The Great Forkner Road Trip of 2008

August 1 – 331 Miles

With great anticipation we left Boynton Beach almost exactly on time at 10:00 AM and headed north on I-95. We stopped about noon for lunch. As we headed back to the Interstate yours truly made a wrong turn and we headed south. The first sign we saw told us the next exit was 17 miles. Well, 45 minutes later we were once again headed for Jacksonville from our lunch stop.

We arrived at the home of friends for many years, Ernie and Margie Nader. Friends from Michigan, almost 20 years had past when we finally connected last March when they visited us in our home. Then in April Sandie and I helped Ernie and Margie help celebrate their 40^th anniversary.

Their daughter and her husband and several grandchildren joined us for dinner at their home. After dinner, we spent the evening remembering old times and events from years long past. Finally with midnight approaching we all agreed it was time to go to bed.

The next morning we all went out for breakfast. Back at the house we loaded up the car and once again headed north. Our trip took us west across Florida to Lake City. Then it was I-75 north to Macon, GA for our second night.

August 2 – 285 Miles

We spent our 2^nd night in Macon, GA at Baymont Inn. Leaving Jacksonville we missed a turn and spent a couple of miles on the surface streets. No big problem other than the loss of a few minutes. We pulled into the motel right at 5:00 PM. After finding a place for dinner we settled in for an evening of rest and relaxation.

August 3 – 242 Miles

What a great trip. We stopped at Dennys for breakfast. Finding a standing room only crowd we decided to continue and look for another place. Finally we found a Shoneys. With a great breakfast buffet, we both agreed we ate too much but were well satisfied. We arrived at the home of friends from Coral Springs, Terry and Becky Ulm. The rest of the evening was spent catching up on each other’s lives and bragging about grandchildren. (It was a tie). Terry and I took a short ride to look at a Habitat for Humanity house he was helping build.

As midnight approached people started drifting off to bed. Finally alone, I read for 30 minutes or so and headed for bed. In the morning I was up early and enjoyed sitting on the porch while the sun filled the sky. I finished reading my book while watching humming birds at the feeder at the edge of the porch.

August 4 - 250 Miles

For some reason today feels like we are really on our way. We left the Ulm house right at 10:00. Today was one of our longest drives. By the time we arrived we had traveled just under 8 hours. Despite the long day we both felt good during the ride. Traveling through the mountains was a very different experience for those of us used to the flatness of south Florida. The mountains provided quite a contrast.

About 6:00 PM we checked into the hotel and lugged all of our stuff into the room. I turned to take the cart back to the lobby and the door handle came off in my hand. We were trapped. With the help of a set of manicure scissors I finally got it open. The desk clerk assigned us a different room so we had to load up our stuff and haul it down the hall to a different room.

After a light dinner with Jeannie we sat and talked about all of the changes in our lives. Tony stopped by for a short on his way home from work. About 9:00 we headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest. All in all, today was a very good day.

August 5 – 51 Miles

Today was visitation day with family in Johnstown, OH. After getting breakfast at the Ramada Inn we spent some time relaxing and resting. It was nice to be able to just sit and do nothing for a while. We headed for the cemetery in Johnstown about 11:30

Last evening I remembered some e-mails a while back with a Robert Sizelove. Robert leads the Ohio GenWeb Project. Robert spends much of his time documenting and indexing grave markers in cemeteries around Ohio. I had communicated with him regarding the Greenhill Cemetery in Johnstown, OH. He had wanted to document the crypts in the mausoleum. I was able to borrow a key from my cousin Jeannie Echard so I called Robert on Tuesday evening. The bottom line is that we met Robert at the cemetery about noon and he was able to photograph all of the grave markers on the crypts.

Early afternoon we visited with my cousin Donna and her husband Smith. Donna has been fighting a bad case of the Shingles for the past few months. We found her exhausted but doing well. Donna’s daughter, Sharon, was also there. It was good to talk and remember times when we were kids. We visited for about an hour before heading back to Westerville for a nap. We spent another short evening with Jeannie (and I remembered to return the mausoleum key).

August 6 – 251 Miles

The drive to Lansing was uneventful. Traffic was slow just after crossing from Ohio into Michigan due to road construction. We arrived at the hotel about 2:00. After check-in and an hours rest we were both feeling good. About 4:00 we headed for friends Rae and Chuck Frank. A boat ride on the Grand River provided an hour of relaxation and conversation followed by dinner on their deck overlooking the river. Conversation continued until about 9:00 in the evening when we decided to return to the hotel.

We were able to do laundry at the hotel so we should be ready to go for another week.

August 7 – 201 Miles

The day started with breakfast with Chuck and Rae. We left Lansing about 10:00 and headed for Clare, MI. We had a great lunch with Fred and Arlyn DeBoar. Arlyn and Sandie were roommates in college. We spent a couple of hours visiting and catching up on the past few years.

Following lunch we headed west for Cass City, MI to the home of Rick and Melva Coleman. We spent the evening with a picnic dinner and talking until the late hours. Finally everyone decided it was time to go to bed.

Three years ago Rick was the proud owner of a Toyota Prius. It was there I fell in love with the car. I was finally able to purchase my own Prius this past April.

August 8 – 210 Miles

Today we drove across the central part of Michigan on route 46. It was great to drive through “farm country”. After leaving Coleman’s we took a short detour to Elkton where Sandie grew up during her teen years. Just north of town a large “windmill farm” has been established. We watched around 30 windmills spinning and turning out power for the local area. It was quite a sight to see.

As we passed Six Lakes we took a short detour to drive past the house where Sandie’s parents lived following their retirement. The new owners have done very well keeping up the gardens planted by Sandie’s father so many years ago. He would have been happy to see the flowers in such abundance and looking so beautiful.

We checked into our hotel about 4:00. We contacted some of Sandie’s relatives who were in town for the reunion. They were all planning to meat at a favorite local restaurant for dinner and a mini-reunion before the big event tomorrow. After dinner we settled in at the htel for a much needed evening of relaxing and rest. Tomorrow is the big day.

August 9 - 88 Miles

Today is the day of the Bauman family reunion. The get together is being held at the home of Din and Pat Bauman in Howard City about 35 miles north of Grand Rapids. We stopped by Clark Home to visit a couple of friends from years ago and then headed for Howard City.

We returned to the hotel about 4:30 PM. What a great day. There were 42 people in attendance most of whom we have not seen since the last reunion tow years ago. We sat down to eat about 1:00 PM and everyone agreed that there was way too much food. Any thoughts of moderation soon vanished as we went through the buffet line. Just as everything was cleaned up and put away everyone settled in for an afternoon of conversation and catching up. Of course the little ones had a great time playing with their cousins who they see much less often than everyone would like. Just then a quick shower passed by. The timing was perfect.

Tired but feeling great, folks started drifting away by late afternoon.

August 10 – 34 Miles

Talk about a short drive. Today was the day. We drove from Grand Rapids to Middleville, less than 40 miles. We arrived at the home of Dave and Marcia Parker. Dave was my manager many years ago in Lansing. They have a beautiful home on the shore of Gun Lake. The day was windy and cool. Not sure if it even got to 70. (When we started out this morning it was 52 in Grand Rapids.

On the drive down on route 37 we small a deer, a 2 point buck, standing in the middle of the road. As I slowed down he just stood there watching us. Finally as we got near he walked off the road and jumped down into the undergrowth at the side of the road. About a quarter of a mile later a doe shot out of the bushes right in front of us. I hit the breaks, Sandie jumped, and the deer kept going and disappeared into the woods.

Dave invited a number of ex-IBMers for the afternoon. After everyone was assembled we went to a local restaurant for lunch and back to Parker’s for desert. We don’t even want to think about how wonderful that was other than to say, it was wonderful.

We spent the afternoon recalling old times, telling old stories, and bragging about our kids and grandkids. Finally about 7:00 PM folks started to drift away for their homes.

The rest of the evening was spent talking and watching the Olympics. Finally about 11:30 everyone agreed it had been a great day but it was now time to head for bed.

This morning the air is crisp and cool. It actually feels like some of those early fall days with a light mist hanging over the lake. All we need is some colored leaves and we could pronounce it “Fall”. We plan to leave about 10:00 and head for Centerville Oh, just south of Dayton.

August 11 – 287 Miles

Today is the day I meat my “new” cousin. We left Parkers just about 10:00 AM. The trip from their house on Gun Lake to the state highway and finally the Interstate was grand. Rolling hills and backcountry roads and small Michigan farms along the way. At Battle Creek we caught up with I-94 and headed east to I-69. Then it was south to Ft. Wayne, IN. There we caught a local road and finally ended up on I-75 headed for Dayton, OH.

We arrived at the hotel about 4:00 PM. After unpacking, I called my cousin, Jack Mortor. He picked me up about 6:00 PM and we went out for a great dinner and time of getting acquainted and reminiscing about our common ancestors. We need to go back four generations to find our common ancestor.

Sandie was very tired from al of the activities the past couple of days. Jack’s wife Brenda had a last minute activity come up and was unable to join us for dinner. Sandie decided she wanted to stay at the hotel and rest for the evening. Thus in was just Jack and myself.

All in all, Monday was a great day.

August 12 – 338 Miles

Today was one of our longest drives of the trip, 6 ½ hours. Our original plan was to visit friends in Charleston, WV. They had a last minute family emergency so we went with Plan B. The longer drive today gives us more time tomorrow when we will drive to Franklin, WV and visit another “new” cousin, Jim Bowers.

When we crossed into WV, from PA, we planned to stop at the Welcome Center and pick up a map. When we got to the center we discovered that it was closed. A few miles down the road we stopped and bought a map.

We arrived at the Super 8 motel about 5:45 PM. Tonight is scheduled to be a relaxing evening. Not anything planned except perhaps a bite to eat later in the evening. We stopped for lunch about 2:30 so dinner will be later and light.

August 13 – 117 Miles

Today was a short drive, from Weston, WV to the home of Jim Bowers, my 4X cousin. We arrived at his farm early afternoon. Jim and I had never met before today except via e-mail. We met while researching our family history. After a brief rest we drove to an old Bowers Family Cemetery. It is here that our common ancestor is buried, Valentine Bowers. Valentine was born in 1825 and died in 1863. He fought in the Civil War and died as a result.

The cemetery is on top of Jake Hill just north of Franklin, WV along VA-220. It is off the road and does require some walking to get there. On the way back to the farm we stopped and saw Randy, Jim’s son.

After the cemetery visit we went back to the house for some rest. About 6:00 we went out to dinner and then back to the house. We sat and talked about a variety of things but mostly our common ancestors. It was a great day for sure.

August 14 – 325 Miles

Today is a long day. We are headed to Ocean View, DE to visit Chud and Kay Reese, friends from Coral Springs. Our trip took us though winding roads, up and down hills with as much as 10% grades. Once on the eastern side of the mountains we got on I-81 to I-66 and on to Washington, DC. From there it was across Maryland and on to Delaware. Traffic around Washington was a real mess taking at least an hour to get around the city on the beltway. We crossed the Chesapeake Bay at Annapolis on US-50. We arrived about 6:30 PM after getting slightly lost. We called for help getting to their condo and were only a couple of tenths of a mile away. (Forget the GPS <sigh>)

We all went out to dinner followed by a driving tour of the beach and tourist areas. The rest of the evening was spent catching up and keeping an eye on the Olympics on TV. Finally Chud and Bob were the only two left and we called it quits about 1:00 AM.

August 15 – 337 Miles

We left Ocean View just about 10:00 and headed south. We saw lots of interesting sights and lots of traffic. At last, 3½ hours later we reached the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel. WOW! What a great sight. Over 20 miles long, it crosses the mouth of Chesapeake Bay by way of many miles of bridges and two underwater tunnels. Getting through the Norfolk, VA area was a challenge to say the least. The GPS redeemed itself getting us through the area and over to I-95. From there is it pretty much a straight shot south and home.

We finally stopped for overnight at a motel and will start out again tomorrow. Our goal is Jacksonville, FL.

August 16 – 449 Miles

We left Master’s Economy Motel (it was) in Selma, NC right at 9:30 AM. Breakfast Buffet at Shoney’s just around the corner and we were on our way to Jacksonville. Both of us agreed that it had been a great trip but we were both ready to spend a night in our own bed.

The day was uneventful other than the drone of the engine as we moved along the highway. This day we went in or through four states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. After 8 full hours of driving we arrived at the home of Ernie and Margie Nader. This was also, our first stop on the trip.

Margie went out of her way to fix a great dinner and cream puffs for desert. What a great way to end the trip, with wonderful friends, the same as we started.

August 17 – 301 Miles

Sandie and I were anxious to get home so we played hooky from church this morning. When Ernie and Margie headed for church at 9:00, Sandie ad I headed home.

It felt so good to know that we would soon be home. At the rest stops we knew we were home: hot and humid were the order of the day.

A quick stop at the drug store to pick up a prescription and we pulled in right at 2:30 in the afternoon. It was over and it was great. All that is left is unpacking, washing clothes, washing the car, and the list goes on. Oh yes, there is the matter of getting the cat caught up on her attention.

I think we will stay home for a while.