The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another his mother called him "WILD THING!" and Max said "I'LL EAT YOU UP!" so he was sent to bed without eating anything.
That very night in Max's room a forest grew and grew - and grew until his ceiling hung with vines and the walls became the world all around and an ocean tumbled by with a private boat for Max and he sailed off through night and day and in and out of weeks and almost over a year to where the wild things are. And when he came to the place where the wild things are they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws till Max said "BE STILL!" and tamed them with the magic trick of staring into all their yellow eyes without blinking once and they were frightened and called him the most wild thing of all and made him king of all wild things. "And now," cried Max, "let the wild rumpus start!"
"Now stop!" Max said and sent the wild things off to bed without their supper. And Max the king of all wild things was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all. Then all around from far away across the world he smelled good things to eat so he gave up being king of where the wild things are. But the wild things cried, "Oh please don't go - we'll eat you up - we love you so!" And Max said, "No!" The wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws but Max stepped into his private boat and waved good-bye and sailed back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day and into the night of his very own room where he found his supper waiting for him and it was still hot.
Story by Maurice Sendack.
Thursday, we rode about 25 miles out to the breakfast stop and back, just to say we had ridden our bikes. Then, we were off with Pete and Judy for yet another adventure. 
The Miami County Visitors Bureau created a trail for GOBA riders to visit 12 of the 25 Barn Quilts. These displays are renditions of the traditional quilt square patterns hand painted on the front of barns. Judy who is a proficient quilter and I wanted to ride from Quilt Barn to Quilt Barn until it was pointed out that the trail was over 50 miles long! The name of this quilt pattern is 'Card Trick'.
Not too far from here, was the WACO (Weaver Aircraft Company) Museum. We took a little side trip. 
WACO is an important part of the early days of aviation, and a major part in the history of the city of Troy and the state of Ohio. Officially founded in 1920, WACO planes were produced until 1946.
Team Bob having a 59th birthday party in the gazebo, not far from where we were camped. Judy and Pete, our official chaperones and drivers of the Team BOB truck, are sitting in the chairs. The birthday girl is standing, fourth from the left.
Friday morning, we left Troy, again before 7:00 in the morning. The skies were dark, nothing unusual there... About eight miles into the ride, rain started to fall... When we stopped at Gettysburg for lunch, we couldn't get much wetter. The temperature had dropped to the low 60's: all right if you were riding; but not all right standing still. Two miles after the lunch stop, the rear tire of the recumbent blew! Bang! After a couple of futile attempts to put in a new tube, then the discovery that a new tire was needed as well as a new spoke, I rode the 'short cut', twelve miles, to Versailles High School to get help. Almost two hours later, Pete picked up the recumbent and its cold rider. 
Friday evening we attended the Golden GOBA dinner hosted by Bob Evans Restaurants. The sun had come out earlier; we were dry and warm. The Golden GOBA dinner is for those riders who have ridden GOBA for 19, 15 and 10 years. This sign was on a street corner in Versailles.
Saturday, our last day, we started out before 6:30 to ride forty miles. We stopped at Montezuma for turkey wraps (something other than shredded beef sandwiches), free Dannon yogurt and Gatorade, and were back in Celina before 9:00. The sky was overcast; the weather was much cooler.
Next year is the twentieth anniversary of GOBA. See you there!
The 19th annual Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure began in the city of Celina. Sunday, we rode from Celina through Rockford, then stopped for lunch in Willshire. The temperatures were rapidly rising, so we rode through the 'shower' in Ohio City to cool off before ending at the Van Wert County Fairgrounds. It was hot. With no shade. We had ridden 49 miles. No pictures. Monday, we left Van Wert before 7:00 am; stopped for lunch at the new Spencerville High School. We arrived at Wapakoneta High School before the temperatures got too high. Fifty-seven miles. 
Hot and no shade. "Maybe another beer will cool me off," says Mike.
Tuesday was a lay-over day. The skies looked like rain. Or drizzle. We rode into Wapakoneta with Pete, Judy and Lee for some exploring. 
We visited the Armstrong Air and Space Museum with 500 of our 'best' friends. It was crowded. In July 1969 Neil Armstrong was the commander of the Apollo 11. He had the honor of stepping first onto the moon. He said, "That's one small step for man, a giant leap for mankind" which his wife had written. 
We visited James Bowsher's Temple of Tolerance. James is telling about one of his structures. 
All the way through, I kept saying, "I'm not taking another picture". It was beyond belief! 
Dick's Place 1941; on the left. State of Ohio Right of way Marker; on the right. Dick was the originator of 'Team BOB' but decided not to come this year.
We left Wapakoneta early Wednesday morning for the 62 mile ride to Troy. The weather was a little cooler and we had a wonderful tailwind. We camped outside the Troy city park, near the Hobart Arena . We were there two nights also. 
Troy is known for their 'Sculptures on the Square'. This years 'Sculptures Take Flight' features WACO (Weaver Aircraft Company) Planes. Officially founded in 1920, WACO planes were produced in Troy until 1946. 
The Spirit of Ohio and Seasoned Flier were two of the 25 planes on display. 
The 'square' reminded us of some of the small German towns we had been in not so long ago.
The 'toy house' is finished. Well, as finished as it can be for now. The electricians came earlier in the week to work their magic, so there are lights. We did a little 'landscaping', but the ground is so hard. Clay, you know. And we are short about 5 1/2 inches of rain for the year. The motor home fits in nicely. Enough room at the top and the sides. We need to wait another five days before anything goes on the cement.
The cone flowers are doing surprisingly well. I'm told that at one time, cone flowers were indigenous to this area, but no more. These began as seeds two years ago. I have about a dozen small cone flower plants that won't bloom this year to plant. Once we have some rain.
Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!
The third load of gravel arrived today. The first two loads have been pushed into the 'toy house' for the floor. 
Ready for the concrete to be poured.
The young boys have finished their part of the job and a new crew is here today installing the electric wiring. Two loads of gravel were brought two days early for the inside of the toy house. The 'gravel boys' will be here Thursday with the bobcat to play with the gravel. And a third load of gravel will arrive, too. Won't they have fun?
Schloss Linderhof was a home of King Ludwig II. King Ludwig II became king at the tender age of 18 1/2. He ate by himself; his servants prepared 22 course dinners for him. The food was placed on a table that could be raised and lowered through the floor. But he was not alone when he ate. His reflection kept him company... 
From his bedroom window he could see a man-made waterfall. In the room with close to 100 vases, was the 'hall of mirrors'. 
Then we were off to see the beautiful Schloss Neuschwanstein (new-schwan-stein). This picture was taken from a bridge suspended across the valley. 
As we walked through the town of Oberammergau that afternoon, we saw a parade of young folks dressed in their wedding finest. We later learned that after the wedding, the bride disappeared and the groom went on a search to find her. Along the way, he was beset with assorted 'trials'. The first 'trial' we observed. An ambulance came up to the group; put the groom on the stretcher and proceeded to shave his legs. The young folks following him were singing and cheering/jeering and generally having a good time at the groom's expense...
Tonight was the last night our group would be eating dinner together. Here is Charlie, tour leader extraordinaire, pretending to be King Ludwig II eating by himself...
Our linguists extraordinaire, Maisy and Francis, will be returning to Luxumbourg from Sunday's destination, Mainz.
The stucco on the outside of many of the stores and homes in Oberammergau were painted with assorted designs. Several of us took a walk after dinner to see the homes painted with Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel.
As it turns out, these homes as well as several in the area, are orphanages.
