tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14114489322168063582024-03-13T10:21:36.772-04:00RV Life On Wheels2004 Gulf Stream Endura, 2006 Jeep Liberty, 2006 Suzuki Burgman, Woodstock, Ontario. Boondocking below, just outside Borrego Springs, California!The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.comBlogger1792125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-77492834626780189652018-02-09T17:28:00.002-05:002018-02-09T17:28:49.512-05:00We are travelling again!So Rvlifeonwheels is back on wheels! We are now in a van with a travel trailer. Follow us on Instragram or Facebook. John & Judy HollingerThe Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-83648392016085489222015-07-14T19:39:00.001-04:002015-07-14T19:39:52.972-04:00Thank You Readers!<p> Wow... what a response to my Blog from last night... over 650 page views out of nowhere... Thanks for many nice comments in regards to my past Blogs. It is something I enjoyed doing.</p><p>I have had multiple requests already to continue on with some form of Blogging, built around our new life, and of course our great Grand Children. What a bunch they are turning into!</p><p>This will be taken into consideration. I will take a bit of time off, and then decide if I can continue under some different format. Never say never I guess...</p><p>Once again, thanks readers...we will see you in Blogland!</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-62695652093833767032015-07-13T18:30:00.001-04:002015-07-13T18:30:10.893-04:00Well, it has been a great ride!<p> Yesterday in the blog, I alluded to the fact that a lot has been happening this summer. Well, there sure has, and I am not quite sure where to start, but we will give it a go.</p><p>A couple weeks ago, Judy took on the task of arranging our out of Country Travel Insurance for this coming winter. Houston, we have a problem! On April 6, this year, I celebrated my 10th anniversary of living with a triple heart by-pass. The good news is my health is fantastic, and I have never really felt better. The bad news is, of course, the Insurance Companies don't really like me anymore. Judy and I paid about $1,500.00 last year for our Insurance, and the same Insurance companies want $5,000.00 this year for the same coverage. Hard to swallow in one bite! </p><p>In years to come, the Insurance will only get worse for us, as we age, and run into medical problems.</p><p>So, an executive decision had to be made about our future. We have been fulltiming for 6 years now, and have enjoyed every minute of it! However, it is coming to an end, as we decided to make the transition back to a more normal type of life, if you want to call it that. RVlifeonwheels will no longer be rolling down the highways and bi-ways of North America. </p><p>So John, you might ask... WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NOW? Well, as it turns out, we have been busy for a reason these past few weeks. Once Judy and I make a decision, there is no turning back... we only look forward, and get on with it! In the past couple weeks we have made arrangements for a nice unit in Lakeview Estates, in Woodstock. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/19482444548" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/506/19482444548_bec12f4dbd.jpg" id="blogsy-1436823912054.5144" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><p> We will enjoy a nice view of Lake Pittock in Town, as we sit out on the balcony of our unit. These units are very nice, 1,286 square feet, 2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, a nice storage room, with a full laundry service inside the unit, a big eat in kitchen, along with a big living room with a formal dining room attached. You get to control your central heating and air conditioning. We will be able to keep the Cruze snow free, as it will be in the underground parking, and we will be able to entertain our Grand Kids at the attached salt water swimming pool / sauna / whirlpool / gym facilities. Life will be good.</p><p>The only problem is at this point in time, we do not know if we will gain possession on August 1st or September 1st. Should know in the next couple days. </p><p>Now, hang on to your seat! We have sold our Gulf Stream Endura! This happened in just the last few days. It was very unexpected, but it happened. Judy and I are thrilled at the deal in place, and it is going to close this coming Thursday. Now, you may see our next problem! As we sell the Coach this Thursday, we do not have anywhere to live. Good thing they have some nice motels in Town. We will take up residence at the local Days Inn, until we are able to gain possession of the unit. </p><p>Judy is away this week, visiting with her Brother, so I have been in charge of packing up the Coach. Do you know how much stuff we had in here??? Hard to believe. However, I am almost there. I go to pick Judy up this coming Wednesday, and then sell the Coach on Thursday. Phew...</p><p>Now here is a happy type problem I guess. Judy and I do not even own a chair to put in the new digs. So, we have some serious shopping to do very soon, as we will totally equip our new home with all new furniture. I have been personally put in charge of arranging the Audio/visual components, which has been a burden, as I try to figure out what I (want/need/can get away with...) The new 55 inch Ultra High Definition Sets are very tempting and seem to be calling me... (Can you spell H-O-C-K-E-Y) Just researching new Audio Sound Bars with Sub-Woofers to provide the required sound. (Arrggg Arrggg...) Oh ya, I think we are going to get some real furniture too...</p><p>So there you go... what a change it will be for us. As I look back, it has been a blast. 6 years of RV travel around North America. What is not to like about that! I have to thank the love of my life, (Judy) for allowing me to fulfill a dream that we both made into a reality! We have no regrets whatsoever! I would recomend this lifestyle to anyone who has any sort of interest! Just do it! We did not have an end plan in place for transition back to normal life as we started this, it just worked out, as we knew it would. You deal with what is presented to you. </p><p>We both look forward to a new phase in our lives. One with a permanent home base. We will still travel, as we have benefit plans that provide out of country travel insurance whenever we need it! Just for a shorter period of time. We will learn to <strike>love</strike> like winter all over again, I guess... We will have to find some new snow tires! Hey, we are Canadians! We adjust! </p><p>Now for the sad news.... this will mark the end of my Blog, RVlifeonwheels... It has been a blast! As many of you know, I lost a bit of interest in the past couple of months, but spent the better part of the past 6 years doing a daily blog. I never dreamed it would be viewed as much as it was, but that is what social media does these days. We also have a nice written history of our 6 years on the road, complete with pictures. </p><p>I want to thank all the readers who kept me going over the years. You made it easy to continue. I will still follow blogs during my daily readings... just won't be writing anymore. </p><p>Over the 6 years, we have met many people, visited many places, and learned lots of different things. I have memories that I will never forget! For a matter of interest, the place I really enjoyed visiting the most of all the places we went to.... "Death Valley" What a place, and I hope to go back one day. </p><p>So, as I sign off, thanks again readers! It has been a blast!</p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-13858110234078543382015-07-12T19:40:00.001-04:002015-07-12T19:40:07.194-04:00Yippee! I am 4 Years Old!<p> Hard to believe, however Gwenny did turn four years old today! So, what else do you do on your birthday? You have a party of course!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/19457679260" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/307/19457679260_4547a807a2.jpg" id="blogsy-1436744100180.0208" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="399" height="299"></a></div><p> Gwenny is opening one of the gifts she received this afternoon, with Charlie keeping a close eye on his Sister!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/19023111454" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3754/19023111454_b60b97235b.jpg" id="blogsy-1436744100173.2156" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="301"></a></div><p> The other day I stopped by, and played a board game with her...she loves doing this.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/19023120814" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/336/19023120814_f093314ba5_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1436744100173.8782" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="399" height="533"></a></div><p> Gwenny has certainly turned into a very delightful young girl. Hard to believe she was born four years ago, and this September she will be starting full day kindergarten.</p><p>This summer has turned into a very busy me for Judy and I and I hope to bring you all up to date tomorrow!</p><p>Till tomorrow!</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-33762558367227353962015-06-23T18:55:00.001-04:002015-06-23T19:02:12.622-04:00Wow... he found his keyboard again!<p> Yes, I admit, I have been lax on the blogging lately, but enjoying this great start to summer none the less. This past weekend, Judy and I made a trip in the motorhome over to north of Whitby, to visit her Brother, Howard, and Wife, Teri, who were very gracious, and put on a fantastic Family Reunion for Judy's side of the Family! They had a terrific turnout, and more food of course than anyone could ask for!</p><p>It was great to get caught up with all in the Family....no pun intended! As great as the reunion was, the weather tried to match, and turned out just perfect so we could all spend the time outside.</p><p>I took some pictures, but as it turned out, most of them were of the kids at the reunion.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18880894219" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/530/18880894219_229217935e.jpg" id="blogsy-1435100388917.54" class="aligncenter" width="404" height="303" alt=""></a></div><p> We had the RV real handy and it worked nice as as base to work out of...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18446405213" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/413/18446405213_28e7631893.jpg" id="blogsy-1435100388866.7246" class="aligncenter" width="400" height="300" alt=""></a></div><p> That is Howard's and Teri's Bounder parked behind us...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18446366113" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/436/18446366113_f29b47b0df.jpg" id="blogsy-1435100388939.4192" class="aligncenter" width="395" height="296" alt=""></a></div><p> Getting your five Grands to look at the camera and smile all at once is like hearding cats! Sure was nice to have all of them there!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/19067041495" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/413/19067041495_87139ac7c7.jpg" id="blogsy-1435100388959.1306" class="aligncenter" width="393" height="295" alt=""></a></div><p> That is Chris above, loading into Howard's old Desoto, as they got ready to take all the kids for a ride!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18879317440" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/261/18879317440_5f50b0010a.jpg" id="blogsy-1435100388963.3562" class="aligncenter" width="401" height="300" alt=""></a></div><p> Charlie was right into riding in the old cars!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/19040768296" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/280/19040768296_5552396ba9.jpg" id="blogsy-1435100388923.9182" class="aligncenter" width="402" height="302" alt=""></a></div><p> That is Emmie front and centre hamming it up in the Model T.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18879248460" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/346/18879248460_a3693c8a2e.jpg" id="blogsy-1435100388890.7615" class="aligncenter" width="400" height="300" alt=""></a></div><p> Teri had all the kids loaded into the old convert! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/19061458542" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/333/19061458542_7329a3bec7_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1435100388888.7097" class="aligncenter" width="398" height="532" alt=""></a></div><p> All I had to do was show Paige my iPhone and she was striking the pose!!!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/19067072365" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/368/19067072365_f206ce594d.jpg" id="blogsy-1435100388965.0742" class="aligncenter" width="407" height="367" alt=""></a></div><p> Even the humming birds showed up for the party... These are just a small sampling of pics, and I am waiting for some more to arrive! </p><p>Sure turned into a great reunion, and Fathers Day! Spent all my time just taking it all in and enjoying!</p><p>Till the next time...</p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-67292716863924762682015-06-09T19:04:00.001-04:002015-06-09T19:04:54.783-04:00A day at Canada's Wonderland...<p> Last Sunday, Judy got a chance to spend the day with Chris and Kristina along with all the kids, as they travelled over to Canada's Wonderland, up near Maple, Ontario. </p><p>Chris' work provides them with free tickets each year for all to enjoy, so why not. I had other things on the go, so could not attend, but I did get to see a the pics of a great day!</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Aerial_Canadas_Wonderland_May_2011.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Aerial_Canadas_Wonderland_May_2011.jpg" id="blogsy-1433891034304.7307" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="386" height="290"></a></div><p> This is one massive playground, and has been around for a few years now. It is always busy, and they keep improving the Park by adding new rides every year.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://onsitefirstaid.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/canada_wonderland_behemoth.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://onsitefirstaid.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/canada_wonderland_behemoth.jpg?w=352" id="blogsy-1433891034260.3901" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="352" height="262"></a></div><p> So here are a bunch of pics of a great day...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18033144533" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8854/18033144533_8f67f3ed1b.jpg" id="blogsy-1433891034226.0977" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18031420254" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/437/18031420254_fb75342596_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1433891034250.0781" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="537"></a></div><p> I loved the great shot of the back of Gwenny's head in the pic above...lol.... typical 3 year old!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18656145911" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8859/18656145911_cc30c2e618.jpg" id="blogsy-1433891034230.9717" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="404" height="265"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18649228842" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8839/18649228842_26429fa266.jpg" id="blogsy-1433891034304.8477" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="399" height="346"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18033270873" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8894/18033270873_fd3dacd947.jpg" id="blogsy-1433891034279.4182" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="408" height="320"></a></div><p> The Swan ride is always a popular one, and there was a big line up for it...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18653978105" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8834/18653978105_cf8428e9c0.jpg" id="blogsy-1433891034317.262" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="402" height="302"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18653981805" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/550/18653981805_f0def813c1.jpg" id="blogsy-1433891034282.0703" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18649299032" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8871/18649299032_7aec4d5086.jpg" id="blogsy-1433891034251.5042" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="359"></a></div><p> Chris looks like he had to squeez into this one!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18656285791" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/368/18656285791_bbcacd4515_z.jpg" id="blogsy-1433891034336.7026" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="398" height="404"></a></div><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18649427212" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/449/18649427212_e91c3c7517_z.jpg" id="blogsy-1433891034281.4197" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="411"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18649478492" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/446/18649478492_1885cf4c5e_z.jpg" id="blogsy-1433891034327.6316" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="453"></a></div><p> It was a great day for the water park portion of the park...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18466410298" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8838/18466410298_a902091d6c.jpg" id="blogsy-1433891034277.367" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="406" height="304"></a></div><p> This picture pretty well sums up the day I would say... Gwenny was having a blast!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18031512594" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/404/18031512594_383e6a0f02.jpg" id="blogsy-1433891034340.4333" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="301"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18654269535" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/423/18654269535_a04afb189e.jpg" id="blogsy-1433891034293.7944" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="403" height="302"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18468089039" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/479/18468089039_6d30f85d8a.jpg" id="blogsy-1433891034268.77" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="405" height="304"></a></div><p> Yes, Lois was at the Park as well, but I think they only thing she got to ride was her Buggy!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18033614913" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/278/18033614913_3b024c1641.jpg" id="blogsy-1433891034331.199" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="396" height="297"></a></div><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18649610942" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8852/18649610942_4a5554747d.jpg" id="blogsy-1433891034315.3333" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="399" height="299"></a></div><p> Charlie loved his horse ride...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18649616282" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/463/18649616282_2c85442049.jpg" id="blogsy-1433891034271.987" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="402" height="302"></a></div><p> Leave it to Gwenny to grab a piggy back ride!</p><p>Sure looks like a good time was had by all...they were there all day!</p><p>Till tomorrow...</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-79412118192140206382015-06-06T16:52:00.001-04:002015-06-06T16:52:36.740-04:00Touch a Truck!<p> The Town of Woodstock does some pretty neat stuff... today was the 2nd annual "Touch a Truck" Program. This is a great opportunity for little kids, and well, maybe some big ones too, to check out a whole bunch of real neat vehicles. They had everything, from Fire Trucks, to Police Cars, to City Busses, to....well, you name it, including Farm Machines, and Construction Equipment.</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18535607095" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8846/18535607095_55b07a1d3a.jpg" id="blogsy-1433623834754.174" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="402" height="302"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17912858104" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8854/17912858104_0f43b4ce4b.jpg" id="blogsy-1433623834738.1172" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="399" height="299"></a></div><p> Charlie right away, fell in love with this huge Ladder Truck from the Woodstock Fire Department. It was big!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18531167462" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/528/18531167462_9829788248.jpg" id="blogsy-1433623834717.0151" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="300"></a></div><p> What kid would not want to climb behind the wheel of this beast? </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18531180252" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/421/18531180252_535912f221.jpg" id="blogsy-1433623834682.2996" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="398" height="299"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18509210066" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8889/18509210066_c7009c3151.jpg" id="blogsy-1433623834732.0925" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="398" height="299"></a></div><p> We bought Charlie a toy Bobcat in Florida this year, he just wanted to take this real one for a spin!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18349448549" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/460/18349448549_f2df427994.jpg" id="blogsy-1433623834758.562" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="405" height="304"></a></div><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17912956354" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8836/17912956354_7d8585a12f.jpg" id="blogsy-1433623834763.3833" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="301"></a></div><p> The kids loved this construction equipment...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18509281866" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/357/18509281866_d8a25c0342.jpg" id="blogsy-1433623834775.9626" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="405" height="304"></a></div><p> Gwenny wants to go farming...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18347925758" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/273/18347925758_6f41637713.jpg" id="blogsy-1433623834706.6682" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="301"></a></div><p> It is a long climb up for Gwenny to catch up to Dad...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18349528569" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8837/18349528569_6f567bd786.jpg" id="blogsy-1433623834712.5789" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><p> Charlie liked the Ambulance, and the Para Medic tried to get his pulse, but Charlie's finger was a bit small.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18535761005" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/457/18535761005_77062afa2a.jpg" id="blogsy-1433623834722.7715" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="398" height="299"></a></div><p> Lots of fancy equipment in the Ambulance.... oh, ya, I have been in one of these for real... didn't seem like a lot of fun then...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18537709491" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8851/18537709491_81f0c8c148.jpg" id="blogsy-1433623834700.975" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="405" height="304"></a></div><p> Charlie was trying out the Woodstock Police Paddy Wagon... Bad Boy, Bad Boy...Whatcha going to do when they come for you....</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18348105230" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/295/18348105230_a1ac301093.jpg" id="blogsy-1433623834701.0955" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><p> Even had a couple of motorcycles for the kids to tryout... why not!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17915145913" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/301/17915145913_2a265a86d2.jpg" id="blogsy-1433623834755.4937" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="407" height="305"></a></div><p> Now check out the <strike>rubber </strike><strong>steel</strong> wheels on this tractor... wonder how old it is?</p><p>All I can say is the kids had a ball, and so did I. It was a lot of fun to pack into a morning...</p><p>Till tomorrow...</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-2513652999112399932015-06-05T16:07:00.001-04:002015-06-05T16:07:41.813-04:00Yard Works to the rescue...<p> The weather here has been fantastic, nice and warm, and bit of rain, and well, you know what that means. Everything that is green grows... I have been cutting the lawn on a regular basis around our RV, and trying to keep things trimmed up. That got a whole bunch easier today!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18311816880" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/349/18311816880_4edb6523e3.jpg" id="blogsy-1433534813399.4417" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="402" height="302"></a></div><p> My old electric wipper snipper had run it's course... just did not work any more, and the motor was kind of burned out from a bit of abuse around here. So, we picked up a nice new 10 inch Lawn Snipper made by Yard Works at Canadian Tire today, for the grand price of $79.00 on sale. The big advangage to this one is that it is cordless! Yippee!</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18311811240" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/326/18311811240_e703ac8457.jpg" id="blogsy-1433534813338.525" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="402" height="302"></a></div><p> This unit has a nice 18 Volt Lithium Ion Battery, which provides more than enough power to cut down our weeds and grass. It actually has more power than our old electric model, and no more pulling the stupid extension cord around the lot! What a bonus. This battery can power this unit for more than 20 minutes, which is way more than I need to trim up our yard. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18501384261" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/293/18501384261_5c9067420f.jpg" id="blogsy-1433534813401.9302" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="407" height="305"></a></div><p> Now that everything is all cleaned up and cut, guess I can kick back and enjoy the weekend! Bonus!</p><p>Till tomorrow...</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-9958780312471375762015-06-03T19:24:00.001-04:002015-06-03T19:24:56.801-04:00Remembering Uncle Art...<p> This past weekend, Judy and I picked my Mom up in Orillia, and made our way over to Mallory Town, which is a small Town near Brockville, Ontario. (East side of the Province)</p><p>A few weeks ago my Uncle Art passed away, just a couple weeks short of his 95th Birthday. What a great life he had!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18409371906" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8850/18409371906_2f517d8fdd.jpg" id="blogsy-1433373635545.2156" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="333"></a></div><p> This picture of him and my Mom, (they are Brother and Sister...) was taken a year ago. Mom will be 92 in August of this year... old age seems to run in their Family! </p><p>Uncle Art and my Aunt Eva had 11 children, 20 Grand Children, and 7 Great Grand Children! It was fantastic to meet up with them all at the Celebration of Life that was held on Sunday Afternoon. A very nice Service was conducted by one of the Grand Children, Kim, and her Husband Nathan. My Uncle was a Veteran from World War II and there was a large number of Military People in attendance. </p><p>He will be missed!</p><p>We drove back to Orillia on Monday, and determined that Mom was having issues with her computer. A decision was made to purchase a new one, to bring her right up to date with technology. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://thecoolgadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Acer-all-in-one-pc-Veriton-Z280G.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://thecoolgadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Acer-all-in-one-pc-Veriton-Z280G.jpg" id="blogsy-1433373635535.485" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="277"></a></div><p> Judy and I had to return to Woodstock Monday night, so we could take our Chevy Cruze to London on Tuesday morning for accident repairs from Nashville. We shopped in London, and found a real nice Acer all in One Computer. No more tower, everything is in the monitor. This is a real slick machine, with a 21 inch touch screen monitor that works great with Windows 8. </p><p>We drove back up to Orillia in our Rental Car....</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18437810471" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8840/18437810471_3cef14d371.jpg" id="blogsy-1433373635523.5613" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="300"></a></div><p> ...yup, you guessed it, a Chevy Cruze! Judy took a few hours and had the new machine all set up and running for Mom! What a great job she did. We installed a new edition of Print Master so Mom and do up her regular cards for the Church, and a number of other programs. With the big touch screen, it is working real good for Mom who has a bit of trouble with one of her eyes. Who says you can't run a computer when your 92! </p><p>Only took the body shop one day to do all the repairs to our car, and we picked it back up this afternoon looking like it just came from the Dealership Showroom! </p><p>Hey, don't forget folks, the Stanley Cup Finals start tonight... Chicago vs. Tampa. Go Tampa!</p><p>Till tomorrow...</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-66644057650728307102015-05-24T18:35:00.001-04:002015-05-24T22:50:50.132-04:00Hey, we are still hanging in there...<p> Amazing how fast the days continue to fly by... we have been kept busy for the past week or so, and this will continue into the future. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17869038158" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5468/17869038158_8f27a264c1.jpg" id="blogsy-1432521669305.814" class="aligncenter" width="405" height="304" alt=""></a></div><p> Last week 7 of us got together to have dinner at "The Mill" Restaurant in Cambridge. What a great spot, right on the Grand River, to enjoy an evening out. The supper was surperb! Did not stop there though...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18057006905" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8893/18057006905_ffc42abdc8.jpg" id="blogsy-1432521669291.7415" class="aligncenter" width="398" height="299" alt=""></a></div><p> We had a nice table overlooking the Grand... </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/04/72/9c/9c/dunfield-theatre-cambridge.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/04/72/9c/9c/dunfield-theatre-cambridge.jpg" id="blogsy-1432521669243.5066" class="aligncenter" width="442" height="293" alt=""></a></div><p> After dinner, we headed over to the new Theatre Building in Cambridge, it is only 2 years old... what a great theatre...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://d7kvuezhnzxmz.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/SPAMALOT-Title-Treatment-Color.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://d7kvuezhnzxmz.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/SPAMALOT-Title-Treatment-Color.jpg" id="blogsy-1432521669251.2173" class="aligncenter" width="448" height="248" alt=""></a></div><p> Gerard hooked us all up with tickets to watch Spamalot... what a performance, based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I never did see this movie, but the play was just crazy... we all enjoyed! Nothing better than local Theatre.</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18030388836" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8820/18030388836_932c834648.jpg" id="blogsy-1432521669334.6824" class="aligncenter" width="404" height="303" alt=""></a></div><p> I was also busy this past week hanging around with Lois, she continues to be the model that all babys should follow! I am thinking that Chris and Kristina lucked out with Lois as far as Baby Maintenance is concerned... she is really low maintenance! But, of course, I don't live there, and try and sleep there I guess, and miss all the late night feedings... but from my view, she is a keeper! (Oh... I also have severe allergies to changing baby diapers!)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17436270393" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8787/17436270393_f8ae0a054a.jpg" id="blogsy-1432521669322.8057" class="aligncenter" width="392" height="294" alt=""></a></div><p> Charlie also continues to do well, here he is enjoying dinner out at the RV last week... I took him over to watch some demolition going on up the road, and he just loved watching all the big digging machines destroy an old factory. Still can't post youtube videos yet on Blogsy, but maybe soon... as soon as they fix the problems.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/18030269696" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8882/18030269696_3dfd71a5bf.jpg" id="blogsy-1432521669259.2466" class="aligncenter" width="405" height="304" alt=""></a></div><p> Hard to believe, but this coming September, Gwenny will be attending Kindergarten! Last week Kristina took her over to the School for a dry run type of day, so the kids know what to expect. Gwenny loved it. They even took them for a ride on a school bus. Kristina reports that Gwenny did great, and that Mom did not even cry...</p><p>On Saturday, we attended a Celebration of Life for a Co- Worker of Judy's from Bracebridge, which was held in Penetang. Michelle was taken in a tragic accident way too soon in life at only 36 years of age. Hundreds of people attended the Celebration, we got to meet up with a lot of Friends we had not seen in a long time. Our thoughts and prayers are with Michelle's Family and many Friends and Co Workers Beaver Creek/ Fenbrook Institutions during a very difficult time.</p><p>As we were travelling this past weekend, we had the opportunity to spend the evening in the Allsiton area with good Friends, John and Pat! It was great to see them and get caught up... Pat, as always made sure we did not go away hungry, and John made sure we did not suffer from thirst! Had a great time! </p><p>Even got to stop on the way home today in Mount Forest, and stopped in to see Jim and Ruth, Friends from when we lived back in Mount Forest... eons ago it seems now... Had a great visit with them over coffee! </p><p>Till tomorrow...</p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-42028025572871937832015-05-18T18:45:00.001-04:002015-05-18T18:51:50.704-04:00Do you have a favourite ???<p> Recently I was reading an interesting article that I found on CNN's News App on the iPad. It was an article that declared the top 10 most scenic airports to land at in the World. This was published by "PrivateFly" which does this list annually. </p><p>This years overall winners are:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17836816761" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5338/17836816761_1fd2e48980_b.jpg" id="blogsy-1431989411638.3772" class="aligncenter" width="419" height="678" alt=""></a></div><p> The reason I post this, is the fact, that I have actually landed at 3 out of the 10 most scenic airports in the world! I didn't know... maybe I should try and close out the list... only seven more flights!</p><p>For business purposes, I have landed a few time at the Bill Bishop Airport in Toronto, formerly called Toronto's Island Airport. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17768755372" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7694/17768755372_c19acb1aab.jpg" id="blogsy-1431989411645.012" class="aligncenter" width="395" height="228" alt=""></a></div><p> Now, this is a real cool airport to come into... very scenic as you get an incredible view of the Downtown Toronto buildings. They do not fly jets into here...(yet...) and I came in on turbo prop planes from Sudbury. I think this airport deserves to be on the list.</p><p>I have also landed a couple times at St. Maarten's Airport. If you have not been here before, you have to go!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17583595958" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8813/17583595958_174d10c435.jpg" id="blogsy-1431989411651.3298" class="aligncenter" width="401" height="227" alt=""></a></div><p> When the planes come in here, it is like they are going to land on the beach. While in St. Maarten, we did take the opportunity to come and visit this beach one afternoon, as there is a great bar at the one end of it, and you can sit and watch the planes, about 10 minutes apart during the peak of the day. Being right on the beach is crazy when they pass above you, and we would not even go out there when the planes come out to take off, and blow the people on the beach right into the ocean with the jet blast... really!</p><p>However, my all time favourite Airport landing of all times, has to be on the Island of Saba!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17745104746" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8788/17745104746_a00219abe5.jpg" id="blogsy-1431989411671.0374" class="aligncenter" width="399" height="227" alt=""></a></div><p> The above picture shows you the whole Island, with the airport visible on the far right of the picture. What a landing! We took a turbo prop plane from St. Maarten, for the 15 minute flight over to Saba. When we came in for the landing, the wing was right against a cliff on the island... seemed like we were going to hit. They only will let the Pilot land the plane here... no Co-pilot landings! The take off is eqally as thrilling...they use every inch of the runway and once you leave the runway, the plane drops a bit towards the water, before it climbs up in the air! Phew.... As you can tell by looking, Saba is the top of a volcano, only about 5 miles wide, by 5 miles long... We came here to tour the Medical Facilities and University, where our son Shawn, took his Medical Training. The University is out of Boston, but has the Campus on Saba. What a neat tour that was. Will never forget it!</p><p>Hope everyone had a great weekend!</p><p>Till tomorrow....</p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-33705589498878292182015-05-16T19:12:00.001-04:002015-05-16T19:15:08.785-04:00A Rogers game breaker!<p> This blog may be of interest for anyone who travels down to the U.S.A. for any length of time any time of the year. This year when we arrived back into Ontario, I began to notice the battery on our iPhone 5 did not seem to be lasting near as long as it used to... Hate it when that happens. I decided to look into replacing the battery, which you can even try to do yourself, however I don't think I would try it. It was going to cost $50.00 and no real guarantee on the battery. I figured our 2 year plan was due very soon, so investigated that end of things... turns out it is due Aug. 2nd this summer. I phoned up Bell, and they wanted only $62.00 for an early upgrade fee. Hey maybe I might consider upgrading instead of buying a new battery!</p><p>Next, I decided to spend an afternoon checking out the other cell phone suppliers to see if any of their offerings had changed since 2 years ago when I looked into it. Tellus did not seem to have anything new, and their U.S. plans are terrible, even Bell was better. When I checked Rogers two years ago, they too did not have a good U.S. offering... however that has changed! I was surprised when I asked about U.S. plans, when they told me you can now "roam like at home"... Here is how it works. We have an unlimited phone plan in Canada, including texts, call answer, unlimited calling, you get the drift. We also had 10 Gig of data but wanted to upgrade this too. Need more! Under the new plan at Rogers, you can now pay a maximum of $50.00 a month, and you can use your cellphone and all your data just like you are in Canada!!!! This was a game breaker for us! We had been using Verizon as our supplier of internet in the U.S., but for some strange reason changed their policy so that we could not suspend our account for 6 months, like we always did for the summer while in Canada. They wanted us to continue paying full price! What???? Cancelled account, that fixed that! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.iphoneincanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/rogers-logo.png" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://cdn.iphoneincanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/rogers-logo.png" id="blogsy-1431818103050.2595" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="217" height="217"></a></div><p>So right away we decided after 45 years of being a Bell Customer, to switch to Rogers! They agreed to pay our early buyout on our iPhone 5 from Bell, and gave us addional $300.00 in credits just for coming over to Rogers! Perfect! Guess what I got?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://www.o2.co.uk/shop/homepage/images/shop15/brand/apple/iphone-6-plus/apple-iphone-6-plus-gold-gallery-img-1-bp3-011215.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://www.o2.co.uk/shop/homepage/images/shop15/brand/apple/iphone-6-plus/apple-iphone-6-plus-gold-gallery-img-1-bp3-011215.jpg" id="blogsy-1431818103046.8381" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="424" height="273"></a></div><p> Yup... a brand new iPhone 6 with 64 Gig of memory to boot! What a neat machine... I am impressed! Bigger than the 5, lighter than the 5, faster than the 5, you get the drift! This phone transfers data much faster than the 5 did, so using the internet on it is like trying to catch lightening...it is fast! I did not get the gold case you see above... I decided on the similiar black like my old 5. Very conservative Judy would say. Also updated our plan to 16 Gig of data to keep the wheels turning... Going to love just taking our phone to the U.S. and just carry on using it! Perfect!</p><p>Took my old iPhone 5 downtown and sold it to a guy in a phone shop, no problem... so with the sale of our old phone, and with Roger credits, we picked up our 6 at no real out of pocket expense... it is a $470.00 phone, on a two year plan. Retail value of the 6 is over $950.00... hope I don't lose it....</p><p>So, for the past couple days, I have been playing with the new phone getting used to it, and setting everything up the way I want it. Decided to stay with an Apple phone, as we still use our iPads a lot, so keep it all in the family. </p><p>Thanks to Rick, for letting me know about upload problems from youTube into Blogsy... as soon as they fix it I want to show you some slick new things you can do with the iPhone 6 and it's fancy cameras.</p><p>TTill tomorrow...</p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-45609008233085294552015-05-15T22:01:00.001-04:002015-05-15T22:01:34.914-04:00Happy Birthday Charlie!<p> Two years ago today, Charlie was born, and has never looked back! What a great day we enjoyed with him today to celebrate!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17081687174" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7782/17081687174_90e7310e3b.jpg" id="blogsy-1431741569401.7786" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="406" height="305"></a></div><p> We started off by taking Charlie and Gwenny over to our walking track, which also doubles as an indoor soccer field! The track is elevated above the field. The kids had a ball on the field with a bunch of other kids who come out just to kick around some balls for an hour... great exercise for them.</p><p>Took the kids over to McD's for a Happy Meal, and 45 minutes playing in the indoor playground. Everthing was indoors today, as it was a bit rainy and yucky out. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17677844016" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5326/17677844016_f4fc21bf3b.jpg" id="blogsy-1431741569385.8396" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="399" height="300"></a></div><p> Later this afternoon things got a move on, as we had a birthday party for Charlie...</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17081635014" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8847/17081635014_b9cae4f9bd.jpg" id="blogsy-1431741569426.7422" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="405" height="305"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17701721292" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8840/17701721292_31d4511223.jpg" id="blogsy-1431741569440.5735" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="407" height="407"></a></div><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17517970959" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7657/17517970959_97771a4999.jpg" id="blogsy-1431741569396.1663" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="403" height="303"></a></div><p> There was no shortage of gifts for him, and he just got right at it! Had a blast watching him!</p><p> I had a couple videos to put up, but just having problems with Blogsy tonight during the upload... will have to wait...</p><p>Till tomorrow...</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-81313874742239111632015-05-12T18:39:00.001-04:002015-05-12T18:39:39.103-04:00Lois has a big day...<p> Last Sunday young Lois celebrated her Baptism. Turned out to be a fantastic day all around, including great mid summer weather. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17386054949" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7717/17386054949_56fc5b49e6.jpg" id="blogsy-1431470345777.8855" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="404" height="303"></a></div><p> Chris and Kristina brought this fantastic cake to the Church but somehow everyone else beat me too it, and I didn't even get a crumb...sigh...</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16952065323" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5463/16952065323_c5f6b1e2a0_z.jpg" id="blogsy-1431470345764.3" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="399" height="509"></a></div><p> Judy and I got to help coral the big kids while Mom and Dad were busy with Lois! Look how big they are quickly growing... I know!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17567060485" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5337/17567060485_dfdfdc102b_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1431470345742.0676" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="394" height="526"></a></div><p> Amy and Jason flew in all the way from Edmonton, and stood in as the God Parents for young Lois! They are good friends of Chris and Kristina...it was great to see them, and they are expecting their own first bundle fo joy this coming August! Good luck!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17384651058" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7658/17384651058_9900cb8176.jpg" id="blogsy-1431470345747.935" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="395" height="296"></a></div><p> There were three babies Baptised in total, so it was a busy day. Chris' Brother, Kevin, and his Wife, Ramona, had their young son, Logan Baptised as well! Big day for the Family!</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17546218766" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title=""><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8691/17546218766_cd8f4d73dc.jpg" id="blogsy-1431470345756.8235" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="385" height="365"></a></div><p>Lois is named after her Great Grandmother, Lois, who you see above! Oh yes, that Baptism Gown that is being worn by Lois is over 104 years old! </p><p> A fantastic reception was held by Lois's Grandma Diane and Grampa David at their home... simply a great time, and no one went home hungry. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Till tomorrow...</p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-38935337095203148152015-05-08T18:37:00.001-04:002015-05-08T18:37:21.398-04:00No shortage of things to do...<p> Well, one thing we are doing for sure here in southern Ontario, is enjoying 30 + Deg. C. weather! What is going on... it is still ealy May! Check out the picture I took of the Control Screen in our Chevy Cruze this afternoon...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17431509602" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5449/17431509602_ea7d7deca4.jpg" id="blogsy-1431124415335.106" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="399" height="249"></a></div><p> It may not be totally in focus, but it is reporting 35 Degrees C. outside the car. We certainly had the air conditioning on, that is for sure! We are having record breaking temperatures, and we will take it!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16810984344" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5450/16810984344_8682de596d.jpg" id="blogsy-1431124415336.646" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="398" height="299"></a></div><p> Judy and I were in to do a bit of baby sitting for Kristina this morning, and I had time to cut the lawn for them... check out this nice rose coloured bush in the back yard, right in front of the fence we just built last weekend. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17247263219" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5323/17247263219_298372c78e.jpg" id="blogsy-1431124415348.8657" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="301"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17247271549" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5445/17247271549_2de35daf59.jpg" id="blogsy-1431124415306.0662" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="399" height="300"></a></div><p> The two pictures above are taken from a nice hiking trail we found in the south east section of London, while we were over there all day yesterday for Medical Appointments. We had a bit of time for a nice hike before stopping for lunch at Timmy's...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17247243469" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8768/17247243469_75e82255bd.jpg" id="blogsy-1431124415326.4807" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="284"></a></div><p> This morning we had a great time with the kids, and ended up taking them over to the local McDonald's Restaurant for Happy Meals... they simply loved it, and played at the indoor playground for over 1/2 an hour. It was too hot outside for the outdoor parks. There is A/C inside! :-)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17152157057" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7695/17152157057_55f26418b8.jpg" id="blogsy-1431124415316.642" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="404" height="303"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17172041250" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8878/17172041250_28e272271d.jpg" id="blogsy-1431124415317.8567" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="402" height="302"></a></div><p> This week we pulled the motorcycles out of hybernation, and you can see Judy taking the dust off of hers... took a real nice ride over to Paris, Ontario for another great hike. </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16727648083" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8872/16727648083_0c457cced0_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1431124415364.6064" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="398" height="532"></a></div><p> Judy has been getting her Lo Lo fix for the last few days... Lois, as you can tell, is getting ready for a big weekend. She will be Baptised this coming Sunday, Mother's Day! Will be fun!</p><p>Kristina was out picking up Friends Amy, and Jason this afternoon at the London Airport. They flew in from Alberta for the Baptism, where it was -1 Deg. this morning when they left, and over 30 deg. this afternoon when they thought they had landed in Mexico by mistake! </p><p>Till tomorrow...</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-13942131969184442652015-05-02T19:28:00.001-04:002015-05-02T19:28:38.111-04:00A building project to keep the skills up...<p> I don't know what is going on, but the weather here in south western Ontario is simply wonderful! We are getting temperatures up near 30 deg. C. here this weekend, and lots of sun and clear skies... what is going on? </p><p>Well, we will just take it, and found a job to do while we take it. Over the winter, which was long and hard here, the Kid's had 4 or 5 sections of a fence blow down that ajoined to a neighbours house. That was the first problem, the second was that there was now an 8 foot deep swimming pool exposed to the backyard, which is not good for the kids out playing! This had to be fixed and fixed soon!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17161652899" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8782/17161652899_c7c4e222b0.jpg" id="blogsy-1430609225629.302" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="392" height="294"></a></div><p> You can see above that Chris put up a red temporary construction fence to help keep Gwenny and Charlie corralled into the back yard. Last weekend, we had sunk and set the 6 fence posts into the ground with a bunch of cement in each one to help hold in place! </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17321905436" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7733/17321905436_3b1e3dab6c.jpg" id="blogsy-1430609225662.518" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="395" height="297"></a></div><p> We used screw nails to hold the fence together, and this is the new style pressure treated wood. No longer does it come green from the lumber store...kind of nice.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17345980322" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7718/17345980322_2bc5a520e4.jpg" id="blogsy-1430609225631.8174" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="403" height="302"></a></div><p> We started around 10:00 this morning, and by 3 we had it pretty well assembled.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17321894576" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7721/17321894576_a596921fe7.jpg" id="blogsy-1430609225658.704" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="403" height="303"></a></div><p> Chris got out the skill saw and knocked down the excess length on the fence posts, and we were done! All the kids had to do was play on the swing! </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16727647853" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8895/16727647853_cf1aacb96c_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1430609225611.6296" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="398" height="533"></a></div><p> Here is what Judy did today while all the fence work was being completed... special bonding time with Lois! </p><p>Till tomorrow...</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-50267049825349714912015-04-28T19:27:00.001-04:002015-04-28T19:27:43.094-04:00Meeting Lois!<p> We have had a busy few days since arriving back into Canada. The weather has not been too bad during the day, but still dipping down near freezing at night. It will come! </p><p>We are all set up in our home Park, and the Owners have turned on all the services for us. They treat us right as they do not really open the Park until May 1.</p><p>When we arrived last Saturday afternoon, we got set up on our site, and were just yearning to get in to visit the kids, and meet our 5th Granchild, Lois! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16684445183" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7709/16684445183_8eb395d503.jpg" id="blogsy-1430263364400.7659" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="394"></a></div><p> It sure did not take Lois long to warm up to her Grandmother. She is such an easy going little girl it seems, who very seldom cries, and seems to sleep a whole lot! Maybe Kristina and Chris would say different, but she sure seems like a big time keeper to me!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17117147830" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7685/17117147830_faf857d4f4.jpg" id="blogsy-1430263364420.857" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="407" height="305"></a></div><p> After Judy warmed up Lois, I was able to swoop in and take over! Lois is just 7 weeks old now, but I could not believe how much she weighs and how alert and active she is. They truly do grow up fast! We were back into the house on Monday, and I got to hold on to little Lois for over an hour, with no muss or fuss! What a kid! </p><p>Oh yes, we did also get to greet Gwenny and Charlie! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16684455363" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7661/16684455363_f7ef507df7.jpg" id="blogsy-1430263364412.1057" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="300"></a></div><p> How do you like my super special effects picture of Charlie above? Took a lot of skill to quickly grab the iPhone, and then snap a picture while moving the camera you know! Many people pay for special effects like this!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17117816548/" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8766/17117816548_079e553e85.jpg" id="blogsy-1430263364366.9844" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="402" height="302"></a></div><p> Gwenny was as pleasant as ever, hanging onto one of her "Stuffies..." Judy and I got to spend today with the two of them at the local Park, as Kristina stayed at home with Lois. We had a ball!</p><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;"><iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="395" height="241" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/iCa4-q9UgtU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p> We are busy doing lots of running around catching up on Dr. appointments, etc... will keep us busy for a while.</p><p>Till tomorrow...</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-13554959567780733232015-04-25T22:22:00.001-04:002015-04-25T22:22:29.102-04:00Yes, we are back in Canada!<p> Wow... that is quick you might say... what happened to the tour of Nashville???? Well, just having a whole bunch of fun, and never was able to get time together to put it all in Blog format.</p><p>Cheryl and Judy did a bunch of planning on the Nashville trip, and it paid off. We had a busy couple days, by taking in the Hop On, Hop Off Trolly Tour, which is always a good idea when you visit a City you do not know real well. It took about an hour and a half to complete and they sure know the good spots to take you. </p><p>We also go to take a tour of the new Johnny Cash Mueseum. This is very well done, and Johnny Cash was one of the big ones.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17259067721" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7721/17259067721_cf7becf1a8.jpg" id="blogsy-1430013962940.6313" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="406" height="305"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://nashvilleguru.com/officialwebsite/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Johnny-Cash-Museum-Downtown-Nashville-TN-13.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://nashvilleguru.com/officialwebsite/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Johnny-Cash-Museum-Downtown-Nashville-TN-13.jpg" id="blogsy-1430013962888.9214" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="402" height="268"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17259618235" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7601/17259618235_6d49acc037.jpg" id="blogsy-1430013962897.8171" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="301"></a></div><p> As you can imagine, this Mueseum is full of artifacts from the life of Johnny Cash. We spent a couple hours here, and enjoyed! Well done from start to finish. You could pretty much listen to all of his songs, and there were many! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17072072780" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7586/17072072780_6f3273cd63.jpg" id="blogsy-1430013962908.3284" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="398" height="299"></a></div><p> We also took a tour of the Ryman Auditorium</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://delsjourney.com/images/news/news_01-07-05/1-2887-Ryman-Auditorium-Balcony.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://delsjourney.com/images/news/news_01-07-05/1-2887-Ryman-Auditorium-Balcony.jpg" id="blogsy-1430013962950.649" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="409" height="273"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.visitmusiccity.com/Content/cms/businessImages/R878Ryman-interior.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://www.visitmusiccity.com/Content/cms/businessImages/R878Ryman-interior.jpg" id="blogsy-1430013962922.8984" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="415" height="272"></a></div><p> This Auditorium has been around forever! Anyone who is anybody played here at one point in time! This building dates back to the 1880's for crying out loud, and is made of wood! Back then, it cost $100,000.00 to build! Once a week now, The Grand Ole Opry plays here. </p><p>Next on our hit list was The Country Music Hall of Fame! What a spot this is... it just opened a few years ago, and is an amazing place to visit. The complete history of Country Music can be found here.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16637131364" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8760/16637131364_0976ed989f.jpg" id="blogsy-1430013962871.8064" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="403" height="303"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><p> Above is the Grand Entrance into the Hall of Fame... amazing spot to visit. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17071820158" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8815/17071820158_2488e5a6d7.jpg" id="blogsy-1430013962879.5608" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="397" height="298"></a></div><p> All the gold records are pasted to the walls... these a just a few of them.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16639367323" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7627/16639367323_3f58d09c4d.jpg" id="blogsy-1430013962865.6777" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="405" height="304"></a></div><p> This was an amazing Cady, that belonged to Elvis of all people... gold door handles, and stuff like that! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17259029261" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8722/17259029261_371d6af661.jpg" id="blogsy-1430013962958.3127" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="397" height="298"></a></div><p> If you remember the old Smoky and the Bandit Movies, this is the Bandit Trans Am from the second Movie, which starred Burt Reynolds of course... </p><p>It is hard to explain the Hall of Fame, and has to be viewed by yourself to get it's appreciation. We spent a whole day pretty well going through it, and could have gone back for more. It is very interactive, and full of costumes and guitars! There is a terrific tribute section to Kenny Rogers, and Johnny Cash of course. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17072025740" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8796/17072025740_64e79b7a25.jpg" id="blogsy-1430013962903.905" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="404" height="303"></a></div><p> The first evening we were downtown, we did a bunch of bar hopping... all is good folks, we took the Park Shuttle and left the car at home! Had to put a picture of the bar above, which belongs to Jimmy Buffet! My good friend, Gerard, will remember our excursion to Jimmy's Bar in Key West!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17071835268" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8819/17071835268_27534b5fda.jpg" id="blogsy-1430013962950.8843" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="398" height="299"></a></div><p> Above is the Bridgestone Centre, where the Nashville Preditors play. There is a bug buzz in Nashville over the current series against Chicago. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17259059611" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7607/17259059611_9b7849403d.jpg" id="blogsy-1430013962901.8762" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="302"></a></div><p> We had two terrific days of touring Nashville and hope to come back one day. There is lots to see and do, and plenty of great Restaurants to enjoy, which we did! </p><p>Not all was perfect though, as on the second day of our tour, we drove into Town in our Chevy Cruze, along with Tom and Cheryl. We were travelling the 1/2 hour drive back out to where we were staying at the KOA north of Nashville. While travelling on the HOV lane of Hwy. 65, the rush hour traffic came to an abrupt stop, well, all the cars did except for the one directly behind us. We got rear ended by a Dodge Grand Caravan. Gave us one real good hit, and brought everything to a stop. I will not go into a lot of other details, but suffice to say at this point, there were no major injuries to the four of us in our car, or the two people in the minivan. The car is still driveable, and can and will be fixed. It is always stressful when you have an accident, and even more so when it happens in a Country not your own. Many thanks to the Nashville area Police, Fire, and Ambulance Services that were on the scene in a hurry and handled it all in a very professional manner. </p><p>Anyhow, sure feels good to get home tonight, and had a big chance to go and visit Chris and Kristina, along with the kids. We got to meet our latest Grand, Lois, who is just incredible, however that will be another blog coming up real soon...promise!</p><p>Till tomorrow...</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-57106705343198108742015-04-21T20:15:00.001-04:002015-04-21T20:15:06.394-04:00The Home of Country Music...<p> Yesterday we said our goodbye's to the gang in Johnson City... we had a great 3 weeks plus visit here, doing a lot of things, and having a great time! </p><p>This morning we hit the highway with Tom and Cheryl in tow, and headed due west about 250 miles or so over to Nashville! We plan on staying here for 3 nights, and doing some site seeing before we head north to the Canadian Border.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16606281884" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7724/16606281884_4535a14293.jpg" id="blogsy-1429661639313.7554" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="302"></a></div><p> We stopped at a great rest area, just due west of Knoxville. You don't get to see these two rigs on the road side by side too often...turned into a great day to travel, with lots of sun, and nice warm temperatures.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17021289477" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8728/17021289477_8d32478b9b.jpg" id="blogsy-1429661639322.144" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="405" height="304"></a></div><p> So, we are all tucked into the KOA in North Nashville tonight... Judy and Cheryl put together an interesting two days of touring starting tomorrow, so I better go and re-charge my touring batteries. </p><p>Till tomorrow...</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-54208152890230686722015-04-20T14:32:00.001-04:002015-04-20T14:32:55.597-04:00It's Bristol Baby!<p> Well, we can now say that we have had the full Bristol Experience! Quite the day yesterday, with the NASCAR Race that was scheduled for 500 laps of Bristol Motor Speedway!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17212961292" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7705/17212961292_ae8612c93a.jpg" id="blogsy-1429554697826.4082" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="405" height="303"></a></div><p> Above Tom and Cheryl, Judy and I, along with Shawn, make our way from the parking lots into the Race Track. Problem was.... it was raining, and raining hard! Had been all morning, which is not good when you have a 1:00 p.m. start time. Next problem was the weather forecast was simply not good a all for the whole day!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17188706606" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8773/17188706606_b19d5e71f6.jpg" id="blogsy-1429554697829.9358" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><p> We got there a bit early so we could walk around the vendor area... free coffee and donuts! Perfect!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17214090481" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7679/17214090481_86e9faa46a.jpg" id="blogsy-1429554697881.6301" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="396" height="297"></a></div><p> We made our way up the big long ramps.... your heart healthy workout for the day.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16594489503" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7710/16594489503_27fbae230c.jpg" id="blogsy-1429554697869.2976" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="301"></a></div><p> Got to our seats in time for the fireworks and the Air Force Flyover....</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17027168690" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8687/17027168690_948b2fb975.jpg" id="blogsy-1429554697894.833" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="352"></a></div><p> Ya, those clouds were black...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17213004822" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5444/17213004822_6e3e2ee371.jpg" id="blogsy-1429554697841.115" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="398" height="299"></a></div><p> The rain finally let up at 1:30, and it took them an hour to dry the track... the race actually started at 2:30, but they only ran 22 laps, and then the deluge came...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16592219964" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8709/16592219964_dd114f7474.jpg" id="blogsy-1429554697827.9954" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="396" height="297"></a></div><p> We found a semi dry spot under the stands to put in a bit of time... then decided to head back home to Shawn's place, and actually had dinner. The TV told us they were going to start the race at around 7:30 in the evening, so what the heck, we headed back out to the track!</p><p> We were all glad we did, as we got to see the entire race! The rains let up a bit, and it turned out to be a nice evening.</p><p>Matt Kenseth managed to previal as the Race Winner in his Dollar General Car!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17214730685" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8695/17214730685_d70b250c99.jpg" id="blogsy-1429554697871.268" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="398" height="265"></a></div><p> </p><p>The winner was in question right to the end, so it turned into a great race! </p><p>We made our way back to the parking lots, only to be dumped on by a deluge of rain, 30 seconds before we got to the car! Of course! Just a little goodbye from Bristol!</p><p>Till tomorrow... </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-28803361496440681192015-04-18T21:33:00.001-04:002015-04-18T21:33:35.791-04:00It's Race Weekend at Bristol!<p> Bristol Motor Speedway is one of the major venues for the NASCAR Circuit, as they usually make 2 stops here each season. Shawn usually goes to these races with some friends, and asked Tom and I to come along today for the Afinity Race... the major Food City Race is on tomorrow, ( but with not a good weather forecast...). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.levyrestaurants.com/images/bristol-motor-speedway/header.jpeg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://www.levyrestaurants.com/images/bristol-motor-speedway/header.jpeg" id="blogsy-1429407127966.355" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="448" height="210"></a></div><p> Bristol is a short track, but they can fit 160,000 race fans into the bowl you see above... what a spot to watch a race from!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17193595345" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7654/17193595345_e4362c66ff.jpg" id="blogsy-1429407127986.4453" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="404" height="303"></a></div><p> Above is the start of the race this afternoon, which was won by #22 Joey Lagano, who led this race from start to finish! As you can see, the stands were not filled today, but maybe had about 60,000 in attendance. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17007443809" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8815/17007443809_8141e664ab.jpg" id="blogsy-1429407127964.0237" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="398" height="299"></a></div><p> The great thing about Bristol, is the banking on the corners, which is about 36 degrees I believe. It is hard to tell from the picture above, but the banking is big time to keep these cars enclosed in the track.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17193004301" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7620/17193004301_5c4c72d030.jpg" id="blogsy-1429407128021.1392" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="390" height="257"></a></div><p> There is always a lot of action around the pits in Nascar, and today was no exception...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17006053990" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5346/17006053990_c2570d7988.jpg" id="blogsy-1429407128004.953" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="382" height="287"></a></div><p> That is Joey above, after the race finished, doing a big smokey burn out with his car to celebrate his victory...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17191926222" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7726/17191926222_d46323df36.jpg" id="blogsy-1429407127932.7874" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="395" height="297"></a></div><p> The Bristol Track is quite a property, hidden in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Tennessee...a very unique spot to visit. Hopefully it does not rain too much tomorrow, and we get to see the race between rain drops..... we will see.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16571131374" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7620/16571131374_c6e15a9f74.jpg" id="blogsy-1429407127961.0374" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="399" height="300"></a></div><p> As Shawn, Tom and I were leaving the track this afternoon, Shawn could not resist sitting in this 2015 red Chevrolet Corvette! What a car, and it was on $62,000.00 U.S. What a deal! What do you think Jenn???</p><p>Till tomorrow...</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-35921664888188191592015-04-15T19:56:00.001-04:002015-04-15T19:56:31.186-04:00Stanley Cup Playoffs!<p> Let the quest begin....</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://chi-guy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Stanley-Cup.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://chi-guy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Stanley-Cup.jpg" id="blogsy-1429142144033.8406" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="316" height="409"></a></div><p> It all starts tonight!</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-839828319907752722015-04-12T19:18:00.001-04:002015-04-12T19:18:39.302-04:00What else is there to do on the weekend...<p> Simply a beautiful Tennessee Weekend! Great weather to enjoy the outdoors!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16940945389" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7693/16940945389_f4e68d5116.jpg" id="blogsy-1428880671391.0684" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="404" height="303"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16506966733" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7630/16506966733_392644c9c1.jpg" id="blogsy-1428880671422.2598" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="403" height="303"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16939572330" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8715/16939572330_e7b49aedf5.jpg" id="blogsy-1428880671387.85" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="402" height="302"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17127103885" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7717/17127103885_bc9df4a902.jpg" id="blogsy-1428880671386.9697" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="403" height="303"></a></div><p> Today as you can see, we enjoyed a complete pool day! The pool was at 85 degrees F. Just perfect! Emmie and Paige are like a pair of tadpoles... they can swim like fish, it is amazing! </p><p>The 3 videos below are all very short shots of the kids having a blast... check them out...</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;"><iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="403" height="246" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/l2rj5iBCeLE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;"><iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="399" height="243" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7tD3nuyfpc8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;"><iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="401" height="244" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Bq7YBplARwM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p> On Saturday, Judy and I had Emmie and Paige over to the RV for a while... the girls wanted to come and visit Patra! She does not get a lot of company...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17126651501" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7608/17126651501_96657b0ebd.jpg" id="blogsy-1428880671372.8782" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="395" height="296"></a></div><p> Now it may seem from Patra's reaction, she does not look too impressed, but remember, she does not see little people very often and she is 15 years old now...lol</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16504859414" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8767/16504859414_29a37db16d.jpg" id="blogsy-1428880671421.1648" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="402" height="302"></a></div><p> Had a great visit and a great weekend!</p><p>Till tomorrow...</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-60442646027672285102015-04-10T09:19:00.001-04:002015-04-10T09:19:31.323-04:00A visit over to the Great Smoky Mountains...<p> Took a road trip over near Maryville, Tennessee, which is just below Knoxville, or a 2 hour and a half hour drive from Johnson City due east. I have a Cousin, Carrie and her Husband, Bill, who recently moved from Florida, up to Tennessee, and we wanted to visit and check out the new Tennessee digs... it was a great day weather wise, as the temps soared up into the 80's F.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16910589060" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7616/16910589060_3da657bcbe.jpg" id="blogsy-1428671517509.4402" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="300"></a></div><p> That is my Cousin on the left, and her Mom, Georgina is on my right... Bill was off travelling around the world on business so we did not get to run into him this trip. The Smoky Mountains were in fine form yesterday...</p><p>Carrie and Bill bought a great place, on about 32 acres of Tennessee land... it has a drive way that will rival Shawn and Jenns, for climbing! Every driveway down here seems to be long and have a mountain to climb! Their house is nestled in the Smoky Mountains, and has nice breezes that keep blowing... a much needed relief from the Florida summers!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16910370048" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8692/16910370048_e9cdfd1af2.jpg" id="blogsy-1428671517523.7273" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="404" height="303"></a></div><p> Above is Carrie's Mom, and her Dad, Bill. They live up in Ontario and have been visiting for a while in Tennessee. They head back home this coming weekend. It was great to see them, and catch up with all the Family Happenings... Georgina's Dad, and my Dad, were Brothers!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16475712934" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8756/16475712934_8a1b4d3eb7.jpg" id="blogsy-1428671517534.564" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="405" height="304"></a></div><p> We got to the house just in time for a terrific ham lunch... terrific! We spent a few hours talking and getting caught up, and then it was time for us to head back to Johnson City. Carrie suggested she could take us over to Look Out Point, which was just a few miles from the house, and we could climb the look out tower for some exercise, and get a great view of the area. Why not!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17072044196" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7609/17072044196_eea7e04db8.jpg" id="blogsy-1428671517474.993" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="399" height="299"></a></div><p> After navagating a bunch of switch backs, we climbed the Smoky's and got up to Look Out Point... we had to climb 3 sets of big cement ramps to get to the observation area...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17097491021" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7610/17097491021_14a2a70751.jpg" id="blogsy-1428671517513.2656" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="300"></a></div><p> That is Carrie and I up on the ramps... Judy took this pic from below...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16890778427" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8772/16890778427_a230fb5823.jpg" id="blogsy-1428671517533.6843" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="405" height="304"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16910403068" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7662/16910403068_e4cded6512.jpg" id="blogsy-1428671517535.517" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="397" height="298"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16911988499" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7665/16911988499_54616cb324.jpg" id="blogsy-1428671517545.4783" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="301"></a></div><p> The views were terrific as you could see for miles...</p><p>We had a great visit, it was good to see them all again. Judy and I made our way back home, through Pidgeon Forge, and stopped for a great Italian Dinner at a Restaurant there. Pidgeon Forge is a huge Tourist area, and is just filled with a variety of restaurants... you would never get to them all. </p><p>Took our time coming back home, turning a 2 hour trip to about 4 1/2 it seemed, but we enjoyed it!</p><p>Till tomorrow...</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411448932216806358.post-13036342839437819962015-04-05T20:17:00.001-04:002015-04-05T20:29:42.868-04:00Sure was a Happy Easter!<p> We received a text message from Shawn at 7:30 this morning, telling us to get over to the house to catch the 8:00 a.m. Easter Egg Hunt with the Kids! That is all we had to hear, and we were on our way!</p><p>The Easter Bunny had set up an elaborate egg hunt for Paige and Emmie... it was a blast to watch!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17045817942" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8763/17045817942_ce7aeaa992.jpg" id="blogsy-1428280106504.123" class="aligncenter" width="400" height="300" alt=""></a></div><p> They started off the hunt in the Breakfast Room with the sun shining!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16859736950" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8782/16859736950_1f69a48823.jpg" id="blogsy-1428280106497.7974" class="aligncenter" width="406" height="304" alt=""></a></div><p> They had a series of 10 different clues the Bunny left to follow, which led them inside and outside by the new pool...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16427126023" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7633/16427126023_1e4536141e.jpg" id="blogsy-1428280106575.0723" class="aligncenter" width="404" height="303" alt=""></a></div><p> Of course this was all very serious business....</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16424816174" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7650/16424816174_49e727bb8c.jpg" id="blogsy-1428280106566.0173" class="aligncenter" width="404" height="303" alt=""></a></div><p> They had to climb up into the play house...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17045804162" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7591/17045804162_ee34e8e8d5.jpg" id="blogsy-1428280106551.3784" class="aligncenter" width="402" height="302" alt=""></a></div><p> All the clue stations had different presents and eggs... they did very well!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16859720640" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7681/16859720640_e7fa62c839.jpg" id="blogsy-1428280106542.1145" class="aligncenter" width="402" height="302" alt=""></a></div><p> Judy and I got to pose with Emmie and Paige up by the pool after the big hunt...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16859716470" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7603/16859716470_82de4de641.jpg" id="blogsy-1428280106552.36" class="aligncenter" width="407" height="305" alt=""></a></div><p> This afternoon Judy's brother Howard and wife Teri stopped in for Easter Dinner on their way home from Florida. Johnson City as it turns out, is smack on 1/2 way back to Ontario!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16861036639" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8694/16861036639_0c4e3508f5.jpg" id="blogsy-1428280106549.3591" class="aligncenter" width="404" height="303" alt=""></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/17022057366" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7715/17022057366_9049b0e385.jpg" id="blogsy-1428280106610.5059" class="aligncenter" width="401" height="301" alt=""></a></div><p> We all sat around outside enjoying the nice warm weather this afternoon... The hunt was followed up by a great Easter Dinner put together by Jenn! Ham and Turkey! Perfect!</p><p>We have been busy the past few days here as well. On Friday night, Shawn, Judy and I put a new floor on the Play House Lot. </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16860381050" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7627/16860381050_701cb96c08.jpg" id="blogsy-1428280106543.3398" class="aligncenter" width="407" height="305" alt=""></a></div><p> The Play House is right beside the pool complex, so needed to be finished off. We started by placing down base sheets to avoid weeds growing through...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16425467364" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7621/16425467364_8fa20e6e36.jpg" id="blogsy-1428280106600.4805" class="aligncenter" width="403" height="302" alt=""></a></div><p> Shawn and Jenn arranged for 4,000 lbs. of rubber mulch for the floor. This is made of old car tires that get shredded, and then painted. They make a terrific floor on which the kids cannot get hurt if they fall. It also looks terrific!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16840487577" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8804/16840487577_5349b7248c.jpg" id="blogsy-1428280106608.2546" class="aligncenter" width="404" height="303" alt=""></a></div><p> Finished product above...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16987448476" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7639/16987448476_aec13b659b.jpg" id="blogsy-1428280106576.4004" class="aligncenter" width="407" height="305" alt=""></a></div><p> Above is 1 of 2 skids of the mulch which was delivered by transport to the bottom of the drive way. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16806041447" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8746/16806041447_60f2908b50.jpg" id="blogsy-1428280106539.2163" class="aligncenter" width="404" height="389" alt=""></a></div><p> Shawn and I had to make about 7 or 8 trips of the quarter mile drive way to get the bags to the top... no way the transport truck could make the switchbacks in the driveway. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80088163@N02/16825666908" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7601/16825666908_21edcdbd91.jpg" id="blogsy-1428280106635.6348" class="aligncenter" width="403" height="302" alt=""></a></div><p> This is 2 tons of mulch ready to be spread!</p><p>We completed a bunch of other yard work, keeping ourselves busy enjoying spring! </p><p>Till tomorrow...</p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>The Hollingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364511707496390848noreply@blogger.com1