Joe
I'm with Jer and Danny, no kids here either.

But I love to see kids enjoying themselves as part of a family, it's the greatest joy I can imagine

Keep us posted on the final event.

Dave

How great it is to read these super positive posts. Sound like many are using their summer time well.Nothing greater than spending time with kids.
I am part of the Big Brother program and have been with a 10 year old boy for a year now, He is super smart and a real pleasure to be with. This past Sunday, we went to the beach and I was able to enjoy a bit of my childhood again as he showed me the fine art of building a sand castle..........doesn't get any better than that, what a joy to hear a child laugh.
(papers turned in receive 100% a+) and get to collect 200.00 when passing go.
Myself, I take off for the big Buick event this coming Monday July 21..........can't wait.
Take care and thanks to all
Bob

Joe it looks like you did it all brother and the summer is a full one for you and your family.
Ernie what about the show. How did it go.

Nicole & I went to the Pinery Provincial Park for 2 1/2 weeks and it was great. Wetter than usual and cold a couple of nights but we still managed to get great tans.

Tanya, our daughter came the first week with a friend and we were glad to have them. At 22 and 21 respectively they enjoyed the lure of Grand Bend ( a summer haven for the young just 10 miles up from the Park).

We did a lot of walking on the beach. It is about 10 miles of wide white sand. Never really crowded. The sunsets were drop dead great. The Beach faces due West.

Like Joe I burned a lot of red meat and hot dogs and marshmellows but nobody semmed to care. We camped beside some friends we have know since Tanya was 5 or 6 and enjoyued their company. A couple of times we splurged with them and went out for dinner. After sittinn around a campfire at night for 6 or 7 days it is easy to smell like a burnt log. I am sure the other people in the restaurants got more than they bargained for when we were there.

I did a lot of biking on the trails. Managed not to kill myself. The greatest fear I had was falling off the bike in a downhill sprint into a patch of Poison Ivy. Thank god it did not happen. I have had that and it is no fun.

It is great to sit around the campfire at night for a very special reason. There are no bugs to speak of. The Pinery was created over an 8000 year period. It is comprised of 8 distinctive ridges of Sand Dunes.

Contrary to its name it is actually the largest of the few Oak Savannahs left in North America.
If any of you get a chance you should visit it. It is a very peaceful place. It is also open all year long. In winter it is a great place for cross country skiing, toboganning and skating.

We came back home totally refreshed. It was great not to see Highway 401 for over two weeks.

Thats it guys. Anyone else?

In about three weeks we are going to the mountains in Colorado, where it is cool, quiet, the trout are biting (I hope) and the stars are bright.

I can hardly wait, we go every year, but I love it so much I am like a little kid jumping up and down from about now on out.

YES!

Just got back from the final equestrian competition of the season, and guess who is the proud Dad of the season's Reserve Champion! With points from only two of her competitions counting toward the season awards (because we didn't know to register her), my daughter pulled a second place in the standings, second to a girl with points from all six competitions.

I'm so happy I could just smile.

Went to a summer camp for a day with my oldest son this past Tuesday. We were canoeing on the Patuxent River. We had a great time, going up the river to a creek and well up the creek, checking out the scenery and learning about SAV (submereged aquatic vegetation), water quality measurements, wetland habitats, and just "stuff." The day had started cloudy and with even a bit of rain, but cleared up enough for me to get the traditional "red lobster" tan that runs in my family.

Not that the youngest has been neglected. He recognizes that I can be nearly any movie monster or dinosaur that the situation requires, and with a subtle roar he can let me know when it's time to play. He's good at the subtle roar, too. Some people in the barns complained this morning about the noise from our van in the parking lot while the two of us waited for the Reserve Champion and her mom to get back with the ribbons. I do a real good scream when I'm under attack, so it's possible the complaints weren't entirely directed at him.

My wife and I canceled a movie date a couple weeks ago to just get dinner and go to the beach, then drive around the back roads of the county chatting. I enjoyed that a lot more than Iwould enjoy sitting in a movie theatre being quiet. Especially since there aren't any dinosaur movies out right now.

Mikey, thanks for starting this wonderful thread. Everytime I come here it lifts my spirits.

Thanks,

Joe

Joe,

Way to go you proud papa and a big congratulations to your daughter.

Mikey,

Your trip to Pinery Provincial Park sounded wonderful. I could use a long weekend away on a sandy beach and a couple of good books. With that park about a two hour drive for me, without any complications on the Blue Water Bridge, it sounds like the perfect getaway.

Bill

Thought I would revive this. My wife and I are off to the Pinery Provincial Park again and I will report on my return. But some of my brothers must have stories already or plans and I think it would be neat to share them.

OK, I'll take another stab at it.

We're in the midst of remodeling our basement. The one load bearing wall is still there, but the other walls, the ceiling, and the flooring are gone right now. This gave us access to the floors on the main floor, so we're running the cables for the home network now, too.

All of this is so Grandmom, my wife's mother, will have a place to live when she moves up here in August. We'll be driving down to get her and her stuff in late July/early August sometime. Probably the last trip we'll make to South Carolina for a while, since she won't be there anymore.

Oh, and she's bringing two dogs. We'll have to arrange some way for them to join the pack without too many expensive vet bills. Our Alpha male isn't going to give up "his" yard to any interlopers, judging from his track record, and one of hers has a bit of a mean streak. (Please, God, no multi hundred dollar vet bills. Thanks.)

The kids, especially my daughter, have an array of camps lined up for the summer. My oldest son has completed his summer reading requirement for school and is prepared to spend the next few months with GameCube if we let him. The youngest still likes to beat up Dad, sometimes as a monster, nowwadays sometimes as a "warrior." We'll start our young warrior on prune juice soon! "A warrior's drink."

Equestrian competition is much tougher this year, and we may miss an opportunity to get points when we go for Grandmom. Still, it's good that my daughter is able to do something that she enjoys so much.

Sometime this summer I'll have a chance to go fishing on the Chesapeake with the oldest as part of one of his camps. My wife bought me some SPF 250000 sunblock (put it on with a putty knife ) for the occasion, but it won't be sufficient, I'm sure. I'll be red and whining.

Once Grandmom moves up here, my wife and I plan to let her get settled in and then get out by ourselves for an overnighter somewhere. We figure Grandmom should be good to go by the first weekend she's here. Not sure what she figures yet, though.

I'll burn some sacrifices to the barbecue spirits, and maybe find people willing to eat some of them.

Summertime. Life, the universe, and everything.

Thanks again, Mikey. Have a great vacation!

Joe

Man, I don’t know how I missed this thread, I must be getting old eh?

Every year my wife and the kids go to a place called Emerald Isle, North Carolina . The town is on an island that is about two blocks wide and thirty miles long below the Outer Banks .

We rent the the house right next-door to my mom and dad, close enough to see them whenever we want yet have our own space. We walk down to the beach every day and enjoy the ocean.

Sometimes we go to the aquarium , sometimes we go to Fort Macon , but all in all we just relax and enjoy the lazy beach atmosphere.

But I think this year I’ll track down Mikes place and stay with him!

Roland, Sounds easy enough. Just follow the trail from the melting igloo!