Lloyd and Vicki

The last time we camped at Ludington State Park in MI was 5 years ago, after 13 years in a row of camping as a family at this wonderful and outstanding place.  Our oldest grand-daughter, Emma, was almost 1 year old at the time we last camped, and able to whip her “walker”  from side to side along the Cedar loop, depending upon which direction she wanted to go.  Now five years later and still on the Cedar loop, Emma (now almost 6) is joined by her sister, Claire (almost 4), her brother Levi (just turned 1),  and her cousins Eden (3), Harper (7 months) and Marley (2).  We all spent a blessed and very WONDERFUL four days together on sites 127 and 128. Since we were located at the “top” of the loop, there was a nice and very defined area for Emma, Claire, Eden and Marley to bike/run together on the road. What fun! A water spigot was located just across from site #128, which was very practical as we (Kristin,  Reuben, Kim and families and also Lloyd and I) tented on the sites during mostly sunny but sometimes rainy weather. Nick and Jess were in Egypt at the time, so unable to join us this year. According to a phone message from Nick and Jess on Sunday, Cairo temps were about 109 degrees, while Ludington MI temps were in the mid 70′s. NICE for us, and HOT for Nick and Jess!  Michael wanted to come along to Ludington this year too, but reality took over as he realized that he needed to stay diligent to meeting the needs of Amanda (his girl) and their son, Mikey in TX. Maybe next year!

A typical beach scene. We went to the beach for several hours almost every day. Our favorite sand-dune wasn't there this year, as it must have eroded over the past 5 years. Yes, for a few minutes there, both Lloyd and I found ourselves grieving our beloved sand-dune!

Claire, Marley and Eden coordinating a beach project.

Emma and her Uncle Paul found this skeleton. Was it a fish? A bird? A dinosaur? Depends how ya look at it. Last I heard, it was Emma's dinosaur tail.

Levi didn't care at all about crawling surface. He made his way quickly though sand, campsite dirt, dry leaves, and pebbles

Even though Harper's not quite crawling yet, he still found lots of sand and dirt! Heidi is giving him a bath here on the picnic table.

Back at the beach, Paul and Reuben getting ready to use the kayak that Paul brought along.

Kim heading out into Lake Michigan in the kayak after a brotherly push.

This beach scene gets repeated every year. Even missing 5 years in a row didn't alter this scene!

Claire and Eden making a pool.

Claire loving the sand.

And Eden warming up.

Marley singing me a song by the ice-cream painted bench outside The House of Flavors.

That song really was funny!

Our last night and morning were rainy and Harper was quite prepared.

A good nap can happen anytime and anywhere. Here's Levi sound asleep in the back-pack.

Claire taking a nap in the bike trailer.

Emma brought lots of bike gear along. Sometimes she had elbow pads on too.

During a group hike, Paul had to make a daring retrieval of his sun-glasses which had fallen into the river.

There's nothing quite like being a Nana at Ludington State Park! Eden took off on her skuut bike right after this picture was taken.

There's nothing quite like being a Papa at Ludington either!

So many more pics to share, but this is all for now.

 Did anybody happen to get a pic of that friendly racoon and/or the bread-crusts it left?

 Last September, my friend, Lisa, and I, participated in the Outdoor Leadership Training offered by the Youth Opportunities Program.  We, along with 8 other “students” and 2 instructors, spent 5 days hiking on a portion of the Appalachian Trail in the Deleware Water Gap area of New Jersey.

Here's our group, ready to keep on hiking after a short break. Most participants were youth workers of some sort. Lisa and I were the only "unemployed" participants, as both of us have been involved in the lives of youth in more informal/volunteer ways. Lisa and I were the only ones from Iowa. Everyone else lived closer by, in various Eastern states.

The purpose of this training was to prepare us to take groups of kids on outdoor adventures. Both Lisa and I finished with the “back-packer profile”, which means we are apparently qualified to take groups of kids on multi-day back-packing adventures for the next two years, and can use free back-packing equipment supplied by the Appalachian Mountain Club which maintains an active partnership with YOP.  Available equipment for the kids includes tents, mats, sleeping bags, tarps, cook-wear, rain gear, moisture wicking clothing of all kinds, and even hiking boots and socks.  It’s great, cuz how would a kid who has never hiked before have all this equipment?

With the YOP training as back-drop, Lisa and I are now preparing to take four of the kids she mentors, on a week-long  trip to New England in early August. We’re planning to hike with Prince, Uriah, Aaron and Teri,  for 3 1/2 days on the Appalachian Trail in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Prior to  hiking the trail, we’re planning to spend a few days together in Boston. During this time in Boston, we’ll be staying with a few families from an area church that has agreed to host us. Since there is mass transit available from the area where these families live,  we can easily access downtown Boston for city activities, such as The Freedom Trail, while we are there.  I’m hoping we’ll have time to take a duck tour on the St. Charles River in an authentic WWII amphibious landing vehicle ( Lloyd and I did this way back in  2003 the day before I ran my first Boston Marathon).

Meanwhile, the kids have been busy raising money for this trip. They’re each doing as many odd jobs as possible,  as well as numerous group  fund-raising endeavors.  For example, about two months ago, they made about $500 by selling fused glass pendants and keychains  they had created themselves. This project was so successful that we decided to do it again, and yesterday was the day.  We all met for lunch at our place, worked in the glass studio downstairs for about 2 hours, and then headed out on a 9 mile bike-ride on trails from Johnston.  We’re hoping to sell most of  the jewelry and key-chains at the Valley Junction Farmer’s Market where we will have a booth 2x in July.

Here's Teri. She arrived about 45 minutes before Lisa and the rest of the kids, so she helped me prepare lunch.

And here, from left to right, are Aaron, Uriah and Prince.

Lisa

Here's Prince intent on his fused glass creations

Uriah doing the same.

And Terri too.

A very focused Aaron.

Getting silly towards the end. Time for a bike ride!

Uriah and Prince preparing their bikes. Lisa brought everyone's bikes along in a small trailer. She is a garage sale buff, and found the bikes at garage sales over the past few years.

continuing to unload Lisa's trailer.

We finally got started. It was 90 degrees and sunny. HOT! The breeze created by biking was most welcome. We completed about 9 miles together, before calling it a day.

And now, my kiln is working hard to do the work of fusing.  It will take about 3 firings to complete, and then some more work to assemble bails, necklace chains and earring wires. Below, are the pre-kiln creations that emerged. Things may change quite abit in the kiln, but this will give a very basic idea of what the kids came up with. Lisa also made a few items. I did not, as my role was to answer all the “Miss Vicki” questions-can you cut this piece? Will this color work well with this base? Is this too big? Where did those key-chain wires go? Is this too much glue? Can I use three layers for base instead of two? Can I wash my hands? I just got cut-do you have a band-aid? Where is the bathroom? Etc. Back to the pre-fuse designs:

Aaron made these.

Teri made these.

Uriah made these.

Prince made these.

And Lisa made these.

The kids are very excited about this trip and doing their best to get ready. Lisa and I are hoping we can handle all the dynamics and experiences that may be involved.

Teri is abit blurry here, but it's the best group shot I got. Maybe we can get a better one on the trail in August!