Spring has finally sprung (05/23/2021)

And the flowers are in bloom. Yes, this plant is in our yard!

I was hoping that the weather would go from cold to hot, but it has been taking its sweet old time getting there. Ok, I will stop whining.

The projects continued, as they usually do, with more of them being outdoor projects.

 Several years ago Paul and I replaced the decal on the nose of the trailer. This time it was Mike’s decal that needed replacing.

My favorite project was the new Dozer Memorial Bocce Ball court.

All the guys worked together on this project, which was very much appreciated.

Paul and I played Bocce Ball for the first time last year and we both really enjoyed it. We were glad we found room in the yard to put in a court.

We’ve used it quite a bit already, and those who aren’t actively playing, enjoy relaxing in the chairs and watching.

I was very happy to welcome my friend Steve to the PPP for the first time.  Since he is working remotely, he was able to stay for two weeks.  Steve and I have known each other since I was 14- lots and lots of years, haha.

He fit right in with the gang, and we had a great time showing him many of our favorite things to do.

Probably one of the highlights for me was the day it was finally nice enough to take the boat up through Topock Gorge. It’s such a beautiful ride.

May brought with it a final visit from Jess, and the realization that summer is fast approaching.

Mike and Julie left in early May, and Liz and Randy weren’t far behind.

They did wait until after the last race of the season at Havasu Speedway, however. After all of the car races were done for the night, there was one more, special race.

A waterless boat race.  Yep, these cars, about a dozen of them, drive around the track, dragging a boat.  Not a boat on a trailer, just the boat.

This race is hilarious. The winner is the one whose boat outlasts the others.

Once Paul and I were alone at the house, we focused on getting ready to leave for the summer. We are headed to Massachusetts, so we were looking to leave a little earlier than usual.  Part of our reasoning was that the weather STILL wasn’t good- windy almost every day, and not all that warm.

We took time out to do our favorite things …

..the Jet Ski got a few more hours put on it….

And we ate at our favorite restaurants one more time…

Once the trailer was packed and the house “summerized”, it was time to leave.

Snippets of Washington D.C. (05-02-13)

Every day at 4 pm, the RV park we are staying in has a seminar for new visitors.  They explain how the Metro works, give out maps, explain what there is to see around DC, give opinions on the best tours, hand out brochures, and answer any questions.  It sure made it easier and less overwhelming for us!  Since Washington D.C. is not a dually friendly town, it was great to learn that bus stops in front of the RV Park.

We wanted to get our feet wet, so to speak, so our first day, we ventured in on the Metro and went to the International Spy Museum. Walking around the city was fun in and of itself, looking at all the buildings, the architecture, and enjoying the hustle bustle of the crowds (made more enjoyable by not needing to find a parking space).

The Spy Museum is dedicated to all things espionage related. It was fun but would maybe be more fun for kids. You pick an identity when you first enter,  and have to memorize some basic information, which you are asked about later.

The first main room is Spy School, where you learn how to act like a spy.  This photo was about signals- there are 4 signals in the picture that could be used by spies to communicate that a task had been completed: the book in the back dash of the car, the white mark on the mail box, the pack of cigarettes on the ground and….I forget the 4th one.

In the “Hall of Fame” of spies, we learned about Juan Pujal Garcia (code name Garbo). He worked for the British during WWII, as one of the most effective double agents in history. He fabricated an entire network of make believe agents and contacts and convinced the Germans they were real. He played a large role in the invasion of Normandy, a hugely successful piece of trickery on the part of the Allies. Garbo helped convince the Germans that the invasion would take place at Pas De Calais.  If you google this guys name, his story is really interesting reading!

One entire floor of the museum is dedicated to James Bond.  I did not know that the author,  Ian Fleming, was a British Intelligence agent. One of the quotes from him essentially said that although fun to write, the life of James Bond is much more exciting than a real secret agent’s life!

Doing some basic planning based on the weather forecast, we had to focus on outdoor activities for a few days because the weather is going to take a turn for the worse.  We met up with my friend Steve, who I have been friends with since high school. Yikes! That’s 40 years that we’ve been friends!

 

Steve found a great hike for us at the nearby Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park.  The canal isn’t maintained anymore, but there is a museum about the history of the area. The trail was pretty rocky, which meant we had to watch our step, and we ended up turning around at the sign that warns that the trail is about to get a whole lot more difficult.  We weren’t prepared for that challenging a hike that day.

The Potomac River flows through the park, and there were great views of the waterfalls along the way.

After that workout, we decided we deserved Margaritas even though it was the 4th of May, not the 5th.  We went back to Steve’s place for Margaritas and tacos.  Yummy!

Paul and I also took a bike ride the other day.  There’s a bike path very close to the RV park (with tennis courts too, but I haven’t been able to convince him to play). We rode about 4 miles towards the city, and passed about 4 parks along the way.  One of them had a great set up with several workout stations, right along the bike path.

 

This pretty Cardinal keeps trying to fly into our living room, and of course, smacks into the window.

If nothing else, it sure does serve to entertain Dozer, who hopes in vain that the bird makes it into the room.

Gettysburg, PA



Paul, me and Steve in Gettysburg



Gettysburg was what I call a "Twofer".  Two for the price of one, so to speak.  We got to do sightseeing here but we also got to visit a friend, so we won on both counts.  We met up with Steve, a good friend of mine from high school, and spent the day  at a museum, and viewing the Gettysburg battlefield.

  Viewing the battlefield doesn't really describe what we did very well. The battlefield here was absolutely enormous and we drove around all afternoon checking out different areas.  The Battle at Gettysburg lasted 3 days-July 1-3, 1863, and was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War.  A total of about 165,00 men fought here and about 40,000 men were killed or injured. General Lee was in charge of the Confederate army and at one point in the fighting, it seemed as though they would be the victors.  Unfortunately for them, on the 3rd day of fighting, they advanced across an open field, making several tactical errors along the way, and their troops were decimated  by the Union Army.  Soon after, it was clear that the Union Army would win the day but at a huge cost on both sides.



This wall was as far as the confederates got before essentially
giving up the fight and withdrawing. 

        Left behind afterwards were over 20,000 injured men, that were cared for by a town of only 2500 residents. Most public buildings and many private ones were used as hospitals and the townspeople, including children,  did what they could for the injured soldiers in the weeks following the battle.

      The amount of information here is overwhelming and the stories are endless.  There are over 1300 monuments in this area, all representing something important to someone. One blog entry can't really adequately convey what I have learned about the war, the battle and the people, and I was only here for 2 days!

    Today we took a tour of the Shriver home.  The Shrivers lived here during the civil war.  Mr. Shriver was away serving in the Union army and his wife and two young daughters were left alone in the family home.   As the town started buzzing with the information that the confederate army was closing in, Mrs Shriver decided to take her daughters to her parent's farm outside of town, where she thought they would be safer. Unfortunately it turned out that some of the fiercest fighting took place at the farm, and the farmhouse was quickly made into a makeshift hospital, exposing her and her children to the horrors of the war first hand.  Meanwhile their house in town was taken over by Confederate sharpshooters and although no damage was deliberately done to the house, holes were punched through the bricks, (to shoot out of) there are many bullets still in the walls, and bloodstains are still on the floors.

   Of course I have known about the "Gettysburg Address" since I was a child, but only vaguely, as a speech given by President Lincoln during the Civil War.  After the battle at Gettysburg, the North wanted a proper burial for their lost soldiers so the bodies were all moved to a  new cemetery.  President Lincoln was invited to attend the dedication and say a few words, and on November 14,  came to Gettysburg and gave his famous "Address".  The war didn't end until April of 1865, and President Lincoln was assasinated just 2 weeks later.

Here you go, Steve!

I won't dilute the message with extraneous words.

No voy a diluir el mensaje con palabras extrañas.