Day at the Doctors

Gerry and I both had appointments at our Ear, Nose & Throat Dr today. She was going in for her 6 month checkup and I went for a hearing test. I failed. She did well

We had an exciting ride down to the Dr including a super rain storm. When we went up the hills on I-70 we were hydro planing quite a lot. I slowed down considerably and that helped, but everyone else was driving like it was a dry road. We ran in the rainstorm for almost 20 miles before we got out of it. Since the Dr.s office is about 85 miles from the cabin the rain delay slowed us down a lot.

Once we got out of the rain, we were stopped for 10 minutes by two huge tractor trailer trucks hauling I beams for the Cross County Connector highway being constructed. They must really have to plan a lot in detail in order to transport these beams from the foundry to the job site since they are so long and tall. See for yourself. I don't know how they managed to navigate the road they come from since there is a small rotary in the middle of the road about 1/2 mile from this intersection. It would be interesting to see them place these huge I beams in place over the highways they cross. I imagine one would have to stay up late at night to see that. Humm, maybe we can do that since we stay up so late anyway.













Then it was on to the road to the Dr where we ran into a long line at a construction site for the new road. Wow, what else could go wrong. We finally made it to the appointments, however we were a few minutes late.

We made a quick run to the local wine shop and picked up some supplies for Gerry and then met old friends Diane and John for an early dinner at the Olive Garden in Laurel, MD. We hadn't seen them since last year but John and I talk on the phone on a regular basis so we didn't have to spend all the time on catch up chatting. We enjoyed the meal there and headed back to the cabin.

About a mile down the road we ran into a detour and it being rush hour, it was a mess. I had the GPS with me so we plotted another route through alleys and side streets and got around the mess.

On the way back we called bil Tom to check on the status of their dog who underwent surgery yesterday. She came through the surgery minus a part of her jawbone and three teeth, but seems to be on the road to recovery. Hope all goes well with her recovery.

The ride home was uneventful and we had time to photograph an old spring house along the side of the road near Smithsburg, MD. I would like to go back and get some more photos of it in good light since the late shadows hide the pond.

Harz Family Visit

The Harz family has been on the road in a MH for the past 2 1/2 years and are heading back home to New Hampshire for a while. We met them in Tucson last winter and immediately liked them. Gerry, Teresa & Tristen worked on projects at the recreation hall on Tuesdays and we saw them at a number of functions throughout the winter.

They left Tucson after we did and have been touring the US on their way back. A visit to Gettysburg brought them close to us and they joined us for dinner on Saturday evening. Cassie, Jack and Lexa also joined us so there were 13 people in our little cabin. It made for some cozy conversation, but it worked out fine. It was great seeing them again and I hope we can see them in the future sometime.

Washington County, MD Bridges

Gerry, Cassie, Lexa & I went geocaching today after some other appointments. It was a good geocaching day with 7 finds including a couple very difficult caches.

I especially enjoy seeing all of the old bridges that were built in the 1830s and 1840s in Maryland. The ones that lasted were built out of stone and had several arches for support. The two bridges we saw today were spanning Antietam Creek about a 1/2 mile apart. They are still in use today and are used heavily.

The first bridge we visited was Rose's Mill Bridge. As with almost all the bridges it is one lane and wide enough for a car to pass over. You can't really appreciate the bridges until you get down to the creek level and view them.




Claggett's Mill Bridge was the 2nd bridge we visited today. It also is a three arch bridge and is crested at the top. There is another smaller bridge next to Claggett's Mill bridge and it spanned the mill race. There is some confusion why it was built since it wasn't needed for the operation of the mill. Standing near the bridges is the original Claggett house that is still being used today.

Earthquake and Fog

Our cabin is about 75 miles from Rockville, MD and they had a 3.6 earthquake centered there today. Now I know a 3.6 isn't much, but I imagine our old neighbors must have wondered what was going on.

We lived in Costa Rica for 6 years and experienced numerous earthquakes over 6.0 and one that was 7.5. Let me tell you something, a 7.5 quake gets your attention. We had 10-15 aftershocks above 5.5 with that one and people were sleeping in parks and their yards. Anywhere but in their house. It just so happened that my niece was visiting with us at that time and we warned her upon her arrival that if a quake hit, to stand in a doorway until it was over. Well, it was just her luck to have the 7.5 quake hit while she was there. She handled it very well but I think it just about scared her to death. She never came back to visit us again. They had t-shirts out the next day saying "7.5 and still alive".

It was hot today and an afternoon thunderstorm passed through and cooled things down a bit. We needed to make a trip down the mountain and on our way back ran into some lite fog which made for some nice photos. The photos were taken about a mile from the cabin and I wish they could capture the scene better than it turned out.

Geocaching

Gerry and I went geocaching today and found 7 of the treasures. I thought I'd let you all know what and where we found the caches.

• The first cache was next to a place that was all about elephants, however the museum burned down last week.
  
• The 2nd cache was in a guard rail close to the ground and the log was stuffed into a baby alligator's mouth. Try laying on the ground and reaching to retrieve something like this.
  
• On to a perfectly well hidden cache in a tree right next to a very busy road in a shopping center. Lots of fun dodging cars and bending branches to find the cache.
  
• Find 4 was near a parking lot and back in a jungle of trees, poison ivy and branches.
  
• The next find was easy since it was attached to a street sign and it was all by itself.
  
• A restaurant with a lighthouse was where the next cache was hidden. Easy find.
  
• The final find of the day was in a cemetery. It was a neat cache in that it was hidden in a hollowed out portion of a branch.

While searching for cache three a young couple pulled up and asked if we found it. They were fellow geocachers and had found the cache earlier and were very glad to provide us with a hint. I had hesitated to stand in the road looking for the cache and as it turned out that was the only way to find it. It was very well hidden and took some searching to find it. I think I need new glasees and definitely need a new back.

After that we used the GPS to find a local restaurant that we like. Since we had been traveling in circles and were in an area that we hadn't been before, the GPS came in very handy. We found the restaurant and enjoyed very good meals. They were huge and we brought back enough food to feed us lunch tomorrow.

In the middle of geocaching Gerry went looking for a dress but didn't find anything that she liked. So, the search continues.

We stopped at the grocery story and then headed home. A nice glass of wine topped off our day. And that was our exciting day here in Pennyslvania.

This and That

I usually keep track of a few blogs and have noticed a lot of the "snowbirds" are at home and are having trouble finding interesting things to blog about. I don't believe in expressing my political views on my blog so that rules that out for me. We haven't been doing a lot of interesting things lately other than watching the World Cup, eating out and taking it easy. For example, the big events today were to get an oil change in the car and shop for a dress for Gerry to wear to our grand daughters wedding in October. We did manage to find three easy geocaches after the shopping trip. No, she didn't find a dress.

We cancelled our Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta reservations last week since there is a conflict with the wedding. We get a full refund minus a $10 fee. That is fine with us. We made the reservation knowing our grand daughter was planning her wedding but she hadn't picked a date as of that time. There will be other balloon festivals, but only one grand daughter getting married so we picked the most important one. She had better not change the date.

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday Darlene.

I am still debating on whether to put your actual age on this page. Let me know by 7/12/2010 if you don't want your age posted. Gerry bought you that much time.

Hope you had a great LIFE celebration today.

The Jug Bridge

From 1808 to 1942 a four arch bridge spanned the Monacacy River east of Frederick, MD. It was part of the Baltimore Frederick-Town Tollpike that began in the early 1800's. The bridge collapsed in 1942 and while it could have been repaired the decision was to build another bridge. That bridge has been replaced by the present day bridge on I-70.

The bridge was unique in that the jug shaped stone demijohns incorporated into the bridge. The "Jug" and a monument to Marquis De Lafayette were moved to their present day location on US 144 east of Frederick, MD. There is a nice little park there with parking for 10 cars of so. Take a little time and check out the Jug.

World Cup

It has been so hot here in the northeast that we have been hunkering down with the a/c running full blast day and night. It keeps the temps at a comfortable level, but not cold. Whew, we may have to go to Tucson early this year to escape the heat.

Since it was so hot we decided to go out for dinner. After much thought we decided on the Ott House for dinner since it is one of our favorite places in the area. Imagine the dismay on my face when we drove there and found out they were closed for vacation. WOW! Now what?

We decided to try The Palms across the street from the Ott House. It was different and they served a reasonable meal for the price, but it wasn't some place we would go to again.

Yesterday we drove down to a local bar to watch the Spain-Germany soccer game in the World Cup. The bar was almost empty and we got to run the "clicker" to control the volume. It was an exceptionally well played game and Spain controlled the game throughout and won 1-0 on a header off of a corner kick. I am waiting for the day when the US can play at a level like this game. Someday!

Hot & Humid Days

We are at the cabin and it is usually 7-10 degrees cooler than down the mountain. Today is an exception or it is very hot elsewhere. We have the small a/c running and it is keeping us cool in the cabin so far. This is a good day to work on the computer inside and take it easy.

Independence Day

July 4, 2010 Waynesboro, PA





Gerry and I joined Cassie, Lexa and Jack for the Saturday night fireworks display at Waynesboro, PA. Their church has property near the fireworks displays and they invited everyone to park in their vacant field and provided hot dogs, cola & chips. That was a very nice gesture. Cassie & Jack saved us a parking space next to them and we got to watch the fireworks together. Sorry that you had to see me sitting so close to a Dodge, but I didn't have a choice.



We hope everyone has a happy and safe Independence Day celebration.

This and That

Cruising the Area

It's been a quiet couple weeks here at the cabin. Very quiet!

We joined our friends Carolyn & Mann for dinner on Monday night. They were visiting Gettysburg with their grandson Dustin and were worn out taking him around the battlefields and were looking for a relaxing dinner. We went to the Ott House in Emmitsburg MD for dinner and enjoyed the company and meal very much. Dustin was a little apprehensive, as he thought we were going to the Outhouse for dinner. Since he seemed to enjoy his meal, it must not have left too strong of an impression. It's too bad they only were in the area for two nights. They were heading to Hershey, PA to continue their trip with Dustin.

A couple days ago we decided to travel over to Charles Town, WV and check out the casino there. They have a racetrack and casino in the same area along with a hotel. The casino used to be a small spot with some slots. It has been expanded to include hundreds of slots as well as adding two huge garages next to it. They are opening a gaming room this week and have fixed up the place very much.

We played the slots for 3-4 hours and managed to leave them some money to help them with the expansion. We were both up and should have quit, but the urge to win more overcame us, with the expected result. Actually, we don't really expect to win, but it would be a nice bonus. We had their buffet dinner after gambling and both felt the main meal was just so so at best but the deserts were outstanding. They really do have a great pastry chef. I don't usually eat deserts but these looked so good that I left room for 5 different deserts and they all were great. Gerry had to agree that it would be worth the visit just to have desert there.

The drive to Charles Town took us through Antietam battlefield and through the quaint and neat old towns of Boonsboro & Sharpsburg, MD and Shepherdstown, WV. They have really done a great job fixing up the downtown area of Shepherdstown and we plan on going back there for lunch one day very soon. The author Nora Roberts bought an old hotel in Boonsboro, MD and had it remodeled. Gerry managed to get a picture of it at the traffic light before we had to move on. Check it out below.



July 1st was Jack's birthday and we celebrated it with Jack, Cassie, Lexa, Candace and her two children. I grilled a couple London Broiled steaks and they actually turned out very good, if I may say so. We brought a decadent chocolate cake over for desert and it was enjoyed by all. The cake is so rich that I can't eat that much of it, but Jack did manage to down his fair share. He opened his cards and gifts after dinner and we sat around and chatted for a while. Then it was time to let him get to bed since he starts work so early.

We left their house and headed back to the cabin. I glanced at the odometer on the car and noticed what I consider a unique number. At least it was unique to me.



By the time we got back to the cabin the temperature was hovering around 50 degrees. We had to shut the windows and add a blanket to the bed, but it was great sleeping weather.

See what an exciting life we lead.