Labor Day

Happy Labor Day to all.  

When we were working it great to have a day off just as school was starting and we could go camping for the weekend.  Those were the days when you could pack up Friday night and drive to the campground and get setup in time to build a campfire.  No reservations and the campgrounds always had a spot for you.  Those days are in the past now and every one makes reservations months in advance for a campsite.

We didn't do much today other than odd chores around the cabin.  Tom & Darlene left very late last night and we slept in a while and then were dragging around the rest of the day.

It has been raining all day and the humidity is unbelievable up here with all the trees and sticking to the leaves.  Benadryl has been the pill of choice today for us and it doesn't seem to be working it's magic yet.  Hopefully it will kick in real soon and we can get a good nights sleep.

We are taking Cassie to the Univ Of MD Medical Center on Tuesday morning very early.  Since it is a 2 hr plus drive from Cassie's house we are staying with Jack's parents for the night in Mt. Airy, MD and that will shorten the drive in at 5AM down to 45 minutes or so.  Who in the world schedules procedures for those terrible hours?  They must be sadists.

It will be an in/out the same day procedure so hopefully we can get out of Baltimore before the traffic builds up in the afternoon.  We (Gerry) will be with Cassie until Jack get home and she will prepare a meal for them.  Assuming Cassie wants to eat something, if not, then it will just be for Jack & Lexa.

The tropical storm Lee that hit the Gulf Coast is making it way up toward us.  There has been an unbroken line of rain from New Orleans up toward Montreal, Canada all day long.  It looks like it will take a couple days to clear up this rain and humidity.  I am glad that none of our friends from Tucson came to visit with us during this period.  They would just get on the first plane out of here and head back west.  Too bad we can't divert this rain to our suffering friends in Texas.  What a summer this has been with heat, hurricanes, tornadoes, and even an earthquake.  What the H^%$ is that all about?

My plans to split firewood were doused by all this weather so hopefully we can get on it this weekend if it doesn't snow or some other natural occurrence.  I also have a lot of branches to burn and that has been put on hold also.  Hope it dries out in time to get the above finished before we leave on our Fall trip.

Barbara, Henry and crew left for a cruise to the Bahamas today and hopefully Hurricane Katia will stay far to the east of them.  If not, I hope they have jars of dramamine with them if it get rough.  Say a little prayer for them.

Roofing Contractor

It's been about 20+ years since we had a new roof on the cabin so we called a roofing contractor to get an estimate for a new roof.  We are getting two estimates since we both like the looks of metal roofs, however they tend to be more expensive to buy.  He left us some materials to look at and decide which color of metal roof or which shingle of the traditional roof we are interested in.  It will take a couple days for the estimate to come in and then we will decide if we want to have the work done before we leave in October.

It looks like September is going to be another busy month for us with visitors, work on the cabin, medical appointments and such on tap.  In addition there is Cassie & Jack's wedding anniversary, three birthdays and other events in store for us.  Time will fly by and it will be time to head out west again.

We called and made a reservation at the same park in Tucson we've stayed in for the past 5 years.  We were getting tired of the routine out there and wanted to find a change.  The new park managers have taken a new approach to entertainment, activities and such for the upcoming season so we thought we'd try it once again.  We won't be there until early December and will leave March 31, 2010 and explore some more out west at that time.  That is a nice thing about a motor home, you can pick up and take your bed with you.

Our daughter Barbara and her family are scheduled to leave on a cruise out of Charleston, SC on Sunday.  Hurricane Katia is heading in their direction and may interfere with their plans.  The cruise line says if they can leave port before the storm, then they are good to go.  I am happy that we didn't agree to join them on this cruise since I don't get along very well with stormy seas.  I have a bad enough time on a boat in calm waters, let alone rough seas.   I hope it works out for them and they have a great time.  

Not much else is going on around here and it is very quiet  Very quiet.

Take care out there.