Journey of Fifty Nine Days--Part One.

Lou and I returned one week ago from a trip.  We travelled in our Class "C" Motorhome into eighteen states of the United States.  Our destinations included Washington, D.C., Wetumpka, Alabama,  Asheville, North Carolina.  Of course, as we travelled, we explored other communities and states as well.   Throughout the trip we were healthy, except for an almost constant presence of some hay fever symptoms just because it was spring wherever we went.  Weather was exceptionally nice and also quite extreme in the form of tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, and hail.  We have seen the devestating results of some of those storms, but experienced only one severe thunderstorm.   

Our bicycles came with us, attached to the back of our motorhome.  We were seeking out trails wherever we went...found them in cities, along country lanes, and as part of a "rails to trails" system in the USA. ( A similar program is underway in Canada--we have had the privilege of finding them in B.C., PEI and some in N.S. in previous years.)



This picture was taken on a bike trail in Maryland. We also found trails in Alabama (Chief Ladiga); New Hampshire (Chocorua); Guntersville, Alabama at our campground



Travelling itself was an amazing adventure.  Exploring new parts yet unseen by us.  Looking for details previously overlooked. 

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Here we are hiking in the woods of the Haenlein property in Tallassee, Alabama!

                          

                                                                                

                                                                           Basking in the blessings of God in our family times together. 

This is the vacation home we rented while we were in Asheville, North Carolina.  All of us children enjoyed the horses, fish, chickens, cats on the property.  Almost every morning we would bring the horses carrots to eat, collect the fresh eggs,  check on the new little chicks.  It became a welcoming routine for us.

 Enjoying a hike along the Blue Ridge Parkway--looks like M. has fallen asleep.

A. enjoys striking out on her own.



A family photo at sunset...Haw Valley, North Carolina



Riding a wild pig statue in downtown Asheville.

Stopping for a requested pose while on a short hike at the arboretum in Asheville.

Tree huggers!



At Chimney Rock, North Carolina



 A couple of pretty girls enjoying our last evening meal together at a local restaurant. 

Beautiful Snow Days

It has cooled off in Nova Scotia these days.  I welcome these crisp cool days.  Especially I love the crunch in the sparkling snow, the coolness on my cheeks, the walks with Lisa, Annika and Stella, the hot drinks afterward. 

Extended piano lesson

Sunday night music

The piano is one of the favourite places in our house for our grandaughter, Annika.  Here is today's performance.

The Delights of Autumn

This is the first time in my whole life that I have ever had tomatoes ripening on the vine.  Gardening has been somewhat sketchy for me in the past.  Many years when I was working full time we had neither garden space or time.  Now I have a wee garden and pots of things like tomatoes and herbs.  I have enjoyed both so much this year.  And the taste of those tomatoes is incomparable to ones that we eat in the winter time. 

Today we had the pleasure of shopping at the Halifax market.  I supplemented my supply of tomatoes enough so that I could make salsa.  And we bought fresh Nova Scotia valley strawberries--the kind that have been produced especially for this time of year.  They are delicious--and I had fun making some freezer jam.

Earl Update

Yesterday at about eleven in the morning the winds really amped up.  Gathered at our house to ride out the storm were Lisa, Mike, Annika, Stella(the beautiful family dog), Sharon and Jim Janz (Mike's parents).  The video gives you an idea of the winds and some of the rain.  In actual fact, it did not rain as much as had been predicted. 

We played Scrabble while the men went to assess the damage at Lisa and Mike's place.


The only real inconvenience that we experienced was a disruption in power for about 28 hours.  Lisa and Mike also had their power disrupted for that length of time and a number of trees fell at their home.  Thanks to friends and neighbours with appropriate equipment as in saws and generators, we weathered the storm quite comfortably!

Weather Watch

Photos taken a few hours ago:  our house at 1561 Crowell Road

The view of Porter's Lake as seen from our front porch.

Our lovely screened deck where we spend several hours every day, usually at mealtimes.  The weather has been oh so lovely this summer.

 Earl is coming and we are "battening down the hatches".  Apparently this is the calm before the storm.