The first signs of fall are here already. The geese are starting their southerly migration. It is clearly a sign for the Traverse City Snyders to follow their lead.

We started the summer being a little dubious about spending a summer in one place. Now as summer comes to close, we find that it was ok. Being home worked plus the Traverse City area has so much to offer. With our morning coffee we enjoy seeing the ever-changing sunrises plus it is always interesting to watch the weather over the Bay. We were blessed with good weather this year, just a little on the cool side. The AC was only used one day, mainly to see if it still worked. The yard and flowers exceeded our expectations with a little work and some TLC. Breakfast on the deck and dinner on the patio were all easy to take.

That being said not all was fun and games, well at least for us wanders. Being on the road for several summers found lots of things that needed to be shored up to meet current expectations. It is now clear to us why folks who travel do not have a house. But we found getting your hands dirty still has its rewards, at least once completed. The two big projects were replacing the rail fence and painting the house…glad that is over! The RV got a good cleaning from top to bottom so it is now ready to go.

Jan and I were pleased that (Uncle) Larry was able to visit us. We had a good time touring the region and just enjoying time together. The plan is to catch up with him on our way south at the end of October. It has been cool to reconnect with Aunt Laura along with David and Ileana.

A highlight of the summer was heading to the east coast attending son’s Paul’s PHD graduation from Drexel. He had worked hard and long to make this happen. Jan and I were pleased and proud to be there for the ceremony and celebration.

It is always good to see sons (Paul, Karl and Mark) which translates to trips to Downingtown, PA and NYC. We spent two weeks catching up and seeing the sights. We can always expect a full itinerary for our visit. This time was no exception. We did so much and here are some of the highlights. Longwood Gardens is always impressive for us and it is highly recommended as a must do if you have the chance. A new experience was the Rough and Tumble, an old equipment show grounds. Its depth and breadth of old equipment is outstanding and we will go back again. We have been going to NYC for ten years and it is still stimulating. The river walk along the Hudson is spectacular with so much to see. A newer favorite stop is the Highline Park which continues to grow and improve. It is always easy to spend an afternoon in Central Park. We will be back next year and are already working on the itinerary!

One of the recurring themes from our road travel is there is never enough time. This really held true for the summer as well. We found we were planning at least two weeks out most of the time. A favorite pastime was walking along the Bay…the views are additive. There is always something happening in downtown TC. It is a fun place to be. The area now boasts over 10 microbreweries. Time was devoted to check them out! Being on the road we missed our hometown farm market. It was good to be back on home ground.

One of the summer goals for both of us was to shape up. We determined now that we are retired, job one is to stay ahead of the aging process. Jan has made great headway on eating healthy. Both of us spent a lot of time just being out there walking, biking and working out. Several years back I joined Anytime Fitness which is working great. Most weeks I spend over 10 hours there doing “my” thing. Interestingly, now we not only look for a RV site but does the local area also have an Anytime Fitness Center.

The Sleeping Bear National Park keeps calling us back. We visited several times this summer…there are always pictures. Unfortunately there were only two trips with the RV. Trip one to Petoskey right after Labor Day. We spent a week there biking, hiking and enjoying the area. We now love Petoskey maybe even a little better than TC. Trip two was to Ithaca and Bay City. We used Ithaca as a base to do some cemetery sleuthing for the ongoing family genealogy project plus a visit to see Jan’s sister in Breckenridge. After Breckenridge was the Bay City State Park. There we caught up with all my siblings for dinner except Duane who lives in Colorado. An added bonus was spending a day in Frankenmuth and making a road trip up the sunrise side of the State.

If you come to Traverse City, you can always find a festival celebration somewhere. We attended so many this summer it is hard to remember them all. A first time event was attending the Michigan Gulf Shores Club picnic held here at our township park. We even made the committee to help with the event next year.

All things have their season. Summer is ending and winter is now closer than you think. Our thoughts here now turn to our new life in Gulf Shores. This is another chapter in our retirement journey ever changing life-style. We both are looking forward to the challenge of another renovation project and setting up a winter hangout where there is no snow. By the way, the plan is to have all the renovations done by Christmas. We can hear the beaches and bike trails calling us!

Check out the link to Jan’s Journal

Do stop and see us if you can…

God bless,

Larry and Jan