Special Visitor from Wisconsin!

Flat Stanley came to visit us and we had a wonderful time together!

Flat Stanley in Michigan

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

I made a visit to beautiful Northern Michigan (near Boyne City on Lake Charlevoix) to visit my Great Uncle Jay and Great Aunt Linda. Michigan is the “Great Lake State”, the 26^th state to enter the USA on Jan 26, 1837.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan

The state bird is the Robin and there is a Robin’s nest on the front porch with 4 eggs in it, we are patiently waiting for them to hatch so we can use the front door again!

 I also got to see some deer that came right up to the house. Uncle said they were coming to eat the Hosta plants, which is their favorite food.

Uncle and Auntie took me around to visit with all their interesting and friendly neighbors and even got to see a lot of special birds. My favorite were the Peacocks who come to the back yard and feed off the leftovers from their bird feeders. It is so much fun to watch them roam around the yard.

I got to see many beautiful sunsets on Lake Charlevoix, it is a beautiful lake!

Thursday, May 28, 2015

They took me on a road trip to Frankenmuth where we had a wonderful chicken dinner and I even gained some weight, I needed that so it was good. We also visited Bronner’s the world’s largest Christmas store where I saw Santa and all his elves busy making Christmas presents for everybody.

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Uncle Jay took me for a long motorcycle ride on his Harley Davidson and it sure was fun to go fast.  Uncle is a good and safe rider and always wears his helmet. We rode to Boyne Mountain Ski and Golf Resort and it is a beautiful place. On the way home we rode through the cherry orchards and the blossoms were pretty and fragrant.

Me and Uncle Jay after motorcycling, sure was cold at Boyne Mountain!

Sunday, May 31, 2015

I went to Church with them to Boyne City at Saint Matthew’s Catholic Church and prayed real hard for all my friends and relatives.

We also got to go sailing and boating on Lake Charlevoix and Lake Michigan that was very exciting for me because it was my first time on a sailboat and I didn’t get seasick!

Monday, June 1, 2015

Every night before I went to bed Aunt Linda would read me a story.

My favorites were the story about the Kolb Brothers of the Grand Canyon and Michigan Lighthouses. They were very interesting.

She is a very good reader and her soft voice made me sleepy. She was so good to me.

Uncle Jay even put me on his blog spot so everyone can read about my adventures in Michigan. Please check it out when you have a chance:

 http://lifeonlakecharlevoix.blogspot.com/2015/05/special-visitor-from-wisconsin.html

I love Michigan and hope to come back someday maybe with Gigi and her family that would be so much fun.

Flat Stanley, June 2, 2015

Wonderful Friends from Wisconsin!

We just had a great visit from some very dear and life long friends from Wisconsin.

Bruce and Cheryl arrived on Friday afternoon on the Badger Ferry in Ludington and we had an opportunity to spend 3 wonderful days enjoying the sights around Lake Charlevoix and getting caught up on the changes in our lives over the past 40+ years.

Cheryl was our best friend just after we were married in the late 60's in Wisconsin and over the years we lost contact with one another.

Two years ago we re-connected after a chance meeting at a shopping mall in Milwaukee and our friendship is stronger and more fun than ever!

We spent the last three days enjoying good food, boating & kayaking on the lake, golfing (high-lite was Bruce's Eagle on hole #1 of Ye Old Nine Holes) and of course touring the area including the wine country of Traverse City.

Bruce loves projects around the house so he helped along with Cheryl improve our window treatments with the addition cornice boards. They look beautiful and give the room a finished look.

Last night was a beautiful night for a sunset cruise on the lake. The water was like glass and all the stars were out in their glory. We even got to see a couple of shooting stars--awesome!


This morning we had an early ride to Ludington to board the ferry back to Wisconsin.

Bruce & Cheryl will return next year when they can stay a little while longer. We sure enjoyed their visit and plan to see them in October in Wisconsin.

Bye, and love you guys!

Mollie's Visit!

We just had a wonderful week with our dear friend Mollie. She came all the way from Ohio to help us get back on track emotionally, physically and spiritually.

She did a great job, our home is now organized better than it has been in a long time. Our minds and bodies are renewed and refreshed.

We both realize how fortunate we are to have good friends that care about us and share our happiness and continue to help us deal with our grief.

When most of the difficult work was done (cleaning & organizing those closets) we took a break to have a little fun.

A boat ride on Lake Charlevoix to see the homes and sites around the lake is always fun.

A trip to Charlevoix to shop at the Bullfrog Light Company is always a treat and a lot of fun for Linda and Mollie.

Dinner in Charlevoix at Whitney's Oyster House is always good for the tummy!

Goodbye Mollie, and hurry back. You are always welcome.

Thanks for all your help!

Great Visit with the Hart Family!

We had a wonderful visit with our dear niece and goddaughter Lori and her beautiful family from Red Wing, Minnesota.

Had a fun filled week of swimming, boating and just relaxing on Lake Charlevoix.

We strolled the streets in Boyne City, shopped at the farmers market, visited the classic car show (John really liked this yellow Ford roadster) and had pizza in the park.

Good meals at home and on the grill.
Kids enjoyed, swimming, kayaking, fishing, SCUBA diving lessons and visiting the Raven Hill Discovery Center.

They especially enjoyed the day at the beach on Lake Michigan hunting for Petoskey stones.

It was sad to see them leave this morning.
Hope that they will return next year.

Family Visitors!

We had a very nice visit with Linda's sister Mary and her husband Dave. Enjoyed a great dinner on the grill in the Great Lakes room (Our sunroom/screened in porch) with the heaters going.
We got caught up on family events back in Wisconsin and talked about the "Great Loop" adventure.

Red Fox Regatta

Every Labor day weekend there is a great sailboat race from one end of lake charlevoix to the other then back again. We have been racing in this event for the last 20 years. In 2007 we took a first on First Light!