Beautiful Day for the Pool!

  John went for a walk after he got up this morning.  I slept in until almost 8:30!!  I must have been tired.  We had breakfast and then I made a phone call to Dr Rommel's office (dad's urologist) to figure out what to do about getting a stent put back in Dad.  I left a message.  I had also called yesterday, mixed the return call, but was told I would get a call back at the end of the day.  Didn't happen!  Then I called the nurses station on Dad's floor at Masonic Village to find out if his discharge orders from the hospital instructed him to make any follow up appts.   The nurse told me the urology office wanted to see him for a follow up after Aug 18.  We're all confused because of conflicting info and what we think is high priority to get a stent in Dad again.  Adding to the frustration is not getting a return phone call from Dr Rommel!  I called Bonnie to let her know what was going on.  Then about 11:00 we left for the pool.  It was a glorious, sunny day and the pool water was "just right!"  We drove back to Harvey to eat some lunch about 2:00 and then went back to the pool.  I did get a call from the urology office telling me that Dr Rommel was again informed that I needed to talk to him and that I should get a call this afternoon.  We'll see!  About 5:00 John challenged me to a round of miniature golf.  Actually he said, "Come on... I'm going to whoop you at a game of mini golf."................I beat him by 11 strokes!!  We went back to Harvey and decided to play some "Nerts" out on the picnic table.  Must be my day, because I whooped him again.  John grilled a steak for supper while I heated up some sides.  It all tasted very good and our bellies were full!  By now it was 8:30 and, guess what...I never got a call back from the urology office.  UGH!!  We were going to go to Dairy Queen for a Blizzard, but we talked ourselves out of it.  We watched TV and did some reading the rest of the evening.  Tomorrow morning we're getting Bennett and then Heather and Cooper will be joining us after all.  It should be a fun day!! 

Spending the Next 6 Days at Circle M in Millersville

   We plan on leaving for the CG about 10:00.  John got up early and started preparing Harvey for our trip.  He had turned on the refrigerator last night but because of how hot it was outside, it just didn't want to cool down.  Hooray... it was down to 32 degrees this morning!  He also took a bunch of loads of clothing and food up to Harvey in my childhood red express wagon before I ever got up.  What a guy... he works hard so I don't have to!  I got up about 8:15, dressed and went outside to water all the flower beds.  John was still wheeling stuff up to Harvey.  I had some breakfast, showered, and finished getting the last of my paraphernalia together.  Then I drove to Giant to get some gas points added to my rewards card.  Harvey soon needs a drink!  I got back about 10:00, we loaded the dog and took off.  We decided not to tow the Jeep since Millersville is so close.  The trip went great until we got close to the CG.  There was some road construction and the lined up opposing traffic blocked the sign for the CG, so John drove right past it.  I pulled in and registered while waiting for him to turn around and come back.  It didn't take him long to return.  We drove around the CG for about 20 minutes looking for just the right spot and we found it...C-2.  Easy to get into and a big shade tree...YAY!

Nice site, huh?!?  We get very little

   It took us just 45 minutes to pull in, level up, and set up.  And we just beat the rain.  We ARE getting good at this.  (of course, the site was pretty level to begin with which helps a lot!).  Then we decided to go to Lowe's to pick up a step stool.  Our automatic steps into Harvey stopped working the day we left the last CG :(. It started to pour and lightning just as we left the CG and the traffic was all backed up because of traffic lights that weren't working due to the storm.  But we managed to get there and find a stool that would work.  Then we drove just past the CG to check out "the corn wagon".  I've often heard people talk about it but I've never been there.  They have 3 huge wagon loads of corn that they sell for $2 a dozen!  They have some other produce, too.  I just might have to get some to freeze when we leave next week...I'm almost out of last year's.  We came back to the CG and had some leftovers for lunch.  The rain had stopped.  Got a call from my sister, Bonnie, about a doctor appt. for our dad with urology.  I'm actually already waiting for a call back from his doctor.  The CG has cable, so I'm watching "Top Gun" while I'm working on this blog... good movie!  John is taking a nap.  I got a text from Alexandra asking us if we were going to Trivia tonight at Mick's in Mt Joy.  I told her we were not because we are camping in Millersville.  Then it occurred to me that there is a Mick's on Columbia Ave not far from the CG.  I called to see if they, too, have Trivia tonight.  They do, so we will go there instead.  Alex and Todd are going to join us.  The restaurant was PACKED and it was so noisy you could hardly hear the questions.  We didn't do very well, but it was fun, I think.

Alex and Todd holding the picture round questions.
We had to identify the state flags.  I think we only
got 5 of them :(

During the evening Todd announced that he was going to be signing up for the Marines tomorrow.  He would like to get into the Military Police.  We are very proud of him as is Alexandra.  He said he probably wouldn't leave for Basic until next Feb or June.  We wish him much success!  By coincidence, just before we were ready to leave, my daughter, Michele, arrived with a girlfriend.  It was nice to chat with her a while.  We got back to the CG about 10:30.  John watched TV while I worked on my blog.  We went to bed about midnight. 

Time to Go

  We got up and had a leisurely breakfast.  Remember how I was so paranoid the whole time about filling up the tanks because we had no sewer hook-up.  Well, we had been so good and careful that John encouraged me to shower IN Harvey because he was afraid there wasn't enough water in the grey tank to help clean out the black water hose.  Go figure!!  John got everything cleaned up and put away outside and I worked inside and we were ready to roll right around 10:00...the time we were supposed to check out.  We drove over to the dump station, John went through the routine, we hooked up the Jeep and we were out of there.  I told John I wouldn't care if we never stayed in a state park again.  I just don't like the stress of not having a sewer hook-up.  I guess I must not be a real camper... I'm a "glamper".  We went through Harrisburg to get home and had no problem at all.  We were home by 12:00.  Our next trip is the end of July all the way in Millersville at Circle M, about 25 minutes from home.  There's a really neat indoor water park there.  We'll have Bennett overnight one night and the girls overnight one night.  We probably won't get to see Cooper because Heather still has her foot in a cast.  Stay tuned!

Our First Kayaking Adventure!

  After breakfast we talked about what we wanted to do today.  It was a beautiful morning, so we decided to go kayaking on the lake.  So we packed the beach bag and changed into our suits and headed down to the lake (just beside the pool).  Just after we paid for our kayaks John recognized a guy down by the water that he used to work with in Middletown at the base.  They talked a while and he asked him if he would take some pictures of our first kayaking for us.  He was happy to oblige.  It was quite an experience.  Right off the bat I had a terrible time getting my life jacket on correctly.  Then I had trouble getting into the boat because it kept moving away from the dock.  I almost choked the young man trying to help us!!  John kind of fell into the boat and off we went.  We couldn't seem to get our strokes in sync, so I just let John paddle. (I'm pretty smart, huh!?!). We only rented the kayak for an hour, so we couldn't go very far. (Thank goodness, cause my arms hurt already!). We were hoping to see the deer we saw the night before just on the edge of the lake when we were checking out the area to rent the kayak, but we didn't.  All in all, it wasn't so great, but now we can say we did it! 

 

How the heck do you put this thing on?

 

There, I think I've got it!

 

What the heck is she doing?  I'll tell you what I'm doing...
trying to get in this d_ _ _ boat.  The guy helping me
is lucky to still be alive!

 

Whew... finally in.  Do you think the guy helping
thinks I'm a crazy old lady.  I wish you could really
see the expression on his face!

 

See... it wasn't just me... John pretty much fell  into the boat!

 

We sure look like we know what were doing, huh?!?

Shy... don't tell...I just let John paddle while I went for a ride.

 


Look at all the pretty pedal boats in the background...
We probably should have rented one of  those instead!

From there we went to the pool for a few hours and it started to cloud over.  I didn't really want to leave, but John thought we should.  Just as we got to the exit it started to drizzle and by the time we got back to Harvey it was pouring.  He's a genius!!  It didn't last long, so we decided to clean up and drive into town to find a place to eat supper.  We checked the GPS for places in the area and a diner came up.  Well, the GPS took us to an alley with no diner in site.  We stopped and asked some women sitting outside an apartment bldg and they told us where it was, but it was already closed for the day.  I remembered passing a nice looking Italian restaurant on the way but we couldn't find it.  By now we were close to the Red Rabbit Drive-In, so we stopped there.  But after looking at the menu, we decided really hungry for that kind of food.  We left and continued our search.  There was a billboard across the road from Red Rabbit for The Ranch House and it was just off the exit, so we headed there. It was about 7:30 by now and our first clue should have been hat there was only one other car in the parking lot.  But we figured it was because of the time.  It looked nice enough when we walked in, so we stayed.  (They had a real nice looking dessert case!)  After we sat down we noticed a lot of flies on the ceiling and the bar area.  They were starting to visit our table, too.  I ordered a Ranch House burger and John got a roast beef dinner.  The food wasn't bad, actually my hamburger was very good, but the flies were just so annoying!!  Our waitress apologized about the flies and said they have tried everything to get rid of them with no success.  To say the least we were very anxious to get out of there.  When we got back to Harvey we started a fire, but I came in shortly after...I was hot... and worked on my blog.  John stayed out a bit but then came in, too.  We played Hand and Foot (I won) and kept checking on the fire and then put it out and went to bed.

Another Scorching Day at Little Buffalo

John got up about 7:30 and went down to the bath house to shower.  Remember... we don't have a sewer hook-up, so we have to conserve!  The girls and I woke up when he got back.  Dustin and Cathy arrive shortly thereafter and John made more pancakes and bacon.  Then the adults played Three Crowns (John won) while the girls shot foam doughnuts all over the inside of Harvey.  They had a great time.  We all got into our suits and "the kids" left for the pool about 10:15 only to find that the pool didn't open until 11:00!    John and I packed sandwiches and snacks for later at the picnic grove and "the kids" drove around awhile to kill time.  We met them at 11:00 and headed into the pool.  People just kept coming in and it was packed by 1:00!  No wonder... it was in the high 80's again and very humid.  We all had a great time in the pool and the water park! 

Isn't Ellie a cutie pie in her shark floatie!?!

 

Peek-a-Boo

 

Dustin and Cathy are just chillin and beatin the heat

 

The happy Schnee family

 


It was a fun day with the girls!

The Schnee boys

Emma and Ellie had fun crawling through the fountains...

...and running under the showers.

We were all getting hungry by 2:00, so John went back to Harvey to pick up the cooler.  We headed out to the picnic grove about 15 minutes later and waited for John to come back.  We ate our sandwiches, snacks and fruit and then went back inside.  It wasn't long before the pool was closed again for a "safety and water quality check".  They announced it would be closed for about a half an hour, so the younger Schnee family decided it was time to leave.  We said our good-byes, but John and I decided to stay.  And, guess what... John convinced me to go down the big slide.  I was right... it was scary, but fun.  I think I liked the small slide better!!  We didn't leave until about 6:00.  When we got back we showered had some leftovers for supper and played some cards.  Then I worked on my blog a bit and we went to bed.  We were both pretty tired after spending all that time at the pool. Ha ha.  Another wonderful day!!

 

Dustin, Cathy, and the Girls Joined Us Today!

  
John got up about 7:30 and Bennett and I got up about 8:00.  TW and Arlena joined us shortly after that.  John stirred up his famous chocolate chip/banana and blueberry pancakes and fried some bacon.  He tried to use the griddle from the gas grill, but that failed miserably, so he just cooked them in a frying pan as usual.  They were delicious!  We all played cards again (yes, Bennett helped, too) and then changed into our bathing suits.  I made sandwiches and packed up some chips and fruit for everyone to eat later outside the pool.  We decided to let the cooler in Harvey and get it later because it was very hot outside... in the high 80's!  We got to the pool about 11:30 and it wasn't too full.  But by 1:00 it was packed.  There must have been 400 people just IN the pool!  But we still had a great time in the pool and playing in the water park area.

Grandma and Bennett getting ready to run through the mushroom.

It was amazing how strong the wall of water was when
you went through...I was pretty water logged!!

I tried to convince Bennett to stand under the "dumping
bucket" with me, but he wanted no part of it.

Here it comes!

Grandma got dumped on!!

Bennett was all the pool with his "water wings".

  Dustin called to let us know they would be there about 2:00.  So John went back to Harvey to pick up the cooler and we all ate on a table in the picnic grove when he got back.  John went back into the pool and Dustin and crew arrived shortly after.  The rest of us joined them about 15 minutes later.  We all got in the pool and had a wonderful time.  It was fun to watch the girls swim all over and play chase with "Grandma the shark", and Bennett jumping into the waiting arms of mommy.

Look out, mommy!!

There she goes!

Bennett jumping in... looks like he has 2 sets of arms :)

  I went on the small slide with Emma.  Then Dustin and Cathy persuaded me to try the big slide.  The line was a bit long and by the time we got close they closed the pool for a "safety check", so we had to climb down.  I must admit that I was kind of relieved because I was a bit scared to go down!

 

I'm not sure what Dustin and Cathy were doing here!



Do I LOOK scared?!?!?

Emma and Ellie waiting to get back into the pool.



  TW, Arlena and Bennett decided to leave because they had to be in Mt Gretna for a musical show, The Little Mermaid at 7:00.  (It was a surprise for Arlena).  Just after they left an announcement came over the PA system that the pool would be closed for another 40 minutes due to "water quality" issues...SOMEONE HAD POOPED IN THE POOL!!  So we decided to leave, too.  Dustin and Cathy went over to check out the cabin and the rest of us changed and hung up all our wet stuff outside.  The girls played with a little gun that shoots flat, foam doughnuts while the adults played Catch Phrase outside Harvey.  We were getting hungry, so the men stayed outside to crank up the grill the girls all went inside.  We all snuck a half a doughnut that TW and Arlena had brought from Maple Doughnuts in York.  SHHH!  It was our little secret!  John and Dustin cooked chicken and hot dogs on the grill and I heated up mac and cheese and corn on the cob.  Cathy and Emma went outside, but Ellie stayed with me.  She was such a good little helper!!  Supper was very yummy!!  Then we started a fire so we could have s'mores later.  The adults played Tip of the Tongue and Phase Ten and the girls played with their gun again.  When it got too dark to see the cards we toasted marshmallows and made s'mores.

Cathy looks like a pro with that fork.  She also
looks very eager to eat the finished product!!

Emma is sure enjoying her s'more.
  One can tell by the way it's all her face... that is
the right way to eat it!!

  Dustin and Cathy left for their cabin about 10:00 and we all went in Harvey to get ready for bed.  We put a DVD in for the girls and we watched TV in our bedroom.

Kylie was enjoying the movie, too.

"Finding Nemo" still had their attention!

  They were still awake at 11:30, so we stopped the movie and all went to sleep.  It was another wonderful day!!  

Little Buffalo State Park, Here We Come!

 

  We picked up Harvey yesterday from the Moove-In storage in Manheim so we could load him up and start the fridge for our trip today.  We also had to put gas in Harvey... he was thirsty! 

WOW!!  Look at that...$.69 for a gallon of gas. 
John says I'm a genius getting $2.10 in gas points from Giant!

 

Not bad, huh, $17.46 for 25 gallons of gas!

We didn't get up super early this morning because we weren't in a big hurry to leave. Check-in is not until 3 pm.  We'll try to be on the road by 11:30 for the hour and 30 minute ride.  Even though it's a little longer, we're going to go thru Hershey instead of Harrisburg because of the traffic.  It was a bit harder to load this time because we're having family come to the park 2 of the 4 days.  I needed more supplies than normal.  But we were all packed up right on schedule and off we went.  We arrived at the CG right at 1:00 and had no problem finding our assigned site.  There was no gate to check in at... just drove into the CG and found your spot.  There was a tag hanging on a post with our name and the date of departure.  We could tell the site was a bit unlovely but had no idea just how much until we tried to level the rig!  It took us almost 1 & 1/2 hrs to get it right!!!  We were very proud of ourselves for not getting flustered and stressed.  (but you probably wouldn't have wanted to give us a gun at that point :). The CG was pretty empty when we got there, but by the time we were set-up it had gotten pretty full.  As a matter of fact, later that day it was completely full!  We were only one of 2 large motor homes.  Most were small 5th wheels, trailers and pop-ups.  Didn't really surprise us after trying to level Harvey.  There was also no sewer service (most State parks are like that).  There was a dump station but we weren't about to have to do that and then set-up again.  So, to say the least, I was pretty concerned and stressed about conserving water as to not overflow the grey water and black water tanks, especially with 2 families coming!!  We'll all just have to use the nearby bath house most of the time.  John finished setting up outside while I worked on the inside and made us a sandwich. Shortly after we were done, TW, Arlena, and Bennett arrived.  TW and Arlena are staying in a cabin just outside the CG while Bennett will be staying in Harvey with us.  I walked over to the cabin with them and we found it to be "bare bones" with a table and 4 chairs and 2 bunk beds (one with a full size bed on the bottom).  There was a ceiling fan in the bedroom but I had told them to bring a fan along.  It was rustic, but adequate for 1 night's stay.  About 4:00 we got our bathing suits on and drove to the pool that's across the main road to the CG and behind the lake.  It really is too far to walk and it would be all up hill on the way back.  You have to pay to get in...reg rates are $6 for adults, $5 for children and Seniors over 62, and kids under 42 inches are free.  If you are camping there it's $4.  The rates drop after 4:00 and it's free after 6:00.  The pool is quite large and has 2 sizes of water slides, several "mushrooms", and about a dozen different water fountains.  It's really neat!

The dumping buckets on the left and
the mushrooms on the right.

The fountains and showers were very fun!



  It was a bit overcast and the water was pretty cold, so we stayed just long enough to try to get our money's worth.  John, Arlena, and Bennett braved the water... Grandpa even went down the BIG waterslide.  I got in to my ankles and TW didn't get in at all, but we had fun!

There's Grandpa on the big slide.

There he goes!

There he comes!

Bennett loves to swim!

Going...

...Going...

...Gone!!

Bennett had lots of fun with Grandpa running
through the fountains!

Bennett jumped right in himself, too!

Daddy (TW) liked watching from the sidelines...



...and Mommy (Arlena) snuggling with her chilled little guy.

  When we got back it was supper time.  I brought a big dish of mac and cheese from home. So while that was baking, John grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and TW started a campfire.  After supper we played team "Up and Down the River" (the women won) and then toasted marshmallows and made "s'mores".  They are always so yummy!!

Bennett enjoying his new "favorite" light-up cup.

  TW and Arlena left for their cabin about 10:00 and we got Bennett ready for bed.  We put in a CD for him but I messed it up trying to make it play (John was showering at the bath house).  He looked tired anyway, so I told him it was time to go to sleep.  He fell asleep just minutes after his head hit the pillow!  John and I watched a little TV in bed then he read while I played Word Twist on our surface.  We turned out the lights about 11:30 or 12:00.  We have another busy day tomorrow when Dustin, Cathy and the girls join us after lunch.  We're so excited!!