“Brings the symphony of crickets and the dance of fireflies in the evening air.” — Unknown.

We got to celebrate the 4th of July going to three seperate gatherings!

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Wouldn’t it have been a blast to have a bounce slide when we were kids.

We saw the fireworks in Pendleton where we use to live from our friends backyard.

Thanks to my cousins, friends and my former boss and her family, we had a grand 4th of July filled with delicious food and laughter.

On Sunday July 7th myself and my cousins.

You gotta have really strong triceps & biceps to do these stunts.

First there was one motorcycle, then there were two.

Clowns are the pegs on which the circus is hung. – P. T. Barnum
 Be a Clown. – Barnum & Bailey Circus:

It was a fun time seeing the circus, but I missed them not having animals.

I’ve been helping Warrens Corners Methodist Church get ready for their

It was from Friday July 12th to Saturday July 13th.

They have great helpers who set up the tables inside, the garage and outide for the sale. As well as people to work at the sale and people who pickup after the sale.

The Sale was a huge succes! I truly enjoy going to this church because of all the awesome people.

Everything was Excelente!

Lots of food and drinks that were delicioso, just like a mexicano restaurante.

Thanks Tasha for inviting us to the party it was magnífico seeing you and friends.

We went to CanalFest a large outdoor festival along the banks the Historic Erie Barge Canal. It is a 8-day festival that is shared by the Twin Cities of Tonawanda & North Tonawanda close to where we’re staying in Western New York. Our main reason for going was to see the Seneca Chief. It’s a replica of the original Seneca Chief that was the first boat to travel down the Erie Canal when it opened nearly 200 years ago in 1825. It is 73’ long, 12’6” wide, and it will weigh over 40 tons, rebuilding it has been a community project with 200 volunteers that came to the Buffalo Maritime Center at the Longshed to build and bring the Seneca Chief to life. This It has been under construction for four years and it came to Canalfest to show off!

The “Seneca Chief,” was built to celebrate the Bicentennial of the Erie Canal happening in October 2025. It will depart on the voyage from Buffalo to New York Harbor to commemorate the Bicentennial of Gov. DeWitt Clinton’s 1825 Inaugural Voyage. The Boat is central to the story of the Erie Canal and the history of New York State. One objective of the Erie Canal Boat Project is to work with the community to teach and preserve traditional boatbuilding skills. Another objective is to inspire awareness and conversations about how the Erie Canal has impacted the people and places of the state and the rest of the country.

The original “Seneca Chief,” with Gov. Dewitt Clinton on board, made the first Erie Canal trip on Oct. 26, 1825, travelling 4 mph and being pulled by mules traveling adjacent on towpaths.

Governor Clinton and his party boarded the packet boat Seneca Chief, with two wooden barrels of Lake Erie water, to begin the journey from Buffalo to New York City. Eight days later, Clinton ceremoniously emptied the water into the Atlantic Ocean to marry the waters as a symbol of the importance of this canal.

 The construction of the Erie Canal was a landmark civil engineering achievement in the early history of the United States. When built, the 363-mile (584 km) canal was the second-longest in the world (after the Grand Canal in China). Originally 40 feet wide and 4 feet deep, it is now 120 feet wide and 12 feet deep with 34 locks in its current 351 miles.

 A tremendous success, the waterway accelerated settlement of western New York, Ohio, Indiana, and the upper Midwest including the founding of hundreds of towns such as Clinton, in DeWitt County, Illinois, and DeWitt, in Clinton County, Iowa.

On July 21st The church that Dave belonged to growing up in Swormville had their annual 175 church picnic. D It was a three day event. We met some friends who have been going to the picnic often. We were saying that on the first picnic they came in horse and buggy.

It was fun seeing friends there.

Dave went e-bike riding with friends.

He borrowed a friends e-bike to go for a 31 mile round trip. They on Cleveland street in Tonawanda and continued to Delaware Paark and then the Peace Brifge and back.

Unfortunately one of the guys got a flate along the way, but the issue was solved and they headed back to Cleveland street.

Dave enjoyed riding the e-bike. He said it was a work out becasue they did pedal often. And if they had regular bikes they would never driven 31 miles in the lenght of time they did. I’ve only driven an e-bike once for a very short time, it was defintely different and great for up hill. I’m not ready for an e-bike and I don’t think Dave is either.

“Make hay in May for you may never know what June is coming with and you may never know what July will present! When you see May, make hay!” ―Ernest Agyemang Yeboah

 Sabino Canyon is one of the most popular hiking and recreation areas in Southern Arizona. For more than a century, Tucsonans have made their way into the Catalina Foothills to picnic and play in the scenic canyon. What is nice is thar it is a National Forest, so if your old like us you can use your National Park Pass to get in at no cost.

On May 1st, we hiked on over to Sabino Canyon, Also known as An Oasis in the Desert. We have been to Sabino Canyon a few times last year and this year, as it’s a great spot for hiking and taking in the scenery.

Hiking on familiar roads and paths we’ve been on before.

Hiking now off the familiar path. Sabino Canyon is a unique place where there is mountains and water in the desert.

We noticed the nest above, is right inside a cactus’s branches. Ouch!! It’s the nest of a Cactus wrens, they are skilled at slipping through the sharp spines of cactus thickets, choosing to build nests and raise their young there.

On a hot day in Tucson, we did what Tucsonans do. Go for a hike and find the nearest water spot, take your shoes off and enjoy. It felt really good.

Sabino Canyon is located in the Santa Catalina Mountains in the Coronado National Forest. The Santa Catalina Mountains began forming 12 million years ago. There is evidence in pieces of pottery, or shards, and pit house foundations that the Hohokam people lived in the canyon between 300 and about 1400 AD.  With the Gadsden Purchase in 1854, Sabino Canyon became part of the United States.

In 1890, the Forest Preservation Act was passed by the United States Congress and in 1905 the Forest Service was created.

In 1938 two ladies relax in Sabino Canyon and in 1959 University of Arizona students are doing the same.

In 1992 two guys runnung across the top pf the dam and people swimming at the bottom of the dam in 2010.

Cars were allowed to drive up the canyon through the 1950s and 60s.

In 1978, the first shuttlebus service began in the canyon. Soon after cars were no longer allowed. Today, trams take Sabino Canyon visitors to the end of the road. In addition to riding the tram, people hike, bike, swim, and picnic in the Sabino Recreation Area.

A great hike at the canyon.

What a great way to end our hiking trip, with a stop at Little Anthony’s for a chocolate shake. We also had chicken fingers and fries. It was very good.

If you like the color pink, this is Little Anthony’s Pink Flamingo. All hitched up and ready to go.

Jennifer my sister and Doug her husband gave us a restaurant gift certificate forour anniversary in February and we used it at

It advertises Real Southern Smoked BBQ in Arizona.

We started out with a bottle of Vodka which Dave is pouring in our glasses, Actually it’s water.

Dave had a pulled pork sandwhich and fries. I had a Smoked Zucchini & Grilled Cauliflower Steak, which was cauliflower and zucchini grilled with roasted cherry tomatoes, onion, pepper and a bit of cheese then smoked in tomatoe-vinaigrette, It was really good! Who needs meat?

It was fun and the food was delicious! Thank you Jennifer & Doug.

How Exciting, Fat Willy’s restaurant at Voyager now has what is called “Wednesday Night Bar Bingo”

What the heck, me and a couple of my friends from Voyager have been going.

During the busy season Voyager has Tuesday night Bingo in the Ball Room. The place is big and it’s packed, with money prizes in the $300 & $400 range. We don’t go to that cause it’s well . . .boring.

On May 20th we left Voyager RV Resort to head back to Niagara County NY to see our families and friends.

Our first stop was

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Then

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And then

It took seven years, $13 million, and 43,226 tons of stainless steel to build the Gateway Arch. The Arch is 630 feet high, situated in St. Louis, Missouri. On June 2, 1987, it became listed as a National Historic landmark, being the world’s tallest arch and the tallest human-made monument in the western hemisphere. They say on a clear day you can see a 30-mile views over the St. Louis skyline and the Mississippi River. We didn’t go inside this time but maybe next time.

When we were staying at St. Louis we heard this very, very loud noise we thought it was from a factory we could see, but it was the cicadas! You know those bugs you’ve been hearing about on the radio & tv.

This spring marks the first time since Thomas Jefferson was president 221 years ago that periodical cicada Broods XIII and XIX will emerge in the U.S. at the same time. There could be as many as 60 billion cicadas in St. Louis city alone,” said Nicole Pruess, invertebrate keeper at the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House. Cicadas are the only insects capable of producing such a unique and loud sound. They can produce a call in excess of 120 decibels at close range. This is approaching the pain threshold of the human ear!

But. . . It might not be as bad for some people who might have an inkling to eat one, as cicadas are high in protein, fiber and minerals. Anything you can make with shrimp you can make with cicadas,” said Pruess, who said it’s best to collect them just after they emerge and have molted, so their exoskeleton is still soft. “I’m very excited to try it.” I know we’ll pass on that.

We also stayed in

This one “humanized deer” was close to where we stayed .

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Stayed overnight in Willoughby Ohio

We stayed at our friends Bill & Barb’s house.

Bill & Barb took us to a brand new ice cream parlor by them. Because of the location of Jojo’s I know it will do good and people will continue to keep coming back, I know I would. 😊🍦

Jojo’s is by Osborne Park a lakefront park located on the shore of Lake Erie in Willoughby. It has a great swimming pool that has really tall water slides, plus a lot of other amenities. The pool is huge, we could do our laps, me with a big noodle underneath my arms like I do at Voyager.

We truly enjoyed ourselves visiting our dear friends Barb & Bill. Thank you again for your time, hospitality and great memories. You guys are the Best. 🥰

May 25th arrived in North Tonawanda, NY , where we’re we staying until September.

One of my cousins had a Memorial Day Party

How many of you have tried Weber’s new mustard potato chips? Weber’s is a big name in mustard in Western NY. We all thought they were good.

It was a nice day so how about tossing water balloons at each other?

Only a few brave people joined in.

And then the heavy loaders came out . . .

We had a fun day and it was really nice to see some of our family.

Welcome

On June 3rd we helped our dear friends Beth & Fran move to Tennessee.

It didn’t take much time at all and they were loaded up and ready to go. We’re going to miss them not being in the area 😒, but we know for sure we’ll see them in our travels.

“If you’re brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello.” – Paulo Coehlo.

If by chance your planning a trip to The Canadian side or American side of Niagara Falls make sure you have the correct paper work to get you across both borders. It’s definitely better to see the Falls from the American side as you can see Horseshoe Falls (also known as the Canadian Falls) Which is definitely the largest falls. Nearly 90% of the Niagara River flows over these falls. Goat Island separates the Horseshoe Falls from the Bridal Veil Falls, which is on the American side. If it’s a nice day you have to take a ride on the Maid of the Mist.

June 4 th

Nestled in the corner of the Niagara Region just beyond Niagara Falls, the picturesque Niagara-on-the-Lake definitely has old town charm, you feel as though your walking thru a 19th century village. It’s only about a 20 minute drive from the Canidian falls. It has much history and is bordered on both sides by waterfront among lush gardens.  Wander along the streets and you discover boutiques, antique shops and bistros, wineries and even a horse drawn carriage or two.

My friend Marcia, from Tucson also was in the area, so we visited Niagara-On-The-Lake.

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Marcia & myself lived in the area so we both new about Niagara Home Bakery. The bakery was eatablished in the 1960s and has contiuned to make awesome bake goods. We just had to stop in and buy some sweet treats.

Niagara-on-the-Lake is also hot spot for film makers. In fact several popular movies and television shows have been filmed here such as Dead Zone, The Ref, The Old Feeling, When Michael Calls, Canadian Bacon, etc. and TV shows like, Kings of Napa.  Looking like a little village that’s straight out of a Christmas movie, it’s no coincidence that Niagara-On-The-Lake has been used several times as a location for Christmas movies. Including he Holiday Calendar, Christmas Inheritance and a few Hallmark movies as well.

the clock tower they have as been in different movies.

We went to Niagara on the Lake when I was little and I remember it looking like these pictures. So check it out in the winter too.

 Father’s Day, in the United States is the (third Sunday in June) to honour fathers. Credit for originating the holiday is generally given to Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, whose father, a Civil War veteran, raised her and her five siblings after their mother died in childbirth.

We all love our Dads, and miss them when their no longer here, you can have a father figure in your life that can be uncles, grandfathers, god fathers, elder brothers, family, friends, father’s of dogs, etc.

Someone you connect with on a emotional level. Actually there were two fathers there but lots of other “father’s” like Dave were there. It was a good time.

（づ￣3￣）づ╭❤️～（づ￣3￣）づ╭❤️～（づ￣3￣）づ╭❤️～（づ￣3￣）づ╭❤️～

I can’t believe that it’s the end of June already, and what have we been doing? You know when you get older you go back home because of doctor’s appointments, we’ve been doing such.

We would like to express our sincere concerns for our dear friends Bill, Mike, Mary and Jeff, and their families as they have been going thru their own specific health concerns. They are all brave, awesome individuals that are going thru a rough bout but will make it thru being stronger, confident while always being the priceless folks they are. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you.