July 15, 2008

It’s Dirk’s dad’s birthday!!! We are having steaks and potatoes and cake for dinner to celebrate. It’s a pretty nice birthday when your whole family is there to celebrate.

July 14, 2008

Another tough day of cycling, canoeing, reading, eating, etc.Yuri made dinner tonight: tempura shrimp and vegetables and a lovely soup. It was very tasty. Then we had a bonfire like last night. I stayed inside and read instead of burning stuff. We’ve heard that there’s been another cyclist kicked out of the tour de France, and that it’s not one of the front runners, but nothing else. We’ve heard that there’s been storms in Arizona, but nothing else. Ignorance is bliss!

July 13, 2008

We’ve taken trips on the bikes, we’ve gone canoeing, we’ve written postcards. This must really be vacation now.

Our family is in a room that has two sets of bunks: double beds on the bottom and twin beds on top. Dirk and I get one double, Jenika the other, John’s up above in one twin, and Erika has been sleeping in the other one. Thank God for earplugs!!!! They have really made this trip much more enjoyable. I took my earplugs out this morning and heard snoring from two different quadrants of the room.

July 12, 2008

We made it to Beaver Island! We got to the ferry right on time for the 2:30 crossing. Martin and Yuri got in a little bit after us, and Martin had to run to make it onboard after dropping their car off at the shuttle lot. It was a beautiful crossing—lots of wind. We had fun trying to stand upright without holding on to anything. We walked like drunken sailors—most people were much more mature than we were, sitting it out. Oh well. We are desert-dwellers after all.

Our cabin is about 2 miles from the port. We are right on the lake and there are big windows in the living room so you can see the beautiful scenery just about everywhere in the house. There’s a large deck upstairs that we sit out on and enjoy the view and the weather. There’s 3 quasi-mountain bikes that we’ve ridden. It’s weird how the other half lives—I’m getting used to going 5 mph. If I was on my road bike, I think I would have gone insane in the first ten minutes.

July 11, 2008

We made it to Grandhaven, MI! We stayed with Dan and Debbie and their kids—right on the beach. It was so beautiful. John, Jenika, and I went body surfing in Lake Michigan before dinner. The water was a little chilly at first, but then we got used to it. We had a lot of fun talking about college days—that was a long time ago! We sure aren’t getting any younger.

July 10, 2008

We made it to Rockford! We stayed at our friends Tim and Kim. Jeff and Chris and their son came over for dinner, and we had a great time reminiscing about Dirk’s early years. We also commiserated over the tribulations and joys of raising kids. We saw a double rainbow after a rain shower that was really bright and distinct.

We slept in a bed that night for the first time all week!!!! Then we went to the Stockholm Inn for Swedish pancakes for breakfast.

July 9 Okmulgee to Bennett Spring State Park, MO

This is going to be short because I have a cold and I'm tired.

We broke camp this morning, in wet conditions, put the tent away wet, and headed out. We went to a gun museum in Claremor, MO. Check out this poster I saw:



We also found a place where we felt at home:




We had a fabulous meal at Clayton's in Vinita, OK. Then we drove to Bennett Sprihg State Park in MO. It's beautiful here. We were able to dry out our tent quite a bit--it would be ok with me if we went a night with no rain. Every night so far it's rained at least a little bit.

We ate dinner at the restaurant at the park. It was really good, plus there's free wi-fi here in the room next to the restaurant. Score!!!! The buildings here were one of the last projects built by the CCC. It's beautiful.