DAY 39, 40, 41 AND HOME

COMMON YELLOWTHROAT NORTHERN NOCKINGBIRD

WILSON'S PHALAROPE

The last two days were about getting the bells stowed away and heading for home. But first we checked out of Morris Meadows., in Fairfield MD. (Great place to camp and close to Kathy and Steve but call ahead as they may be full). We turned in our “key” ($10.00 deposit) and headed out the short road to I-83 going north to PA 30 and then east. York is a very industrial town with the Harley Davidson motorcycle factory located there.Lancaster is the center of the Amish population. We never saw a person plowingf the field with a horse until we got far western PA. This road places the traveler in the middle of some great Revolutionary War sites including Valley Forge, Charlestown and Morristown, two of the places where George Washington stayed with his troops for two bitter winters. A little further on toward Philadelphia are the Hopewell Furnaces, and the Mercer Museum. (It is the magnificent “tile man’s" place now owned by the Moravians.)
Ruth found a direct route to Plumsteadville from the south so that helped and at 11:30 we were there. The bells were loaded (we moved a few of our belongings around.), ate lunch there in the parking lot and talked with the employees a bit. Seems they had their “first ever” layoffs this year. They had never laid anyone off before so the economic issues hit them, as well.
We backtracked a bit to 313 and headed NW to pick up I 496 N. Stopped a few times for stretch and once for gasoline (It’s getting higher at $2.39). Finally we reached I-80 and headed west.

Our goal was to get nearly through the Poconos that evening. The Poconos, although at 100,000,000 years old, and eroded quite a bit over those years, still have those long 3-4 mile rises and falls (on the road) that shows their ancient shape. The highest point on the highway (I-80) east of the Mississippi River is only 2, 080 feet above sea level, but the long inclines make them seem higher. The mountains are all covered with forests at this point and for hundreds of miles it is this way. There is no agriculture showing anywhere.
In this part of PA the LUK OIL CO (a Russian Company) and the “Wawa” Gas stations reappear. Also the Sheetz Co is very up to date with their buildings and property. They are quite attractive.
On one stretch of I-80 we passed over a very long section of highway test strips (for paint and rubber stripes). This was the longest one I have ever traveled over and it was somewhere between ¼ and ½ mile long. There were hundreds of strips placed there for testing. They sure will know which ones work best. We also saw a “Survey vehicle” that was testing the surface of the road and recording the results. There were some stretches of the road (particularly the cement ones) that really needed attention.

Bloomsburg, a town of 12,000 on the way, was center in the 19th century to a booming iron industry. It is on the Susquehanna River. We did continue on to Woodland which was in the heart of the Poconos, on the western edge. IT is exactly ½ way across I-80 from east to west. Nearby is Clearfield which has 6<000>

The next morning (Saturday) started as a bright and sunny day. We have not had that in more than a week. In the campground late that night came a Boy Scout troop from Pittsburgh. I talked with one of the men (Brad) and he told me that they were going to canoe the Susquehanna River for two days a night. Now the Susquehanna River is a might big river especially where I pointed out between York and Lancaster there are huge rocks in the river and many rapids. He assured me, however, that the portion near Woodland was the West Branch of the river and flowed much slower and was narrower. These 29 boys and leaders were efficient in the preparation of the morning, up on time and quickly, quiet and respectful of others and made quick preparation to leave. I was really impressed with the leaders and the boys. May they have a great day on the river?

We left camp at about 8:30 and got gasoline nearby at Clearfield where it had jumped to $2.59 a gallon. Diesel was still lower. Then the long climbs in the Poco9nos began again. As we drove west however, the hills became shorter and the number of them less. The forests were still all around as this part of PA is entirely forested and one sees no agriculture for hundreds of miles. IT is ideal hunting and camping country. Ran into (figuratively) a few drivers who had some really bad “roadside manners: \”. There were a number of those ”S” curves where the construction moves the traffic to other lanes for a short distance. At that point some drivers try to maneuver their car ahead of the person going under the speed limit to get around them before they get into it. IT happened more than once today. Yesterday we saw more than a half dozen police cars with drivers “in tow” so it must be a problem in places…that and speeding.

As we drove further west and were out of the Poconos, by the time we had about 50 miles in PA to go, the farms reappeared, the land leveled off and the hills almost disappeared. When we crossed over into Ohio the industrial towns popped up quickly, Y9oungstown, (a decrepit steel mill that had been closed for a while appeared as well), Warren and Portage. Along here on I-80 (toll road now) there are two large auto manufacturing plants . The one is the Lordsburg (east) GM facility and the other is a Chrysler facility. One wonders of on next Monday if they both will still be operating? As we mentioned tough economic times hit the Malmart Bell factory, what will happen to our largest industry? Pone of the best signs we saw near Southern Michigan…”TRY OUR BEEF JERKY” (We are not a Gas Station).

We phoned ahead for reservations in Dundee near the Cabela’s store. It was in the country and quiet with many families there for the weekend between Memorial Day and when school is out for many students.. We set up quickly and had a light supper (one frozen package of prepared Goulash was left.) Lots of campfires burning soothe smoke makes it a campfire night. Tomorrow we head up US 23 and west on I-96 for home .

The day promises to be a good one in many ways. It was ,and we had sun all the wqy home arriving at about 2:30 God watched over us on the trip, and we enjoyed the man Ysights and sounds He has provided for us in this great land. Amen.

FIELD DAY AND KITE FLYING

HERR'S MILL BRIDGE

CIRRIS ELONGATUS

Day 39 Still visiting family and an El. Sch. Field Day

The rains held off so the School Field Day was on for the two younger members of Kathy’s family. It was another morning of

BLUE RIDGE BLUE

extra sleep and a leisurely start. Ruth usually uses this time to put together some of her outlines (with pictures) on the Mac. She has been grouping pictures into categories so they will be easier to locate and pull up. In that same time slot, I have been getting the blog ready and keeping my daily log (written) up to date. It has rained n 16 of the 39 days we have been out so far, Saturday and Sunday during the drive how promises to be dry.
We down loaded the e mail and sent out ours. Thanks for those who have regularly written and communicated. I know it is difficult to do during this busy time of the year. but it is appreciated.
Ruth and I took the noontime to catch a “lunch out”. We seldom do that and almost every day pack our own. We opted for “Cracker Barrel” in Shrewsbury on the way to Kathy’s home.
Ruth likes to get their breakfast which you can get all day, and I was satisfied with soup and a toasted cheese sandwich.
Arriving at 12:30 gave us time to have some more quality time with family and then we headed to the Field Day. The Elementary School has a huge recreational area with baseball diamonds, tennis courts and I saw a “driving sled” for football so it must be shared with the High School there. The events were simple and although competitive as a team not events that would have winners and losers. I was happy to see that. They played team tug of war (4 teams at once in a star shape) , sponge and water races (relays) , whiffle ball and sling throw into three circles, a coordination game with passing the ball in a circle using only the feet, a game of “kick ball” that involved everyone as when the ball was caught, the catcher passed to the next person behind him /her, through the legs and so on to the end, while the kicker tried to see how many bases they could run before they all passed the ball. Finally there was an area where they could draw with chalk on the tennis court. I noticed that this event was less restricted and they could move around inside the court. The children were happy and excited.
I had bought some kites and yo-yo’s as I don’t think they had ever experienced the yo-yos and the wind was blowing good so it might be good for kites. I instructed them in the basics of yo-yos and then we went out doors to try the kites. They worked well and were small but quick kites. All of them flew successfully. Ruth joined in and really was big help. It is fun to watch the youngsters learning a skill even as basic as kite flying.
We ended the day with pizza out at the local Pizza Hut. Of course it is a favorite of many folks especially children. Ruth has this type as a favorite for Pizzas. It was a time for “knock knock jokes “and questions with silly answers. Grandpa had a few as we, and although he was rusty did remember a few from “way back”.
It was good to be with them even for a few days and see how things were going. With Steve gone for long periods of time, Kathy is managing well and when he is home, he is “home”
We leave tomorrow Am (Friday) to pick up the bells at Plumsteadville, some 160 miles NE of here, and will continue on that day to secure a camping spot somewhere in PA.
Thanks for reading and we will see some of you soon. The rest of you we will catch up with you along the weeks ahead. Jim and Ruth

FAMILY VISITS AND THE ROLLING HILLS OF PA

MILL STONE FROM FRANCE

HERR MILL HANOVER OLD TRACTORS

MILL BRIDGE HANOVER

Day 38- Visiting family – Rolling Hills of PA

This week is the last meeting of the trip with family. Jim’s daughter and her family live in Stewartstown PA, which is just over the border from MD about 6 miles from the campground where we are staying. It is an easy drive which makes the day longer for other things.
This part of NW Maryland (pron: mare-a land) and the adjoining area of Pennsylvania are very rolling and the roads are old trails that are very narrow and twisting. One has to be extra cautious when driving them as “blind spots” and sharp turns are frequent. This is especially true of drivers, like myself, that are unfamiliar with them. It is, however, intensive farming country with wheat, corn, and hay as the chief crops. There are no large,1,000 acre, expansive farms like we saw in Eastern North Carolina, but small ones which include some cattle and many horses. (See yesterday at Hanover)
The housing that Kathy and Steve have is in the middle of this rural area situated on a small hill that gives a good venue of the surrounding countryside. It is spacious for the children to play and of course lots of lawn to mow. A wheat field comes right up to the property at the back. Jim met the bus when the children arrived from school and was greeted with huge hugs. It has been almost three years since we have seen them in the flesh. The rest of the afternoon was spent assisting with homework, and getting up to date on what they were all involved. Steve is a driller working for the Corp of Engineers and is home on “leave” from assignment in Florida where he has been working in the Okeefenokee and other areas in which dams need testing for their safety and stability.. He is a master driller so there are many stories he can tell about the days on the job, when things can go wrong, and employees get upset with the work or want to “slack off”. Steve is a hard worker and has a great record with the Corps as getting things done on schedule or ahead of time. He began watching drilig at the age of 8 or so withy his grandfather, so has seen many situations that his co workers have not, and hence knows how to solve time, the “easy way”. In the evening it was Cub Scout Den meeting for one, more homework for the other two. Tomorrow we will attempt to see the Field Day at the Elementary school as today’s was postponed.
So this entry is a bit shorter and concise. We are enjoying the site that we have the trailer as it is really isolated in woods with the Hermit Thrushes waking us up in the morning. If you have ever heard their bugle like call you will know what I mean. We still have not had hummingbirds come to our feeder but we believe it is too far under the cover of the trees. They like to be in open areas to feed, like the flowers in your garden!
The weather has been overcast and threatening rain although it did not rain all day yesterday. Today is foggy as that cold front that is coming creates the reversals of air that brings on the fog especially in the cool mornings. Tomorrow may very well be the last entry as we will be moving from Plumsteadville PA, where we pick up the bells, to western PA to OH to MI in two days.

PRETZELS, HORSES AND AMISH DINNERS

Day 37, Hanover Pretzel factory and a dinner in Amish count

The rain did not stop, nor stop us on this Tuesday in Mason Dixon line country of NW Maryland and southern PA. We crossed the border a couple of times today. This , in part, Amish country.
On entering Hanover we needed info, so went to the “info center” at the downtown library (excellent) and found an internet service

HANOVER SHOE FARM FILLIES AND COLTS

and took advantage of that while downloading and uploading (blog). Had a cup of coffee served by the “Library Friends” ladies. Downtown Hanover is old, with narrow streets, and quaint building of early 1800 vintage. Lots of brick is used.
We took a chance that the Hanover Pretzel Factory (in Hanover PA) would have tours during the day when we could get there. They did, but we were a bit early and came back at 1:00 after signing in on the register.
That gave Ruth a chance to get some pictures of the Hanover Shoe Farm (they raise horses) just outside Hanover a few miles. When we rounded the bend where they were (it was still raining), there was a paddock (shire?) filled with more than a dozen “mammas" and their young colts. The colts were frisky and running and jumping. Probably a few weeks old for the most part. This farm is the largest horse breeding farm in the country and in the top few in the world. They have 1800 horses here many of which have been champion trotters and pacers. It was founded in1926 and has over 4,000 acres of land. They raise Standard Bred horses.

HERR'S MILL IN HANOVER PA

SO YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT PRETZELS???
It was time for the tour and after eating a few pretzels for lunch –(Dinner would be in Lancaster) we did the tour. Our tour guide was Cathy. Now this Pretzel Factory is ONE BIG FACTORY at 380,000 square feet. The dynamics of it cannot be written down, but suffice to say that they bring in over 300,000 pounds of flour each day to make the various products. This flour, amazingly, comes from farms that are within a 15 mile radius. This certainly is an incentive for local farmers to continue farming.
They bring in 124 tons of salt each month from the Morton Salt Co. This pretzel has LESS SALT CONTENT, however than other brands. The turnover in the huge storage and packing warehouse occurs every week. This is a four tiered, 1,000 foot long, 500 feet wide portion of the plant that has at least 8 of these double sided racks running the 1,000 feet of the building. It is kept under continual motion by a $3 million automated sorting and stacking machine (UPC labels) that directs labeled boxes on a conveyer, sorts them by order, gathers them on pallets, and shrink wraps the bundles for shipment. It can prepare 59 cases of product a minute. It was an amazing process and almost unbelievable. Automation replaced 18 workers who still work in the factory. The starting wage is $14.50 per hour so it is an incentive to be hired there. The factory runs three eight hour shifts each day. There are 500 workers in this plant and 1500 industry wide (Phoenix AZ is the other plant)
Shutting down portions of the plant for cleaning is usually on Thursdays. (Clean the potato peeler as an example). The potatoes for the chips (they make them too) is a sandpaper base that leads to a cutting machine and sorter that selects the “small and brown colored ones (skin)” that are used for second level sales (“Big Lots” and others). The remainder of the equipment in the factory are ovens, cutters, and an automated press for correct sizing. We saw this very heavy metal plate that is stamped to allow the dough to go through the holes on top and come out the bottom as a pretzel shape. Various sizes are used for various types of pretzel in order to make thousands of pretzels at one time.
One side makes potato chips and multi grain products and the other side pretzels. That should give you an idea of the process, as there are more details unsaid.
After the tour we of course bought a few products and headed out to find Lancaster across US 30 and the Susquehanna River. There were many rocks in the river at this juncture. I detoured into York trying to find a “shortcut”. Ha! Should have stayed on the route as it took many traffic lights later to get to Lancaster. On the way back it was much easier and safer.
We looked for a few Amish, small scale, eating places but did not find what we were looking for. We DID, however, find a wonderful Mill that was a campground instead of a restaurant. (Exploration is lots of fun) See pictures. We did select “Good and Plenty Restaurant” and were served a very good family style meal with families from New Jersey and New York. Chicken was the center of the meal with plenty of veggies and salads with 54 desserts as the “piece ‘de resistance” as my Dad would say. (I think he thought that was correct in France in 1917.).
We headed home at 5:00 and the rush hour was not too heavy on the road. I found US 30 easily and the way home was smooth.

Tomorrow we meet with daughter Kathy and her three young ones. Her husband Steve is home from Florida where he is a well driller for the Corps of Engineers, testing dams. We may see the children competing in their school Field day if the weather holds. (It didn't)

STATE LINES ON THE MASON DIXON

SOME OF THOSE AZALEA

Day 36 May 25 2009 Virginia, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland? HUH?

That sequence above, will be explained when we cross the Shenandoah River and the Potomac River a few seconds apart from one another . Stay tuned.
It was a good day to be in the center of Civil War battle sites as it was THEE day to remember those who fought and died for our freedom. There certainly were many memorials and we just missed the one in the Park that was held at 11:30 just before we arrived.
Driving from Winchester VA, to Freeland MD, near the PA border did not take long and probably allowed us to at least drive by some of the most historical battle sites of the Civil War. It didn’t take us long to get out of Virginia and we did see a lot of horses on the farms there. When there are acres of pasture surrounded by white fences it is a “key” to what is being raised there. Soon we were in the eastern tip of West Virginia and the city of Charlestown and then Harper’s Ferry. Here the Army of Gen. Lee had its staging area and massed 40,000 troops to battle the Union’s 85,000 troops on the other side of the Potomac River. Lee’s Special Order Number 191 which explained his tactics was captured by the Union army and offset the advantage he would have had. During this period of time Lee divided his Northern Virginia Army into three portions (later four) and decided to make a stand at Sharpsburg (Antietam). It was his second and last attack during the war of any consequence. The first was at Bull Run. More than 18,000 men were wounded during one day’s fighting there at Antietam and over 3,000 at the Battle of South Mountain three days earlier. “Stonewall” Jackson surrounded the Union soldiers at Harpers Ferry and captured 25,000 men and all of their stores which the Confederates could sorely use.

CLOUDS LOOKING DOWN FROM THE BLUE RIDGE
But that was not the only place that we thought about as we moved along I-70 toward Baltimore. There were also Olney, Frederick, and Mt. Airy. All significant in the Civil War.
Now about the chronology alluded to in the opening statement. While driving US 340, there is a place where the road is located in West Virginia, then Virginia, West Virginia and then Maryland, all in just a few miles. At that point near Harpers Ferry, it crosses the Shenandoah River to the Virginia side and then crosses the Potomac River to the Maryland side. The Shenandoah River enters the Potomac River at that point which made Harper’s ferry all that more important as a strategic spot during the Civil War...
Along the Shenandoah River are many flat rocks, and from these “perches” fishermen were plying their trade on this Holiday especially. At this point the road (an old two lane converted into a one way two lane), has a “tunnel like” effect as the trees hang over the road shielding us from the sun. It is very picturesque.
As we continued to drive easterly, the traffic heading to the eastern corridor of NY, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington continued to increase in volume and contained some inconsiderate drivers. They were not many mind you but enough to see that others lives on the road can be in danger at any time... The main offense I saw were, those who changed two lanes at one time and the ubiquitous “tailgater”. I don’t believe that any state has a “premium” on more or less offenders on the road
We ran across a road name (overpass) named “Catholic Church Road”. Honest! O course John Carroll founder of the first University in these has a street or two named after him. Along the way we crossed the “Old National Pike” (historic road), and the Appalachian Trail again. It is affectionately called “A.T.” as well. Then there was Sykesville, and Clarkesville.
We continued on I-70 until it became I 695 and finally into I 83. This took us to but not into Baltimore, I 83 went directly north to Freeland where the campground was located. The campground is on land that is still in the Morris family since the original deed (I saw the copy) dated December 4, 1793 on a piece of goatskin.
The family worked off their indenture (for passage) in the Susquehanna area and then walked to this place when it was paid... Today, after 7 generations of continuous owners, the land is used for grain growing, Angus cattle, and recreation. The campground is very unique as it is divided into use areas. Large RV’s in one area, trailers in another families in another, tents in another and they are all divided by woods and a very circuitous road system. One could get lost easily. The hills add to the ambience of the park. It is closely monitored and rules are established to create respect and quiet. Ex: “must have proper attire at all times and no “poorly worded “T shirts. and …”pets must have vaccination certification”.”
The birds here are very abundant and a Baltimore Oriole is nesting just above (way above) our trailer. This first evening (after many went home) is very quiet. Ruth and I did one load of laundry to get us home at least. It was $2.00 a wash and $1.00 per dryer (2 times). We settled in for the evening and will look at doing Annapolis tomorrow if the rains hold off. Doesn’t look like it.

SHENANDOAH VALLEY AND PARK

Day 35 Shenandoah National Park (Blue Ridge Drive)

VIEW FROM THE BLUE RIDGE

Today we drove the northernmost portion o the Blue Ridge Highway which is actually in the Shenandoah National Park. This section is about 110 miles in length and is in the Appalachian Range of mountains. This is one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world. Can you imagine it when it was as big as the Rocky Mountains? (Which is a young range?) It was authorized in1927 and established in 1935 (by which President?) with the aid of the Civilian Conservation Corps formed during the Great Depression (CCC). (See below) It was established as “…a peaceful refuge for nearby urban populations.” It hosts about 1.5 million visitors each year. Today we did see many of them from all over the world.
Among other growing things there are 1,000 species of flowering plants in the park. This is more species than all of Europe. We did see the pink azaleas, and three other flowers including daisies, primrose and an unidentified one...

DEER IN THE SHENANDOAH NAT. PK.

The primary tree in the Park is the Black Locust but that was not always the case. Until the turn of the century (20th) the American chestnut was the dominant tree. In 1900 it accounted for 25% of all trees in the Park area. A small fungus was then brought to these shores called
endothia parasitica, and then began the demise of the American Chestnut. It was a good source of lumber for homes and food for animals. Today only a few remain and those are subject to the blight brought on by the fungus. Black Bear number 300-600 and are seen occasionally. There are many white tailed deer and we saw a number of them right by the side of the road and stopped for some wandering aimlessly in the road. We did notice what I thought were bark beetle investatiuons, but upon further investigation found that it is Hemlock wooly adelgid defoliating the evergreens (Hemlock). There is also the gypsy moth caterpillar working damage on oak trees. The butterflies were the eastern tiger swallowtail (yellow) and the spring azure.
The overlooks and parking areas are numerous along the Parkway, and as it was Sunday of the Holiday (Memorial Day) it was just busy. Ruth said not “really busy”. The road has hundreds of twists and turns and at maximum speed of 35 mph (law) it gives the visitors a chance to slow down and really soak in the beauty of being surrounded by nature. There are a few spots where there are “Meadows”, one being “Big Meadow” and this was formed by ancient lava flows that have long since eroded... This is unique up there on the ridge.
The Hoover’s (Herbert) had a summer “White House” on the ridge called, Rapidan Camp, which has been preserved. Inasmuch as settlers lived here for more than 300 years there are over 100 cemeteries in the Park and some crumbling walls, callers and barns.
John Lederer, a German physician, explored and documented this area in 1669; He encountered the Monacans and the Monahoac Indian who were peaceful and intelligent people who worshipped one god.”. Shortly after the Dutch and French fur traders came the Indians began to succumb to new diseases. Their demise led to some 67.000 people inhabiting this area until corporations and absentee landlords exploited the region and the fortunes of the people steadily declined. The chestnut blight was the crowning blow. Following a sever drought and a time of hog cholera, the population was half that number above.
The CC had 1,000 “boys” when it was in its prime in the Park, and when the work was done they dismantled all and returned the land to its “natural state”, including old settler’s artifacts and sites. The Skyline drive was completed in 1939 at a cost of 5 million dollars.
Trails and camping spots are a large part of the use of the park. Sunday the trails were busy and most of the paring lots for the camp sites (tents) were full. There are some Lodges for overnight and they were all full.
The trip of 100 + miles took us just about 4 hours with about a dozen stops including lunch.
We did find the campsite in Winchester VA and found that they had us down for the next night. UGH. We believe we did not make the error, but the point was, did they have any sites for us? Holiday weekend and all? Yes they did and “squeezed us in”. IT is a full campground but with many younger families there will be early bed times and lots of quiet.-
Tomorrow we move to the Maryland border and visit Kathy Simmons and family (daughter) . They live just in PA andf across from Maryland.
FACT: The locals pronounce Maryland as …‘Maer a land’…See ya soon.

ROANOKE VA, AND FAMILY VISITS

"CRUISER"

Day 34 Visiting Family in Roanoke, VA.

Saturday May 23, 2009

The day was bright and partly sunny, there was smoke in the campground lingering from Friday night’s campfires, but there were bird songs in the air. A bird that we have been “chasing” a longtime reappeared and Jim finally traced it to its source. It was a Swainson’s warbler. A rather plain bird except for the white eye line, the rufous cap and the song. It is very striking and identifiable once you see it. Its call is “ seuw, seuw, seuw.”
We had promised my niece Cathy that we would visit her family today, so with a leisurely AM that we really needed, we left for their place in Roanoke (15 miles away) at 10:45 AM. We were south of town about that distance so it was an easy trip to get to their house driving up I-81 and east on me- 581. I-81 is the direct route from Mexico to NYC, so it is heavily used. Here is a synopsis of the highway’s use:
Following the spine of the Appalachian Mountains, Interstate 81 provides a link between the Northeastern Megalopolis to points in the Mid-Southern states, adding to its appeal as a major trucking route. Combined with all of Interstate 59 and a portion of Interstate 75, Interstate 81 follows U.S. 11 for its entire journey from New Orleans to northern New York State. Interstate 81 does not enter major metropolitan areas; (ed. Note: a good fact for truckers to know) it instead serves smaller cities such as Roanoke and Winchester, Virginia; Hagerstown, Maryland; Harrisburg and Scranton, Pennsylvania; and Binghamton and Syracuse, New York. After passing through Watertown, Interstate 81 crosses the St. Lawrence Seaway to meet Ontario 401 in Canada. RED BELLIED WOODPECKER

We had a fine time with Cathy, Bruce her husband and Emily (12) their daughter. There were two dogs there today as one was being “house sat.” “Cruiser” is a Basset Hound (see) and Cinnamon (neighbor) is a Springer Spaniel. We had not seen Bruce in 3 ½ years so we did catch up some. We had a light lunch, exchanged information about the families (my sister’s and mine) mainly and then went to a neighbor’s home whose pool is used by the Keisers on a regular basis. That was refreshing in the 85 degree heat. Jim even did some “not so fancy dives” off the ½ meter board.
We finished the visit with more chatter and sharing, did some pruning of the Japanese Maple that was keeping 6 foot tall people from entering the front door, and ended the day with a supper at Red Robin one of Emily’s favorite places. She had an overnight with her best friend, Marla, that night. Red Robin was busy on this Memorial Day weekend and it was good to see the Americans enjoying the Holiday in different ways, celebrating the Holiday (Memorial Day) Those who died to keep our country free are the ones to thank. I wore my USA Flag shirt all day.
The evening was relaxing time. Tomorrow we head up the Blue Ridge Sky Line Drive. We will do just part of it , the northern ½ as the speed limit is slow and we want to stop and enjoy the scenery along the way. Wanna believe that we will see some birds? We will overnight in Winchester, VA. Then on further through great Civil War historic towns like Harpers Ferry (John Brown and integration) and Fredricksburg.
Today we saw another Bald Eagle floating “downstream” with the currents of air, while we were swimming in the pool.
There will be a few more postings, ”The Good Lord willing”, as they say.

GRANDSON BRAETON ARDELL AND SCOTT AFTER WINNING

MEDALS AT THE NATIONAL SCIENCE OLYMPIAD.(GRAND HAVEN MI)