For the Love of Meghan - Thinking of her

Every year - at this point in particular - we remember Meghan.  It has been 3 years since she left us and we still can't believe it.  She and Adam were married one brief month and she was supposed to get better.  In one way she did - but in heaven.

She was beautiful and courageous and witty and fun.

She had the courage to take us on her journey as she fought breast cancer by writing her blog:  The Bees Knees.  Its all there.  Her diagnosis, her treatment, her heartaches and hopes and recovery and then how she faced the odds.  And she and Adam and their story.

And then there is the "For the Love of Meghan" group on FaceBook started by her Canada friends.  And it goes on and on.  Check out the "Press" tab on the Bees Knees and you'll see what I mean.
One of my favorites is the interview Alan Colmes did with Adam about them.

My respect and admiration are high for Alan and one day I hope to meet him.

Meghan would have been proud of the way Adam and her family (Marg and Bill and Brad and Christine) and friends have dealt with her loss.
It's really hard to know what to say except we miss her.  So many things that sound 'trite' come to mind but the simple fact is we miss her.

So on that I'll close for today, thinking of Meghan.

Dale Carnegie and Red Hats

Sometimes I ponder the different aspects of the RV lifestyle.  We have been on the road now for about 18 months.  During that time we have met a lot of wonderful people, seen and done a lot of fun things.  We have also had the satisfaction of being involved in our 'calling'.

'Calling' is an interesting word that in our case it refers to one of our central themes in this lifestyle.  During our two years of preparation and planning, we tried to consider as many aspects of full-timing as we could think of and we tried to anticipate situations and how we would handle them.  Among them was trying to determine an overall guiding thought of 'why we are doing this'.  A similar question we grappled with was, 'what is our purpose in doing this RV thing'.

An idea we settled on was helping other people by volunteering.  But volunteering takes many forms, most of which does not really 'fit' us.  Some folks volunteer with Little League or in their kids' classroom.  Some serve food at homeless shelters or spend time at a park or hospital as volunteers.

An idea we kind of liked was helping with Habitat with Humanity.  We had never done anything with them until we decided to 'do a low cost probe' ~ that is, we found one close to where we lived and volunteered a few weekends to check it out.  It was an easy way to see if we liked it and could see ourselves volunteering with Habitat.

That was about three years ago with the Prince William County Habitat group.  I looked at other possibilities (Howard Payne of RV-Dreams.com has a great section on his web site on volunteering) including NOMADS.  NOMADS looked like it could be similar to Habitat in the work they do:  fixing up houses.

After volunteering with Habitat, we had a few conversations on our back porch while we were preparing to full-time.  Without really thinking about it, we began to include 'calling' and 'we feel called' to our conversation.  By that we meant, 'we can see ourselves doing Habitat and NOMADS type of work' when we full-time.

Now, three years later and 18 months into this lifestyle, we are able to still say we are thoroughly enjoying this.  Habitat for Humanity and NOMADS work has given us purpose and a whole lot more in retirement.

It is a wonderful thing to find your 'niche'.  I realize it is not for everyone ~ and it shouldn't be.  The RV lifestyle isn't for everyone.  But it fits us.  And we enjoy it.

And sometimes during the course of different projects and places, there are little things that motivate and encourage us.  And here in Virginia Beach (the South Hampton Roads Habitat for Humanity Chapter) a unique thing is the notion of the Red Hats.  We noticed a few folks wearing red hats the first time we showed up at the job site.

The Red Hats are the regular volunteers that help the Construction Manager and Volunteer Coordinator get the work done.  We saw a similar thing with a regular core of volunteers in Santa Fe when we spent three weeks with the Habitat Care-A-Vanners.  That group of volunteers become more and more experienced and often bring a level of expertise to the job site that doesn't often happen with the weekend volunteers.  But in Santa Fe, you just kind of figured out who the informal leaders were and who you could ask for some guidance.

So we have been among the Red Hats.  It is a nice group of people from a lot of different backgrounds.  And they show up and assist the construction manager by taking a team of 4-5 volunteers and weaving them into the work flow each day.  One construction manager can't do it all.  The Red Hats are his 'go-to guys (and two gals)'.

In our case, at the Red Mill construction site Joe the construction manager, has about 4 or 5 work projects going each day.  And he is able to turn to the Red Hats, and one of them will get the guidance needed, and take a group of volunteers and go put up a fence.  Or hang sheet rock or paint walls, or whatever.

The Red Hats become one after they demonstrate a level of commitment and ability.  There is no set time or qualifications to become a Red Hat at the moment.  It just happens.  In the few weeks we have been here, I thought it would be nice to become a Red Hat ~ just to be known as one of the 'dependable ones'.  Funny how a red hat becomes a motivating item.

In NOMADS I noticed a lot of folks who had been at it a while, were wearing T-Shirts that indicated where and when they had volunteered.  Red hats and T-Shirts reminded me of a Dale Carnegie public speaking class I took in the late 1970's.  After week two of the 10 week course, the instructor started awarding mechanical pencils for the best speech.  After week four, I knew I wanted to get one of those mechanical pencils.  I never forgot it ~ I remember how that mechanical pencil motivated me to try and do better and I really wanted to get one of those pencils!  Not any mechanical pencil, but one of those!

It is funny sometimes what propels us to do the things we do.  Sometimes it is a calling.  Sometimes it is a mechanical pencil.  Sometimes it is a red hat.

Or sometimes all of the above.

On a different note, we had a long an wonderful conversation with Adam from India yesterday.  He seems to be doing well and finishing up his last few weeks in India.  We let him know that Carolyn Jarvis from GlobalTV (16:9) in Vancouver called and let us know her 20 minute documentary on Meghan will air this Sunday, November 14 at 6:30.  I am not sure if it be available on the internet at that time (streaming) but she indicated they would be posting it the next day at this: link  Be sure to watch!

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles today!  Hope your week is going well!

Meghan and Adam

Today we welcome our newest Follower:

Sue Malone

She has a blog you might want to check out:  click here.  Thanks for joining the Roadrunner Chronicles!
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It's been a while since I really posted much about the other half of the ForTheLoveOfMeghan story:  Adam.
Adam and Meghan were together for almost three years before breast cancer took her April 27, 2010.

A lot has happened in the six months since Meghan has been gone.  But their story started about 18 months before that,  when they met in Korea.  Then I guess it was about a year after they met that Meghan was first diagnosed with breast cancer (October 2008).  Adam was with her at the doctor's office in Seoul.  The initial biopsy came back positive and she decided to leave Korea for treatment back home.  It was later confirmed after she had another biopsy in Canada.

Meanwhile, Adam came back to live with us in Fairfax, VA.  He worked downtown in Washington DC at various jobs including Sticky Fingers (a vegetarian bakery/coffee shop) and as a bicycle mechanic.  He would work several days straight in order to save up a few days, then fly to Detroit (about two hours from Petrolia, Canada) so he could spend four or five days with Meghan.  He would stay with Meghan and her family and go with Meghan to doctors appointments.

She had surgery in November, 2008 and started chemotheraphy shortly after that.  Adam was there for surgery and during some of the chemo.   After traveling back and forth from Wash DC to Canada a few times, he packed up all he had (July 2009) and moved to a small town near the Canadian border to be with Meghan.

He found a job in the local high school in Port Huron, MI running an after school program.  That allowed him to eek out a living while being within 90 minutes of Meghan.  She finished up treatment in the summer of 2009 and they spent a lot of time together at her parent's home and at the Bradley cottage in Tobermory Canada, which was her favorite place on earth.

Then in January 2010 the devastating news came that Meghan's cancer had returned and spread, metastasizing to her brain.  But he knew he wanted to marry her and we all pretty much were praying for a miracle...they happen all the time.  Why not for her?  But it was not to be.  They married on March 28, 2010 and she died less than a month later.

So what has Adam been doing?  How has he handled it all?  Where is he now?  

Adam has been busy at times.  Wholly alone at other times.

Since that day in April, he has 

• taken the train across Canada, 
• attended a Toronto Blue Jays professional baseball game, 
• read some books
• volunteering over 100 hours and is 
• now in India volunteering with children.  

He is teaching English and computer to them at the Merasi school school of music.  He has been their about two months and will return to Washington DC and be moving to New York City to work and save some money.


Meghan left behind a list of goals (go to the bottom of the page.)  At her funeral Adam spoke of her and his resolve to finish those goals.
Despite the grief and sorrow he is on his way.  He is finishing those goals.  They are daunting, overwhelming, but he is at it.

Adam has handled it all very well.  Some good days.  Some bad days.  But it is hard to know what he is feeling and how he feels about things apart from reading what he writes.  He is a better writer than talker, meaning he communicates best by writing.  He updates a lot of Facebook (ForTheLoveOfMeghan) and posts on Meghan's blog ~ the Bee Knees.  I know this is tough.  It is hard.  But as he says he

"cant stop. won't stop."

He is at Jaisalmer, India at the Merasi School.  If you haven't read about it before now, you may want to start here.

Over the months he has been interviewed by a number of media outlets ~ hoping to tell of Meghan and her story and getting her story of inspiration and encouragement out.  Just this past week he was interviewed by CNN and mentioned on the Saturday night TV show: 'What The Week' by Pete Dominick.  The transcript from the small segment read:

This guy, unbelievably, touching story. His name is Adam Warner, Adam's wife passed away six months ago from cancer. He decided to finish her life's goals. He's currently in India working at a school for musicians. His mission is to complete what Meghan (ph) couldn't. And to do so in her spirit of giving. I'm never going to be as strong as this guy. You can go fortheloveofmeghan.org to follow their story. 


Adam Warner, you are way better than me.

It was a very nice thing to do and the first time I have seen the show.  Pete's a good guy.

Not sure where I was going with all of this.  I guess I just wanted to let you know some of what Adam is doing and how he is keeping Meghan's legacy and telling her/their story.  So ends another Monday with Meghan.

And this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles.  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Hope you had a great Halloween and have a really good week.

Monday and Meghan

Today we welcome new followers, long time full timers and fellow bloggers:

Ellie

Froggi (Donna)

Thanks for joining us!  You may also want to check out their blogs:  Justravelin and 2takinga5th
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Since I started highlighting Meghan and her legacy a couple of weeks ago I decided to go back and read another early blog from Meghan.  She was originially diagnosed in October 2008.  That was two years ago.  Her post on Nov 5 was entitled:  Hurry Up and Wait

I learn a number of things from this entry from Meghan.

1) She is determined to provide as much insight into what she is going through even though it is not all good news.

I think it is common to want to paint a positive uplifting and warm picture of things.  No one wants to read about sad, depressing or ugliness.  And she absolutely didn't want you to feel sorry for her.

At this point in her journey, she was thinking the doctors were going to do one more biopsy.  But wait, they found some curious stuff in her lymph nodes and they decided they needed to do two, not one.   I gather biopsies are painful.  Not fun.
So in this entry I think she wants to describe what she was feeling and how she really looked at the additional but necessary biopsies and needles.  With a bit of humor and at the same time, a little bit of dread comes through her writing. (..."tattoos hurt worse, tattoos hurt worse, tattoos...")

Lesson to me:  Honest feelings are important to communicate.  If a touch of dry or sarcastic humor comes through, so be it.

2) Meghan seems to be getting over her aversion to writing things for the whole world to see.
Though she is a private person, she is keeping it real and telling it like it is.
I think she is hoping this level of honesty would help someone later on as if may be facing a biopsy for breast cancer for the first time.  It is not a fun thing, it hurts, and there is a lot of scary thoughts ---how many more of this will there be?

Lesson to me:  Courage.  In the face of uncertainty you can get through more than you think you can.  And she does.

3) Meghan always liked to be busy and doing something.  She was a go getter.  And now she was thrown into a whole different life.  She was at the mercy of doctors and technicians and the Process.  Tests and results take time.  And her life as she knew it was suspended.  Answers (even partial ones) take time.
In the middle of the Process she knew she wasn't getting as much information as she wanted so she looked things up on her own.  She found out what a mastectomy entailed and learned about that.  She didn't rely on only what the doctor told her.  She researched things and knew a lot more about her future possibilities.  It was scary ready about the good, bad and the ugly.

Lesson to me:  Patience and diligence.  She tried to be patient with the process and did something about it when patience brought no knew information.  She found a way to get some answers but at the same time learned of the harsh realities of where this could heading.  (another lesson on courage and bravery).

It has been six months since breast cancer claimed her.  But she lives on and our hope is that somehow, in some way her story of courage, determination, humor, honesty, bravery and love will be of help to some others.  So pass it on...

She deeply affected a lot of people and her live continues to inspire.  Next time, a little bit on love...ForTheLoveOfMeghan.

So if you have a loved one, or know of one who might find her writings useful or of interest, please send them to the beginning of The Bees Knees.

That wraps another Monday edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Thanks for joining us.  And have a great week.

Running for Meghan

Once again we welcome our newest Follower:

Ellen

Thanks for joining the Roadrunner Chronicles!

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This weekend was full of emotions.  We were looking forward to the Tidewater Run for the Cure (which included the Virginia Beach area.)  It was our first ever participation in a charity event dedicated to eradicating breast cancer.

We arrived early at downtown Virginia Beach and waited our turn to pull into the parking garage along with thousands of other runners and supporters.  The race began at 8:30 AM but we were there about 7:00 AM.  In some ways, I knew what to expect.  I have participated in a lot of races 'back in the day' and it was fun to be around the excitement.  

Many people had were part of teams of eight or ten runners and some had colorful T-shirts, or hats or other identifying garb.  In some ways the atmosphere was festive, as we celebrated the lives of our loved ones and friends whom we were thinking about.

Our ForTheLoveOfMeghan Team had eight people on it and we gathered at Starbucks.  The morning was cool and chilly with a pretty good wind.  But the day was bright and sunny.  There were lots of tents and booths and vendors around the city center - Neptune Park - and along the boardwalk where the race started and ended.

The crowds numbered in the thousands and it was very crowded.  We could hear the national anthem being played to start things off.  After that, we meandered around for a while before we all tried to line up for the run.

It was jam packed and took almost six minutes to get to the Starting Line.  We started out running slowly for about 10 yards, then came to a complete stop as there were hundreds of walkers moving out ahead of us.  We made our way over to the sidewalk and weaved in and out of folks until about a quarter of a mile down the road before we were finally on our way.  

I got to run with Kelly.  She decided she was going to run with me and I loved it.  We saw many people who had notes on their shirts proclaiming who they were rememembering or who they were running for.

In addition to running for Meghan, I also ran for Barbara Brown and wrote here name on my back.  She is in week two of chemo for breast cancer and lives in Buffalo, New York.  We met Jon and Barbara Brown in the 1980's when we all were stationed in Hawaii and attended the same church.  

During the run, I experienced a lot of different emotions.  Running is an emotional thing for me anyway. I am greatful to be able to run because I enjoy it so much.  But over the years I have had ankle, calf, tendon, etc etc issues and so I consider it a gift to be able to run at my age of 57.  I thought of Meghan and I thought of the thousands of people there - and all over - who are impacted by cancer.  When you see faces and names of people who have died it is pretty startling.  It is such an insidious disease.

Kelly and I ran for 5 minutes and then walked 1; ran 5 and walked 1; ....5 and 1 etc and we had no trouble making it to the end of the 5K.  

We saw some very sad things as people named who they were running for.  One lady wrote:  "I am running for me - stage IV cancer".  Stuff like that is sad.  Running for Meghan is sad.  We all miss her so much.  But the more I think about it I know she would not like us to mope and feel sorry for ourselves.  We know she is in a better place and she'd want us to run, enjoy life and make a difference.

It was so great to have her parents, Marg and Bill here with us for the run.  They stayed with Kelly at her house and delayed their return to Canada a day so they could be there for the run.  It was really great to see them again and to spend time with them during the week.

I have lost count as to how many people have run for Meghan or have created ForTheLoveOfMeghan teams in her honor and memory.  But I know there have been at least 10 around the country and in Canada.  Our run was on Saturday, but on Sunday, niece Heidi ran a half-marathon (13.1 miles) for Meghan in Denver, Colorado.  Way to go Heidi!

One of the hard things is not having Adam here to be with us.  I know he would have loved to be part of it all.  But he is called to be where he is in India, volunteering in Meghan's memory.  It is one of Meghan's goals that he has dedicated himself to fulfilling.  This weekend was really hard for him too.  Talk about being alone...  

But I know he will make it and work through it.  He amazes us and we are very proud of him.  

Glady, he called from India about 10 minutes before the race was started and Pam was able to talk with him a few minutes before the phone connection got so bad it dropped off.  Still - it was good to talk and he knew we were thinking of him and Meghan and to hear his voice.

The event raised lots of money I am sure and our team raised over $500 (thank you Brad, Jane, and Diane and all the others.)  There will be other opportunities to give and I will spend a blog highlighting Meghan's favorite cancer charity - the Kelly Shires Foundation - at another time.

So the race went great. It was a beautiful day.  It was fun.  Our team did well.  We got to be part of the Breast Cancer Awareness movement.  We got to spend the day with Bill Marg.  And we remembered Meghan.  And Adam.  And Barbara.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles.  Please stop by again!

Fun with Marg and Bill

First, a big welcome to our newest Followers:

Bouf

PJ and Melissa

Thanks for joining the Roadrunner Chronicles!
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It has been a great week with the Bakers!  They drove 750+ miles from Petrolia, Canada to Norfolk to be with us.  They left on Monday afternoon and arrived on Tuesday about 3:00 PM.  Marg and Bill are participating with us today on the ForTheLoveOfMeghan team run/walk at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Virginia Beach.

We took it easy on Tuesday and sat outside of Kelly's place where they are staying.  It was an 80 degree day and it was perfect for a walk on the beach.

 Later, we extended the evening with some time in Kelly's front yard and hanging out at her house.

 On Wednesday, Bill and I played golf while Pam and Marg went shopping.

After golf we went down to the Virginia Beach boardwalk, got some ice cream and met a nice couple from Ohio

and walked on the beach for a while.

After Kelly came home from work, we went out to eat in Virginia Beach.

On Thursday it was supposed to rain a lot, so we made the 3 hour trip up to Washington DC to show Bill and Marg around.  We spent a couple of hours at the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum out near Dulles Airpot.

Next we drove by our old neighborhood in Fairfax and then had a late lunch at 5 Guys in Fairfax Town Center.

Then we drove downtown to Washington and gave them a windshield tour of the city.  They had never been here before so it was fun to show then the major attractions and go by some monuments.  Meghan had been to Washington DC a few times with Adam in the last couple of years.

On Friday, Bill and I squeezed in 18 holes at Oceana Naval Air Station.  They have a couple of nice courses.  We were the first ones off the Tomcat course and it was fun.

Too bad we didn't score better, but ... that is golf.  Somedays the best thing about the round is just being out there.

After golf, we went back to Kelly's place and then met Ryan there who took us over to his squadron at Naval Air Station Norfolk.  He flies the MH-60S Seahawk helicopters and we got a tour of the squadron and a close up view of the aircraft.

Their unit is assigned to the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) which is the last of the Nimitz Class supercarriers to be built.

After our tour, we went out to the Roadrunner and cooked some steaks on the grill.  We are in the flight pattern of F-18's as they were landing so it was loud at the campground.  But pretty cool to be near flight operations again...

It has been a great time with Marg and Bill.  Later this morning we are going to participate in the run.  Not sure how that is going to be.  One short year ago, Meghan ran the race for the cure...

Today we run in her memory and for our friend Barbara

Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Monday with Meghan

Our daughter-in-law, Meghan Baker, left us on April 27 of this year, over 5 months ago.  There is much to learn and remember about her.  She was quite a woman. She was full of love and laughter and fight and she was real.  She faced the horrible truth the best way she knew how~ by being as honest as she could about it.

Adam and Meghan in July 2008

I liked lots of things about Meghan.  For one thing she didn't want you to feel sorry for her.  She didn't dwell on her illness with a depressing 'woe is me' attitude.  She acted as if, "this is the hand I was dealt~ let's deal with it and do what it takes to get better".

You may have followed her while she was writing her blog, The Bees Knees.  If you haven't already done so,  you may want to meet her and get a sense of who she was and how see handled it all.   It was two years ago that she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  She and Adam were in Korea teaching English to Korean school kids. Adam suggested she write a blog.

Her first reaction to that idea was, "No bloody way".  She was very private person.  But then the idea of it somehow helping others was enough to convince her to write it for her family, friends and complete strangers.  

We all were able to get a sense of what it was like.  If you read the first post after her diagnosis you can get an idea of how she handled the shock of hearing the 'C' word....She had a way of describing it so you can imagine what it was like with her.

Maybe you know someone who has cancer and is having a difficult time with it and having any of it make sense.  Maybe reading Meghan's blog will help.  Many of us were inspired by her and I hope you find some help for you or your friends.  That is why Meghan wrote her blog.  I hope you take a look.

One of the things that has happened is that a 'ForTheLoveOfMeghan' group has grown on Facebook.  Out of that, a number of people have created "ForTheLoveOfMeghan" teams to run in various Susan G. Komen or Canada CBC runs across the States and Canada.  One is running in Virginia Beach this weekend.  Kelly, Pam and I are going to be joined by Bill and Marg Baker (her parents from Petrolia, Canada)

To go to this page, click here:

We will also be running for Barbara Brown, a good friend with three kids and husband Jon.  We saw them earlier this summer while we were in Niagara Falls.  She was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier in the summer and had her first chemo session last week.

This is Barb back in July when Pam presented her with a set of boxing gloves and told her to "Fight like a Girl!".  She will and we are expect a good outcome.


Thanks for joining me on the Roadrunner Chronicles and for the first edition of "Mondays with Meghan".

Roadrunner Recap: Brad and Christine's Wedding

Meghan's only brother Brad and his fiance Christine got married on Friday last week.  We were invited back in March and we wanted to be sure and be there if any way possible.  It was and we were.
They were married at Brigden, Ontario and had the reception at the very nice Golf and Curling Club in Sarnia.

We arrived in Port Huron the night before and went through Customs and on to our campsite right near Cracker Barrel.

We drove over to Brigden in plenty of time for the service at the United Church.  

Brad & Meghan's father Bill joined us for a group picture.

Here are Bill and Marg before the service.

The ceremony went off without a hitch (as far as we could tell).  They had very nice words to each other in their Promises and it was all over in about 30 minutes.  It was a very nice service.  And then

Mrs and Mr Bradley Baker

A reception line formed outside for the happy couple.

Then on over to Sarnia and the dinner party and festivities

The wedding party sat together in the front and the rest of us were placed at about 15 tables in the very large room.

Marg and officating Pastor Chuck are discussing a point.

Later the parents of the bride groom spoke.  Here are Marg and Bill.

And there were many toasts, including one from Melanie and Kelly.

And lots of dancing.

And they cut the cake.

It was a beautiful day and a beautiful wedding with a very handsome couple.  Congratulations to Brad and Christine.

And thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Golf, Bakery and More Golf

The last couple of days we have been watching or playing golf and spending time with the Bakers at their cottage.

On Thursday it was an early day since the British Open Golf Championship was on at 4:00 AM.  I got up at my usual 5:00 AM ish and was surprised as anyone to see John Daly at the top of the leaderboard.  By the end of the day it was great to see the record setting 63 by up and comer Rory McIlroy from Scotland.

We went out to the cottage in the late afternoon and stopped at a bakery along the way.

The local shop had some good looking cinnamon cookies and an apple pie we couldn't resist.  It was a rainy, drizzly day for the most part and we remembered Meghan on what would have been her 29th birthday...

Bill got back from Petrolia and we called another golf course for a tee time on Saturday morning.
Then, he was at the campground promptly at 7:00 AM and we drove to Wiarton Golf Course about 40 miles away.

It was a nice course and priced right.  We teed off without any trouble and made our way around the front nine in about 90 minutes.

Then we got caught in a backup at the turn for the second nine and is was slow going rest of the way.  But the scenery was nice, we hit a few good shots, had a couple birdies.  I was pleased with my 79 but have to temper that with the fact that it is a really short course.

The course is on the side of a mountain and the scenery up from the Georgian Bay was beautiful.

Meanwhile, Pam and Kelly went in to Tobermory, picked up some postcards and some bread and we all met back at the cottage for dinner.  Marg fixed a fantastic meal of fried bass the her brother Chuck had caught and we topped it off with Yellow Label tea and apple pie.

Then we play three games of Skit/Skat.  I was happy to take the first two and Marg took the last.  We don't play cards that much but always have fun when we do.  We usually have some good laughs and we had everyone around the table.

Then it was back to the campground where we found a lot of new neighbors.  The place really fills up during the weekends but all were very well mannered and no issues.  I love the 'no outside music' rule!  We have lots of tent campers here with only about 10 RVs.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles today!  Hope you are having a great weekend.

Wednesday around the Campground and Cottage

I got up and checked my email at the one of the picnic tables near the Tobermory Village Campground office.  It turns out the wifi here is about the same as what we can catch in Tobermory at the library or one of the coffee shops.  It was a pretty slow day with not a whole lot going on.

Marg and Bill will be up here at their cottage through the weekend and we aren't due to leave until Monday.  Bill had a league golf match back at Petrolia but will return Thursday morning sometime.

After emails and posting my blog, I took some bottles and cans into town for recylcing, stopped by a bookstore and was back at the campground in time for Adam to drop by.  He was on his way out of town and headed toward Toronto for a few days.

Kelly and I went swimming in the campground pool and Pam joined us for a few minutes.

Over the back fence of the swimming pool is the stable where the owners have a Belgian horse, six goats, a rabbit and a kitten.  They also have a nice garden nearby.  I really like the way the owners have upgraded the whole camground.  Everything is in good repair and orderly.

Then we all went over to the cottage by Marg and Bill's.  While Pam did some laundry, I went for a long run and caught some sunshine.  It was another beautiful day.

Kelly and Marg went into town for some errands and a beer while Pam and I hung out at the cottage for a while.  I have a couple of books going and did some reading on:  The Bruce Beckons which is the history of the Bruce Peninsula (including Tobermory) and Lonesome Dove, a western novel.

Pam cooked a great dinner of meatloaf and baked potatoes.  When Marg and Kelly returned they brought the shortcake, whipped cream and blueberries for dessert.  Kelly went over to the other cottage with Ed after dinner and we stayed at Marg and Bill's cottage and talked for a couple of hours with Marg and her mother.  It was a nice evening.

We got back to the Roadrunner about 9:30 PM and that was it for us.  No major events, just a nice summer day on the Bruce Peninsula near Tobermory...

Hope your week is going well and thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles!

The Weekend at the Bradley Cottage

Not sure what to do about the weak internet connection except live with it.  I'd like to post of few pictures of Canada but so far have not been successful.  Maybe we'll get into Tobermory later today and I can try out the internet connection at the library- but it is doubtful. 

Saturday and Sunday we spent out at the 'Bradley Cottage on the Rocks' w.hich is the place Meghan's grandmother built years ago.  It was Meghan's favorite place in all the world and the choice for where she and Adam where to have their public wedding.  But that was not to be.  Instead we kept the date and planned on getting together with her family and Adam and her friends. 

Many of them were able to make it and some from far away places.  Meghan's grandmother, mom and dad (Bill and Marg) and aunt and uncle (Chuck and June) were there.  On Saturday brother Brad and fiance Chris arrived.  Later they were there along with:  Melanie, Chad (from Korea), Kyle, Stephanie, Asia, Gordy (from Bolivia, or Columbia?).  On Sunday afternoon Jordan and Peter made the drive from Toronto.

It was a fun time to 'hang out'.  We spent a lot of time with Bill, Marg, Chuck and June while the 'kids' were doing the same.  On Sunday, they went to the lighthouse in Tobermory and jumped in the c-o-l-d waters of Lake Huron.  Later in the day with Peter and Jordan, Adam and Kelly took canoes out in the waters near the cottage. 

Bill and Marg's neighbors lent their cottage for the week so it has been a great place to put up everybody from out of town.  We are about 5 miles down the road in Tobermory Village Campground which is working out well.

Late Saturday and early on Sunday I was able to get some online work done, so that is helping.  I managed to get a couple of nice runs in on Saturday and Sunday so I am pleased with that.  Pam and Kelly and I will be here another week with Marg and Bill so there will be plenty of more time with them which we are looking forward to.  The weather has been absolutely wonderful, warm but not excessively hot temperatures and a nice breeze.

That is about it from up north here.  Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles.  More (with pictures) to follow...

Have a great week!

Moving Day - Almost

First, let me say Welcome to our newest Followers:

Kerri

Jon Brown

Thanks for joining us!
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I was up early and enjoyed the fantastic sunrise coming up over Haas Park Lake.

After some coffee and contemplation of the things of life, I started with my departure chores.  I checked all the pressure in the tires and tweaked them with my air compressor.  Then I made sure all the Pressure Pro Tire Pressure Monitoring System sensors were working correctly.

After that, it was time to take the Roadrunner over to the front office and fill the propane tank.  I am always surprised at how difficult it is for the attendants to get under the door and fill the tanks.  Not a very user friendly design.

Then we paid for the month's worth of electric and for the propane.  While we were there we got a picture and said goodbye to one of our favorites:  Linda.

She is the best.  She helped us from the moment we walked in to the park April 15 and it has grown into a good friendship.  We will miss her.

Pam and Kelly went to drop off Kelly's car and to pick up Adam at the airport.  While they were doing that, I ran errands and logged on for some monthly online work.  After dinner, some of Meghan and Adam's friends came out to the campground.

It was nice to meet  Lindsay, Caitlin, Amna and Betsy.  Caitland was in Korea with Meghan and Adam and they all now live in Ferndale, MI.  We had a nice evening together and gave them the grand tour of the Roadrunner.

What started out as a misty/rainy evening turning into another pleasant time at the lake.

We probably won't forget this scene for a while.  It was one of many just like it during the three months here at Haas Lake Park Campground.

With that, we come to the conclusion of our time here and thank you for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles!