Well over the last few days we have finally had a chance to have a proper visit with our 13 year old Granddaughter. With getting the house up for sale and our travels things finally worked out for us to spend a day together. It's amazing that it seems like only yesterday she was a baby and now she is as tall as Grandma and still growing and becoming a very beautiful young lady. We had a very nice family visit with her and our youngest son and his new bride. The day just flew by and it was  soon time to take her back home. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with family and friends with lots of good laughs, good food and remembering our  loved ones who are no longer with us but who will never be forgotten. Last night we had a house party to go to with our friends and co-volunteers from Artsquest. For first time in many years we had a chance to sit and talk and have a few adult beverages with no sweat pouring off of us and no biting bugs. How nice it was indeed .Once again the time seemed to just fly by and soon it was midnight and we still weren't talked out, but as with all good things it was late and we went home still laughing about the many round robin conversations of the evening. We will surely miss them all as we pursue our new lifestyle. But they will always be in our thoughts .            G              Happy New Year                                                                                                    

We have finally had some snow.

No wind to blow the snow around.

Those little white dots are snow flakes.

Sitting warm and snug.

There is about 4 inches right now.

Just Pretty                          

           

   Merry Christmas Everyone      What a great day here. Last night it snowed and even though it was only about 2 inches it just made this morning the winter wonder land we all wish for on Christmas day . Today we will spend time with family and friends and eat to much and talk to much but that is what the Holidays are about. No I  haven't forgotten the reason we have this holiday but when you practice the reason all year long you don't have to feel  guilty at having a good time today. Love and Peace to All.                                               G

           Almost another week gone and we don't know where the time slips off too, just gone.  Started the week off with a doctor visit and it just ran away from there. Can't really say what was done other than some food shopping and we finally managed to go to the movies and  we saw Lincoln. Good flick, and worth the money. $8.50 for an 11:45 show , you know your getting old when you can remember that use to be $.25 , Yea really old. The weather here has been wet and gloomy but maybe some light snow for Christmas Eve. That would be the best and the first in about 20 years for this area.The wind here has been gusting to 50 mph the last two days but it dries the ground up pretty fast so the good with the bad. We went for a short walk yesterday and it was good, trying to get back to our old routine so that when we hit the road we will be ready.                                    G

          Well yesterday we went to the ArtsQuest volunteer party at Chriskindlmarket. It was really nice to see some of the people we have worked with over the years and have some time to sit and chat with them when we didn't have so many other things to do as when we were at the festivals with someone else is always needing you attention. But as always ArtsQuest manages to make it awkward and make you feel some what unwelcome even at a  holiday thank you . If you have a 6 hour open event don't tell those of us who have taken the time to come that there is a limit to how long you can visit with the other people there and if you leave the seating area you can not return to the seating area even if you do not want eat or drink anything but just visit with someone who has just arrived. Good way to treat volunteers that you never have enough of. Oh well, that's why people don't come back.                                                    G

                      Went to a very sad event last night. We went to the wake of a friend who we have known for over 10 years. We met him at Musik Fest and we all volunteered together at different sites for all of the time we spent there. He was only 52 and died suddenly two days ago. Robert was a very nice man and he and his Partner had been together for 25 years and were very well matched. As with all couples they had their ups and downs but very committed to each other. Robert will be missed by us all.                                           G

        We have finally moved the left overs from all the sales out to the garage and they will be picked up next Friday by Big Bothers and Sisters . They are one of the few groups that still take books. It is a shame that all the others are not interested in anything that is in print. What a shame that books no longer have any value. Can't wait for the weather to either get cold or do something because we are really tired of not seeing the sun for more than one day week. Just snow or give me some sun light. These rainy over cast days give no inspiration for the mind or the body to get moving.    G                          

            Been busy putting the rest of the house bits and pieces in the one car garage so they can be donated . The weather here has been really great and I have been able to catch up with the outside work. You know the fun stuff , cleaning out the gutters and picking up the rest of the leaves and some more of the downed branches. Did some easy decorating on the house and the RV. We decorated the inside of the RV and it looks pretty good for what we kept from the original 38 tubs that we moved over to our sons house. We hope he and his new bride will love them as we did for all those years. So many memories and now its time for a new generation take over for us old folks. I know that all will be fine .                                                                G

         Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We went to Laurens Sisters' house and we had a great time. We deep fried a turkey and a small pork roast and they came out great. As always we ate to much and of course had a few adult beverages and all was well in the world for the day anyway. With Xmas around the corner we are already planning our next trip. Back to Texas to wait out the bad weather and then up into the Northwest and British Columbia with the intent to spend the summer in Alaska if all goes well. We have already have received some information on the camping in BC and of course still waiting for the Alaska book. For some reason the State tourism boards are really bad about being prompt when a request for camping information is requested, I guess they figure RV people don't spent enough on hotels and fine dining for them to care about us, Oh well their loss as we eat out a lot and do the tourist thing while sleeping in our own bed with out bed bugs and dirty bathrooms. Yes that is a slam but have not been real happy with our last few stays in these really what we though were supposed to be up scale rooms in some really nice places. So much for being off track. Enough for now.                                                                          G                            

These were taken this past spring in Palo Duro Canyon in Texas

Showing off for his ladies

The girls were not impressed

Running after the ladies

Things worked out

           Another Thanksgiving is almost here and time has changed the way we use to do it. For years we had the whole family at our place for the day and as we got older we passed it over to other family members and it worked well for a lot of years. Yet as things and peoples obligations happen and it once again changes. This year the task has passed once again and I know everything will be fine as family is always around in spirt if not in person.We have gone from 30 some people for the day to 6. Children get older and start new families and families drift apart with time. But we will always be thankful for the time shared and the family that has passed and the new families of the future. You all have a great Thanksgiving.                            G

            Here we are getting ready for Thanksgiving, but this year will be a little different.  We'll be spending it with family, but less of them.  Tara's (my sister) kitchen is under construction and with all the problems with Hurricane Sandy is a little behind in schedule.  Coleen (my sister) is hosting Thanksgiving again this year and there will only be 6 of us, including George and myself.  However, although we won't be with everyone, we will still be together in spirit. 

We have a lot to be thankful for this year, we have our health, our homes, and our loved ones.  Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone who suffered with this horrible hurricane.  We hope that their lives can be brought back to peace.  We wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving! -L

         Well another day and another set of doctors tests. This week has been Doctors, Dentists, blood work with the 14 hour fast and lots of time at the dentist. Cleanings and crowns for both Lauren and me with an X ray mixed in for good measure for Laurens' foot. Really looking forward to dinner with Gary and Kelly tonight and a farewell dinner with the 6th PA on Saturday. Good thing we have the time or we would go nuts trying to fit everything in. Things look better next week with only one day of the Dentist and of course vehicle inspections. Forgot to mention them as both the truck which was over due and the Kia which will be on time , can't remember how this all was done when we both worked. But why complain as the days rocket by and seem to blur and I have a hard time knowing what day and what has to be done today. Thank god Lauren is very organized or I would miss half of the appointments.                                                                                  G

                    Spent the day yesterday cleaning up what was left in my workshop. Cleaned space that I haven't seen since 1986. It's amazing how much saw dust and metal shaving weight. Managed to fill half a garbage can with what seemed like nothing. Still have some wood scraps and a few odd parts to chuck. Cleaned up the bar area and Laurens sewing area and the store room once again. It seems even when you don't live in a house it still generates dirt. Can't wait to be totally free of it.There seem to be more and more leaves each year or am I just getting to old to love cleaning up all of them which I did enjoy once upon a time. bouncing around on the tractor just isn't the same any more, 6 hours on it and I need a day to recoveras my low back gives me the finger.                               G

             The weather man screwed up again I guess. First the storm was going to be nothing for this area and then all the hype that this is going to be really bad and we should be prepared for a really nasty 12 hour storm with high winds and snow. So we wake up this morning and nothing. I want a job that I can be wrong 50 percent of the time and still get paid. Oh Well.        G

          Finished the minor repairs on the house yesterday and almost finished cleaning up all the leaves. Spent almost 6 hours on the tractor grinding up the leaves and moving them to the two compost piles. The piles are very tall right now but I'm sure the snow that is coming will take care of the compacting of them.We wish we didn't have to come back from the warmer area in the south but we had some things we had to take care of but we hope to get back south right after the new year. Still need to get rid of some small items  in the house that were left over from the final auction. But mostly it is just some clean up and of course my lack of prior planning I need to go and buy a snow shovel today, OH well.                                         G

Buford's Monument at the first day Battle field in Gettysburg PA

Monument where General Reynolds was shot and died at the first days battle in Gettysburg

The Seminary cupola where Buford watched the first days battle. Soon to be opened as a War Museum

Some of the storm damage at Gettysburg. There were many trees down all over the park

The Virginia Monument at the site of Pickett's Charge

One of the Confederate gun facing the the Union line at Pickett's Charge

Bloody Lane at the Antietam Battle Field in Maryland

The Dunker Church on the Antietam Battle Field

This is Back at Gettysburg . The covered bridge that the Army of Northern Virginia retreated over to go back to Virginia

The Engine house at Harper's Ferry , West Virginia where john Brown made his stand. It is also called John Browns Fort

Such a small home for the great plan that john Brown had to start a Slave Rebellion in the Southern Stated

We didn't know that Lewis and Clark  really started out at Harpers Ferry

              We are back in Center Valley finally after our one week delay due to the storm.. Left Gettysburg this morning and we still haven't seen the sun for 7 days. When we decided to stop there and wait out Sandy we had hoped that it be clear in a few days but that did not happen. When we started seeing pictures of the Jersey coast and all the damage we also saw sun light. The news in the Gettysburg area was that we had all the feeder bands from Sandy and that it would rain on and off  and it did every day. We still managed to do some car touring while we were there. We did the Gettysburg Battle field and Antietam and we also went to Harper's Ferry. I will post some pictures when Verizon comes back to full speed. Only have 1 bar on the 3 g network right now and it takes forever to download pictures. When we arrived home we found some minor damage and haven't really looked to see whats left after the final auction. We have doctors tomorrow and who knows how long we will have to wait to vote on Tuesday. Last time it was almost 3 hours. Our polling place is not very well run and do believe it is on purpose . That could be a 3000 word rant if I were to really get going on it but I will spare you. More tomorrow.                 G

           As we waited to pick up the repair part for the brakes we traveled south on the Blue Ridge Parkway and saw some of the most beautiful clouds, but we knew that they were the leading edges of two storms that were coming together. After we made the repair we decided to move closer to home and ended up In Gettysburg. Good thing as the KOA we were in which is up in the Blue Ridge Mountains is now covered with 2 feet of snow. During the storm we were prepared for the worse as we have experienced a 72 mph northeaster in the Outer Banks three years ago. Our luck was good for we had all the wind and rain here but we did not loose power . There was a 30 second blip but it came right back and we were able to watch the storm unfold on TV. It is a little heart breaking to watch so much destruction in areas that in some cases we had been there only a month ago. As for the Jersey shore , when they showed the pictures those were areas where  I had spent many a summer day in all those devastated areas. Many a summer evening on the Seaside Boardwalk and on the Point Pleasant beaches. Very sad. I have seen a few pictures from the Virginia beach area and just two weeks ago we were fishing in the State Park that was under 4 feet of water. I'm still looking to see if the Army Corp Bridge on 12 south going into Cape Hatteras is still there as the news reports were that route 12 was closed in many places. When we saw the pictures of the HMS Bounty sinking off of the Cape it made us sad to see her go down in the Atlantic grave yard of ships and with loss of crew. Our prayers go out to all who have lost their homes and in some cases loved ones.                                            G

Last Saturday morning on Blue Ridge Drive by Front Royal

The trees are loosing leaves fast

Leading edge clouds of western storm

These flowers are now under two feet of snow, they were at the three thousand foot level

Clouds from the feeder bands of Sandy

More clouds from Sandy

That is a wall of clouds that look like the mountain tops from Sandy

Add captionMore clouds coming over the mountains

more feeder bands from the western storm

         We left endless caverns yesterday to return to Center Valley and go to Laurens Step Dads' birthday party so we thought. The RVs breaks had a different take on the 6 hour Trip. When I hit the first big hill and started down the RV started to push the truck.That is not how it supposed to work. As soon as I found a spot to pull over I got out of the truck noticed a smoky smell from the front storage area and that is where the brake controller is located. When I opened the the door there was the smell of something that had burned. After pulling out the storage containers I found a burned pair of cotton gloves and started to look for the source of the heat. What I found was that when the new brakes were installed they used an open style fuse that you would use under the hood of a car. In my thoughts why would you do that in an area where stuff will be stored. Anyway I had placed the steel bar to raise up the front tripod jack in that area and the bouncing coming out of the RV campground moved the bar and it shorted out the exposed fuse and over heated the wiring and started the little fire. So we now sit in a KOA campground about twenty miles from where we started yesterday. It is very nice here and I have replaced  the damaged wiring and just need one small part for the total repair. Will pick that up in Harrisionburg around noon and we will good to go. Have installed an enclosed fuse so nothing can short it out and have installed a smoke detector in the storage area. All will good to go by tomorrow.But as we look at the weather forcast for the next few days I believe we will find another RV park and wait out the storm .You all stay safe .      G                                                        

           Didn't do much the last two days. Went for some groceries and did a few minor repairs inside the RV. Sat outside last night and had a nice campfire for a few hours. Had to wait for the sun to start going down as it has been in the 80's during the day but when the sun goes behind the mountain the temp drops into the 50's in less than and hour but it makes for good sleeping with the windows open.We haven't planned anything for today so we will see what the day brings.             G

On the way into the Camp ground

The picture does not capture the vibrant colors

Our view from the front of the RV

He visits the cats every day

A fire a chair and a beer, life is good

The sky at sun down

         We have seen some really beautiful trees over the last few days as we have traveled a good portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway and some really cool unpaved roads in the George Washington National Forest. The trees are just beautiful and the weather has been sunny and clear the whole time. On Saturday night /Sunday Morning we arose at 4:30 to watch the metor showers. They were just awesome. The tails on some were really long and all of them were very brite. Made for some good viewing. We only stayed outside for an hour as it was the only night so far that dipped down into the 30's. The RV park was almost full over the weekend and there were a lot of Kids and Saturday afternoon they had trick or treat here. It was nice to see the small kids in costume coming around and we had a number of them come by over the two hours they were allowed. Now we sit in the park with four other RV's and it is really quite. Very nice I must say.                                          G

Leaf peeping in the Blue Ridge Mountains VA, Blue Ridge Parkway and George Washing National Forest

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                            We have finally moved off the beach in Virginia. Laurens' Dad did well with his minor procedure and we had some time to visit with him and Laurens' Brother Jay.  A very nice visit.  We are now in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western Virginia for some leaf peeping. The colors are really sharp as this is their prime week here for the trees. Some of the trees we saw on the way in over the mountain were so colorful I wish I could have stopped to take photos but the traffic wouldn't allow it. We seem to have moved into the RV Parks big Halloween weekend  so for the first time in some 30 years we will have Trick or Treaters come to our door. How ironic that for all the years we were in Center Valley we had none and now by looks of all the children in the park we will have quite a few so we will have to go and get some candy for them. Plan on doing Sky line drive this week, the trees should be something to see. Tonight we hope to have clear skies as it will be best time to see the meteor showers as there is no light pollution here so it should be a good show .  G                                        

Our new home for seven days at Endless caverns RV Park

Autumn in the Blue Ridge Mountains

A view from our window

Had to open door to do justice to the colors