UPDATE!!! The Gleisners Go to Maine

[[Sorry for the 'black hole' of Blogging in 2008, but I was stuck up in the high branches of a Douglas Fur on Horseshoe Island, until some guys in a john boat came over and smacked me out of the tree with an oar last week.-h.p.]]

Notwithstanding some awesome visits by, among others, the Waldeyer, Dutilly, and Toenniessen clansmen/clanswomen this year and last, of recent note is the trip taken by the Gleisners in early August, 2009!!!

Joanna's account of the trip:

"God is truly good to have given Adam the pain relief and energy to drive us out to Maine! I even drove for 5 hours so Adam could rest a bit. 5 hours out of 58 (roundtrip) isn’t much, but it was about all my nerves could handle - especially when we got to road construction! That RV is just too wide for those cement barriers!

We arrived at camp on the 8th and Grace and Jared went fishing with Grandma within 2 hours of arrival. Jared caught his first fish (sunnies – see above ).

Last year, we never put a hook on his line, and he never noticed.

But then this summer, he said to me, “Last year,I kept putting the line in and pulling it out without a fish – maybe I’ll catch one this year”. He actually caught the first fish of the trip. Grace and Adam fished off the dock several nights. Grace wanted to fish at least twice a day…

My brother Mat was there and then, on the 10th, my sister Katie and her kids arrived. They brought my other sister Linda and her daughter, Michelle as a surprise. Linda hadn’t been in Maine with us for 30 years! It was so fun having her there. That first night with everyone there, we played Bingo for Hershey bars and 2 dollar bills (courtesy of my Mom and Dad Toenneissen).

The weather was cool, but sunny. Grace and Jared swam every day –and had goose bumps the whole time. The last 2 days we were there, it was 90 and humid and the lake was like a bathtub. Even I went in the water then. Jared was a little fish – he swam for 4 hours the day before we left.

On our last night, Grace went out fishing with Adam in the boat. She came back with a 14 inch, 2 pound small mouth bass. She was able to reel it in to the boat and then Adam reached down and lifted it up for her. It was the first bass she ever caught. She’s always caught perch before. We brought the meat back for her to eat here.

We arrived home late on the 18th. As soon as we got into the house, Jared asked if we could go to Grandma’s beach house (in Florida)!

It was a great trip. God is awesome. He is our strength and healer. “Pa-tooey” on anything that contradicts Him, His Word, or even tries to shake our confidence in Him. We are truly blessed!

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Much respect to the fish that were caught, the excellent pictures, and special recognition to those who made the trip after many years of absence. Thanks for sharing, Gleisners!!!

-Hula