through it but Goni heard it all. While it made the ground wet again it didn't create too many problems to the rain soaked grounds. Surprisingly there was not as much humidity all day. One of the problems with the rain was an increase in mosquitoes. They are very hungry! We spent the day at the airshow and visited the warbird area. Lots of old military airplanes including several that were doing run ups to takeoff. Hard to believe some of these planes are 60-80 years old and still fly. We went over to Pioneer Airport and then the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) museum. The EAA, which runs the airshow, has a hands on educational program for kids of all ages. We took pictures of some kids practicing their flying skills. We also got a picture of the Goodyear blimp before it took off to fly around the area. Inside the museum we saw lots of airplanes and people. We saw the Aerocar which was designed and built by Longview resident Mort Taylor 50 years ago. While the car was not a business success it was the first functional flying car. After the airshow we went up to visit my nephew Todd and go to dinner. His three children, Derek, Cassie and Jordan were all there. Haven't seen the kids (who are now young adults) for several years. We had a nice visit and they will be heading up to the family reunion in Michigan on Saturday. Tomorrow (Thursday) we will head down to Chicago for an overnight visit to Greer and her family. |
| Let Goni sleep in this morning so she could be rested up for a day at Oshkosh. Because of that the continental breakfast at the motel was over so we went to a local restaurant here in New London called Bucky's for breakfast. Good food at a reasonable price. We have found most restaurants here have great prices and good service. The weather at Oshkosh was warm but there was a breeze which helped the upper 80's temperatures to be more tolerable. No rain but it is in the forecast. Oshkosh had so much rain over the last week that the grounds are very mushy. They had to put many of the campers at sites off the grounds for the first time in 40 years. The rain also prevented all the Cherokees coming in for the 50th anniversary celebration. We went and looked at the vendor buildings then took a tram out to the Vintage airplane area. Saw some old airplanes and the Salute to Veterans airshow. The airshow showcased World War II airplanes and the picture includes parachutists with fighter planes circling them as they descended. The picture don't show up well but it this was very impressive. As we were leaving we saw the Goodyear blimp but couldn't get a good picture. Will try again tomorrow. Came back to the motel and we enjoyed a hour long cool off in the pool. Goni and I had a nice day together which is all either of us really wanted for our big anniversary day. Our plans for tomorrow are to go to the airshow then meet up with my nephew Todd for dinner. He lives in Appleton which is just a few miles north of Oshkosh. |
| After spending a nice visit with Uncle Eldine and Aunt Margie we headed south for the big airshow at Oshkosh. Because this is such a large event we had made our motel reservations several months ago and the closest we could get a decent room was 25 miles away. So we checked into our room and headed down to Oshkosh. The band Chicago was holding a concert in the main square of the show starting at 5:30. We got to the airshow grounds and checked in and watched the airshow aerobatics being held over the airport. We spent a little time looking over the DC-3 aircraft in the square before sitting out our chairs for the program. Ford Motor Company sponsors the concert each year so we listened to the Ford people talk about their new Explorer model which was delivered by air crane while we waited for the show to start. The place was packed with people for the show and we enjoyed the music. Got some pictures of the crowd and asked the guy behind us to take our picture. After the concert we met up with Gary & Martha Sparks who had flown in on one of the DC-3s from Portland. It is the 70th anniversary of the DC-3 so it is a big deal for all that can get to the show are displayed. It is also the 50th anniversary of the Piper Cherokee (the plane Grover owns) so we hope to check some of them out. Of course the really big Grover and Goni 25th anniversary is tomorrow which will also be celebrated at the airshow. Much more important than any old airplane. We will report on that Wednesday morning. |
We enjoyed a visit and a great dinner made by Margie. Much better than the restaurant food and snacks we had been eating thus far on the trip.
Plans for Monday are to head to Oshkosh for the airshow. We hope to meet up with some friends from Portland who are flying back in a partially restored DC-3. Tuesday is the big 25th anniversary day!
On our way down I-90 we came upon Sturgis, SD so we took a drive through town. They were getting ready for the big motorcycle rallye. We took some pictures including one of the largest biker bar in the world and the Sturgis Harley-Davidson dealer.
We stopped at the world famous Wall Drug for lunch. Lots of people from everywhere around the world were there. Very interesting. 
Goni drove for the first time since we started the trip and Grover took a nap. Spent the night near Sioux Falls, SD. We got some exercise in the pool and then went for a walk and saw fire flies which we don't have out west.
| We left West Yellowstone after having breakfast in a rustic cafe with a waitress from the Ukraine. Our first stop was along the Madison River where a fellow was doing some fly fishing. The river did not appear to be deep enough for canoeing but it sure was appealing. In 1985 we did the southern loop and saw Old Faithful. This time we decided to go north and see the site there. We stopped at Norris and saw some of the most active geysers and other "hot" features on a 1.5 mile loop walk. We then went over to the canyon area and looked over the "Grand Canyon" of Yellowstone. The waterfalls in the canyon were really impressive. We also saw extensive evidence of the 1988 wildfire that hit Yellowstone. Lots of standing dead trees with new growth underneath. Heading south we continued on and came upon a traffic backup caused by buffalo. We saw at least 100 buffalo from various distances. One of them decided to cross right in front of us on the road. He was a good sized fellow so we shot him with the camera. After continuing through the east side of Yellowstone and had an early dinner at Granny's Restaurant in Cody, Wyoming. Trying to makeup some time we headed towards Sheridan where we got on I-90 with a speed limit of 75 mph. It is really strange to be cruising along at 75 to 80 mph but we made good time and got to Gillette, Wyoming for the night. Goni is pretty tired of sitting in the car so we are trying to make it a little easier on her by stopping a lot. Next stop is Mt Rushmore and then on to Wisconsin. |
| We drove from Mountain Home, Idaho to West Yellowstone on our second day. Whatever gains we made with being able to cruise at 75+ mph were lost in the road construction zones. We arrived in West Yellowstone in the late afternoon. Did some tourist stuff including a visit to the local museum. We were walking around when we saw a group dressed in western attire with musical instruments singing on the sidewalk. They were advertising a play called "Calamity Jane".  We decided to attend the performance and really enjoyed it. Goni said Grover was being spontaneous for considering such a non-planned event. It turned out to be a musical and Goni said her mom would have really enjoyed it too.Heading to Yellowstone on day three. Having trouble with our Internet on the Blackberry so we may get our blog updated late. |
| Goni and I have embarked on our first cross country road trip since 1992. We left Woodland at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, July 21, 2010 and headed east. Destinations include visiting Yellowstone National Park, Mt Rushmore, Bethel, Wisconsin to visit Uncle Eldine, Oshkosh for the big EAA Airventure Air Show, Chicago to visit family and then to Berrien Springs, Michigan to visit Uncle Wendell and attend a family reunion. We reach Mountain Home, Idaho the first night and everything is going well. No traffic or weather problems and the car is running good. Speed limit in Idaho is 75 mph so we have been making good time. The best part is we are absolutely alone together for the entire trip. Our 25th wedding anniversary is coming up next Tuesday so the road trip is a recreation of one we did right after we were married 25 years ago with 5 kids in a VW bus. More coming tomorrow with maybe a few pictures. Grover |
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