Sat and Sun October 13-14 . Cemetery search in London and the ride home !!!!

"The days dwindle down to a precious few..." That should be the theme for this last entry in the blog for this trip. An especial thanks to those who have followed along  regularly and also to those who could get to it from time to time. The folks in the USA usually numbered slightly over 100 each day, Canada at times was the same but not always. A special thanks to Renate and the folks in the Netherlands who were faithful through out, always posting about 12 readers each day. Spain, Korea, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Russia, Brazil and an "unknown region" (whatever that is) also were regular readers. Many thanks to all of you  That kept me going .

So, on Saturday we were able to visit the cemetery of the burial place of Ruth's great grandfather  and grand mother. The manager of the campground has his grandparents buried there with a HUGE tombstone at the entrance to the park (park founders?) so we chatted about that and about he lady that is the administrator whom he knew as a close friend. When we got to the cemetery wouldn't you know that we arrived 25 minutes after the office closed on Saturday. (Hang in there as there is a happy ending!)

The Section "B" where we first looked

We knew the plot number and section  but there were only section letters. This one was a "B". We walked the entire plot , saw a "Brown" marker but nothing else.  Then went back to the office to see if we could see inside for any clues like a plot map. There was one and while I was scoping it put with my binoculars through the window, a lady came along side the truck and asked if she could help. It was the ADMINISTRATOR, Judy. She was off duty but volunteered to help us. She took us inside ,found the plot, the grave and the neighboring ones (good guide) and said if we needed help more, she would be here.

We returned to the area we were on before and soon found that the marker had fallen from its stand and was lying under about 3 inches of turf, partially hidden. I went to the truck to get a few small tools, and we began to uncover the stone. Gradually the name came into view and finally we uncovered it enough to see it all.

The gravestone of CAROLINE  BROWN Ruth's great grandmother, after removing much cover.

 Ruth was joyous that we (with help) had found the plot. Judy actually came by to see if we had found it, and gave us a little history of how the plots were designed. The family often was buried without markers or in the same area around the larger headstone like this one.

The "Brown" marker on the large gravestone. Caroline's is to the left .

Also next to it was a son who was also buried there.

CHARLES HENRY BROWN was buried here in the  same plot. He was married to Myrtle Adair

That pretty much wrapped it up" at the cemetery for us .Mission Accomplished!

We returned to the trailer and got ready to prepare fort the last day on the road back home to Michigan.

SUNDAY  October 14, 2018. The trip home to USA

The trip home was highlighted by two major points.
1. At the border the officer was very helpful as we did not know that our "GLOBAL" passes that we had gotten before our trip to the Netherlands are also good for passage across the borders to allow us to go through the NEXUS lines. We did not know that. That would have saved about 30-45 minuted that day on the Bluewater bridge while waiting for customs. (and a few other border crossings on this trip.

2. The roads in Michigan are "HORRIBLE". There are stretches of I-69 from Port Huron to Flint that shook the trailer for 40 miles, and anther stretch between Flint and Lansing that did the same. Then on I-96 some of the road is good but again there are stretches that had the  trailer and car shuddering. Time to get our legislature going on this much needed project. Or maybe a citizen referendum?

We drove over 20,000 miles on this trip and, yes there were some roads that were not good, but for main highways to be on the shape they are here in Michigan, was the worst example of bad roads in the USA over all. (We drove  in 20 states).

We arrived safely at 4:00 in the afternoon and are grateful for all the help, prayers, thoughts and wishes of folks at home and on the road.  People are good and treat one another with grace and care.  Thanks to all.

Tomorrow I will announce the winner of the "GUESS THE NUMBER OF BIRDS" contest both here and on Face Book.