2025_0910 Athens

Wednesday, September 10th, was our one day in Athens. Our trip to Greece was to cruise the Greek Isles and a couple of stops in Turkey. However, we really felt like coming to Athens, Greece and not seeing the Acropolis was a mistake. We had Norwegian Cruise lines book us a room at the Grand Hyatt for two nights prior to the cruise. This gave us one day in Athens. 

We started our day with breakfast on the eighth floor of the Grand Hyatt. We were seated at a table by the window. We could get our first glimpses of the Acropolis from the vantage point. Way cool!

I had booked a private tour for us this day. The company was Athens Walking Tours. We chose one with only two stops, the Acropolis and the Agora with the Agora Museum. The tour company made arrangements for transportation to and from the hotel to meet Nicoletta, our guide. She was an absolute delight. And we ended up being very grateful it was just the two of us and Nicoletta. As it turns out, we were dehydrated from our travels. We had precious little sleep for the previous two days. We had both just recuperated from colds. To put it mildly, we were not in great shape for this climb. We would make it top of the Acropolis and down. But after that, there was nothing in us for walking through the Agora and going to the Agora Museum. Nicoletta was great an letting us stop to rest frequently and sharing her knowledge during these stops. We would see the Agora from the top of the Acropolis. We were okay with not getting to the Agora. 

Picture time for the Acropolis. I want to first start out with some of my research pictures to prepare me for what we would see. I found these two great pictures online that show what the Acropolis would have looked like back in the day. I learned there are many 'acropolis' in Greece. An acropolis is a citadel or fortified part of an ancient Greek City. It comes from the Greek root acro- which means 'high'. Thus, an acropolis is basically a 'high city'. We learned that at one point, the Acropolis was a fortress. From the top, you can see all the way to Piraeus which is the city where the port is for the cruise ships. In ancient times, this mean you could see who was coming from the water before they got to the city. You could also see around to the three mountains the surround the other sides of this area. The top of the acropolis has many temples and shrines on it, not just the Parthenon. There are even theaters on the sides. 

There are two entrances to get to the top of the Acropolis. Our tour started side entrance (bottom left of the picture) on Dionysiou Aeropagitou and ended at the Acropolis Main Entrance (top right of the picture). 

The final picture I found online was a diagram of the Acropolis showing the different shrines, temples and theaters. This one really helped me know what to look for and better understand as Nicoletta explained what things were. 

The driver picked us up at the Grand Hyatt and dropped us off at a meeting point near the Acropolis. Nicoletta then led us toward our entrance to the Acropolis. This was our first view as we approached the Acropolis. 

Approaching from this side, we first saw the Theater of Dionysus Eleuthereus (#18 on the diagram). Nicoletta explained that Dionysus was the creator of the first theater ever. It began with readings and progressed to adding music and acting. The semicircle at the base where the performers stood was called the orchestra. That is why today we call our orchestra and orchestra. The theater was strategically placed so that the performers could speak in a normal voice and that sound would carry up the hill to the spectators. Originally all the seating was backless. Later, beautiful benches with backs were made that the wealthy or patrons of the theater would get these seats. 

We passed a sleeping cat. It is not dead, really! It is sleeping. It is the resident cat. She has been named Queen Marta. She has food placed for her and is quite content to let passersby give her a little attention. Bailey, our youngest grandmonster, asked me to take pictures of the cats. I tried to get some of these for her. 

We passed this wall. It shows something I learned from a documentary about the Acropolis and the Parthenon in particular. There are knobs or protrusions on the sides of these blocks in the wall. These were used to lift these massive blocks. A rope was wrapped around the knob and a wench is used to lift the block and put it in place. On the Parthenon, once the block is in place, the knob is smoothed down so there is an even surface. 

Nicoletta taught us that the belief had been that theater was medicinal. It was good for any ailment you might have. Great therapy. There for, by the theaters there was usually a temple for the physician. Basically, a medical office. You would go to the theater and then see the physician and he would prescribe whatever he knew might help with your ailment. This the Sanctuary of Asclepius or Asclepieion near the Theater of Dionysus Eleuthereus (#17 on the diagram). It would have been the medical office by the theater. Also, I was aware that you get multiple spellings of names and places when in these places. It was that way in Israel and in Eqypt. So many nationalities have ruled these places, that their way of spelling something may be used. 

We walked past the Roman theater which is used today for concerts and performances. It is #15 on the diagram is is the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. I did not take a picture of this as there were fences all around it.

It was time to hike up further to the original entrance called the Propylaea. There would have been a marble walkway up the Acropolis from this spot. There is still pieces of this walkway in place. You have to be really careful as it is slick even on a dry, very sunny day. Our path was around the end and then up some steps as well as the marble path. It is steep. I would have loved taking more pictures but I was doing good to keep walking and using the steps with no handrail. 

To the right of the Propylaea is the Temple of Athena Nike (#6 on the diagram). Nike is the ancient Greek winged goddess of victory. She is often depicted with wings on her feet symbolizing swiftness and triumph. Her Roman counterpart is Victoria. Nicoletta told Claude that the shoe company, Nike, had people submit name suggestions for the sneakers years ago. A student who had been to Greece, submitted the name Nike with the logo to represent an abbreviated set of wings. Ta Da!! We have Nike today. 

I was happy to see this stone around the edge of the Parthenon. It is a section of a column. See the hole in the middle. That was drilled out and a piece of wood was used to fill it. The next section was also had a hole and was placed on the other end of the stick. This was done with each section of the marble column. The beauty of this, is that it allowed the column some wiggle-room when the earthquakes come. Here is where we learned it wasn't an earthquake that tore down the Parthenon. It was conquering people that destroyed this magnificent edifice. 

I paused to take pictures of the view from two directions on top of the Acropolis. The first is looking toward the water. The second in back toward one of the mountains on the other sides of Athens. These three mountains and the opening into the sea cause the climate in Athens. 

And there was the Parthenon in all its splendor (#1 on the diagram). It is being slowly put back together. The goal is to use as much of the original stone as possible. It is a massive jigsaw puzzle that will take years to put back together. If you see white marble in some of the pictures, it is taken from the same quarry as the original marble. Over the years, it will age and become the same color as the older stone. The first picture is the Parthenon facing the Propylaea. The second shows the differences in the marble. The third is the opposite end of the Parthenon. 

Nicoletta pointed out that the Parthenon really is built on the rock of the Acropolis. The base in three layers of marble with the building on top. No real substructure. 

When you look at the Parthenon, you need to remember there were many carvings on the ends and all of it was painted in bright colors. The first picture shows the carving or a horse and the second picture shows the carving of a man. Many of the original carvings and statues that have been found are in the Acropolis Museum at the bottom of the Acropolis. 

Nicoletta graciously took some pictures of two old people who actually made it to the top!! 

Across the path is the Old Temple to Athena (#2 on the diagram). There are beautifully carved pillars. Each pillar is an individual piece of marble. In truth, these are replicas. The originals were wearing away with air pollution. They are in the Acropolis Museum for safekeeping. 

Nicoletta explained the difference in the types of columns. On the Parthenon (1st picture), they are Doric. This is the simplest and most robust of classical architectural styles. The Old Temple of Athena (2nd picture) has the Iconic style. This style has scroll type tops. There is also the Corinthian style which is the most elaborate. Nicoletta was quick to tell us the Romans liked too use this style because they liked everything to show their power and wealth. There are no Corinthian style on the Acropolis.  

Time to climb down the Acropolis. We paused to get a view of the Agora. The Agora of Ancient Athens is a 30-acre outdoor archeological site. Visitors can freely walk around the area, similar to a city park strewn with ancient semi-intact buildings, foundations, statues, and columns. In ancient times, it was the mercantile and political heart of Athens. It contained several markets, a courthouse, five temples, two theaters, a teaching porch, three stoa (a roofed colonnade), and numerous different sculptures of the gods. 

One feature I was very anxious to locate was Mars Hill. I kept pointing to different hills on our tour and asking if it was Mars Hill. Nicoletta asked me why I was so curious. I explained that is where Paul preached to the Athenians about the Unknown God altar he found. He explained to them that he was going to tell them who that Unknown God was. The scriptures say this was a place the Greeks loved to hear any new thing. After telling me several hills were not the one, Nicoletta stopped so I could get a good view of Mars Hill. It is also called Areopagus. It was where the Athenian Supreme Court and tribunal of morals was held. Claude and I were surprised and how small it was. So happy to have this mental picture now as I read scriptures. 

Honestly, coming down the Acropolis was harder on Claude and me that hiking up to the top. You are on a steep incline and our knees became very wobbly. They are already tired and this careful walk downhill really does them in. It was at this point that we asked Nicoletta to call the driver and see if he could pick us up to go back to the hotel. We would miss the Agora but we were okay with that. Really, we should have given ourselves a day to catch up before climbing the Acropolis. That seven hour time difference and all the other factors were really playing havoc with us. But we saw the Acropolis and made it to the top. We were very happy. 

On the say down, we past newly uncovered ruins of homes at the base of the Acropolis. The one had a mosaic floor. It would have been a wealthy owner to have a mosaic floor. 

This is looking back to to the top of the Acropolis from the base. Amazing view. Amazing to be there. 

Once back at the hotel, we took a little nap. It was greatly appreciate and we started trying to acclimate to the time change. 

For dinner, we opted to go back to the bar. On there menu, they had something called Pinza. I asked the server what that was. She explained it was a Greek version of a pizza. It had a thin crust out of their recipe for the dough. We opted to try that for dinner. Claude would also have a Greek Salad. I asked Nicoletta what her favorite food was. She is mostly a vegetarian. She loves Greek Salads. However, she explained that a true Greek Salad has NO lettuce of any kind. It is really vegetables. Claude ordered one and, sure enough, there was no lettuce. In the States, there is usually Romaine lettuce in a Greek Salad. Claude enjoyed his salad very much. We purchased some water after dinner and headed back to our room. 

In the evening, I posted pictures of our day on our family Facebook page. 

2025_0908 & 0909 Travel to Greece

And we are off for two weeks to learn a little about Greece and Turkey. We thought we had things in order. Our flight would not leave until the evening. This gave us the morning to accomplish the last minute things like putting a hold on the mail and watering plants, etc. This should have made a morning that was not rushed. 

However...I received a message from Viator. It seems the taxi drivers in Athens decided to go on strike. Our transportation from the airport to the Grand Hyatt was canceled. Ugh!! I quickly went to my laptop and did some research to find another possible driver for us. I was able to find another service, Blacklane, who, for a very healthy price, could provide this transportation. to do this. Ugh, again!! I felt happy this happened before we left home so I could straighten it out using my laptop instead of just my cellphone. 

We made it to the Cincinnati airport in great time and had a leisurely check in of our luggage. The Delta agent who checked us in told us there were 100 empty seats on the first leg of trip, the flight Paris. Wow!! Airlines are not usually that empty anymore. 

We would fly out Monday, September 8th on Delta 98 at 6:30pm from Cincinnati to Paris. This flight was to take 8 hours and 10 minutes. We were to arrive at Charles de Gaulle at 8:40am on Tuesday, September 9th. Fortunately, the plane arrived a half hour early. We needed every minute to navigate Charles de Gaulle airport. We were to have have had 1 hours and 14 minutes between flights. With our early arrival, we had two hours. 

Tuesday, September 9th, after deboarding the plane in Paris, it was a zoo finding where to go on the reader board. You know how you may drive a highway and it will have a couple or more highway numbers if other highways are sharing that bit of road for a while. Airlines do something similar when they pair with other airlines to get you somewhere. In this case, they would used Air France numbers as well as Delta numbers. The reader board had the flight going to Athens but the wrong number. You had to stand there a bit and wait until it changed to one of the other numbers for that flight. We had no time to stand so this was nerve rattling. Finally we learned we had to find a train to the F Terminal. When we got to the F Terminal, we had to go through a security check. There was a very, very long line of people. You know, the kind that winds back and forth through a maze of dividers on stanchions. After wading through that, we then had another set of these mazes to get thru passport control. The really frustrating thing here was the people trying to get us through opening a section of that maze and rerouting a group of us where they felt the line was shorter. This meant that people behind us who had not been in line as long as us we suddenly in a shorter line and ahead of us. Ugh!! Once we finished, it was a very, very long walk to the F gates to gate F45. We got there 5 minutes before boarding started. We were grateful for that extra 30 minutes. We would have never made it with the original flight schedule. We also never, ever, want to go through Charles de Gaulle airport again!!

We flew out of Charles de Gaulle on and Air France plane with Delta #8753 9:55am. This would be a 3 hour and 15 minute flight to Athens. 

Once in Athens, we found baggage claim and gratefully found both our suitcases. This is always a happy moment. What we didn't find was a customs gate and no one to stamp our passports. Hmmm...

We got to the place where baggage claim enters the airport waiting area. This is where all the drivers were located with their signs to say who they were picking up. I walked up and down the row of drivers and read all the signs. No Blacklane anywhere. They were to send me a text when they were on their way. No text on my phone. We waited for a while and I walked up and down reading all the driver's signs several times. Then I sent an eMail to them. It turns out I had booked this transportation for Wednesday, NOT Tuesday. We were at the Athens airport with no transportation and a taxi strike. This meant everyone was booked solid in other transportation companies. We found a place to sit and Claude went to get us a bottle of water. I realized I was sitting by a driver who arrived a bit early to pick up his fare. I asked him if he was a driver for a company. He assured me he was. I explained my situation and asked if his company might be able to provide us transportation to the Grand Hyatt. His company had no one available but he called a friend from another company and this good many came to pick us up. I called and canceled Blacklane. Our driver said he would be happy to pick us up on the Sunday we were leaving Greece. Whew!! He promised to send a text confirming this. 

The Grand Hyatt had a nice room ready for us on the seventh floor. How good to have a place to be for a bit. 

We were able to use our cellphones in Athens. I was very happy to find the new Dan Brown book had arrived for my Kindle. I pre-purchased it. I was able to download it to my Kindle using the hotel Wifi. Yeah!! 

We had dinner in the hotel's bar. Their dining room didn't start serving dinner until 7pm. We needed to have a good meal. The airplane meal left a great to be desired and we needed some good nourishment. We also needed some water to rehydrate. We enjoyed a nice relaxed meal then retired to our room for the evening. We needed a good nights rest. 

Getting Ready for Greece...

Wednesday, September 3rd, we started this day off slow. Tired from our quick Michigan run, we slept in till our bodies said to wakeup. Then we had a quiet morning until Claude had his PT at 12:30. Then, it was time to prepare for our next trip which would be a biggie. 

We would leave to Greece in less than a week. While we had been doing little things long the way to prep, it was now time to be earnest in our endeavors. To facilitate this, I went to my default position, I wrote a list of the things I would like to accomplish before we left. This included things to do in our home to leave it safe and clean for when we returned as well as things I needed to do in preparation for overseas travel. Then I took a little tablet and put the day at the top of each page. I went through my list of items and put them each on an appropriate day. Now, I had my 'to do' list in a manageable form so no day would be too strenuous and all could possibly be accomplished. As with all lists, things we come up each day that needed to be done that were not on the list. There was good wiggle room for these things. 

I purchased some Christmas gifts while in Michigan, so all those presents were wrapped and labeled and my 2025 Christmas Gift List was created. I keep that on my Google Drive so I can quickly see who I need to purchase for in case I see things while out and about. That felt good to get going. The rest of this year is so very full and it felt good to get a good start on Christmas. 

Thursday, September 4th, this morning was a bit tense. Claude and I have created an annual Christmas tradition of seeing Tran Siberian Orchestra (TSO) as one of our Christmas dates if they are close to Lexington. These tickets sell out very, very, very quickly. I joined their fan club a few years back. This gives me a heads up on the early sale of tickets. I received an eMail from TSO several days before that said they were changing their website platform and I needed to check in to that so they kept me on their fan club list. I did that. Then on Wednesday, I received another eMail saying the tickets would go on the presale to Legacy Members on Thursday at 10am. Yike!! I was really happy about this because their first eMail said their tickets would go on sale while we were out of the country. Now I could purchase tickets before we left. This year we would be in Las Vegas when they were going to be in Lexington, so I needed to find another city we didn't mind traveling to. I sat at my laptop ready to go at 10am. I clicked the purchase tickets button and even in the second I was like 10,000th in line! Goodness. I had to stay online like that and watch the counter so from 40 minute wait until my turn came up. I was able to get us tickets in Cincinnati in November in just the spot we like to sit in. Yeah!! It will be an early Christmas date, but it will get done. 

I had one of those precious moments in life this day. I decided I needed a bit to eat. I opted out of breakfast that morning and it was about 12:30. I went to the kitchen and sliced an apple. I had a nice bowl of apple slices and met Claude in the hallway. He had been busy on his own personal to do list for the trip. I asked if he was ready for a break. He assured me he was. I invited my Big Guy to join me on the sofa in the study to share my apple with me. We each took our respective ends of the very comfortable seat and read and at our apple. When I was younger, I don't know if I would have truly appreciated taking a few moments to enjoy each other's company. You are so busy with little ones, work, keeping up a home, church callings, kids outside activities, that you don't often get these moments. It is one of the joys of being retired and having reached this stage of life. I loved sitting there with Claude and enjoying an apple together. Sweet.

Bailey called to talk. She is sooooo happy at Campbellsville University. She was fairly bubbling. We were happy that one of her classes is piano lessons. It is required of all music majors. How cool is that!! After our conversation, she sent me these pictures from her dorm room. It touched my heart. They are my parents in my father's favorite picture of them. The large picture was taken right after they were married. My father had hair!! The smaller picture was taken when at my niece's wedding in Ogden, Utah. And the dog is Tiny. She was my mother's dog and became Papa's faithful companion after Mimi passed. If you look at the top of the first picture, you can see a quilt on Bailey's bed. That was made by my mother for Bailey. It really meant a lot of me that, of all the things Bailey could choose to take in that little dorm room, she made place for these items. Family is important to her. 

Friday, September 5th, while Claude was at PT, I went shopping by myself. When at Cabela's on our way home from Michigan, I purchased a floral cotton jumper with spaghetti straps. I needed a white t-shirt to wear under it. I shopped at Walmart first for some other things but they didn't have a white t-shirt. I went to Kohl's and found my t-shirt. Yeah!! 

I managed to come home and sweep and vacuum the floors, clean the bathrooms and get the Relief Society announcements out.

Jessie Carter called and we had a fun conversation. She is a sweetheart. 

Saturday, September 6th, was laundry day. I didn't have a full day to do this as we had plans in the evening. While I did that, I cleared some things off the DVR so it had lots of room while we would be gone. I also cut Claude's hair so he was ready for the trip. He is wearing it a bit longer these days. 

Andie posted pictures of her and Michael. They have set a Saturday morning tradition of going for bagels. There are lots of places in the Louisville area and she had a list of them. They are going to try them all out. She posted this fun picture of the two of them learning to be just the two of them again now that both kids are away at college. Don't they look like they are having fun?!

In the late afternoon, Claude and I headed to Louisville via the Burger King in Frankfort. We were going to the Brown Theater to see an Eagles wanna-be group called "7 Bridges: The Ultimate Eagles Experience". They did a nice job. Not the best or smoothest we have ever heard. But they had the audience singing along to all our favorite Eagles music, clapping hands and some evening dancing. It was a fun evening and we really enjoyed ourselves. We love the Eagles and getting a chance to sing along to their music is always fun. One of my favorites in these situations is watching Claude play guitar chords as he listens to the music. We both have a love of music. I do the same thing with my fingers playing notes on a piano that really isn't there. Good times.

Sunday, September 7th, has been a good day so far. It was an early start for Claude Zoom Stake Council meeting. He was up at 6am. We had a nice Fast and Testimony meeting for Sacrament Meeting. 

During the sacrament, I was reading Ephesians. We will see Ephesus ruins on one of our shore excursions. I have been trying to refresh my memories of Paul, his journeys and teachings. In Chapter 1, Verse 5, Paul uses the phrase "adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself". I taught early morning seminary for 8 years. These manuals had wonderful explanations of words and phrases. For this particular phrase the New Testament Student Manual gave this explanation: "Jesus Christ is God's only rightful heir. Therefore, to receive eternal life, we must be adopted through the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ in order to become 'heirs of God, and joint-heirs of with Christ (Romans 8:17)". It always amazes me when I already know something, then I read it and suddenly it sinks deep into my heart. Jesus Christ is God's only rightful heir. When you study the Bible, you learn that the first-born son was the rightful heir in any family. He received a double portion as his birthright. I was so he could continue to support and sustain his mother and the family if and when the father passed. Again, Jesus Christ is God's only rightful heir. However, because of the Savior's love of each of us and for his willingness to obey Heavenly Father, he endured the Atonement so we could also be 'rightful heirs' with him in all His Father has. What an amazing understanding we have. How grateful I am for the strength that covenants and a testimony give to me of all of this. It was a tender moment for me during the sacrament.

This afternoon, while Claude naps, I will get my little things done in Sandiland. Then we will pack for our trip. The evening will be quiet. Claude has another Zoom meeting regarding the Stake's Disaster Preparedness Plan. 

Monday, September 8th, I will write this as if it has happened. We will do the final little things. Water plants, stop the mail, etc. In the afternoon we will head to the Cincinnati Airport (which is really in Kentucky) and begin our LONG journey to Athens. We are feeling a bit of trepidation about this trip. In 2024 when we went to Italy, we both fell. Claude broke and sprained his ankle in a very bad way. I fell and trashed my right shoulder requiring reverse shoulder replacement. Both of the injuries will have long term effects on our abilities as we age. Needless to say, we don't want a repeat of that in Greece. The terrain there lends itself to lots of possibilities for falling. We will take our time and enjoy all we can. We have traveled for many years and not had the falling problem. Hope all goes well. Greece...here we come, ready or not!

A Quick Trip to Michigan...

Saturday, August 30th, was time to hit the road again. This time, we headed to Michigan for a very quick trip. It was Labor Day weekend so we figured heavy traffic. After a breakfast stop at Chick-filA, we headed up I-75 to Holton, Michigan. 

Whenever we do this drive, I am always fascinated with this nuclear plant. It is the Luminant Miami Fort Station in Shawnee, Ohio. The Greater Miami River comes into the Ohio River at this point. There is always concern with a nuclear power plant. It always looks so peaceful. 

We made it to Nunica, Michigan. While preparing for our Zanesville trip, I came across a listing of all the henges in the United States. As I read the list, I realized there was one in Nunica, Michigan. We pass thru here often going or coming from the Tyler home. Usually we think of Stonehenge when one uses the term henge. There are actually many of them in many countries. A henge by definition is a ring-shaped bank with a ditch on the inside. In today's world, we tend to make them out of all kinds of things. There are some even made of cars buried part-way in the earth. The makers of this henge had used Styrofoam and made and exact replica of Stonehenge in England. It is in their front yard so it is on private property and NOT a tourist attraction. Claude drove down the back road and dropped me off at the end of their driveway. He drove on down the road to turn the car around. I walked to their big gate and took this picture from the gate. We have a fascination with all these henges and will stop to find them. Happy we found this one. Now we need to go to Munfordville, Kentucky and find the one located there!!

We tried to get to Holton on Maple Island Road. It is a straight show (mostly) to M120 and then to Nissa and Todd's home. We made it to White Road and Maple Island and found a barricade across Maple Island with a police car, lights flashing, stationed on the other side. Our detour took us all the way back to Muskegon and the north on Hwy 31 to M120. Ugh!! There are lakes and rivers across this stretch of Michigan so no crosses of them except for Hwy 31 and Maple Island. 

We made to Holton. Nissa had a nice roast in the crockpot waiting for our arrival. We enjoy a delicious meal with Nissa and Todd and a quiet evening chatting and then watching the first University of Michigan game for the year. Todd is a HUGE UofM fan. 

Sunday, August 31st, we were up at 8am and got ready to go to church with the Ropers. This was the Sunday Drew would be ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood. Claude would do the ordaining. This is a very important thing in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We were so happy that Drew wanted Claude to do this for him.

We attended Sacrament Meeting first. Then the kids, Katelyn and I, attended Primary. Drew and Claude attended the 5th Sunday group meeting. 

I was so impressed that the leader asked Joel if he would give the opening prayer. Joel gave a very firm "yes". Then she asked if Joel would like to have his mother help him. Again, Joel gave a very firm "yes". He did a great job of following Nissa's lead to give the prayer. These things please me on may levels. First, it is so important to learn to talk with Heavenly Father. Next was the ability to do that in front of people. Joel is four years old. He is the youngest one in Primary. What a great way to learn to be in front of other people. So many good feelings. Raelyn also was asked to read the 13th Article of Faith. She cheerfully did this as well. So happy they participate this well. They have a very, very small Primary. There were not even 10 children in it.

Then we went to Joel's Primary class which Katelyn and Drew teach. Drew was with Claude, so I got to be with Katelyn as she taught Joel. He went right to the classroom and looked up at the windows which are very high across the top of the room. He asked for the bag of blocks so he could make a temple. My heart melted. Katelyn asked him questions, showed pictures and video. He kept playing with the blocks the entire time but he answered every question. At one point, Katelyn showed him a picture of Jesus reading from toral scrolls. He knew it was Jesus. I showed him the scrolls and explained that was how they read a book when Jesus was on the earth. I took out a piece of paper and a pen and Katelyn helped him make a scroll with two of his little blocks. He wrote on it with the pen. It was very quick but he got the idea. This was a fun experience for me to watch Joel learning. 

After the meetings, we met at the clerk's office where Claude ordained Drew to the Aaronic Priesthood. This little congregation really needs Drew holding the priesthood to help with the Sacrament. Claude gave Drew his 'Line of Authority'.  Drew will add his name to the top. 

Then it was time for lunch. The kids were very excited we were at church with them because, the habit is, to take them to McDonald's for lunch after the meeting. We did just that. Everyone enjoyed a nice lunch together. 

Then we headed to the Roper home. Katelyn had asked Claude to bring his staple gun to help her with a repair. They did that and I played with the kids for a bit. Kennedi was eyeing my bead necklace. I asked her if she wanted to wear it. She assured me she really did. I took it off my neck, wrapped it so it was two layers and put it around tiny Kennedi. She was very happy.

I tried to get pictures of the other three. The girls, Emelia and Raelyn, were doing what all children in today's world tend to do, playing with their devices. I asked them for a smile and did get one.

When I asked Joel for a picture, he immediately turned around. He did finally look my way so I could get a quick picture of our little man.

We bide farewell to the Roper's and pointed the Buick toward Chelsea, Michigan. We had reservations are the Comfort Inn for two nights. We arrived and were settled in the room by 5:15pm. We wanted something for dinner and were both thinking chili from Wendy's. There is a Wendy's across the street from the Comfort Inn. We walked across the street and the door was locked. There were cars in the parking lot on the other side of the store. They only had the drive-thru open. We walked back to the hotel and got in the Buick and drove through for our dinner. Then back to the room to eat. A little convoluted, but we got the job done.

Monday, September 1st, we arranged to meet Jake at 1pm. He had the day off but had some things he wanted to get done before we started our visit. Claude and I try to be very mindful of the fact all the rest of our family works. Their days off need to be respected so they can accomplish what needs to be done on that day. We needed to get something in Claude's tummy because of morning meds. We drove to McDonald's and got him a wrap. Then we parked in front of the hotel with the windows down to enjoy the air while Claude ate. It was so pleasant until the sun caught up to my side of the car. We drove to the park in Chelsea and sat there till time to pick up Jake. 

Jake suggested we go to Ann Arbor to see about some things he was interested in. 

We first went to REI which is a store to buy hiking things. Claude was contemplating a smaller backpack to take on our Greece trip. He checked these out as well. We ended up buying nothing at REI.

Our second stop was a bit more productive in the spending department. We went to Barnes and Nobel. I was fortunate to find Christmas presents for all the great grandmonsters and Bailey. How cool is that?! Jake found a couple of books but opted not to purchase yet. 

We found our way back closer to the freeway and had a nice meal at Applebee's. 

Then we drove back to Chelsea and stopped at Jake's apartment to see if Soot would come have something to eat. Soot is Jake's cat and stays mostly outside as long as the weather is warm. Jake had a good interaction and felt comfortable getting back in the car with us and heading to our hotel room for a visit. 

I purchased Hershey's chocolate almond bars for each of us. We had  a little dessert and sipped on water and visited for a good while. 

Then Jake suggested we go to Twisters for ice cream. We enjoyed our traditional ice cream run and then took Jake back to his apartment. 

We spent the rest of the evening watching television. Apollo 13 was on followed by another Tom Hanks movie. It must have been a Tom Hanks marathon. We enjoy Tom Hanks so this was not a problem.

Tuesday, September 2nd, we slept in a bit before getting up and hitting the road for home. A stop at McDonald's to get a little something to go with Claude's meds. This time it was breakfast time so I enjoyed probably the best biscuit I ever had from McDonald's. 

We stopped in Dundee to stop at Cabela's. Claude found a backpack. I found a cotton jumper and another nice pair of capris. Success!!

We stopped in Beaver Dam for gasoline. Then on to City Barbeque in Florence, Kentucky for dinner. Then home! 

We emptied our suitcase and curled up in our recliners for a quiet evening watching Castle. So nice to be home. Such a good quick trip to Michigan. Love seeing our family.