Niagara Falls is absolutely beautiful!

Wow!  If you have not been there, you should make plans to make a trip to this place.  No wonder it is the number 1 honeymoon place.  It is beautiful.  No doubt about it.  We loved it.  We had fun getting soaked, and this what not warm water either.  The colors are starting to change.  As we drove through Old Toledo I took a picture of some of the local graffiti.  You did not see any bad graffiti in Chicago area.  It is against the law to sell spray paint to anyone under 21.  I suspect that is here also.  You do not see any here either.  Only nice paintings on walls.  But again Niagara Falls is so beautiful, words just do not begin to describe the beauty.  We are headed to see some good friends in the heart of New York.  We probably will not get to New York City.  Oh well.  There is always another year.  Talk to you soon.  Patty & Tom

Chicago was a lot of fun.

We took a tour of Chicago.  It borders on Lake Michigan.  We toured all over Chicago, as our tour guides said, we went to areas that most Chicagoan's do not go.  We should have spent several days touring this town.  One day did not do this place justice.  We barely skimmed the surface.  We went to the Science museum and drove a German submarine.  I got to play with shadow particles.  I was a decoder on the submarine and accomplished my mission.  We had fun.  We saw the Bean and the Walking Statues.  The Walking Statues were designed by a person who was in the holocaust.  Nobody has any identity, and no one can look at any one.  We drove on Wacker Street today.  The locals call it Wacky Street, because it runs north, south, east, west, and it has upper, lower, and lower, lower levels.  Our tour guide said that unless you are familiar with this street to stay off the lower, lower level.  You literally can get lost on it.  From here we are headed to Niagara

Falls.  Talk to you soon.  Patty & Tom

Our time in Bismark, ND and short stop in Wallace, SD

We sure enjoyed our visit in Bismark, ND.  Our friends are so much fun.  They used to live in good ol' Cheney town.  Bev  and I did a girls day out.  We had our nails done and went out to lunch, of course we went shopping.  Gary and Tom did what guys do best.  They just hung out.  Bev had a once a month All girls card party. What a hoot.  I have not laughed that much in a long while.  We went to a Norwegian outing with them.  We had dinner and listened to a speaker from Norway.  She was absolutely delightful.  It really made you want to go and visit Norway.  We danced later that evening. Of course it was polkas and waltzes.  That is what they do best in North Dakota.  Tom and I can hold our own, when it comes to a good old polka. There are so many wind vines everywhere you look in ND.  I think even more so than oil wells; and that is a lot.  The other thing that seems to have increased is lakes.  I even asked if ND is sinking.  Some people think that is a distinct possibility.  I have never seen so much water in ND and SD ever before.  After we left Bismark we headed south to Wallace, SD. to visit Tom's sister just to say hi.  As you can see the trees are not ready for fall foliage yet.  From here we are headed to DesMoines, IO. and then onto Chicago, IL.  That picture is of Teddy and his friend Robby the Rabbit.  That is his best friend. He plays with him when he gets excited.

Talk to you soon.  Patty and Tom

Minot, ND

We had a lovely time in Minot, ND.  We visited relatives, friends and ex-relatives.  We even took the time to visit the couple that introduced us, which had it not been for them, there would be no "US".  We had a whirlwind trip; that we were seeing some of our family and friends, two in a day.  North Dakota is booming, there is no doubt about it.  They even have to lock their doors at night now.  Never had to do that before.  Their prices are reflecting the inflation of the boom, also.  We paid higher rates for an RV site here than we did almost anywhere in the U.S., last year.  It was ridiculous.  But they kind of have you over a barrel, and they know it.  But at least there is no housing shortage, anymore.  They finally have that problem, resolved.  But the rent is a little steep.  Wages are high, though.  So it all goes hand in hand.  We took the time to drive around Glenburn and Deering, which are the towns that Tom and I grew up in.  They have changed alot and not at all.  Still very small, and dying.  It is sad to see these small towns, falling off the map like this.  We are headed to Bismark to see our good friends.  Talk to you soon.  Patty & Tom

Time in Kalispell

We were in Kalispell for over a week and finally just relaxed.  Our daughter Katie wanted to do all kinds of activities, but their jobs and school and after school activities just did not work into what she had in mind.  To be honest, this was for the best, because it gave Tom and I a chance to unwind and relax.  My grandson Isaiah and I went out on a date.  We went to a movie and dinner.  It was fun.  I got to watch Felecia at two dance practices.  She is fun to watch.  She is taking ballet, now, even if she thought it was lame, this summer, now it is part of her routine.  Katie is catching herself coming and going, literally.  Shawn is working and going to school.  So they are a very busy family.  We are in Minot, ND already.  We send you pictures of family and friends of our visits there, shortly.  Talk to you soon.  Patty & Tom

We are finally on the road again!

Yeah!  We finally left.  Which means we decided we are done working on projects. It seemed like every time we turned around something else needed to be done.  We have been so busy.  Our daughter Jenny got married this August and moved from our rental and moved into our house on Irene Place with her new family.  We are full time RV'rs, now.  We like living this way.  Less hassle. Less stuff to worry about.

That meant doing some serious work on both places.  Felecia, our youngest granddaughter spent the bulk of the summer with us.  She was a joy to have around.  We had our estate sale, boy did we have alot of stuff to get rid of, but I guess after almost 47 years you tend to accumulate alot of stuff.  TeddyBear is our RV dog. He likes living in an RV.  We bought a new dingy tow car.  It is a Chevrolet Sonic 2013 stick shift.  It is fun to drive.  Our first destination is Kalispell, MT. to visit our daughter Katie and family. We will be keeping in touch with everyone via my blog.  Talk to you soon!  Patty and Tom