Luckily this Stop Is Not About the Campground

We’re visiting family and friends in Western New York for three weeks. The State Parks in the area have campgrounds that consist of an electric pedestal stuck in a field. And in the rainy spring that’s what’s likely to happen to your camper. Even a number of the commercial campgrounds are unpaved. So for three weeks in this season we chose the AA Royal Motel and Campground.

There’s not much for scenery and nowhere to walk Matey, but it has full hookups and paved sites, so we are warm and dry. We laughingly call it the trailer ghetto.

To be fair the place is kept up; our impression was distorted by this burnt-out trailer that apparently caught fire two days before we arrived. No one was hurt, but it’s so disconcerting to see that we keep the shade over our dinette pulled down to block the view.

We have been seeing a lot of people, and I have remembered to take a few photos. This is a picnic with long-time friends. Clockwise starting from Bud, we have Gary Truhn, Sue Horanburg Truhn, Sue Quiett Manning and Dick Manning. It’s so good to get together with them; we try to touch base whenever we’re in town.

And my good friend Erin Hickey and I managed to go on what was once an annual hike to see the spring wildflowers at Gulf Wilderness Park in Lockport. We always went around Mother’s Day.

Unfortunately, twenty years later the early flowers have come and gone, even in late April. This is Hepatica, but not in flower.

We did find a couple of Jack-in-the-Pulpits in bloom, they are a later blooming species.

Erin made sure my plant sale skills didn’t atrophy. I helped pot up some flowers for the plant sale she and a friend are spearheading at the local cat shelter where she volunteers.

Happily we made it here in time for our great great niece Aubrey’s first communion celebration. Here she is listening to the very touching letter her mom, our great niece Jayne, is reading to her for the occasion.

This is Jayne with her parents, our nephew and niece, Rob and Kellie Bebee.

Here’s the table of oldsters. Clockwise from the left: my sister Judy, my sister Joan, my brother Jim, my mom Marni, my sister-in-law Goody, Bud and me. Jim and Goody are Rob’s parents. Aubrey is one of my mom’s three great great grandchildren.

Jim and I even ventured out for a hayride, though Jim said it did his bad back no good.

We took advantage of Jim and Goody’s visit to have an early birthday lunch for Mom on Tuesday. At almost 105 Mom says it’s risky to anticipate, even by six days. We hope she’s kidding.

Our visit is a bit more than half over, and so far it has certainly been worth the less than stellar campsite.