October 14 - November 2, 2013

I know, I know, it’s been over two weeks since my last posting and I apologize to everyone who has been following our travels!! At this moment we are heading toward Columbia, SC from Charleston, SC with our destination being Atlanta, GA. Much has happened and these wheels have rolled over many miles since October 14^th; and so, the story continues.

We arrived in Fort Wayne, IN on October 14^th around 9:45 am at the Mizpah Shrine Center, which is located in the heart of the city. We were met by Queen Karen, her noble and a camera crew from the local TV station. To my knowledge the interview with Supreme Queen Margaret Ann, aired that evening on the 11 o’clock news.

From Fort Wayne we visited the following cities – Columbus, OH, Dayton, OH, Cincinnati, OH, Indianapolis, IN, Terra Haute, IN, Peoria, IL, Springfield, IL, Lexington, KY, Greenville, SC, Charlotte, NC, Columbia, SC, Charleston, SC, Atlanta, GA, Irondale, AL, Montgomery, AL, Gulfport, MS, New Orleans, LA and Jackson, MS which is our destination today, November 11, 2013, Veterans Day. Since I’m so far behind in my blog, I’ll keep the details of these last few visits to a minimum; not that these are any less significant than the other visits, so many wonderful things have happened, I’m just short on time. In Cincinnati we visited the Shrine Hospital which specializes in the treatment of burns. One of the things which I learned is that the number of severe burns has dropped significantly since fire safety education and regulations have been implemented. That’s not to say that this hospital is not busy because it is; however there are less severe cases being seen than in the beginning days of the hospital. Otho Daughters of the Nile Temple in Peoria had a tailgate party for us when we arrived with lots of really great tailgate food.

 

While visiting Lexington for four days, we toured the Shriner Hospital for Children and were there for the presentation of the second million dollar plaque from Daughters of the Nile, to that hospital. Hospital administrator Tony Lewgood was our tour

guide of the hospital and also assisted us with a special project which many of the Nile temples participated in. He allowed the use of the auditorium to set up a call center where we and some members of the Foundation, contacted the odd number temples by speaker phone to log their information and results regarding a 100 Year Project. The outcome was phenomenal and the participating temples all seemed to enjoy being part of this wonderful call-in! That day almost $50,000.00 was reported by the Temples!! Not only that, but the Daughters of the Nile Foundation voted to make a million dollar capital fund donation to the new hospital! We frequented a couple of nice local restaurants while in Lexington before moving on to Greenville, SC and the Shriner’s Hospital there. This is another amazing hospital in the Shrine Hospital network and whose main focus is orthopedics. The hospital was full of patients and activity that day….the theme of the hospital is jungle and jungle animals…really beautiful.

I have to talk about something that struck me so funny and in no way do I mean to insult anyone with this comment. After having spent the first 3+months of the tour in the north, and listening to the accents in the north and eating the food in the north, I had major culture shock when we hit South Carolina! After the banquet of Al Ansar Temple, and going back to the motor home, I said to Harold “I feel like I’m in a foreign country”. Don’t misunderstand me, I LOVE the south, their hospitality and their accents, however it was almost southern overload for the first couple of days!! The food…..well, I find it quite different from how I normally eat, but that’s okay, except that green beans seem to be the vegetable of choice every single night, and not only that but the beans are cooked and cooked and cooked and then cooked again until they hardly resemble what they looked like coming off the vine. Most of the foods are highly seasoned. In Charleston, SC, a truly southern city, the banquet food was interesting. Of course, we had green beans, southern style and the main entrée was something called low country boil? This consisted of sausage meat, potatoes, shrimp and small ears of corn all cooked together. Yes indeed, interesting. Maybe it was fashioned after our New England boiled dinner?! I truly DO love the South.

October 13, 2013

October 13, 2013

What a nice visit we had yesterday in Southfield, which is a western suburb of Detroit. Ahmose Daughters of the Nile meets at the Moslem Shrine Center, and at one time was a Jewish Mosque and Community Center. It’s beautiful! We had a great drive down from Saginaw once we got on the right road after numerous construction detours. One thing is for sure, a lot of money is being spent on road work across this nation, helping to keep the economy alive! Harold dropped off Margaret Ann and me at the Shrine Center, and then found his way to the Brighton State Park RV facility. I hear it’s really beautiful there, you see I arrived in the dark and left in the dark; only thing I saw was the restrooms. It was so nice to have two reigning Queens in attendance at the Ceremonial, Queen Ellen from Saginaw, who rode to Southfield with us and sweet Queen Sara from St. Paul, MN. (Love that girl!)

 

 

Monday morning, October 14^th – like I said we left in the dark, actually at 5:45 am to head to today’s destination of Fort Wayne, IN and the Official Visit at Teti-Sheri Temple No. 60. Since Michigan is on the western most edge of the Eastern Standard Time Zone, the sun didn’t rise until almost 8 am and how absolutely magnificent the sunrise was. Well, almost to our next stop so I’ll be back later! Have a great day! Oh, don’t forget to check out www.donfdn.org for ways to support the Daughters of the Nile Foundation.

 

October 10 - October 13, 2013

October 13, 2013 – Since our hiatus which began on September 18^th, we have traveled to Point Peninsula New York where we pretty much closed up camp for the winter and where we left Nila so we could travel to home by car and confirm that all was well on the home front. Our week at home flew by much too quickly however; we were able to spend time with my folks, my sister Karen and her husband Phil, our kids Jeff and Tracey, Chris and Rob and their families. Fall is soccer season so we had the opportunity to watch Ryan play in two high school boys’ varsity games (and I might add that he is awesome)! Grandsons Brennon, Brady and Devin all play on youth rec teams so we saw all of them play as well. Fun, fun, fun!!! We headed back to camp in a very loaded Mazda Protégé, (Harold’s summer beater car) to finalize the closing of camp, say goodbye to friends, reload Nila and hit the road for Chicago. Thank you Wal-Mart for allowing travelers to park in many of your parking lots overnight. On the way to Chicago we stayed in Erie, PA and Elkhart, IN. The third night on the road we had reached our destination of Yogi’s Jellystone Park in Portage, IN. The 2.5 day trek from upstate New York to Portage was wonderful; the landscape of the states which we passed through is gorgeous! New York and Pennsylvania and their acres and acres of vineyards, Ohio and Indiana with miles and miles of corn, soy, oat and livestock farms. The harvest season was in full swing with many of the fields already having been plowed and readied for the winter rest. The fall foliage was changing colors along the route; however, I didn’t see anything that mirrors the beautiful fall colors which we left in Maine. Love you Maine!!

We visited and toured the Shriner’s Hospital for Children – Chicago on October 10^th. Our tour guide, Cathleen Himes from the Public Relations Dept. of the hospital led us through this wonderful hospital, introducing us to many staff members as we were guided through the units. This hospital specializes in orthopedic surgical procedures especially spine and spinal cord injuries and abnormalities. When we arrived at the hospital and got out of the car, there was the wonderful aroma of chocolate in the air. This hospital is located next to a MARS candy factory, which very generously assists with special hospital events by supplying lots of candy! Yum! The tour was followed by a luncheon in the private dining room where we enjoyed the company of the hospital administrator Mark Niederpruem. Every hospital which we have visited has its own character and uniqueness, they are all different, but one common denominator with the hospitals in this network is the upbeat and happy demeanors of the staff! The positive attitude permeates throughout the halls of these facilities and you see the outcome in the faces of the patients and their families. Folks – this is what it’s all about!!

 

 

I have to add that when “Nila” and two of her inhabitants were on hiatus, Supreme Queen Margaret Ann was busy at work in the Northwest, visiting 15 Daughters of the Nile Temples and 3 hospitals. She joined us in Chicago. The next day we visited Aretas Temple in Michigan City, IN and were escorted from the noontime banquet to the Ceremonial venue by Orak Potentate John York. It has been amazing to me, the support that we have had from so many of the Shrine Temples, sitting Potentates, Divan members, Gentlemen of the Creek and Masons. Thank you all! We left directly after the Ceremonial at Aretas to get a head start on out drive to Saginaw, MI and the Official Visit of Makere Temple. It was another Wal-Mart night, this time in Lancing, MI. The ladies of Makere put on a wonderful ceremonial and their banquet was done by the Marsha Washington OES chapter; a fabulous meal of homemade cooking! Those OES chapters really know how to put out a meal! Today, October 13^th we are in Southfield, MI just a suburb west of Detroit, for the Official Visit of Ahmose Temple. Stay tuned.

 

 Imperial Sir, Bob Bailey and SQ Margaret Ann

 

September 12 - September 17, 2013

Next stop, RE Temple, Cumberland, MD where we were met by the Campers Club of Ali Ghan Shriners. This shrine center boasts a nice RV Park for its members and guests. The front of the shrine building looks like the front porch of a southern planation house, with pillars and multiple rocking chairs in which to rest and take in the view of the Pennsylvania/Maryland mountains, beautiful! This Nile temple, Re Temple, went all out with their Official Visit, beginning with a “paving brick” in honor of the Supreme Queen, which will be placed in their memorial walkway which surrounds the gazebo. Following a newspaper interview, she was greeted by two Shrine patients, the Ali Ghan Highlanders and presented with a yellow rose. At the banquet she was presented with a Key and Proclamation from the City of Cumberland, an Official Citation from the Alleghany County Commissioners and an Official Citation from the Maryland State Governor.

 

 

To be in Endicott, NY the next day at 11 am, we left Cumberland at a very early hour, daylight was hours away….

Endicott, NY – we had reservations at the Pine Valley Campground, a nice campground outside of town. I learned the difference between a campground and an RV Park. Gravel and grass sites versus paved; gravel and muddy roads versus paved; unheated restrooms versus heated, tiled and individual units. No cable or WIFI to…. well you get my drift. So okay, I may be a little spoiled! Multiple Proclamations were given to SQ Margaret Ann by Zuleika Temple No. 9.

 

 

 

The next morning we had another early start to get to Albany/Latham, NY by 10am. We were met there by a photographer who with the assistance of Rosemary Caruso, put together a wonderful news article for the Altamonte Enterprise, a local paper. Check it out at - www.altamontenterprise.com. Click on Community then Correspondents. The ladies of both Zuleika and Cyrene Daughters of the Nile Temples put on beautiful ceremonials and banquets. Thank you!

 

 

Sunday, September 15^th, off to Utica, NY. Well actually, the Villages at Turning Stone RV Resort in Verona, NY. Now that was an RV Resort, holy moly! Large shady grassy lots with paved slabs. Clean, beautiful and heated restrooms. Yes indeed, very nice! Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to take advantage of the shuttle bus which delivers guests to and from Turning Stone Casino 24/7. Maybe another time. However, what we did have time for was telling several of the other campers (those curiosity seekers which I’ve mentioned before) of our mission and reason for the tour. So now, three more couples have knowledge of our philanthropy and hopefully will share the information with three more and three more and so on!! We had a delightful day with the ladies of Uarda Temple and can’t thank them enough for their hospitality.

 

 

Monday, the 16^th we were off to North Syracuse. I think that this was the shortest journey which we have had so far on the tour; less than 40 miles. I’ve had the opportunity to visit Ilderim Temple Daughters of the Nile in the past and love these ladies! A record number of ladies were in attendance, > 90. They meet at a fairly new Masonic Center in North Syracuse and had their banquet at the American Legion Hall in Cicero. Grilled steak that was cooked to perfection!!! Now, let me tell you about the campground, not an RV Park, where we parked that night after the banquet. First let me preface this by saying that I was the one who found this place as it was the closest to Cicero and on the way to Webster, NY. Talk about a mud hole….no sewer hookup and no satellite reception. Definitely a “campground”. I’m really not complaining, although it sounds that way, I’m just really noticing a huge difference in the parks.

 

A Donation Presentation from the Gentlemen of the Creek

 

 

 

Tuesday morning, bright and early, off to Webster for the official visit at Zama Temple which was wonderful. Dumpster diving and all!!

 

 

 

 

This was our last visit of this leg of the tour. Nila is on hiatus now until October 10^th when we are scheduled to tour the Shriner’s Hospital in Chicago. ‘Til then……..

September 8th - September 11th, 2013

September 7, 2013

The Presque Isle Passage RV Park greeted us warmly when we arrived on September 6^th. Coincidentally, this park was formally owned by a “Hill” family. A Wal-Mart run was on the schedule for the morning of September 7^th, to purchase provisions and take a ride into the city of Erie. Ten of the Tall Ships were in port and due to the multitudes of people trying to get close enough to view and tour these amazing sailing vessels, we couldn’t get anywhere near, within the time frame which we had. Soooooo, back to the RV Park we went to prepare for the Official Visit at Selket Temple No. 140, Daughters of the Nile. This Temple meets at Zem Zem Shrine Center, a beautiful building! It was a short night after the banquet as we left at 5 pm this morning for our 5.5 hour trip to Parkersburg, WV. Actually, we are on the road as I am writing this. The farther south we go, here in the state of Ohio, the hillier the terrain becomes. Being from the Northeast, I think of this country as being so industrial and it is amazing to me to see so much farm country! This is truly the “Heartland”. Thus far on this journey we have crossed into and out of 22 states and provinces, have visited 15 Shrine Centers, 6 Shriners Hospitals for Children® and logged almost 12,000 miles!

September 11, 2013

I would be sorely remiss if I did not make mention in this blog of the horrific attack on this country 12 years ago today. We as Americans, lost so many innocent citizens on that fateful day, from the attack at the Pentagon in our Nations’ Capitol, the devastation and destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City and the fatal crash of Flight 93 in a remote field in rural Pennsylvania. Our country and mostly our hearts will be scarred forever; may we always honor and memorialize our fallen citizens and members of the military who have fought so valiantly to uphold the honor of this United States by securing our freedoms, not only for us but for our future generations.

After arriving in Parkersburg, WV on the morning of September 8^th, we were greeted at Nemesis Shrine Center by Queen Agnes and Princess Royal Pat, who brought us delicious cheese balls, homemade salsa, chips, crackers, homemade Plum wine and a homemade apple pie. Yum!!! This 5 year old Shrine Center is nestled among the trees, high on a hill and overlooking the valley where the city of Parkersburg is located. Beautiful! These Shriners built their building to accommodate their needs as well as provide a great venue for receptions, banquets, etc. They have an outside pavilion, complete with picnic tables, a kitchen, sound system, grills and electric hookup. Future plans include adding a gazebo. Deer and turkeys wander around the property on this serene site. The Official Visit was at the Masonic Center; a beautiful old building in the heart of this quaint and historic city.

 

 

Hillbilly Unit honoring SQ Margaret Ann

 

Proclamation from the City of Parkersburg

Queen Agnes' granddaughter performing "We Put Children First".

On Monday morning, before leaving town to head towards Pittsburgh, we met with several of the ladies at the Blennerhassett Hotel for breakfast. Let me back up a little here. In Supreme Queen Margaret Ann talk during the Ceremonial, one of here suggestions is to encourage the members to dress alike and go out to a restaurant, etc. and have fun. This will stimulate questions from onlookers re: who they are and what organization do they belong to. So, when we walked into the hotel restaurant I glanced at a table of five ladies who were dressed in, at first glance, what appeared to be t-shirts. Well, when taking a second look, they were not dressed in t-shirts but in identical nightshirts, slippers, hair clips and each holding a stuffed animal. We couldn’t stop laughing!!! (Note to Supreme Queen – be careful what you suggest!) True to form, we were asked by other patrons, who we were and what organization did we belong to.

 

On the road toward Pittsburgh we stopped at a Wal-Mart to look for identical garb such as the ladies in the restaurant were wearing, but to no avail, we struck out and could not conceal our disappointment. We parked in Connellsville, PA at an RV Park for the night.

Airys Temple, Daughters of the Nile greeted us on the morning of September 10^th at Syria Shrine Center in Cheswick, PA; another beautiful building on an expansive site. After the Ceremonial and at the banquet, many events occurred. We were escorted in to the main ballroom on a plush “Red Carpet”. We were entertained by the Syria Shriners Chief Rabban and his singing partner Tony, fabulous! Supreme Queen Margaret Ann was presented with a Pennsylvania State Flag which had been flown at the capitol building for a day and an American Flag which too, was flown over the capitol building and was presented by the pageantry unit of Airys Temple in a flag folding ceremony, amazing!

 Oh, I almost forgot, the five ladies who were dressed alike in Parkersburg were introduced at the beginning of the banquet, as the “Traveling Nilettes and dressed in their “outfits”. They presented both Margaret Ann and me a gift; in the bag were complete outfits, identical to theirs, complete with hair clips and stuffed animals. Apparently they shopped at a different Wal-Mart than we did!! So, do I think that the “Traveling Nilettes” will show up at another Nile banquet? Oh yeah!!!

 

My original intent with this blog was to keep you all updated on an almost daily basis, so I apologize for the extended gaps between postings. Really, I’ll try to do better, however while the Supreme Queen is traveling in the Northwest, Nila, her driver and company are on hiatus in the Northeast. Back to my journal – This has been a journey of a life time for us; to be able to gaze out of the large windshield of the motor coach and take in the landscape of the cities, country and Great Lakes! The people along the way have been amazing, including the ladies and gentlemen of the Daughters of the Nile and Shriners as well as the curious seekers when we stop for fuel, or at an overnight stop in an RV Park. We’ve even received donations from strangers who after learning about the tour, felt compelled to contribute to the Foundation. Priceless!

After leaving Pittsburg, we traveled the short distance to Altoona, PA, home of the railroad industry in its early days. After lunch, my counterpart, Jackie Grove took me on a tour of the city, showing me where her Dad worked for his entire career at the railroad yards which manufactured engines and cars. We also stopped at the Boyer Candy plant where Smoothies and Mallow Cups are made….remember them? The very large Shrine Center holds its Shrine Circus inside this historic building. Beautiful! 

Three Shriner's Kids were present at the banquet and told their stories.