Happy Birthday to me

Because nearly two weeks have past since my last update and because I celebrate my 68th birthday today (Aug 5), I thought I would do a quick update.

We have had absolutely fabulous weather during the past two weeks and have gone out on both our motorcycle and on our bicycles.  

The previous week we pointed our motorcycle west and visited the Löss Hills in western Iowa.  After stopping off to see a Danish windmill and a picture with (a replica) of the statue to “The Little Mermaid.”  The original is in Kopenhagen, Denmark.


This statue is to commemorate the fairy tale by Hans Christiaan Anderson, who was of Danish descent, and whose story was brought to fame by Walt Disney. 
We went on to Bronson, in NW Iowa.  
There we spent the night with dear friends.  The next day we went back to our home in Johnston, but we had to stop at the (non-continental but none-the-less important) Missouri - Mississippi divide in central Iowa.  

Then last week we rode around the central Des Moines area.  The trip took us around Gray’s Lake and into waterworks park.  Waterworks park reminds my of my home area in the Netherlands.  Flat, rustic, and lots of water!  Just a few pictures to feast your eyes.

She said; “So...?”

Yankton, 2001: view from our house

A lot of my pictures on the blog have water in it. I like water! We sailed Lewis and Clark lake, near Yankton SD, for twelve years. Whenever I was in the water, however; it was mainly by choice. I do remember an early sail, when I lost my sunglasses overboard and promptly dove in after them, leaving the boat under the command of two rookies... Fortunately there was very little wind and the boarding ladder was available for me to climb back on board. I must say, though, that I never did that again. (The plaque on the boat stated: “ I am the Captain of this boat and I have my Wife’s permission to say so.”) All kidding aside, she did make an excellent mate!

We also love visiting the ocean. In Hawaii on previous mission support trips we usually spent the weekends at a beach. Mostly every night we watched the sun set over the ocean whenever we were there. Vacations in Florida were very frequent as well, when we used available timeshare events. Again most of these times we got wet by choice, wearing appropriate attire.

On August 28 we were visiting with my bride’s relatives at the usual gathering place for this family reunion. There is a lake adjoining the back yard. The kids, grand-kids, and even great grand kids enjoyed the fun of playing in the water. As in previous years, there was some “horse-playing” by the adults; it is just great fun to dunk someone in the readily available lake. I thought that as an older person I would be safe, but when my daughter came to admire my watch and even asked me if she could hold it, I became “wiser.” I did say to her, “but I have my bill-fold in my back pocket.”

She said; “So...?” “I am also wearing my cell-phone,” I retorted. She said; “So...?” “But I am also carrying the camera on my belt.” She said; “So...?”

I did not take very long for me to dispense with these items, but I had one last hope: “But, I don’t have any dry clothes to change into.” She said; “So...?"

So! My brother-in-law, the one from Colorado, and his son carried me bodily to the lake and dunked me. They went down with me, I guess, it was to be sure that I would get really soaked. I’d like to think that I pulled them in with me, but they were wet already anyway. Next time I’ll bring a change of clothes, if I don’t forget in the meantime.

Iowa does not have many large bodies of water, at least not in our back yard. The rain tried hard this year, but we stayed dry. We do enjoy the weather when it is dry, so we can continue to enjoy riding our motor bike to local and distant sites.

We try to always find a winery and it is a lot of fun finding them and getting to know the vintners. There are many recent additions in Iowa, so we keep right on going.

Spring Again !

Pikes Peak with fresh snow

It has been cooler here, in Colorado. We spent the first night in Fairplay, visiting Corrie’s brother. Here we experienced snow on the ground! The weather in Colorado Springs has been a little bit gentler, but we have gone from sweaters to shorts and back. I guess we get to celebrate spring all over again. It has been slower in coming than what we experienced in Iowa. Only two irises blooming in a sunny spot.

There is water running in the creek and if one wants to go to Dorothy Falls, wet feet will be part of the experience. The many creek crossings needed to get there, are awash with cool running water.

The Big Horn sheep are in the mountains, probably taking care of the lambs. The turkeys are alive and well, still roosting in the trees every night. They wake us in the morning with their calls and noise, when they come down again. The deer are losing their winter coat and the grass needs mowing.

We do have many new “SOWER” volunteers at Glen Eyrie and the General likes showing them around. We were privileged to show off the “Pink House” to a group of them. Normally the “Pink House” is not open for public tours, but we have the option to conduct private tours while we are hosting here.


It really is a blessing to be able to serve here. We meet many really great people and are able to share many of our experiences.


Not only do we serve as Pink House Hosts, we also help with food service and facilities functions, like helping with landscaping, painting, building maintenance, and other services.

Waterfun

We were at lake Okoboji with our grandchildren and their parents the past few days. The weather cooperated wonderfully. we became instant grandparents to two more children, because Tony & Dawn were part of a two day conference and their friends had asked if we could watch their kids as well.

It was a blessing to see four kids get along! Splashing in the water, playing on the playground and even playing mini-golf. We had the real parents along at the mini-golf course...
Home for the weekend and a busy week ahead.
I should have remembered that 63 year old backs don't take well to cannonball splashes in the pool, oh well!