We woke up early on Friday morning to drive over to the Columbus Zoo. Janice has wanted to stop there for years. We had a reservation at 9:00 A.M.to enter. It was still cool in the morning so wearing masks was not too bad. They had a policy that you could take it off while walking away from people but had to put them on while viewing with people nearby. One thing about Covid19 is fewer folks there so we were able to do some things with little wait time.
The first stop was the Polar Bears..MOM and baby. The baby played jumping off the rocks into the water keeping close to Mom. As many people arrived we left so others could view them.
Around the corner were the lions, buffalo, tigers, and children getting a camel ride. There was a place where you could feed the giraffe, Janice jumped in line to take her turn.
The “Monkey House” was fun! Click on the lower right of the video to make it full screen.
More animals but then the heat of the day came, with masks on it got pretty uncomfortable so we decided to depart the zoo. This would be a better visit in the spring or fall.
Our Drive to Raleigh
We jumped in the car to start our drive to Raleigh to visit the children and grandchildren. We thought that we left travel problems behind when we sold the Roadtrek, the joke was on us. The new Toyota Rav4 lost its airconditioning. It was a hot afternoon for the drive. We were able to get a Toyota dealer in Beckley, West Virginia, where we were going to stop for the night, to take a look. He told us he thought the a/c compressor was failing, but there wasn’t anything they could do until Monday! We found a Toyota dealer in Raleigh and made a 12:00 appointment for service on Saturday. We took off early in the morning to avoid as much heat as possible and arrive in Raleigh just after 10:oo. We said our hellos at James and Mary and John headed to the Toyota dealer. Thinking it was a warranty issue, we were happy to have it in for service. It had taken a rock in just the right location and required replacement! Road damage, no warranty! We thought it was back to the RV, we always said they were like a boat, just a hole in the center to put money in! Enough of that story!
Lake Rodgers With Family and Friends
Before John met Janice in Indiana John spent the weekend in Raleigh. The highlight of the weekend was spending the day at Lake Rodgers outside Raleigh.
Finley 
Collin
There were more kayaks, paddleboards, and tubes than people. The children and grandchildren had a wonderful time swimming and floating around on them.
Courtney, Amanda, and Kieran had a lot of their friends, with additional children making the group over twenty. Many drinks and a fun BBQ made the day a lot of fun.
Our Latest Business Investment
James and Mary’s children Collin 7 years old and Liza 5, decided to talk us into buying a rock polishing machine. The first question was why did they want the machine. “We are going to sell the polished rocks in front of the house.” was the reply. Sounds like a business deal! We asked how much they were going to purchase it for, $86. The next question was how much of their money were they willing to pay. They had $26.
It developed into a conversation about making a business deal. We explained that we would make an investment, but would have to be paid back out of their profits. Janice thought that it would be better if “Grams and Gramps” owned stock in their company and we would get our proportionate share of the profits. Of course, they thought that was a great idea, knowing they would then get the machine!
We then explained that we had to have an agreement that they would sign. The agreement made their parents our representatives and they had to report every few weeks on the activities of their Rock Company.
The last update we had was that the first small stones were almost finished and with their mothers’ guidance, they were going to make jewelry out of them and sell them on Etsy! Impressed us!
Do we have future golfers?
Maybe Liza’s first lesson with Janice will get her started. At 5 she showed at least 15 minutes of interest before it was time to do something else. Collin was enjoying it and looks forward to going to the driving range!
Day at the museum.
We had made plans to take Liza and Collin to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. With COVID all activities were outside on their great grounds. We enjoyed the train ride thru the park and all the various exhibits. They had a fun water park where the kids could block the flow of water and of course splashed to their delight.
Sailing Pond Liza Water Blocking Collin Water Blocking
Golf at University of North Carolina
Having enjoyed the College Campus courses in Indiana, we called the Pro Shop at Finley the University of North Carolina campus course. It is ranked by Golfweek as # 19 on their list, moving up from #25 the year before. The staff was wonderful and we enjoyed a great round of golf.
The original golf course, designed by George Cobb and funded by Raleigh businessman A.E. Finley, was located just to the southeast of campus and opened its doors in 1949. As one of the largest equipment dealers in the United States, A.E Finley served the University and town of Chapel Hill well for nearly half a century but felt the course was in need for an extensive overhaul.
The decision was made to hire Tom Fazio, one of the modern game’s foremost golf designers and a resident of Hendersonville, to start from scratch on the site and build an entirely new course. UNC Finley opened in 1999 and became Fazio’s 11th course designed in the state he’d called home since the late 1980s. It’s one he’d put against anything else he’d done in North Carolina.
Beautiful Par 5 Finishing up on 18
We enjoyed wonderful dinners with the whole family each evening. James was putting the final touches on an IT course he was writing, so could not join us our last night when Kieran took Courtney and the two of us out for dinner in Raleigh. It was a wonderful evening and we were so appreciative to have the time with them.
Next stop Pinehurst Resort and the Senior North South Championships
Oh wow looks like you had a really fun time, enjoy every minute you can with them , I’m leaving shortly (labor) Day driving cross country with my grandson to his next duty sta.
Love your blogs. You are living your dream. We are so happy for you.
Thanks for sharing. Nice to hear updates on family.