Sunday in the Park, Part 2, A Dam Good Time

My friends and I still had more of the Independence State Park to explore! There were such lovely sights all around. Fall is in its glory! Just look at these beautiful leaves!
I thought this sycamore tree was rather striking. It had such an interesting shape. My son tried to jump up into it, but couldn't get a good footing. It's higher than you think!

Here is a branch from another sycamore tree that I thought looked interesting. It sort of makes me think of a python hiding in the tree!
I love the contrast between the white tree and the deep blue of the sky, spattered with these colorful fall leaves!
Jon and Monica found another place to take a picture. Here they are with the Maumee River in the background. Did I tell you that the park is between a canal and a river? Not sure how wide the river is at this point, but its a substantial waterway.I just love looking at rivers in the fall with the changing trees framing each side.

My son took this picture of the river with the water looking like glass. I like that he not only got a reflection of the clouds, but he got a great reflection of the sun too. Where does this lead?

A big dam! This is actually called Independence Dam State Park. And did we ever have a dam good time!

Look how still the water seems on one side of the dam, and how it races on the other side! You can't see it well in this shot, but there is a good drop there. In season, you will see fishermen standing in the water fishing for walleye.
I didn't realize when I took this picture that there was a rainbow effect from the water.
Awww, here is my cutie pie son! This is such a good picture of him.

Here is what you find on the other end of the dam. The river is kind of low right now, and there are shallow spots.

Such a pretty scene. What's that up ahead?

Besides the little island and the pretty trees, I think I see something else! What a beautiful bird!
Jared snuck closer with the camera to get a closer shot. Too cool!
Jared also went to the top of the end of the damn to get some good camera shots. Jon and Monica are in the forefront petting fur son Winston. He is such a good puppy!
Looks like Jared got all tuckered out from running and leaping through the park.
He didn't get much of a rest though. After this, we headed to another park on the river, this one right in the city. There were some different things to photograph there!

Come on back tomorrow for more fall fun!

Take me to the river! And I'm on the right track.

It has been a while since I've shown pictures of the river. Keep in mind that I don't get to see the river like this because I would have to go down a very steep riverbank, and I am just not limber enough to do that. It's a steep incline of about 25 feet down there! The last few feet are especially steep. Someday I hope to have stairs...with railings. These are pictures my youngest son took. These first two are from last fall.


The water is so calm, it looks like glass! So beautiful.

These next pics were taken last week.

While Jared was visiting his father in Texas, his best friend moved back to the area from North Carolina. Nick is the sweetest kid. Unfortunately, his mother moves constantly, and he has probably lost count of all the school districts he has lived in. I think that they last went to school together in 7th or 8th grade, but their friendship has endured.

Nick is the one above in black. He used to be an innocent little red head with short hair. I was a little surprised to see him with long hair dyed black, dressed all in black with chains. Definitely an Emo look. It hasn't changed the boy inside who is still a sweetheart. Don't be misled by appearances!

Below is my oldest boy Sean with Nick, and they are coming up the riverbank. Even Jared couldn't keep the camera straight on that steep riverbank!

I tried to get a pic of Sean coming up, but he tried to outrun the camera. Ha, caught him just as he reached the top!
Nick kept hiding his face. He took off his hoodie and unzipped his pants into shorts for cooler attire. Our little Emo fashionisto! I'm not sure why there is this solitary fencepost in my yard near the shed, but there it stands. Someday I hope to put a bird bath or cool plant on it. For the present though, Jared and Nick decided that it would be fun to jump on and stand on. Nick made it!
So did Jared! They literally jumped up onto it. I would no doubt have ripped a muscle or broken a bone trying this. Jared tried to get away from me when I took this pic, so it ended up being blurry. I thought it looked hilarious though because it looks like he has a pecker nose. Sorry.

Anyhow, I finally got to go walking around the track again today. Its day 4 of walking and its going well. It gets easier each time. Isn't this a nice stadium?
Nice seating area. Much bigger than the one in my hometown!
Someone told me that they wanted to see the blue track, so here it is! I walk to and from the stadium, then do three laps, so this should total a mile.
It was a perfect day for walking. I love the trees near the stadium. It's so quiet out there and you can hear the birds singing, and just look at the blue sky and little wisps of clouds!
I feel pretty blessed to be so near such a great place to walk.

I can do this. It helps me so much to know that I have the support of my friends here in blogland! Thank you!

Family and friends BBQ, Fireworks, and s'mores making party!

I invited my daughter and her boyfriend, and my friend Stacy, her daughters, and her boyfriend to come over for a barbeque before going to the park to watch fireworks. It was a lot of fun! Stacy has been one of my best buddies for several years now. We worked in the same factory and sometimes spent more time laughing than working. Her boyfriend also worked there, but he didn't come into the picture until about a year and a half ago.

My daughter is usually a camera hog, but today, the only picture I was able to get of her is in the group photo above where she is standing in the center.

Here is the cast of characters:

Here is Stacy and her sweetie Brian. Aren't they cute together?



Here is Stacy's oldest daughter Sydney. The grill I was given is right behind her.

Here is her middle daughter Shaelyn, or Shae-baby as I have always called her. Love the face

And here is her youngest sweetie pie Symantha, or Sam for short, also making a face.

Here is Brian, sans sunglasses, eating my very awful hamburgers. I had never operated a gas grill before...seriously! And I did not do a very good job on the hot dogs and hamburgers, but they were eaten anyway. We also had potato salad, baked beans, chips and dip, and cookies.

And here I am in my newly painted chair. This was right before I got all hot and sweaty from grilling burgers and hot dogs. Just a moment before this, Brian was giving me bunny ears.

After dinner, we all went to the park to watch fireworks. We staked out a spot, which turned out to be partially blocked by a tree, ugh, but we all had fun anyhow. Here are the girls with their glow necklaces on. I think they had more fun with those than they did with the fireworks! I took some pics of the fireworks, but they didn't turn out.

Afterwards, we came back to start up the fire and roast marshmallows for s'mores. I got the fire stoking!

Here we all are roasting our marshmallows. Some fell in the fire. Some got flung into the yard. Thankfully, none were blazing when they went flying off the skewers. Some actually got eaten!

Tried to take a pic of my son, but he covered his face, the little stinker! I heard from my youngest son on the 4th, and he said he had a fun day in Texas where they spent it with his step-mother's youngest son and his family. I have met them and they are the sweetest, and I was glad he got to spend the holiday with them.

Here is Mike, my daughter's boyfriend. Not sure where she is. Maybe in the bathroom. Ha!

Stacy is really enjoying her s'more. Not sure what was said that got her so tickled. Maybe Brian goosed her.

Here is Brian mesmerized by the flames, and Shae toasting her marshmallow.

Here is Sam below, contemplating the zen of S'mores.

All in all, it was a great night, and we stayed up until after midnight around the fire, listening to neighborhood fireworks still popping and banging. The girls had great fun poking around in the fire.
Eventually the evening died down, just as the fire had. The glowing embers looked almost alive! The girls thought it was very cool.

We ended the evening with the warm glow of friendship and time spent together! Hope you were all able to spend time with family and friends this holiday too!