Scratch one more...

… off the bucket list. Jerry has always wanted to see a space shuttle launch – and now we have. The adventure began Saturday morning when we left Covington about 6:00 a.m. Our intent was to drive most of the day and then camp somewhere probably in GA. This part of the trip was fairly uneventful. We ran in to a storm in GA that caused us to pull off the road for about 20 minutes. It was fast, furious and had a lot of lightning and thunder. I can’t remember that it was cold before the rain but it sure was after. I recall checking the weather down south before we left. High in the 80’s and lows in the 60s. Great camping weather, right? So after the rain highs were in the 50’s and lows in the upper 30s. Neither one of us packed cold weather campin’ clothes so we visited a Day’s Inn for the night. After doing the usual bed bug check we slept fairly well. We hit the road early on Sunday morning. We had talked to our friends Sheila and Eduardo, who we were staying with and they suggested we arrive after 5:00 p.m. That was great. We had some time to kill so we got off the expressway and hit some back roads. The Magnolia Trees were in bloom. The Spanish moss was fascinating. We followed RT. 1 down the coast – saw a lot of hotels/motels/souvenir shops and some water. We ended up at the National Sea Shore Park. There was an entrance fee – but I had my trusty little senior citizen National Park Pass in my wallet which allowed us both to get in free. (Yea, for being old.) We found a hiking trail and decided to walk it. This was our first introduction to the Florida Love Bug. For those of you (if there is anyone out there reading this) who don’t know the love bug flies and walks tail to tail with its mate. They don’t sting, they don’t bite but when there are thousands of them they can be very annoying. Literally you had to put your hand in front of your mouth if you wanted to talk to keep them from flying in. When we opened the car door to get in or out we ended up with a dozen or so pairs joining us for the ride. Not a good thing. It was like it was raining bugs! Also, our car became covered with the little things. Apparently the squished bug leaves an acid that removes the finish off your car. They are really tough to remove from the windshield also. Back to the walk - walk led us up a ramp in to the tops of the trees. This too was a challenge since I don’t ‘do’ heights very well. We then drove to Eduardo and Sheila’s wonderful beach house. When we got there the Love Bugs were there also, everywhere, heavier than before. We ran from the car in to the house. Apparently the bugs have never been this bad in the 20 some years that they had lived in Florida. Just our luck! They were so bad that we could not even walk to the beach, which is in their backyard. We went to supper about 2 miles from their home – no bugs. Ate a wonderful meal, watch the sunset and caught up with friends. What could be better? On Monday Jerry and I got up before dawn. Having said goodbye to our hosts the night before we drove off in search of the perfect shuttle launch. Eduardo had given us some ideas as to where to go to view the launch. There were so many people lining the roads, at the parks, in the streets – and this was 4 hours before the blast off time. We got to the city where we wanted to be. People were everywhere. We found a church that was charging $20.to park in their lot. Perfect – good cause, they sold snacks, had restrooms and were right across the street from a place where we could watch from which was behind a burnt out building but right on the water front. There were few people there. The owner of the building came out and said that we really shouldn’t be there because it was private property but they would allow us to stay anyway. Yea, owners! We were about 3 hours early so we saw the sunrise, fish jumping, birds diving and even dolphins passing by. What a treat! We watch the launch with a young couple from New England – he had a smart phone which kept us up to date with what was going on launch-wise. There was an older couple there from Cleveland – oh, wait – maybe we were the older couple. Then there was Betty Boop, Sleeping Beauty, Fiona all rolled in to this one woman who also worked for Disney in Japan and climbed Mt. Fiji – a very interesting young woman – and I do believe she was telling the truth, So the countdown happened but not before the clouds rolled in and clung so very close to the earth. 3-2-1- there is goes! There it went! – maybe 5 seconds worth of’ ooooo’. Of course from the distance you cannot see the shuttle or boosters or anything else that you might see on TV. So that was it! 5 seconds! Like a giant bottle rocket. I’m not saying that it was not worth the 2,000 mile trip. It was! But 5 seconds?! Back to the car, locked in traffic – but only for about 30-45 minutes. I think we were lucky there. Then we drove home. Spent the night I in a Red Roof Inn because it was in the 40s again. In the name of simplicity we had taken our Corolla. Only the two of us - we thought we could be comfortable and at the same time squeeze our camping gear in the trunk. It was an experiment. Worked fairly well. However,…..at some point the car started to fall apart – literally! Some gizmo (Jerry should be telling this end of the story)– maybe something like heavy cardboard that lies under the engine to protect it from dirt, fell off on one side and started flapping on the ground. Not good! Jerry and his bionic arm managed to crawl under the car – not a whole lot of room there folks! – and tie it up with some string that came from a piece of camping clothes line. With that secure feeling we headed back on to the expressway. Within 20 miles another piece of the car started flappin in the wind. This came from under the passenger side door. Totally unrelated to the first incident. All but one bolt apparently broke off. Jerry managed this time to break off this piece way too easily – who needs it anyway? It now is riding in the back of the car. A little closer to home the tire pressure light comes on. Wait – we had a slow leak a week or so ago but we got that fixed – apparently in our dreams. A little air held it until ½ block from home when the light came on again. Ah, but who cares? We made it home safe and sound and in time for Nephew Adam’s graduation. Life is good! Congratulations Adam.

Back in the Saddle Again

Ah, Progress! The last couple of months have been full of ups and downs. Some ups have been higher than others. Some downs have been lower than others.
It is a well know fact that Jerry completed the AT in October it is also well known that he tore a tendon about 2 weeks before his heroic finish. He had 2 surgeries and since the beginning of December we have been dealing with an unbelievable stubborn infection. Somehow that seems to be putting it mildly.
Jerry has gone from being unable to bend his arm for quite a long time to being able to bend it enough to feed himself. Two steps forward, one step backwards – is that the old saying? Let's just say it has been a looonng journey.
Even though the infection is still rearing its ugly head, great strides have been made. This past week while we were camping Jerry managed to split wood for the campfire. (Even though I told Jim that he was not allow to let Jerry do this – Jerry did. Thanks, Jim! Guess it’s just the motherliness in me wanting to be overly protective.) And some campfire we had! Even in the rain.
Yesterday, WooHoo!, Jerry got his old friend out of the garage and managed to ride his bike once again! I think the cry of triumph was heard throughout the whole neighborhood. It has been over a year since he had his wheels under him but the world is once again beginning to open up. Loveland Bike Trail here we come.
There is another change in Jerry but I don’t want to spoil the surprise for anyone who might see him – no he isn’t losing weight – after all, Sally, our wonderful niece and wound care nurse keeps saying ‘eat, eat, more protein to heal the arm’ – but it is a change that is truly noticeable.
YEA for splitting fire wood,
YEA for riding bikes,
YEA for friends, family, green, earth day and Easter !

It is Like Coming Home Again

This is the thought that Jerry and I both had at the same time when we saw the sign for Koomer Ridge Campground last week. It had been almost two years since we had been to the Red River Gorge area. Since Jerry was hiking the AT last year we missed out on our annual spring camping trip with friends that we been doing for almost 25 years – wait we can’t be that old!
We had planned to leave on Tuesday but woke up to wet, chilly weather. After checking the forecast for Slade KY I decided to wait until Wednesday. Jerry was anxious to get there but decided to wait also.
When we arrived on Wednesday the campground host said that Tuesday was a completely miserable day. Yea, for a good decision!
So we arrived on Wednesday. Our friend Jim pulled in right behind us. We settled in campsites next to each other.
The next few days were, sunny, windy, rainy, chilly – it’s hard to remember which days were what. There was a sunrise or two and at least one sunset that we saw. Looked for the space station a couple of times but it was just too cloudy to see it.
Jay came over on Thursday and the three men did their ‘guy hike’ thing. Seems like the Pinch-m-tight trail was true to its name – only Jim could make it through.
Thursday brought Joan and Dave. Friday brought Christy, Karen, Nick and 9 month old Ethan – go Ethan, your first of many camping trips! Saturday saw Christy, Joan and Dave leaving. Nick and Ethan also hit the road back home. Joanna and Mike came and later in the day Sheila arrived with Micah and Toby.
We made a trip towards Whitleton Arch by way of the lower trail – saw a lot of spring wild flowers. We took Ethan to see our favorite Frog Pond. This hike we later repeated with Sheila, Toy and Micah. The boys seemed to totally enjoy it. They ended up with wet feet but also a tadpole, salamander, and frog eggs in their net.
We enjoyed campfires, saw a few lightning bugs, had some good camp food, talked a lot, hiked some, played a little dominoes, laid in our sleeping bags and listened to the wind and rain, lightning and thunder, enjoyed the campground with very few people around, watched a guy with his leaf blower cleaning the campsites in a national forest – talk about job security, talked about going back in a week or two to watch the progression of the wild flowers.
It was good to be there and we are grateful for the opportunity to once again enjoy the wonders of nature so close to home.

And it's Good-bye Again - again

Once again Clair was Leavin’ On A Jet Plane. It was a good visit but after 2 ½ months back in the states the Ice is once again calling her name and she must answer (because she signed a contract to do).

She seems to enjoy her job in Antarctica as Solid Waste Manager, which includes Haz Mat control, and as Fire Marshal.

She hasn’t seen a summer season in a few years as she spends her winter on the Ice and then heads back to KY during our winter season. Crazy woman! I don’t know if I could go without seeing spring wildflowers for that long.

It was great to have her home if only for a bit. We’ll miss her. The dog will miss her. But it does a parent good to see their child doing what makes them happy – however crazy it might seem.

There and back again - again

The weekend road trip started with Clair’s friend Neal from CO arriving here on Wednesday. After an afternoon of Neal meeting most of the immediate family it was an early to bed evening. We headed out about 6:00 a.m. (late start due to Clair fixing her famous oatmeal). Clair’s and my destination was the PA/NJ boarder, Neal was headed to NH. It just so happened that Google maps took him past Covington and past my favorite spot in all of PA, Judy’s house. (Judy = wonderful sister-in-law and aunt.)

10 hours after pulling out of Covington we pulled in to Bangor, PA. Neal spent the night there and moved on the next morning. The trip was chilly, rainy.

It was good to see Judy, Len and Justin. The next five days were spent talking, eating, sleeping, knitting, reading, hiking, riding in the car – to the liquor store, to the bakery shop, to the state park, to the gas station, to the bank, to the grocery store, to the drug store….

…And to the farm where we visited with Smadar and Mike, saw Samson and Hannah from last year, met the new guy James, gathered eggs, washed the eggs, watered the chickens, took care of the chicken who met his demise at the hands of a hawk, hiked to the pond, weeded, watered, planted, shucked beans, sorted beans, bagged beans, ground corn, bagged corn meal, helped get ready for distribution day, helped prepare for a mailing.

The biggest disappointment of the trip was to find out that The Run Way Café was closed for the month of March. Darn! That is my second favorite place in NJ next to the farm. It is a place where you can go, have a greasy lunch and watch planes and gliders come and go – if you’re lucky. And you can go in your farm clothes, the muddy, really dirty ones. And you can go without worrying about your hair and make-up (not that I normally do – worry about it). On the up side we had some great food by way of home cooking – home made tomato soup, corn casserole, C lair’s oatmeal, coconut milk based chicken dish, somosas.

It is always a good to visit the farm, to work in the dirt, to walk the hills. It be with people who are so well grounded. It is always hard to say goodbye to Judy and her family.

The trip end with the long ride home - rainy once again.

Seeds and a Fork in the Road

This weekend was a good one spent primary with Jerry’s family sharing a meal, prayer and great company.
On Sunday some of us met at the local coffee house to discuss our garden plans for the summer and to order seeds. This is a step up for us. We usually have a small garden of some type in our yard, just a few tomato and pepper plants, etc. Last summer we had a bumper crop of strawberries. The kids next door came over and saw how strawberries looked before they appeared on the store shelf in plastic containers. They enjoyed picking them and taking some home to the family. More often than not though by mid-summer the weeds have taken over and we end up just harvesting what we can.
However yesterday was a power meeting of what our garden could look like.
Spring fever set in and we began ordering seeds. Brother-in-law Jack was the experienced one. While Dave and I have done a little gardening for many years, Jack has done mega-gardening, at least by our family standards. Our true inspiration comes from sister Judy who has worked on Genesis Farm in NJ for over 23 years. She is the one with the ‘know how’ and the experience. She is the one who answers all our questions and offers advice. She is ‘the one’!
So a couple of hours later we were thinking green and tasting wonderful veggies in our heads. Over $100. worth of seeds to be shares 3 or 4 ways. Not too bad for a summer worth of vegetables. Oh, and don’t forget the flowers! Judy says that you must plant flowers in order to feed the soul as well as veggies to feed our bodies. I like that kind of thinking. So some of the flowers we ordered are edible.
So that was a fork in the road for me – to get serious about gardening and eating locally grown. How much more local can you get that your own back yard. Perhaps we’re taking the road less traveled but I think there are a lot of people beginning to walk down that path.
But wait, there was another fork in the road that we responded to yesterday. We attended two fundraisers on Sunday. Two different local high schools, two different causes, both worth our time and money. Besides you can’t beat $8 for breakfast and $6 for dinner.
As I was thinking about dinner I had an epiphany that I decided to act on. Jerry graciously went along with the idea or at least put up with it and decided to humor me once again. Instead of using the plastic knives and forks we took our own forks (didn’t really need knives) from home and our own napkins also.
When we refuse the paper napkin wrapped plastic ware the lady looked at us kind of strange but eventually said ‘that’s an interesting idea’. I’m not sure she meant it but I hope the idea got talked about later.
At the table we were sitting with some of the family. They either didn’t notice that we were using real forks and napkins or decided to ignore it as to not embarrass us – not that it would have. I would have liked to have had the chance to say, ‘yea, we did it on purpose’.
So another literal fork in the road has been taken. Hopefully we will continue down this path also. A friend of our daughter for some time now has taken his own container with him when he east out so as to eliminate the need for a ‘doggie bag’. I like that idea. Hopefully I’ll someday remember to do that also.

To Elk or not to Elk...

...that is the question.
The past couple of weeks/months have been long ones. The temps, the snow, the lack of sun, the arm ( I know I haven’t address that element but perhaps sometime in the near future.) So when the opportunity came for a short mental health get-a-way I took advantage of the situation. Called my BFF, managed to get reservations and headed to Jenny Wiley State Park for a night and for an early morning elk sighting tour.
After we made the reservations I found out that the tour was on land that had been the victim of mountain top removal. I became aware of a knot in my stomach. I do not remember reading that the tour was on land that was still an active surface mine and was not aware of that fact until the presentation began at 5:30 m. Saturday morning. The knot in my stomach was growing larger. Surface mine, mountain top removal, strip mining (I was told that is a dirty word and not used anymore.)…..the knot began to grow even more.
There were about 28 people on the tour, three vans, three employees of the park system.
The good thing was the ground was frozen - so there was no mud to get stuck in. The bad thing was that the frozen ground was covered in spots with snow and ice.
Our van driver who fit the description of a ‘good old boy’ to the T – really nice guy, said he was just ‘Dukin’ ‘ it. (took only a second to get his reference to the Dukes of Hazard-after all that is the country we were in.)
Well, that wasn’t the extent of the good and bad of the morning trip. That was the easy part to handle.
The driver sang the praises of Mountain Top Removal every chance he got – the wonderful economic boost that it brought to the area touched all the people, the jobs it created, the cheap energy source, the great landscapes it created for things like recreational activities, golf courses, sports complexes, ATV trails, hmmm, elk viewing – sponsored by the state park system ( How can that be?). All kinds of stomach churning examples.
I hesitate to say too much here since I haven’t done a lot of homework on the subject but I know what I heard in the past. So I invite you to goggle Mountain Top Removal. Check out some of the videos. Listen to the people from the area and their opinion of MTR. The people who are not on the payroll of the mining companies. The people who love the mountains.
So the knot is the stomach is still festering, still growing. What have I contributed to?!
Sure it was great to see elk. But I think next time I’ll head over to western KY to the Land Between the Lakes area where there are no mountainsto be harmed. Or better yet out west somewhere where the mountains have not become victims of MTR!
Or maybe just stay home!
BTW this very weekend a group of concerned citizens of KY occupied the office of the governor to protest Mountain Top Removal.
Read more at…
http://www.kftc.org/our-work/canary-project/campaigns/mtr/MTR-generalinfo