Monday, August 7, 2023
Pat and I are now back home on the farm after some time away. We took a little road trip down to Florida from July 23 to August 2, to visit some of her family in Jacksonville, and to celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary at Disney. We had a great time down there.
Our time in Jax was terrific with Pat’s step mom Renée and step sister Robin and her family. It was a sweet time. One evening, we enjoyed a burger cook out, with Robin’s husband Chris being the chef, and the next evening we went to a lovely restaurant called Bahama Breeze. But the times spent just sitting around visiting were the best. Yes, the days were pretty hot down there, but that didn’t mar our visit. So good to see them all.
With Renée on one of our daily excursions.
Dennis, Pat, Renée, Leighton, Robin, Chris
A lovely evening out.
During the Disney part of our trip, we took it pretty easy each day, the sun was searing down, and kept our times in the parks to the mornings or evenings. We had some afternoon naps, and we enjoyed the pool at our Riviera Resort.
Here we are at the Riviera, waiting to board a bus to the Magic Kingdom.
On our actual anniversary, July 28, we started the day with a behind-the-scenes tour of the Magic Kingdom called the “Keys to the Kingdom Tour”. It was fascinating. We even got to see much of the underground ( or first floor, really) “Utilidors” that support the magic happening upstairs. We saw a backstage area that helps train cast members for the parades, and we viewed the floats that appear in the “Festival of Fantasy” parade. That tour was really interesting.
This is Charles, our tour guide for the 5.5-hour tour. He was a retired law enforcement officer from New Jersey.
Charles speaks to the group right after lunch, before we enter the backstage area. They do not allow photos of the backstage areas.
Then, to close out our anniversary day, we had supper at the California Grille, on the top floor of the Contemporary Resort. From there, we saw the “Happily Ever After” fireworks show, and of course, the dinner itself was really special.
Dinner here was special for our 45th anniversary
Excerpt from the fireworks show during our anniversary dinner…
Some other pics of our happy time at Disney.
In Hollywood Studios
We got to ride the new Tron attraction. Great coaster!
We enjoy Epcot, too.
On our last night at Disney we stayed late at Epcot.
We drove back home on August 1st and 2nd, arriving back Wednesday evening in time to attend our “Grace and Peace” small group meeting at church.
The next couple days– Thursday and Friday– were spent catching up with the farm paperwork, getting the yard mowed, and reviewing the progress on our kitchen and bathroom remodel project. It had all gone well during our time away. John and Brandon and I finally got the deal finalized for a new combine for the 2024 crops. And we needed some time just to rest up from the vacation!
During our time away, on Monday the 31st, the new JD 9R 540 tractor was delivered. John texted a video of that delivery to me. It’s great to finally have it here on the farm. Of course, I have driven it around a bit now that I’m back home, and I can only say it is “smooth as silk”.
The new tractor arrives!
Nestled in the shed, waiting its turn to launch into action
Happy Farmer
On Saturday, Pat and I drove over to my sister’s home near Rising Sun, Indiana, for a very special family event. Sheila and her husband John hosted a Carnahan Family Reunion. There were 34 of us there, the descendants of Lowell and Ruth Carnahan. Those of us from here in Knox County were all in attendance, as well as Sheila’s kids and grandkids. Some of the cousins who had never met got acquainted, and it was simply a beautiful, happy, glorious day together.
What a wonderful day for all of the Carnahan Family
These are almost all of the great-grandchildren of Lowell and Ruth Carnahan There were 3 that couldn’t make it.
Pat and I stayed over and went to church with Sheila and John yesterday. Their church, the Rising Sun Church of Christ, is experiencing a resurgence and it was a wonderful morning in their fellowship.
Last night, we received 1.2 to 2.9″ (31 to 74mm) of rain, depending on the location. It was quite a storm with heavy rainfall, and the lightning show was spectacular! I can detect no damage from the rain or wind, and the precipitation was certainly welcome. I noticed yesterday that some small spots in some soybean fields were showing stress from the dry weather. Last night should have fixed that!
Today, we are getting back in the groove at the farm. Brandon and Bill are delivering wheat to the ADM market in Newburgh, and John is installing camera cables into the new tractor. Also, he is preparing for his girls to go back to school tomorrow!
You know, in just about 6 weeks the combines will be rolling. 2023 has been good to us so far, and we are grateful.
