Days 9 & 10 - Wednesday & Thursday, June 17 & 18 - Rainy

 It rained all day yesterday. Kathy was ill and we both just hung around the coach all day.

Kathy felt somewhat better today but decided to stay home all day. Mid-morning I walked up to the Fair offices and paid for us to stay through Sunday AM. On the way back, on the other side of a grassy area, I noticed this hawk(?) hopping around on the ground. After a couple of hops it took it a couple of tries but it managed to fly up to the top rail of a board fence. It was pretty scruffy looking.

Later I met my Mom and brother for lunch at the Willows bar, after David took her to her Thursday morning hair appointment. The Willows bar has been here for as long as I can remember, over 70 years. It has always been noted as a place to get a good hamburger. 

Mom went with me when we left the Willows. We drove around the countryside for a couple of hours. During the drive we managed to find our way to the ice cream place in Fremont, IN, for the 3rd time. Their lemon ice cream is really good.

I dropped Mom off at home and spent the rest of the day at the Fairgrounds with Kathy. Weather was great, high 60's with a little breeze. I walked around the empty Fairgrounds. The grandstand area brought back memories. In 1984 & 1985, when we lived in central Illinois, I made sure to be back here during the Branch County Fair. My grandfather, who made his living buying and selling horses, and I went to watch the horse pulling both of those years. We had a great time. I was planning on being back again for 1986 but he unexpectedly died a couple of weeks before the Fair. I looked at the 2026 Grandstand schedule and while the do have "pony pulling" during one of the days, there is no longer horse pulling. There is lots of pulling, just all motorized. Nights of: "street legal pickup and semi truck pulling", "antique tractor pulling", "farmstock and hot farm pulls" and a "NTPA regional truck and tractor pull".

It is 9:10P here and the sun is still up. Sunset is 9:17P tonight. Monday night, our first night in Sault Ste Marie, the sun won't set until 9:34P.

It is absolutely beautiful here this evening. An occasional car goes by on the street, about 100 yards away, but other than that it is QUIET. Well it was, some idiot just went buy romping on his turbo and then backing off, causing unburned fuel to explode in the exhaust. (Maybe I'm jealous I'm not doing it. 😀)

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.