July Day Trip - Newport Aquarium

On our July 2017 Day Trip, we enjoyed time at the Newport Aquarium at Newport, Kentucky. We had a good size group of 29 people. It was a great time of fellowship and seeing the wonders of God's Creation.

The aquarium is a nice feature along the Ohio River at an area known as Newport on the Levee. It is located across the river from the Cincinnati downtown area and the football and baseball parks. In fact, the foot bridge to the ballpark area goes directly to the levee.

Although it was raining heavily at home when we departed, it was down to a light rain when we arrived at the Aquarium and that quickly turned to sunshine and very hot and humid weather.

This post will primarily be photos (what can I say about fish) but there were a number of nice exhibits, including a Shark Tank and Shark Bridge (don't fall in!), the fascinating Penguins, Shark Rays and Sting Rays, Alligators, and even Frogs and Iguanas.

I love taking photos of our people and also kids as we all enjoyed the sea life.

 Remember: You can click on most photos to see a larger image

The touch galleries were fun places where we could touch Sharks and other sea life. I loved watching people, and children interacting with the sea life.

Catch me if you can!

I think she got it! But it is hard to tell with all the surrounding stones of the same color.

My favorite photos are children and families as they interact with the surrounding wildlife and sights.

Now for some shots of the sea life.

Of course, there are also land reptiles.

This guy looked menacing!

The Iguanas were cool, even the babies.

Oops, we couldn't leave without showing the penguins!

I always enjoy watching the penguins as they walk and climb or swim. It is difficult to get a good photo through the glass, with the glare and reflections.

As we finish, I'll note that there were even a human species in the tanks! Actually, they were scuba divers in the tanks for maintenance (cleaning as this girl is doing) and feeding, etc.

At noon we enjoyed our lunch time independently and as small groups. Some ate in the Aquarium "Sharky's Cafe" and others left the aquarium for other eating places on the levee. The personnel were very good about letting us leave and return without a hassle. There was a very nice selection of eating places with a broad variety of foods and prices. Then, many returned to the aquarium to continue their tour, while others checked out the levee or took a walk across the bridge.

July 11 Luncheon Program - Cleopas

I always look forward to our Young@Heart programs. Perhaps with fear and trepidation, but also with excitement. First, because I am always anxious to see the people who join us each month. Second, because our programs are fun and interesting. This month we were first entertained by a Piano Prelude from Judy Comer, one of our own people. Thank you Judy!

Second, I always enjoy the antics of Stephen Hollen. I also learn from him. He has become a real friend over the past four years that I have known him and used him for our programs. Perhaps you recall his first program as Mark Twain. 

 This month, Stephen came to us as Cleopas. This was his very first performance with this character and frankly, I must say it is his best! I think he has a new calling to do more like this. I certainly hope that he creates more Bible related characters.

I’ll refresh your memories about Cleopas. He was one of the little-known characters in the new testament. Best known for his encounter Jesus on the road to Emmaus. If you want to read more about this Biblical account, read Luke 24:13-32. Many people believe that he was the Brother of Joseph (Jesus' mother’s husband). Also, many people, including Stephen Hollen, AKA Cleopas, believe that his wife with him was the other Mary at the cross when Jesus was crucified. Remember, there were three Marys – Jesus’ mother, Mary Magdalene and this other Mary.

You can hear Cleopas as he talks with us, HERE.

Stephen Hollen is a man of many personalities, and faces as well as costumes. I really enjoyed him as Cleopas. Perhaps, this is the character that brought out the best of his past as a pastor, too. He is also a Bee Keeper and harvests, is that the correct term, honey. He brought some good examples of his honey a light, dark and another that is my favorite, Hot Honey! If his characters and the bee keeping aren’t enough to confuse us, he also turns out some awesome pens. Check out his products at http://appalwood.com/.

Finally, we enjoyed another of Lisa’s fantastic meals. This one was a picnic – with hot dogs, potato salad and baked beans. Followed by a nice cobbler.

Next month, we return to a musical format, with some beautiful Harp music by the Principal Harpist with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Leslie Stratton will return to our platform. You will not want to miss this musical treat by the best harpist in Dayton!

June 2017 Day Trip - River Queen

Thursday, June 29, 2017, we took our church bus down to Newport, Kentucky for a ride on the riverboat! We enjoyed an uneventful drive down and back, thanks to the skillful driving of Al Brothers. There is some serious construction on the bridges and approaches but Al negotiated these without any noticeable delay.

After arriving at B&B Riverboats Newport Landing, we went into the lounge area to await our boarding time.

 

We boarded the River Queen for our tour of the day with a good group of people, some were new, but many of our regulars joined us, too. We had a total of 26 travelers. 

We’ve done this trip several times during my ten years with the group and it has become one of my favorite day trips. After boarding the boat, we had some time to roam the boat and get to know each other better.

 

Remember: You can always click on any photo to view a larger version!

Then, we were invited to the very good buffet meal. I was pleasantly surprised by the meal. It included a couple of salads, mixed veggies, potatoes and a couple of meats. The Cheesecake for dessert was especially good.

During the meal and along the way we were entertained by their Banjo Musician. He was good with his banjo and was also and exceptional tour guide. 

It wasn't a pretty day for photography, but the sights along the river are very good. I just could not do justice with the gray day to work with.

Our guide seemed to know everything about the boats and the sights along the way. Even though I have been on these tours before, I learned a few things. For example, a number of years ago Nancy and I dined at Mike Finks which is also a riverboat. I have long wondered what became of that boat. Wonder of wonders, we were moored against it! It is in sad shape and was not recognizable as the old dining riverboat. Several years ago, there were plans to renovate the Mike Fink, but it appears that isn’t happening anytime soon! You can see a bit of the Mike Fink in riverboat shot with the gangplank lowered.

I always enjoy getting to know new people and others of you better. This time I had my photo taken with Camilla and we also met a nice young lady all the way from Shanghai, China. She asked the hotel for something to do while she waits for her next flights back to China. They suggested the Riverboats. So we also had the privilege of meeting her! 

I hope you enjoyed our little trip down the river with us. Join us sometime for a Young@Heart Luncheon or future Day Trip!

YAH Luncheon - June 13 - Glenn Parks, Banjo

It’s been several years since we’ve enjoyed some good old down-home Banjo music by Glenn Parks. The last time he was with us was in April of 2014. Glenn is a Hall of Fame Banjo player who has recently played at the Gene Autry festival in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He lives in Springfield and performs heavily in this area as well as elsewhere in the US.

To start our program, Grace Averitt played some great introductory piano music. Thank you Grace.

Listen to Grace's piano music HERE.

We also honored our fathers with a few jokes about fathers. Why is it that us dads are always the Jokes? And we enjoyed having a couple come all the way from Japan to join us this month. Ruby and Ken Imamara visit a couple of times a year but this is the first time that Ken joined us for our Young@Heart program.

Glenn Parks is a good banjo player and pretty good singer, far better than I am. He is renowned in the Banjo circles as a Hall of Fame banjo guy. He is also a funny joke kind of guy. We enjoyed his stories, jokes and banjo playing. He played a lot of OLD country music and a few gospel songs. Although many of the songs were unfamiliar to many of us, there were some good numbers where we could sing along.

You can view a few of the YouTube videos and listen to the entire program. Be sure to watch and listen to these.

Glenn’s intro song was “Somebody Stole My Gal”. You can watch the YouTube version that I recorded.

Another good song was “Good Night Irene”. I think many of you remembered this one. Watch it below.

And for my final video, “That Silver Haired Father of Mine”. This one was not familiar to me but was a very good one for us on Father’s Day. Watch it below.

We can also enjoy the entire program with his stories, jokes and music, HERE.

Next month, we will enjoy hearing from Cleopas. Many of you remember Cleopas and his wife who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus following Jesus death on the cross and resurrection. This will be one of the first times that Stephen Hollen will perform his Cleopas. He’s stepping outside his normal historical humorist roles for this one. So, come and see his program. Stephen performs his impersonations all over the country. Be sure to join us to see and hear his rendition of Cleopas’ story. Bring your cameras, so you can take a selfie with Cleopas!