Been awhile since I've posted. This year's summer was certainly a different one from years in the past. Our summers are usually full of county fairs, auto racing, demolition derbies, and auctions. This year though many of these events had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Not having our weekends booked with these events allowed us some extra opportunities for different adventures. Here are some of the adventures this summer allowed us to enjoy:
Walks at the Lake - We live a little over a block from the Lake but usually don't make it there much during the summer because we are always 'busy' doing other things. This year we stopped the excuses and have been averaging walks there at least twice a week. Usually it's just Charles and me that go since Jim is still working from home during the week and Johnathan has been sleeping in a lot. These times are a great bonding time for Charles and me. We talk, collect nature treasures (like feathers and rocks), and enjoy the peaceful walks. Charles enjoys creating kindness rocks and leaving them around the lake for others to find.
A Trip to New Jersey - One of the bans during this time is dogs are not able to be shipped on planes. With my mom operating a kennel this has been an issue for her. Therefore us 'kids' have been helping out driving the puppies to their new homes. At the end of May we left our boys with my parents and Jim and I took a trip to New Jersey to meet a family from New York City that had bought a puppy. We left on a Friday afternoon headed to a location in Pennsylvania that allowed a place to sleep with our puppy passenger. The following morning we were back on the road to head to New Jersey for the planned meeting stop. This was an interesting trip for us because at this time many places were still shutdown. Simple things that we usually took for granted became very noticeable. The rest stops that offered food and bathrooms were the most noticeable difference. Most the bathrooms were limited in the number of stalls available to use. The food vendors were allowed to only have one business open. This vendor also closed by 8:00 in the evening to allow for substantial cleaning now required. We made the mistake of driving too long and could not find any food places still open to eat. We had packed snacks for the trip but nothing substantial enough for a good meal. By shortly after 10:30 that evening we were lucky enough to find a McDonald's drive through that stayed open to 11:00 that night. That was some of the best tasting McDonald's we every had - Perhaps the fact we were starving made it taste that much better. The following day we arrived at our chosen meeting spot in the middle of a downpour. We had chosen a Home Depot since it was right off the interstate and we knew that they were open. Obviously many were happy they were open because the parking lot was full with customers pouring in and out of the store. We were happy to drop off the dog and get out of there quickly. On the way home we stopped in Ohio for another overnight stay. That night we enjoy our first meal inside a restaurant in two months. The following day we continued our journey home in much better weather and a much slower paced drive. (We never guessed that two months later we would be making a similar drive)
A Trip to Pennsylvania - In July we agreed to haul another puppy to it's new owner. This trip offered a new opportunity for us. We knew Johnathan would enjoy the trip but Charles was not looking forward to a long car ride. He was excited when he found out he had been invited to spend the weekend with his Pa John & Mary. This was a new experience for Charles as he would be spending his first overnight visit somewhere without either Mom & Dad or even his brother. (In the pass both boys had spent nights over at my parents but it was always together) While there was some nervousness as the reality of this set in Charles did awesome and is already planning more visits by himself.
As for Johnathan and us we hit the road at 2:00 am on a Saturday morning headed for a spot in Pennsylvania to deliver another puppy to it's new home. This trip was different then our previous one since more places were back open and we had a more options for stops and food. Johnathan loved this trip as he got to experience most of it from the front seat. He loved sitting by his dad taking in all the scenery (though many times it was through closed eyelids). I enjoyed the backseat while reading a good book, enjoying the countryside, and catching some naps also. After the dog was delivered we found ourselves only a short distance from Pocono Speedway. We decided to drive by and were pleasantly surprised when we discovered a practice road test of some cars on the track. That evening we ended up back in Ohio to once again enjoy the indoor seating at Quaker Steak & Lube. Back at our hotel that evening we enjoyed a relaxing evening as Jim worked on catching up on his lost sleep. Good reports from Pa John on the great time Charles was having made for a nice day. When we got up the nice morning it was back on the road to head back to Indiana to pick Charles up. We enjoyed a nice meal while Charles shared all the adventures he had while we were gone. We returned home late that even with more memories made and another puppy delivery completed.
Stay tuned for posts about our Summer Vacation Trip out West!!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment