Friday, August 15-The Pirates of Lewes-

Today we drove to Lewes, Delaware. I guess I never really thought too much about pirates in Delaware but today we learned that there were quite a few pirates roaming the coastal waters. At 1:30 there were 3 additional scurvy pirates trolling the Delaware Bay. It was Evie's nap time so she didn't quite get into the pirate fun but it was a beautiful day to cruise the canal out to the bay and there was lots of pirate action as the young pirates located the treasure. On our sail we passed a lightship and later we toured this retired ship. I didn't know that there were ships that often acted as lighthouses in some bays along the coast in areas that a lighthouse could not be built. They had a crew of about 7-14 men on duty for 30 days working 12 hour shifts each day keeping the light lit and using the foghorn in poor visibility. Our tour was very interesting.

August 14😎Dover, De

Early Wednesday morning Sara, Matt, Evelyn and I were on our way to visit Trish in Dover, Delaware. We met them on the other side of the Bay Bridge at the Chester River. We spent several hours riding their new jet skis and playing at the small sand beach there.

On Thursday we drove down to Rehoboth Beach for the day. The weather was perfect for the beach and some rides at Funland. Last night there was a concert on the green in front of the statehouse in downtown Dover. The band played music from the 1960-80s and was an eclectic mix of oldies, country and some I didn't recognize. We stayed until the kids were ready to go.

 

 

 

There was a concert on the green in front of the Dover Statehouse last night. The band played music from the 1960-80s, an eclectic mix of oldies, country and reggae. We stayed until the kids were ready to go.

 

Today we are driving back down to Lewes for a ride on a pirate ship. It should be lots of fun as the kids dress like pirates and we take the ship out for a sail.

August 3-9 ~Luke & Lily Visit Ohio

Trish, Chad, Luke & Lily spent last week here in Ohio.  We had a wonderful time and did a few things that we wanted to do when they were here in July but ran out of time for.  On Tuesday we went to Chilicothe for Tecumseh, the outdoor drama.  The weather was really about as perfect as you could ask for.  Luke really enjoyed it......Lily, not so much.  At one point Lily told Trish that she was ready to go back to the car.  That was before the first intermission.  She eventually fell asleep.  At one point both she and Pop Pop were dozing but the gunfire and canons kept Pop Pop Andy awake for most of the play.  The setting is what makes the play so enjoyable and you can almost imagine what it was like in the early 1800's.  On Wednesday we went to the Champaigne county fair to watch Logan race.  Andy and I must be good luck because he has won all 3 of the races that we have attended.  I had been pretty good about not eating many sweet desserts but that all came to a screeching halt as I loaded up with homemade ice cream, cinnamon rolls and the following day the buffet at Der Dutchman with a Graeter's ice cream cone to wash it all down!  Time to start jogging.  The kids and I spent some time in the creek with the seining net and managed to catch one crawdad and 3 little snails.  Luke and Lily took a spin on the little kayak before heading over to Springfield for Lexi's 1st birthday party.

Logan crossing the finish line, way out in front!

Eating in the buggy at the Der Dutchman

Ice cream at Graeter's

Kayaking fun in the creek

On Wednesday and Saturday we held our church backpack give-away.  Luke and Lily helped on Wednesday.  We gave out over 150 backpacks and school supplies.  We were pretty fortunate that we had several of our local businesses donate to this project to help defray the costs.  It is a wonderful outreach and most of the parents and children are extremely appreciative.  It is fun to watch the excitement in the little one's eyes as they pick out their backpack and get it filled with school supplies.  We even give them new socks and underwear to help them have a great beginning to their new school year.

Cathy Morgan and Barb Butler with the socks & underwear

It takes a village to raise a child.  Doing our part, one backpack at a time!

Next week Sara, Matt, Evie and I are going out to spend a few days with Trish and Evie wants to go to the beach.  And so does Mamaw!!  Pictures to follow.

Saturday, July 26 ~The Wilds~

Sara, Matt and Evie came up for the weekend and we finally made it to the Wilds.  It has changed a bit since I was there last.  We arrived around 11:30 after a late breakfast at Bob Evan's in Zanesville.  Our Open Air Tour wasn't scheduled to leave until 12:30 so we signed up for the Animal Encounters Program.  We saw an Eastern Screech Owl, an Opossum, a tortoise and a 2-toed sloth.  Evie really enjoyed it and even touched the opossum before we left.

Eastern Screech Owl

Virginia Oppusum

Cerval

Tortoise

Two-toed sloth

We boarded our bus at 12:30 and for the next 2 1/2 hours we rode through the pastures viewing some of the most critically endangered species on the planet and a few that have come back from the brink of near extinction.  It was getting rather warm towards the end of our tour so some of the animals were laying down but we had good views of most of the animals and a few even came up and stuck their noses in the bus.  If you haven't been to The Wilds it is certainly worth the hour and a half drive to Zanesville for a most unique experience.  They also offer horseback riding and ziplines.  You can find out more at their website www.thewilds.org

This is one of the closed air-conditioned buses, we did the open-air bus seen later in this post

Pe're David's deer at the swimming hole

Bactrian camels posing in the middle of the road

Bactrian camels have two humps like the letter B.  Dromedary camels like the ones at the zoo for camel rides are one-humped dromedary camels, think letter D

Persian Onager donkeys, native to Iraq and Iran

Sichuan Takins are probably my favorite animals at the Wilds. They can be found in the same dense bamboo forests as the Giant Panda. (Western China)  I believe they are in the goat family.

Another Pe're David's deer with itchy antlers

Prezwalski's Wild Horses

Fringe-earredOryx

another Fringe-earred Oryx

Grevy's Zebra

Banteng

Giraffe

one of two baby giraffes in the field

Southern White Rhino

Simitar Horned Oryx

Indochina Sika Deer

The Yurts on Nomad Ridge

Greater One-horned Asian Rhino