New life...new blog...sweet memories

So, I was getting ready for work and just happened to think about starting up a blog about everything that has happened in the past 3-5 years (let me confide in you that it has been A LOT... think on a *massive* scale...) So imagine my surprise when this old beauty (knock-on-woods.blogger.com) showed up - on my new phone no less - and made me cry before work. I thought that I deactivated it and that it was all gone.

All of those memories.
All of those emotions.
All of these bittersweet tears.

BUT, I decided [a long time ago] that I can't run from my past (or past blogs, it seems)... so I'll do a little sprucing and pick up where I left off. Or start over.

Welcome back to my life, beauties.
And welcome to "to and fro D" ~ because life is always a journey of "stop and go."<3 p="">

Long Time Coming

So - this post has been in my brain for about, oh, the last month. Just because it been that long since the last post.

I slack. a lot. I know. Don't let me try to convince you otherwise. Not that you need convincing.

You have proof.

Anywho! So, when we left Michigan {sigh}, we spent the first night in Indianapolis, IN - during the 500 no less {yes, we have impeccable timing}. Then, were were in St. Louis, before moving onto Wichita, KS... where we hung out with our nieces. Squeee!!!

Oh yeah, and I promised Rich I would tell you about The Turtle. On the road. The busy road. And my great attempted rescue {he made me promise that I would tell this story to the masses -- but I will continue that later *smiles*}.

We then moved onto Colorado. And my heart melted at the sight of the mountains.

My mountains.

...buuuut, I will have to update all of that later....

We are rocking it out in Vegas, and there is a pool calling my name.

*smiles*

To Placate the Weary

I must first tell you why this wasn't being updated for the past, oh, 5 days or so... I swear it wasn't me! There was NO INTERNET! Now before you gasp, and then convict me for lying because there is no place left on this great continent that would possibly be out of range of the all-powerful net... there is, and it is located in the RV area of Cedar Point. Yup, one giant dead zone probably implemented to get the online-addicts looking for a different source of entertainment... and it works.

Welcome in, the ROLLER COASTERS! WOOOOOO!

Rich and I concluded our trip with a day at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. This was Rich's culminating "end to Michigan" and he couldn't be happier about the location! Thus we began our morning at 6:30 am with rides promptly beginning at 9 am {Rich reminded me, oh, every waking moment that "there is a special hour that we get to go into the park earlier because we are camping here".... oh goody.}


Now, things worked out pretty well that morning -- it was overcast and a little windy, but overall a nice time. We went from 9-11 am, got lunch (and walked the dogs {for those of you who were about to call the SPCA on me because I hadn't mentioned them this entire time...}) and then were ready for round two with our friends Jason and Devonie who were meeting us for an afternoon of fun and rides.



It rained. No kidding.


For HOURS.


While we were in line. Without the ride going. Just standing in line. {boooooooo!}



Once the heavens opened with the sunshine (that Rich swore he was seeing through the grey blanket that hovered over us and soaked us to the bone {awww, ever optimistic *insert sarcasm*}) we were able to power through a few more rides before bidding adieu and packing up for the night.



Oh, one more thing, Jason won a GIANT FROG from one of the games -- you will never imagine the comments you get when you carry that thing around... it was bigger than I am, and when they wanted to ride one more ride, I happily babysat the big thing.




Never again.

*smiles*

So Sacred

The second leg of our journey has headed us to a place that I have always wanted to see.

The Sacred Grove.

For those of you who are not LDS, this is the place where Joseph Smith (as just a young boy of 13 or so) knelt in prayer to determine which church was the appropriate one to join {this was during the time when market-square soap-box preaching was used to coerce the townspeople to come to congregation}). Here, this explains better than I can.

10 In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?
11 While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
12 Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible.
13 At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God. I at length came to the determination to “ask of God,” concluding that if he gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I might venture.
14 So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally.
15 After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.
16 But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
17 It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

This site has come to be known as the Sacred Grove, and visitors are allowed to walk through it as well as visit Joseph Smith's boyhood home/farm. Now, this is the part that appeals to yours truly because, being a 'country girl', any walk / hike through the woods feels like prayer to me (even above that which I receive in the church or even the temple) just because it is the place that I feel the most "home". So of course, I took pictures. :)

{{I'll only post this one, but if you want more... you can ALWAYS ask *smiles*}}

I will say one thing however. I am afraid that I am going to be at least chastised when I die. I have proof.

First off, while Rich and Titan were calmly walking ahead of us, feeling the Spirit, Daphne was eating the Sacred Grove! That's right, throwing her face into each clump of grass she could see, and devouring it before I could yank her back. We were quite the serene pair let me tell you. That's right, strikes two, three and four headed my way.

exhibit A:

Oh yeah, and on the lawn of Joseph Smith's house (with the sister missionaries amusingly looking on...to my embarrassment...because this had already been going on for a good minute by the time I started rolling film...)

exhibit B:

But, I will say, if I am to be condemned due to the actions of this pup-ito... then I am taking her with me.

Enjoy.

*smiles*

Trying to leave Canada aye?

So, I have a little catching-up to do… but the night of book-reading was well worth it.

Let me start with, what is going on with the guards at the US side of the Canadian / USA border? When we were trying to make our way back into our good-ole home country, Rich was manning the wheel why I was in the back codling “the destructo-team” (a.k.a. the pup-itos) because I do NOT do well being put on the spot in question / answer situations. If anyone is going to be suspicious, it is yours truly. Not to mention, my two lovely snuggle-kins just ADORE strange men looking in the windows – so this was going to be a treat. Oh yeah, and nothing irks them more than when we stop, and proceed to go through what looks like a drive-through, but with the rude awakening that there is absolutely NO food exchanged whatsoever. They learned their lesson from entering Canada, and they weren’t going to be fooled twice.

So, while Rich was running through the usual questions of: where are you going? Where were you just at? How long? Why? Who is with you?, it became apparent that they were becoming suspicious as to where I was (made very apparent by the questions: Well, where is your wife? And where are your dogs?) I tried to be as chipper as ever as I popped myself into the front passenger seat and tried to explain my absence (and pleading with Santa Claus that all I wanted for Christmas was for my dogs to be good and not try to rip the face off of the guy in the toll-booth… moving on…) So, then he came to the question:

What kind of dog food do you have in there?

Okay people, there is no straight-forward answer of kibble or wet food in my profession, and I quickly blurted out “Lamb and Rice by California Natural” {pretty thorough no?} Well, if THAT didn’t send out the troops! Lamb?! How can you be transporting LAMB?! (Really, I must have looked dumbfounded at this point because… I was) and then the question that about made me pee my draws…

Have you ever been arrested for a felony?

WHAT?! NO! WHAT?! Where was he going with this? I was waiting for the “Well, now you WILL be” before I started blurting out, “It’s just kibble!! I swear!” For those of you who know me are well aware of my test-taking abilities – and this was not pretty. All I got was a “oh – well you should’ve told me that sooner. Okay, have a good day”

All of that?! For what? No ‘A’ or gold star on my license? Did I pass the test better than other people? This competitive side really needs to get under control.

It goes to show, Canada is more than happy to take us in -- the US, not so much. {I kid, I kid}

All I needed was a good dose of Canadian chocolate.


Useless exchange of the day between Titan and I: “Stop trying to penetrate my brain with your stare. I am not going to give you people food. I don’t want to.”

And, scene.

What day is it? And what is up with all of the water?

Should I start with how great today was, or conclude with how great today was? Okay, I know that this is a little "peppy" (even for me), but it really was a pretty good time.

Let's begin.

First and foremost, I owe my first-born (and good night's rest) to Allegra-D -- this little pill saved our trip because Rich was able to sleep!! Woo!!!! {do a little party-dance with me people - you have no idea how great this is... really, no idea} So, when he is rested.... I have a happier morning. Thus, he took the pup-itos for a run so I could sleep a little more (awwww), and then we packed up... waved good-bye to our KOA campsite... and hit the wide-open road.

Er - well, open enough. But look what we saw:

...and just like that, I wanted to move to Canada (okay, the lush green rolling hills AND the better chocolate sold me on the idea). Sorry USA, you are FANTASTIC, but this is love. Rich didn't quite agree, but we still awed at our surroundings as we took some back-roads to the highway. And then, there it was.

THE BIGGEST WHIRLPOOL TUB YOU WILL EVER SEE!!

I think that I took a bazillion photos and videos (okay, we all know that this is an exaggeration -- but work with me here. I took a lot *smiles*). The more we shot, got soaked, and shot some more, then more I wanted to get closer... not in a creepy way {give me some credit *laugh*} but I really really really wanted to go for a boat ride. You know, the Maid of the Mist that goes along the lower river. SQUEEEEEE! I jumped around and probably looked like a fool... but that is nothing new for me. Rich politely declined on the other hand (I know, I begged and begged for him to come, but to no avail... that's okay, I am game to go alone).

So here goes {{drum-roll please}}: I GOT YOU GUYS A VIDEO! I know, I spoil you.

(but not before locating an emergency device in case the boat were to have a freak accident and sink... hey, a girl has to know her options)

So, how awesome am I? (don't belittle me about the 'whiteness' of shots - let's see how your videos come out once you step inside the spin cycle in your washing machine... actually, that might be funny... okay, moving on...)

And there are PLENTY more photos / vids if you guys are interested, I just thought these few could be tasty mental tidbits.

Oh, and one more thing, did you know:

1.) Niagara falls used to be located 6 miles down river, but is in its current location due to erosion (up to 6 ft / year)

2.) Table Rock is NOT cement... just deceptively looks like it and causes pretty intense debates between spouses whether it is or not (not that I would know about that)

-and, for the finale-

3.) The first person ever recorded to go over the falls and survive was a GIRL! Yup, barrel and all... we are awesome.

Night everyone.

p.s. tomorrows adventures are located in Palmyra, New York. Don't let me forget to go over the re-entering of the U.S. (they must have keyed-in on my new found love for Canada, and were disappointed in me. fail.)

T is for Toronto... or at least close to it....

I figured it was about time to update this puppy... speaking that it is about our adventures, and we are already two days into one of them. Sorry, I never said that I was good at this *smiles*

We arrived here yesterday, at the KOA Toronto West campground - oh yeah, did I mention that we are in an RV? With our dogs? and Rich's allergies? Didn't mention that did I? Hmmm, must have been blocked in my mind... well, of course, I have pictures -- I love to have a visual log of my demise! Don't you?

Well anyways, I had to acquire said RV once I arrived home from Boston - and I literally mean once I arrived home (which was supposed to be at 2 pm on Sunday, but promptly turned into 3:40 pm due to the rain in Boston and the wind in Detroit... and the RV place closed by 4 pm!) and I will shamelessly admit that I sped (sorry to the shuttle guy {who picked me up to from the Park n' Go} who advised me to do otherwise... but he will be happy to know that I did not get a ticket}).

Okay - moving on.

Our initial plans were to leave our house by 2 pm on Sunday and arrive at the campsite around 6 pm -- plenty of time for dinner and relaxation right?

We pulled in at 9:30 pm. No joke.

{{Side Note: And for those of you have ever: been out to dinner with us, had us come to their house, meet for bowling, or even just attend church with us (to which I say, "did you see that for once we were finally on time?! Did you see?!") know that we run on 'Wood Standard Time' ... aka 'Plain Freakin' late even to our own Funerals'... so this should come as no surprise.}}

Our first day on the road went like this:
1.) Leave home in RV so packed with stuff that we should just transfer it's contents into the POD when we get home, and we are done. Really.
2.) Comfort 2 very nervous hounds that were not amused that it sounded like their new home on wheels was falling down around them -- Titan about had an aneurysm (I made a mental note of this because I am not sure that my dog emergency kit could handle quite this much - but I will remedy that when I get home. The human emergency kit = band aids. If you need anything else, survival of the fittest my friend.)
3.) Fall asleep on the bed in back (where the dogs are) because (1) I needed to comfort them with my calmness according to Caesar, and (2) too much Rock Band the night before with Dev and Kat *smiles* In that order of course.
4.) Wake up at the USA and Canada border, ready for an all-out search and destroy mission of our vehicle. We were asked 5 questions (3 being about the dogs) and given hearty a "Welcome to Canada" -- I have a harder time getting through the line at Tim Hortons than getting into this country. *shrugs* I love it already.
5.) Use our trusty Garmin to try to find the KOA - wind up at the Mohawk horse track instead. Destiny?
6.) Pull into our campsite, and pray that I paid enough attention to the guy at the RV rental to know how not to blow us up or have us die in any way (he gave me the 5 minute crash-course on how to use one of these bad-boys before handing me the keys -- it was supposed to take an hour, but I have that 'smarty-pants' look about me I guess. Haha - what a trusting soul.)

Victory was mine.

And then, then night came. It's a whole different story, my friend, when you have a husband who has allergies to animals and two houndy-types lying on the back bed.

If I believed in reincarnation - I must have been really bad in my past life.

Otherwise, I am a glutton for punishment. Take your pick.

I will spare you the whole story - and just sum it up into 5 phrases: dogs, congestion, low ceilings, freezing weather, early morning.

Ha. NOW you know why I am a day late into this thing. I was recovering! But the day resolved itself into a nice enough time when we decided to explore the little town around us instead of taking the 1 hour train ride into the city of Toronto. We found the best little store that had household decorating stuff (with a name like Grumblin' Granny's, how can you go wrong, I ask? And for this free advertising, I think they should give me the amazing mango-canoe cabinet and bench... just sayin' *smiles*)

We went down the rest of the street - for there was only one, and then came back to try to catch-up on some much needed rest. Well, after a round of chuck-it with Titan.

Top it off with a toasty marshmallows (and smokey fire) - and there you have it. The start to round 1 of the 3 trips planned for the next 3 weeks (we had to add a trip back to Minnesota after my grandma passed away last Wednesday. I miss her terribly, but am continuing as planned because my dad swears that is what she would want us to do - and I heed his opinion almost above anyone else's. Including my husband, who is showing me his carrot 'see food' as I type. No questions please.)

Cheers!

p.s. Tune in tomorrow for an update on Niagra falls. For those of you who are panicking, it is still there. Well, until we arrive at least....

*smiles*