relief at last!

Good morning.
I'm happy to report my back issues are improving dramatically!  :-)
I had been experiencing slow improvement, but yesterday, on the recommendation from a few customers, I went over to the mall to a small place called Chinese Massage. They apparently do a different type of massage than I've gotten before. They worked on my back for 20 minutes. Cost, $25. Afterwards, I felt pretty good, but wasn't sure if it would help, as I usually feel pretty good during the day. The real test would be how I felt in the morning.
Well,  I awoke this morning with some tightness, but no aching or tenderness. I'd say at least 50% better than yesterday.  :-)
My back actually feels somewhat normal this morning, besides the tightness, which I would assume is normal since I've been dealing with this thing for nearly 4 weeks. It'll probably take time for those muscles to loosen up. But I don't feel I have a knot in my back. I think they got that worked out finally.
So this morning, I'm cancelling my physical therapy appointments. That will save me some big bucks at $150 a session! And I plan on a few more massage sessions to get me back to 100% normal again.
That's one thing about my type of job. I see a lot of people during the day, and can get a lot of advice. With so many customers, a lot of them have been through similar issues and can share what worked for them.
I would never have thought about massage as a way to deal with my back, but they really worked on my back with a lot of different techniques.
I couldn't be happier!  :-)
And now, I must run as I've got a full day ahead of me.
Have a great weekend!

another back update

Good morning.
I've been sleeping a little better each day. I'm now even able to sleep a good part of the night on my left side. I'm still getting up with a very stiff sore back and still using the moist heat for that. But I feel I'm slowly getting better. I'm doing my exercises and stretches religiously, and think part of my soreness is from that. And I don't know if I'm sleeping better because my back is slowly getting better, or if I'm just getting use to the pain. But I'll keep it up, hoping I continue to improve enough before next Monday so I can cancel the physical therapy. If I'm not, I'll go like a good little patient.  :-)
And to show you how bad I want my back to get better, I didn't do one thing in the yard this past weekend, even though there was a lot I needed to do, and the weather wasn't bad. We did get some good walking in, as we continue to try and get more physical activity in our daily routine.
And since I couldn't work in the yard, I did get a good amount of cleaning done inside the house.
And now, time for another work week. It's looking so-so as of right now, but that could change.  :-)

back update and a time warp journey

Good afternoon..
To update you on my back issues.....
I slept okay without a muscle relaxer pill. I was able to sleep on my right side with no discomfort. But did get up with a very tight stiff back. 20 minutes with moist heat helped that.
Even though my back has been doing a bit better, my doctor has decided it wasn't good enough. So he ordered x-rays. I went in to a radiology clinic this morning, and they took about 10 from various positions. I was surprised to hear from my doctors office early this afternoon with the results. Good news, no major issues like a bulging disk or ruptured disk. Instead, it found an area causing muscle spasms. ( I could have told them that!)
So, my doctor has recommended physical therapy. 2 -3 times a week for a month. The office referred me to a place called Peak Performance. Sounds more like a place I'd take my car to but anyway, they called this afternoon to set up my schedule. My first appointment is next Monday, Oct. 1st.
I'm hoping my back gets better with self care before then, as I can't imagine what it's going to cost me. But at least I have options should my back remain the same.
And in other news.......
Last week, a customer came in for a haircut, and brought me some pics she ran across and thought I'd like to have them.
These pics were taken at a salon staff picnic way back in 1983. And the customer that brought them in use to be a receptionist at our other salon.
Yep! That's me in the red top, and Craig with his back to the camera.

I don't ever remember wearing shorts that short!

Craig again, with the sunglasses.  Somehow he managed to keep most of his hair.

I can only assume, we were checking out this guys belt buckle.

Craig again, playing volley ball. And apparently, 1983 was a good year for mustaches too!

I was all of 30 way back then. And much thinner, and with way more hair.
Oh to be young again!
Anyway, the rest of the day was mowing the yard, cleaning windows, and more laundry.
For dinner, Craig is making a home made Chicken sausage helper. He cooking some noodles, veggies and some Chicken sausage. Sounds good!

RV tech tip # 1567

Good afternoon.
Yes, an afternoon post.  :-)
I ended up getting out early on Saturday, as my last customer cancelled.  So since I got home early, I decided to get a job over with and cleaned the bathroom.
Later, after Craig got home, he fixed wet burritos for dinner.   :-)
This morning, I of course, cleaned the Salon, and back home, after we had our coffee and read the paper, I got to work on the new mo-ho entry handle.

It wasn't quite the same shape as the old one, and I can see in this pic, I've got it turned around. But anyway, I had to do some adjusting to the new handle before it would fit in the brackets.

The old handle on the right was notched, so I needed to do the same with the new one.
So after sawing and much filing, I got it to fit like a glove.   :-)

Looks pretty good doesn't it?
Then I installed Craig's new floor mats.  He liked the way the new ones fitted in the Kia, he ordered them for his Hyundai.

They even look better than the floor mats that came with the car. And if any of my northern readers want to check them out, he got them from Weather Tech.
And I didn't do one thing in the yard. First of all, it was cold. Only 57 out. Second, I'm not suppose to lift anything heavy, due to my back issues.  And speaking of my back, I slept until nearly 6 this morning. I appear to be getting better each day, although, I'm still waking quite stiff and tight. At least, I'm not aching as much.
But then, a new twist develops. I had a mild rash on my body this morning. Another allergic reaction? To the muscle relaxer? I've taken 5 of them so far. But now, I probably shouldn't take another one until I talk to my doctor tomorrow morning. So we'll see how I do tonight without one.
And for dinner, Craig is making pork and sauerkraut in the slow cooker.

Sorry I can't get a better pic, but Craig won't let me take the top off.  :-)
And now, while Craig is watching the Lions lose another game, I'm gonna play on the puter.  :-)

bit by bit a bit better

Good morning.
Finally, my back is improving. It's been a slow process, but day by day, I'm sleeping a little better, and the aching and stiffness, is slowly getting better. I can sleep on my right side just fine, and last night was able to sleep on my back also. And even on my left side, it doesn't ache as much. I still use the moist heat as I'm still a little stiff in the morning. But every thing seem to be slowly improving.    :-)
It's also been a fairly busy week in the salon, and I'm booked again for today.
We have gone full force into fall with temps in the upper 50's and scattered rain nearly every day. But that's okay. The doctor doesn't want me doing any lifting for awhile, so this will keep me indoors and out of my garden project.  :-)
And after much time, there was finally activity in the empty unit next to our Salon. A company that cuts concrete was there cutting a trench in the floor. I assume the new tenant is running water/sewer  lines for what ever layout they're going to have. It was over an hour of not hardly being able to talk to customers over the noise of the saw. But it will be nice having another tenant in our very empty mall.  :-)
And with that, time to get ready for work.
Have a great weekend!

back update

Good morning.
I went to the doctor yesterday afternoon. After my exam, he prescribed me 800mg Ibuprofen, and flexeril, a muscle relaxer. He also told me to continue my exercises and to restrict heavy lifting.
If my condition doesn't improve by Friday, I'm to let him know and he'll schedule me for a back x-ray.  
I was able to sleep all night in the bed. I did awake with a pretty stiff back and some aching this morning, but not as bad as before. We'll see how it goes.
As I awaited to go to the doctor, I cleaned and restocked the mo-ho for the next trip. Just 2 more before the season ends.  :-(
And I guess I'm done with the yard work for now, since that involves heavy lifting.
But here's the first bed I did with grass not starting to fill in.

And here's the start of another bed I was downsizing. The rest may have to wait until spring.

And now, time for another work week.

our trip to the reniassance festival

Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the Salon, as I do when we take our little trips.
This trip took us to Holly Recreation Area. A nice large campground nestled in a heavy wooded setting.
We arrived late on Friday, got us all set up, and headed out about 6 miles for KFC for dinner.  Love their chicken! back at the mo-ho, we ate and watched the news. Then an after dinner walk, and some TV before turning in.
I awoke Saturday morning around 4 with my back in knots and aching so bad, I got up, fired up the heating pad, got a wet towel, and slept off and on in the recliner. It took about 4 hrs and 2 heating sessions for my back to feel better.
We headed off to the Michigan Renaissance Festival, which was just a few miles down the road from our campground.
It was a beautiful sunny day with temps reaching into the low 70's.

This place is enormous! They have a permanent   medieval village built here.
There were numerous stages scattered through out the grounds amongst many shops and eateries.
And a huge variety of entertainment.

Yes, that is actually a person made up as a plant to scare the little children.

All kinds of people come to the festival. Many also dress up in period wear. Here's one with a walker!

We took a break between shows to grab some lunch at one of the outdoor cafe's.

They even have a jousting field. I took a few more pics, and they can be seen here.
By early afternoon, I was exhausted. I think the not sleeping well has been taking toll on me, so we left and went back to the mo-ho for a nap. The traffic at this point coming to the festival was insane! The traffic was backed up over 2 1/2 miles! Almost to the campground! It was already after 2 and the festival closes at 7 pm.
Back at the campground, I dozed in the recliner for about an hour, while Craig sat outside and read the paper.
With my second wind, we had planned to go back to the festival, but when we left the campground at 3:30, the traffic was still backed up as far as earlier. We decide it wasn't worth the wait to get back in and besides, it was getting pretty crowded when we left. I can't imagine what it would be like at this point. So, we went into the town of Holly, for a light dinner at the Broadstreet Station where we had their tasty patty melts.
Back at the mo-ho, we went for a nice long walk through the many campground loops. The campground was maybe 1/3 full. Then we  watched our Spartans on TV, as the Irish completely dismantled them. What a sad game.  :-(  They looked pitiful.
I decided to try and sleep in the recliner, since I wasn't sleeping in any bed very good. Home or mo-ho.
I actually slept pretty good, waking up with just some tightness but no aching and knotting.
Sunday, we ventured out to Proud Lake Recreation Area a short drive south of our current campground to check it out as that was going to be one of our last trips this year. We hadn't stayed at that park before, but picked it, as it's the closest park to Detroit where we will be taking in the Titanic Exhibit.
It's not much of a campground, but will suffice. We took a scenic drive back to Holly. The area near proud lake has many lakes and we saw some amazing mansions! Some areas looked like we were in Beverly Hills!
Back near the campground, we stopped at a nice sports bar with outdoor seating for a little lunch. I of course had chicken wings and Craig had Nachos. I chose a lemon pepper rub for the wings. It was really good!
Back at the campground, we read the paper, and went for another walk. This time, the campground was maybe 10% full. But this was Sunday afternoon, and most people leave on Sunday. A few showed up Sunday afternoon, but not many.
I slept again in the recliner, and again awoke with just some stiffness that was easily cured with a session of the heating pad. I was thinking maybe by sleeping in the recliner, my back would loosen up and return to normal. We arrived back home in the mid morning. Another safe, uneventful trip.  :-)
Since the forecast was for one more nice day before very fall like temps arrived, I took full advantage and worked on downsizing another flower bed. I'll try to remember to take some pics. The other area I did is already starting to 'green up' as the seed has started to germinate.
Craig spent the afternoon with his usual bookwork and laundry. For dinner I cooked pork steaks on the grill, and Craig made a pasta salad.
I decided to try and sleep in  the bed, as i hoped the 2 days with no knotting and aching meant my back was doing better.
This morning.......
I awoke around 1:30 with my back starting to tighten up and starting to ache. Damn! It wasn't any better! So up I got and spent the rest of the night in the recliner, where I actually slept pretty good. But now, I've decided, this is it. I'm going to a doctor. There's something going on that is not apparently fixable with exercise, yoga, or chiropractor, as I'm just the same as I've been for the last nearly 3 weeks.
The crazy thing about all this is once I'm up, and do my moist heat, I'm good for the rest of the day. No aching, no pain, no discomfort. But there's something about lying horizontal, that's causing my back to knot up and ache, and I need to find out what. So as soon as my doctor's office opens up, I'm making an appointment.
And with that, time for my shower.

We're back! again

Good morning.
By the time most of you read this, we'll be home.  :-)
 I mean, back home from our latest trip.
I'll fill you in on the details when I can.

back update

Good morning.
It's been a busy week at the Salon and even today, I have to be there at 7am this morning.
My back issues are just not getting better, so I've broke down and started seeing a Chiropractor. After 2 adjustments, not much change. But I've gone so long with it messed up, it will take a while to undo all that. At least I'm pain free during the day. I get up, it's aching and stiff, I put moist heat for about half an hour. That seems to loosen it up so the aching stops, and it's just a little stiff after that. But I'm able to do everything during the day, so I might be looking at getting a new mattress also. I'll see how I'm doing after about a week of Chiro adjustments.
We are currently getting some much needed rain, buit the weekend is looking nice. Sunny and low 70's. And since I've got such an early day today, I gotta get going.
have a great weekend!

another weekend gone

Good morning.
It was another beautiful day yesterday.  :-)
 We started off with a nice walk.

This one again took us by the Lansing mall, but we started behind our Salon which is in a strip mall at the black arrow. Not quite as long of a walk as Sunday, but a walk nonetheless.  :-)
Back home, I washed the mo-ho, Kia and Boston (Craig's name for the Hyundai) While Craig did bookwork. Then we mowed the yard. My back was feeling good.
Until this morning,. Again. I'll continue my exercises for the rest of the week, and if it's not better by next Monday, I'll break down and go to a Chiropractor. If I can find a decent one.
Maybe I'll try sleeping in the mo-ho. At least I'll know then if it's the bed.
And now it's time to get going for another busy work week.

A giant destroyer, and fire!

Good morning.
Another nice day yesterday.
I got going early, heading to the south side of town to get a new key for the Kia. I figured it's been about 4 weeks since the other one disappeared so it wasn't coming back.   :-) It took just over an hour to get there and back with the morning traffic. But they had one in stock, and cut it while I waited. Cost...$29.87. Of course, that was just for the key. If I wanted the transmitter thingy to lock and unlock the doors, that would be $160, plus $40 for the service dept. to reprogram it. I passed on another transmitter. I have one now and shouldn't need two.
Back home, after Craig got up, I made us coffee, and we were off. First to a garden center for grass seed, then the bank, P.O. and groceries.
Back home, I got working on my garden reducing project. With the area cleared, I now needed to fill,level and smooth the area for grass seed.

It took about 8 wheel barrel loads of compost to do the job. I have various compost piles way at the back of the yard, behind some arborvitaes in various stages of decomposition. . And while back at my compost piles, I discovered a woodchuck hole. We'd seen a young woodchuck in the yard. and I figured I'd trap him later this fall. But upon seeing the hole dug underneath one of my compost piles, I decided to get him now.

They have this product called the giant destroyer. They are basically little sticks that you insert a fuse into, light, and throw in the hole. You need a rock to cover the hole so the woodchuck can't get out, and then I used a shovel to add dirt around the hole to keep the fumes in. Upon ignition, the stick produces copious amounts of sulfur gas. It becomes basically a gas chamber. That little bastard won't eat any more of my yard.    }:-)

But something happened I didn't anticipate.
This compost pile is a fairly newer one, which means I've put a lot of dead grasses on this pile last fall.
The woodchuck apparently burrowed just under the bottom of the pile instead of into the ground. Smoke was coming up through the pile in various places as the gas was slowly escaping. I figured he'd still get enough gas to do him in and went about hauling more compost to the garden area. I decide to take a break and went inside the house. Very proud of myself, I told Craig to look out the window, that I gassed a woodchuck and he could see the smoke wafting across the back yard. He went and looked and yelled to me that there was fire. I ran out, grabbed the hose and dashed to the back of the yard. The heat of the combustion had caught the dead grasses on the top of the pile on fire! Flames were already 6ft high. I pressed the handle of the nozzle and aimed it at the fire. All of a sudden the pressure dropped, I yelled to Craig "I've got no pressure, there's a kink in the hose!" He frantically looked for a kink and I yelled again, "there's still a kink in the hose!" He then realizes what he'd done. Trying to help me, as I grabbed the hose and ran, he went and turned on the water, not knowing I already had the water on. So you guessed it, he had actually turned the water off. He quickly turned it back on, and I was able to get the fire out. He came back and held the hose while I pulled apart the pile extinguishing any hot spots we found. Once all the smoke had cleared completely, I attached the sprinkler head and sat it there to soak the pile real good.
And after all that, it was definitely time for a cocktail break.
 I then finished up the new to be grass area. Smoothed the soil, and spread the grass seed. Now I'll need to keep it moist until the grass germinates.

I still haven't received the new acrylic handle for the mo-ho. It's been a week today that I ordered it. But I've been checking online and it took 2 days to charge my credit card, and I finally got an e-mail yesterday that it's been shipped. I've also been checking my credit card online daily to make sure of no hanky-panky. I do this when I order from a company I've never dealt with before. You never really know if they're legit. There's really only so many things to check about a company. I always make sure they have a physical address listed and a phone number. And I cross check with a couple of search engines for verification.
You can't be too safe.  :-)
And I think after 2 days lugging around dirt, plants and patio blocks, I'm going to try and take it easy today. I'm still doing wet, warm compresses in the morning for my back, although it doesn't seem as achy in the morning as it's been, even despite all the work I've been doing. I am doing back exercises and also some yoga positions a friend e-mailed me to try.
And with that, time to get going.

garden removal, continued

Good morning.
Despite working in the yard for most of the day, my back this morning wasn't as stiff and achy as yesterday. Maybe it's finally getting better. I hope.
After I got Craig up, made our coffee and went for a approximately 3 1/2 mile walk. The area where our Salon is, is called Delta township. Basically a suburb of Lansing. They are working on making it a walkable township and have been putting in numerous pathways. The one we took yesterday went from the Lansing Mall almost all the way to the highway. We took the Creyts to Canal section last week.

Looking at the map, we started behind the mall where the arrow is, followed the path through that green space called Sharp park and it winded between neighborhoods over to Creyts Rd. Instead of following the same path back, we took sidewalks up to Saginaw St.  and back to the mall.
And while walking, we spotted this...

It was a doe and a fawn grazing next to the path. If you look closely at the left side of the pic above the map board, you'll see a guy standing there. He was that close to the deer, and they just ignored him. We stood there a few minutes watching, until some joggers came along and spooked them.
After our walk, we did a little shopping ,then back home where I continued to tackle the garden reduction.

Here is more of the bed cleared out.

I managed to save and replant everything I really wanted, and the rest, into the compost pile.

And finally, near the end of the day, the area cleaned out and re-edged.

A view from farther out in the yard.  I took out about a 4 x 15 foot section. Today, I hope to fill, level, and get the area reseeded. And maybe, start on another flower bed reduction. We'll see.  :-)
And here's a late summer look at the pond.

Now time to get going.

let me answer a few questions...

Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the Salon. My back issues continue. I wake up stiff and aching, use a warm wet compress for half an hour, and I'm pretty much fine the rest of the day. No aching, just a little bit of tightness and tenderness. I'm doing my normal stuff during the day with no problem. My back just tightens up during the night. I've started some back exercises to see if that will help.
To answer a few questions I've received......
    "Too bad you couldn't have done the thinning for your next plant sale..."
I couldn't put any of these plants from that bed I'm digging out in a plant sale because at the back of that bed was my huge satellite dish. I didn't like the bare dirt underneath it so I planted a ground cover and edged it with patio blocks. Well, over the years, it has spread under the patio blocks and nearly through out the entire bed. I wouldn't want to 'infect' any one's yard with the stuff. And I can't get rid of it because it spreads by underground roots. I don't mind it as long as I only plant large perennials that can over come it.
     "How old is your mattress?"
Replacing the mattress is something I'll consider if other options don't get my back better. But I had the same issues sleeping in the mo-ho, so I don't think it's the mattress.
     "I assume the fast track thingy is $30 more a person?"
The fast track program at Cedar point is $65 for one person, $60 for 2 people, $55 for 3people and so on, if your buying for a family. Individually, $65. And that's on top of your regular entry ticket. I think it's a lot too, but there were tons of people there willing to fork over the cash to 'cut' to the front of each ride. 
Oh, and 3 days after we arrived home, Cedar Point sent me am e-mail asking me to fill out a survey on my trip. Boy, did I give them an earful! Interested to see if they respond back.
 And it ended up being a good week in the Salon. I got out early enough Saturday to pick up a new shovel for my yard work. Broke the other one working on the flower bed removal which I plan to continue today. It's suppose to be nice and mild, partly sunny, and low 70's. Great weather for transplanting.  :-)
And here's a couple of things currently blooming gin the early fall garden....

Above, Japanese Anemone, and below Turtle head.

And just a few more bloom on my perennial Hibiscus.

And you can see below the linger affect on our dry hot summer...

My hostas all over the yard look pretty much like these.
Now I'm off to wake up Craig and get on with the day.

my poor back

Good morning.
It's been a fairly busy couple of days at work, and the rest of the week looks the same.
Weather has been nice. Mid 70's during the day, mid 50's at night. Looks to be a nice weekend.
My back still isn't right. It's better, but I'm still waking up with a stiff aching back and using a warm wet compress in the morning before it feels better. I'm fine all day, my back just tightens up during the night.  I may have to break down, get out the check book, and see a chiropractor.  :-\
Other than that, no other news to tell you. Another couple day of work, and then my weekend.
Have a great weekend!

a little bit of this and a little bit of that

Good morning.

Well I awoke stiff, sore and aching this morning. Not as bad as at first, but not near as good as yesterday morning. I'm going to attribute it to starting a major garden redesign. 
I have a huge garden that runs along the pond. It is mostly a wild garden right now as I've let many perennials self seed and multiply haphazardly. I liked it, but it's a lot of work trying to keep it weeded and I'm leaning more to defined plantings and less work. Soooo, I'm tearing out half of it, salvaging, and moving plants I want to keep and composting the rest.

As you can see, I've only just begun. I've dug out plants, moved and replanted plants and have started the new edging that will line the new bed. The rest will be re-grassed. I suspect all the digging and bending didn't help my still healing back. But I'm back to work the rest of the week, so hopefully, the back will get good enough to handle yard work this next weekend.

In other news.....
When we got home, while I was emptying the mo-ho, I grabbed the support handle as I was stepping into the mo-ho, and it snapped in half. I tried the RV Goop, but apparently it doesn't work on acrylic. So, I decide to order a new one. Every since we bought the mo-ho, the handle had numerous tiny fractures in it. It would be nice to have it looking new. I called Newmar to find they no longer have the clear acrylic, and have replaced it with a chrome one. I didn't want chrome as the handle lights up at night, so I went online to see if i could find an after market handle.

Sure enough, I found one. It won't have Newmar on it, but it will fit the brackets I have. And surprisingly, I could order just the acrylic piece and not the whole fixture. Should be here later this week.

And in some final thoughts on Cedar point.
Another reason we won't be going back is a new Cedar Point program called Fast Lane. For an extra $60 on top of the regular entrance fee, you can get a bracelet allowing you special access to the rides, basically, a separate line that takes you to the front of the line. No waiting to get on the rides, your next in line. Supposedly, they were to sell a limited number each day. While we waited nearly an hour to ride the Maverick, I counted no less than 100 people going through the Fast Lane. That means 100 people basically cut in front of us with Cedar Points blessing. Not to mention how much longer we had to wait because of that. And yes, we could have bought those too, but it just doesn't seem fair. And I know, life's not fair. There's always going to be the have's and the have not's. But do they need to be so blatant about it? Okay, I'm done crying about that.
Also while we were at the park waiting in a line, we struck up a conversation with a lady in front of us. She was on her 9th day in the park. I mean, I like rides too, but 9 days? And this was her 3rd time there this summer. And... she'd been to 6 other parks this summer. Now that's one coaster junkie! She lives for these rides. She even told us which car on each ride gave the best experience. And to top it off, she's 55. Obviously in better physical shape than us.  :-)
Okay, enough of this rambling. It's time to get ready for another work week.

fridge repair

Good morning.
Well, after a couple more moist heat sessions on my back, I'm really feeling good.  :-)
Slept all night last night with just some tightness this morning. Did another moist heat session and I'm good.
We started the day yesterday with a nice long walk at a newer park called Granger Meadows Park. It's right next to the Granger Landfill.  :-\
Granger needed more land to expand, and worked out an agreement with the township to add this park as a buffer between them and the city. It's really a nice big park with over 5 miles of hiking/biking trials with woods and lakes. They also have rent-able pavilions, baseball fields, soccer fields, inline skating, hockey ring and on and on. We did the mile loop through the woods. By the time we got going, it was mid 70's already and humid so the cool shade was nice. Then a little grocery shopping and out to lunch. We seldom eat out in Lansing, but because of the shorter trip, we thought this would extend the trip feeling.  It worked.  ;-) We went to a place called Reno's West. (yes, there's a Reno's east too). A large sports bar with a huge outdoor patio and the entire front of the building has garage door walls that they open in summer. Makes it feel like one big open air bar/restaurant. I had a tasty bacon olive burger and Craig had the turkey cheddar melt.
Back home, I filled the bird baths and the pond, it's still been quite dry and hotter than usual. I then repaired the fridge in the mo-ho.
On our trip, Craig opened the door on the fridge, and the bottom door shelf fell out. The shelf catch in the corner must have cracked and broke off.

So, I stuck the piece in the drawer for the rest of the trip and put the shelf one notch up.

So when we got home, I got out the RV Goop. This stuff works on just about everything. I put a generous amount on each part, let them 'rest' a few minutes, then pressed them together. Let it sit overnight, and this morning, when I went out to clean up the mo-ho, it was good to go and I put the shelf back in place.

And after this post, I was going to work in the yard until it was time to get Craig up, but as daylight came, so did rain. and it's looks to be raining for a few hours, so I guess I have time to do a little surfing.  See you later.

Cedar point Amusment park trip

Good morning.
We've returned from our latest trip which was to Cedar Point. 
Obviously, as no one new what campground pic was in my last post, not many have camped at the Cedar Point campground. They have 2 campgrounds at Cedar point. The newer one was filled, so we got stuck in the old wagon wheel campground where they pack you in like sardines.

We're the white mo-ho with the golden brown bottom. You barely had enough room for your slide-outs and awning.

We're just outside the park. A short walk to the entry gate.
We arrived on Friday late afternoon as it's nearly a 4 hour drive from Lansing. Cedar point sits on a peninsula in lake Erie, between Toledo and Cleveland in Ohio.

Since our tickets were for Saturday and Sunday, we had dinner at TGI Friday's in the Breakers Hotel on the beach also outside of the park.This is really a huge resort/amusement park with over 13 roller coasters besides numerous assorted rides and stage shows. They have a large hotel, a suites hotel, a marina, a camper village just outside the park, and 2 more hotels farther down the causeway.
We retired early since it was a long day, with working part of the day and then the long drive.

I got up early as usual the next morning, and went for a walk along the beach. We had great weather!
The park opens at 9am for people who stay at any of their resorts and 10am for regular ticket holders. That gives us the chance to ride the most popular rides before the park gets too busy. We managed to hit our 2 favorites before 10 am. The Raptor, and the Millennium Force. Then it was off to the Maverick before the lines got too long. Then we took the Sky Ride which runs from the middle of the park to the front.

We decide to take a break and have lunch at Famous Dave's which is just outside the park at the marina. We had tasty rib tips and a couple of drinks. We enjoyed the rides, but decided this would probably be our last trip to Cedar point. The rides were rougher than we remembered them. Maybe out bodies wern't liking the rides as much as our minds were.  :-)
So we got back in the park, rode the Blue Streak, then took the train to the back of the park and did the Skyhawk. Then it was time for a late afternoon snack and a show, so off to the Red Garter Saloon and Absolute Country. Not country fans, but a very entertaining show, and the chili dogs hit the spot.
Then we hit the Iron Dragon on the way to Max Air. At this point, we decided we'd had enough and headed back to the mo-ho to relax and recover. Craig's neck was sore and I was hurting. I'd had some back issues recently and these rides weren't helping it. We figured a good night's sleep was in order.
But I awoke at 3 am with my back all knotted up and just aching, no matter how I laid, so I got up took some Advil, and sat in the recliner. That seemed to help, and I dozed there for a couple of hours. Upon getting up, the back seemed a bit better, and I went for another walk. Back at the mo-ho, I got Craig up and we went for a coffee walk before returning to the park.
After some discussion, we decided we'd done enough. Our bodies weren't handling the rides well anymore. We didn't like waiting so long in the lines. The park was too crowded. It was too hot. There would be no one more day, we'd head home early. We admitted we're getting older. Things change. There's a reason we don't see many older people at Cedar Point. You get to the point physically, and/or mentally, it's just not as much fun as it use to be.
Oh well, life goes on. So we packed up and headed home, where a wet towel and heating pad hit the spot. Today, after 3 heating pad sessions, my back is pretty much back to normal.
And if you haven't seen enough pics, the rest are here.