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.