August, September, October 2018
It's time to catch up with the Williams' Wanderings! We didn't get a blog posted at the end of the last several months for several reasons, but hope to make it up now!
When we left off at the end of July we mentioned some family fun was in store. That all came to happen....we had a most fabulous week in Branson, Missouri with our two kids
and all the grandkids! We left home in Casa Grande early in August for the several day drive to Missouri while our son in Michigan and daughter in Texas were able to make
the trip in one day. On our way, we stopped for short visits with Mary's cousins Geoff and Bethann in Las Cruces, New Mexico and in Albuquerque for a visit with Palm Creek
friends, Phil and Stephanie who gave us tour of their beautiful new home.
The week in Branson was planned last winter by our son and daughter as a celebration of our fiftieth wedding anniversary. They rented a five bedroom villa at the Watermill
Cove Resort which is located on Table Rock Lake. The villa and the resort had every ammenity we could imagine and our stay there was absolutely wonderful. We spent hours
in and on the water in two pools, hot-tubs, the lazy river, the lake and renting Jet-skis and a pontoon boat. We also took advantage of mini-golf, playgrounds, cornhole, and fire
pits for making S'mores. There were even more things that we did not take advantage of. The villa had a theater room and billiard table along with a gourmet kitchen. We
never ran out of things to do! It was so much fun sharing it all with the family. The week was over all too fast!!!
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It was great to hear about Geoff and Beth's trip to England whlie we shared a meal in Las Cruces.
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Stephanie and Phil fed us a great meal and gave us a tour of their beautiful new home overlooking Albuquerque.
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Kathleen, Evelyn and Reid took a peddle boat ride
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We all enjoyed the water trampoline.
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Matt tried out the stand-up paddleboard.
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Evelyn went horseback riding when we checked out shops in town.
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The granddaughters spent a lot of time in the walk-in pool.
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A rainy afternoon provided time to make some "slime" to play with.
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Ann was our Jet-Ski pilot, taking us out for rides on the lake.
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Ann got some help from Evelyn making lasagna. Reid did a lot of the cooking!
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Whee!! Tubing behind the pontoon boat was great fun...and fast!
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We had a leisurely float on the lake after we miscalculated the warning...and ran out of gas!!! Thank goodness for cell-phone reception!
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Watermill Cove to the rescue...they sent a guy with a gas can out on a Jet-ski.
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On our final evening we enjoyed a dinner cruise on the Branson Belle Showboat on Table Rock Lake, celebrating our anniversary and Reid's birthday.
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Our "home away from home" at Watermill Cove.
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The view from our balcony of the pool complex at night.
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From Branson we continued our journey east to Kalamazoo and a stay with Reid, Kathleen and Evelyn. We took some day trips to visit Mary's mom in Jackson and one day to
Grand Rapids to meet up with Palm Creek friends, Steve and Sally.
One evening, on a bright and sunny day, we heard a loud banging thump and looked outside to see a huge tree fall in Reid's back yard....right across an area where we often
played with Evelyn. Luckily, there was no major damage. Because of the many deer in their neighborhood, Reid has built an enclosed, raised garden in which the family has
enjoyed growing veggies and herbs to use in the kitchen.
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Evelyn and Tom shared story time.
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We taught Mom a new card game.
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Sally and Mary checked out a quilt show in Grand Rapids.
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Fall down! Go Boom! No wind. No rain. Just sunshine!
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Did someone say the salad bar was open? Within minutes the deer appeared to munch on fresh leaves and choke cherries.
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The brave deer come right up to the back door!
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Evelyn loves to work in the garden - and to eat what she grows!
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The crops should be protected in their screen house.
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From Kalamazoo we moved on to Toledo for a few weeks. We had some good times visiting with family and friends, Mary's brother Bill and wife Beth, Tom's sister Judy and
husband Ron, friends Dick and Liz, and Bob and Jan, and our wonderful friends and hosts, Kathy and Dennie. For some reason, however, the camera didn't come out but
once... when we were visiting our old RV buddies, Jacques and Valjean.
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Valjean and Jacques still enjoy trips in the Bounder.
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After our stay in the Toledo area we headed back to Kalamazoo for a few last hugs from Evelyn. Tom wasn't feeling too well while we were there and a trip to the ER found him
admitted to the hospital for a few days. After his discharge we took a day to reorganize and then made a quick stop to visit Mary's mom in Jackson and headed west to Casa
Grande. Five days and two thousand miles later we were back to Palm Creek and checking out all the changes that occurred in the 6 weeks we were gone. The park's major
expansion is moving right along with lots of new homes, rv sites and a new pool. We went back to our summer happy hour and card groups and caught up on everyone's
summer activities.
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One of those new houses is right behind ours...new neighbors soon!
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At the end of September Tom was once again dealing with some health issues, spending much of October in the hospital and in rehab to regain some strength and balance.
But things are looking up and hopefully getting back to normal soon. Winter residents are beginning to return to the park and activities are filling the calendar. As we
attended a few activities at the end of the month we're looking forward to another good season.
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The sewing room has been quite busy and at the end of October the ladies gathered for a welcome back brunch. It was great to hear about everyone's summer adventures.
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Friends Skip and Connie shared the "Octoberfest" German dinner with us on the park's Bistro patio. There was quite a crowd at the event marking the beginning of the season's special events.
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