Photo by The Joneses The entrance to the Nascar Technical Institute in Mooresville, N.C.. — — — E-mail Gisela — — — SLIDE SHOW: With friends and family in the southeast
ARCHIVES: You wouldn't believe how beautiful Canada is! Wouldn't change a thing Who knew there was so much to see in South Dakota? Time is flying by — but at least we're having fun! I (heart) Hart Ranch, South Dakota Rallyin' in Goshen, Indiana A special day From friends to work to warmer temps, we're still having fun in Florida Traveling to Texas Finally, we're in Alaska! On the way to Canada Boise sure has changed a lot Escapees Rally in Wyoming Bittersweet trip through the southeast From Boy Scouts to ‘Stars on Ice’ Michigan is full of treasures Arriving in Florida Earning our ears Celebrating Christmas and New Year's in Florida and the Disney Parks Down in the Lowcountry Making our way through Minn., Wisc. and Ill. The holidays in Florida Our time in Lakeland has come to an end Couldn't have had a better time in Omaha! Arriving in Charleston A day with friends from Frederick 'Life is good' in Lakeland, Fla. Leaving Florida, and heading north Our final days in Kentucky Into the Keys Out of Charleston and off to Indiana Dreams come true in Vermont You never know what you'll see or who you'll meet in Alaska Leaving Indiana, but not before taking some of the state's best sites Idaho is full of natural treasures — and moon-like craters, too It's all about the theme parks From prairie country to beautiful views to grand 'ol Yellowstone Thunderstorms, flooding, tornados and a visit with the 'Duke' And so it begins ... Moving days for Greg and his family The gang's all here! Happy to be in Florida again Strawberries, and more strawberries 'The RV Capital of the World' From the beautiful Maine coastline down to southern Connecticut Training for our jobs at Disney World Chillin' out at 'Camp Monaco' Under the weather Back in Florida At long last, back in the area Lots to see in the 'Show Me' state With family and spectacular sights in Hailey, Idaho Look back, look ahead Back in the Lower 48 The cold weather is hitting Florida From Dallas to devastation Back on the road again Leaving Idaho and heading east Beautiful Alaska A memorable visit to Alaska's Kenai Peninsula Watch out for flying dinner rolls

I have known Barbie since she was four years old, when my dear friend Peggy, her mother, and I met. Sadly enough Peggy is no longer with us.

Tommy has been interested in car racing for a long time and has done some drag racing himself with his father, so getting an education from NTI was a logical step for him. We are so proud of him and really enjoyed the graduation ceremony.

While this was a happy day for us, it was also a very, very sad day.

In the morning, before the ceremony, we had our sweet Gretchen put to sleep. What a hard decision this was. She was just getting over a stomach virus and was still on antibiotics and special diet.

On the morning of May 8 she could not stand up and was listless. We rushed her to an Animal Clinic, Ralph had to carry her. She had gastric dilatation-volvulus syndrome (GDV), also called bloat. It is quite common with deep-chested dogs, but something we had never heard of.

With GDV the stomach gets distended/bloated and in the worst cases, as it was with Gretchen, rotates and cuts off entry and exit to the stomach.

We had to make a fast decision on her having a very extensive surgery, that she might not survive anyway or to put her to sleep. It was the hardest decision I ever had to make and I hope we made the right one. But we didn’t want her to suffer and be in pain and discomfort that such a surgery would have brought for her.

She was 11 1/2 years old, a very good age for German Shepherd. We will miss her so very much; she was the most wonderful dog. I still get very teary eyed thinking about her. By the way, I was told that GDV is what Marley from the book/movie "Marley and Me" had.

The day after the graduation we had everyone, Tommy, Steve and Barbie, Dan, Tommy/s uncle Dave, grandfather and Peggy’s widower, and Tommy’s girlfriend Tracy over at our campsite for a cookout. It was a great day — complete with hamburgers and hot dogs over the open fire, with watermelon and s'mores afterward.

On our drive to Mooresville we made a couple of stops to visit with friends and relatives. The first stop was Columbus, Georgia to visit friends Bridget and San. They used to be our neighbors when Ralph and I lived in Augusta, Georgia before we moved to Maryland in 1985. During the years we have kept in touch and have visited each other at various times. It was enjoyable to visit with them and catch up on what the children and grandchildren are now doing.

From there we drove to Augusta, where we stayed in a U.S. Army Corps of Engineer campground at Clarks Hill Lake. This was the first time we stayed in one of their parks.

A friend recently told us about this fairly inexpensive camping opportunity. Holders of a "Golden Age Passport" (a card available for people 62 years of age) get 50 percent discount. I went online to recreation.gov and could choose from many campgrounds in the Clarks Hill area.

The Clarks Hill Dam and Lake, or J.Strom Thurmond Lake as it is called on the South Carolina side, is a reservoir that was built in the 1950s. The lake covers 72,000 acres and has over 1,200 miles of shoreline. It provides electricity, water preservation and countless recreational opportunities for the Central Savannah River area. When we lived in Augusta it was our favorite place to go for swimming, boating and waterskiing. During our stay we visited with Ralph’s sister Ruth, his nephew Bobby and nieces Laura and Donna. We had all of them, including the spouses over one evening for a cookout and sitting around the open fire. Everyone had a great time. This is what we like so much about our lifestyle — being able to get together with loved ones, even tho we live far apart.

In Augusta we also met with Alison and husband Norman. Alison and I were friends many years ago when we both were single moms, and our kids were the ages our grandchildren are now. We did a lot of activities with the kids and were a great support for each other.

While we visited we did a lot of reminiscing about those days, shared news about these children, and had a lot of good laughs. It was so much fun. We also promised each other to stay more in touch. Longtime friendships are so precious and it is important to nurture them.

We stopped for a few days in Myrtle Beach, S.C., mainly for me to get a few days of working on my tan at the beach. While we were there we got in touch with friends from Frederick, Don and Pat, and went out for a great seafood dinner. Don and Ralph are Masonic brothers and also Shriners with the Ali Ghan Shrine in Cumberland. As always we enjoyed meeting with friends.

Tomorrow we’ll start our drive to Omaha for graduations and a wedding. We have to cover about 1,100 miles in three or four days, so we’ll be rolling down the highways without too many stops.