A Different Life II

[Photobum]

That is a wonderful suggestion....

[Pagey]

I agree. Tilley hats are wonderful. I use mine extensively.

[Lily&Me]

I will look at Tilley hats.....thanks.

Lily and I had an uneventful, but rainy, drive to Pere Marquette State Park, and got settled into a first come, first serve site. It is beautiful and quiet here. I was here at least 50 years ago with my parents.....back in the days of canvas tents and the station wagon.

Limited signal and no TV, but that is okay. I have a flea market to visit on Friday, the area to explore......and, of course, plenty of crochet to do.

I can count on one hand the number of times I have sat down in a restaurant by myself since Doug died. It is just one of those things I don't want to do. But, I did today. Nothing fancy, but it was very good, I didn't prepare it and it was served by a cheerful, attentive waitress.

One of those small, local places, where everyone knows everyone else, babies are passed around, recent trips are discussed, grown kids are asked after, etc. Several comments, as well, on who belongs to the good-looking RV in the parking lot.

Nice.

Rain seems to be stopping, and Lily is anxious for a walk.


Maggie

[FCloud9]

Hi Maggie,
Noted you might be looking for a sun hat.
I have used my Slogger's Sun Hat for nearly 10 yrs. now and
it is super "Packable" and unrolled you would never guess it had been squished in my carry on,
pack pack or beach bag. Offers good UV protection and adjustable strap comes in handy when you stroll the lake front or beach shoreline and want the breeze to blow through your hair!

I was lucky enough to find mine off season at my local garden center on deep discount but they are reasonably priced in season.

Slogger's Women's Braided Sun Hat - Dark Brown UPF 50+
Product Code: 442DB
List Price: $24.99

[Englishgirl]

I have a tilly hat and its travelled the world with me I love it. It even has a secret pocket for when you are on the beach or walkabout you can stash a bit of cash or your credit card so no need to carry a bag...they are however quite pricey but totally worth every penny IMHO.


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[Lily&Me]

Thanks for the hat suggestions.....I'll see what I can find.



Maggie

[PaulnGina]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

Thanks, Page......me, too.

I'll be traveling west alone, but going into the wilderness with others.

Am looking at wide brimmed sun hats.....need something at least hand washable, with a strap, excellent UV protection, packable and would work for this (and other) trips in the Interstate....also Greece.

Kind of like what Solumbra has.....



Maggie

In your search for a hat, you might want to check out Cabela's:

Search Results : Cabela's

[Lily&Me]

Thanks for all the great suggestions!

When I have better signal , will do some serious looking and let y'all know what I decide on.

I bought one a number of years ago, that cooled my head about 20 degrees simply by putting it on, but it got a stain on it I could not get out.....ended up in the trash.

I am fair skinned and burn easily, even with SPF 50.....also am one of those that sweats cooking in my kitchen, regardless of temps.

I'll look at all these, and find something not too manly, not too frilly.....but just right.



Maggie

[Lily&Me]

The electric sites at Pere Marquette SP have filled up, and lots and lots of Class A's.

A really lovely campground, but that it had consistent wifi and phone signal. As long as my kids know where I am. I can live without it, but I don't like to.

Lily had 4 good walks yesterday, and the empty tent area gives her a spot to run her legs off. Lots of squirrels to chase, too. We had a very laid back and relaxing day.

I had in my head that the Riverside Flea Market in Grafton is Friday and Saturday....it is Saturday and Sunday. Would have checked it online, but wifi signal was so poor I could hardly connect all day yesterday.

Up for a couple of hours, coffee consumed, Lily walked and her business taken care of, we left our site shortly after 7am, to be sure we got a place to park.

Plenty of places to park, as we nearly have the town to ourselves. There is a decent wifi signal here and some interesting places to poke around in, tho, so am going to do that today and come back for the flea market tomorrow.

I am pleased to see river ferries here.....one just south of the park entrance, and another in Grafton. We always loved to take ferries, and would drive out of our way to get to one, if necessary. I want to go home up the other side of the river, so that will be easy enough.

Another first.

The fall-ish cold weather seems to have passed, sunny and warm today.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!



Maggie

[Meeks]

Hi Maggie,

I saw your thread today and browsed your wonderful entries of the last couple of weeks. You are a wonderful writer. I appreciate the honest sharing of your life as you adjust as well as you can to the loss of your husband.

I am consistently amazed at the strength of one's heart when we do our best to be open to learning and opening to ourselves and others. It's not easy to do but is ultimately a wonderful way to feel as much as possible and to stay emotionally and spiritually intact.

Thanks again for sharing your journey.

Take care,
Chris

[Lily&Me]

Thank you for the kind words, Chris.

I am having AirForums withdrawal.

Why is it I can connect, albeit slowly, thru google but not at all thru Safari?


Maggie

[Lily&Me]

Hmmm.....can get right in using the AirForums app, too. Just not Safari.

I always use a bookmark on Safari, and like the format it comes up in.....

Note to self.

Back to the Flea Market today.


Maggie

[Lily&Me]

The Riverside Flea Market in Grafton is nice, but small in scale if one has ever been to one of those that takes hours to get thru.......still fun to peruse, visit with vendors and listen to music.....old Don Mclean, Elton John, Johnny Cash, Jimmy Buffet.

My children will be happy to know I did not purchase another piece of cast iron, for them to dispense with when I am gone, and I didn't even see anything that called to me. Did find a small piece of purple glass to put on the shelf in my front window, and some really excellent, very reasonably priced summer sausage from one of those local places that makes it very lean. Grandson Caleb can eat that til you stop him.

Poked around Grafton and Alton a bit.......Lewis & Clark country, both lovely old river towns with brick and stone structures that appear to date from pre-Civil War and riverboat days. Sentinels to the past. Love it.

The Mississippi river holds a special place in my heart, as my 3rd great-grandparents, their 3 small children and her widowed mother traveled in 1806 from Grainger County, TN, down the Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers to Natchez, MS.

On three flatboats, lashed together, carrying the family, their livestock, and all worldly possessions.....the women poling the flatboats and the men standing guard with rifles. Settling into what were then the wilds of the Mississippi Territory, and beginning in 1808 a house that took 10 years to build......but is still standing and continuously lived in until just recently.

Up for sale, I was able to go inside of this house for the first time in January. Much of it still original, it was an almost spiritual experience. My great-grandmother and her father were both born and raised in that house, which withstood Grierson's raids......who stole everything edible they could carry.....and many ancestors are buried in the cemetery on the hill behind this house. Deep, deep, Mississippi roots.

The Grafton area would be spectacular in the fall, even in winter as bald eagles escape the frozen over north and do their fishing and hatching of offspring on the rocky bluffs down here. The grands would love it. I may have to come back.

Going to ferry back across the river tomorrow....because, why not....and head home up the Missouri side.


Maggie




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[DIR1]

Hi Maggie!!! sounds like you're having a grand time!!! Yes, I have that cast iron issue myself... love the stuff!!! keep having fun!!! ... hugs and love, gail

[DIR1]

Oh, and thank you so much for starting a new thread!!! I've missed you ... I just found this thread this morning... now I can tune in daily!!!... so glad you are there!!!!

[Lily&Me]

You're so sweet, Gail.

So glad my babbling is entertaining for some people.

Thinking about our mutual friend......where is she?



Maggie


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[Lily&Me]

Good that the AirForums app allows access when my bookmark on Safari will not.

Bad that there is no access to emoticons.

I love emoticons. Without them, I feel so.......expressionless.




Maggie


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[Paddledipper]

Maggie, you may have seen this but when I saw it I thought of you.

[Lily&Me]

I love it.

Thank you.


Maggie

[Lily&Me]

Only from a ferry can one take a picture of the middle of the Mississippi River.....from the drivers seat of their Interstate.

For those unfamiliar with the carved wooden critter in the well on the dash of the Interstate......that is a "moose with a happy face", carved specially for that spot by a woodcarver near Devils Tower.

The carver set a 3lb coffee can in that well, to guage size, carved up my request and then shipped him home to us....2009, I believe.

Those are Edisto shells around him.



Maggie