Jefferson's mountain

Monticello was a great visit.  Lots of gadgets.  A window into Virginia when it was medieval, run by aristocrats whose wealth was in ownership of huge tracts of land and the people who worked for them.  Tom, I suppose, was not representative of his class, but one of the very few who was "responsible."  How many of his peers just blew their fortunes on themselves?

a week away

Where are you when you're at the corner of Harvard and Princeton?  Well, the stone sign at the bottom tells you--zero miles from meetinghouse (mtg), at Mt. Gretna, a little intentional community in Lebanon County, Pa.  We rented a cottage for a week to relax and relax we did.  Any place with a "Hall of Philosophy" is okay by me, even if more secular successors of the 1910 builders mar it with gaudy patriotic flimflam tapestry.  We ate, too. (bottle photo by Stephanie Miller Lehman)

day away at North East, Maryland

That's the name of the town; it's 42 miles away from Monterey, on the Chesapeake Bay. Go another 9 miles and enter Elk Neck State Park and walk a mile to the preserved lighthouse, which was last used in 1948, when the woman (see life-sized photo cut-out at door) retired. Step inside and look up at all 31 steps. Then climb an 8-step ladder and squeeze through the hatch to the look-out. We both made it to the top and down again. Cecil County bird club had a watch point along the trail where we sighted several eagles and ospreys. That was our Sunday sabbath.

get away to zip 17565

Milton and I struck out for the territories on a two-hour, mid-winter vacation. Destination was a township-built underpass by-pass near Marticville contested by the Commonwealth. The by-pass crosses over the old railroad right-of-way which is becoming a public trail with a new electric transmission line. From there we drove a few miles to Pequea where the road ends at the Susquehanna River. Pequea has a post office.

on the road again

This time the destination is Birmingham, Ala., for the Hymn Society of America's annual conference. A first for me. Afterwards, we drove to Cummings, Ga., a bit north of Atlanta and visited nephews Matthew, seated, and Jason, standing, left, and Luke, right, and his son Josh. In front of Luke's house are his daughters Kristen and Sarah. We were leaving for an amphitheater concert of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. A storm had us all soggy by intermission. Sunday evening we stayed in Harrisonburg, Va., and had one great cone of red raspberry soft ice cream. More details later.

week away

A beautiful week away on vacation! One day we biked part of the Pittsburgh to Baltimore rails-to-trails trail--well, 11 miles of it, anyway. Another day I drove 12 miles west on old U. S. route 40 to Addison, Pa., to see the extreme art of chain saw sculpting and the restored toll station.

Montreal vacation

A selection of our Aug. 9 through Aug. 13 vacation in old Montréal.

more vacation

Well, enough americana and Lincoln. I do reflect that other countries have ended slavery without a war. And I do reflect that our name is the United STATES of America, not the United Peoples of America. The power brokers of the 50 states are truly united. If you subtract out the war hysteria patriotism, I'm not so sure how much the peoples are united.

Day four of vacation was wheels and no wheels. That Chevy up on stilts looks angelic, already living in eternity. I'm confused, though. Dashboard looks like a '57 with the fan speedometer, while the taillights look like a '54.

Took a tourist train from New Haven, KY, to Boston, KY. These wheels took me the 45-minutes round trip. Now, I can understand how those brakes work. Cotter pin. Shoe. Bolt. Nut. I could fix that brake.

Lincoln birth

Abraham Lincoln, what, the 16th president of the USA, was born in a log cabin. Forever it was believed that it was this one here. The history chanel, the guide told us, did the research which proved in 2004 that it was not this one. This is used now described as a surrogate one, so much like the original as to be believable. In the early 20th century it was housed in this Greek temple, a shocking contrast of architecture.

I would have build a larger log cabin to protect the humble "original." One door. One window. A chimney--what else could be part of the design.

Scholars do believe that the site is correct. Abe lived here--or suckled here--for two years, his first two. His father, Thomas, had bought the 300 acre farm on which this was located, for $200. Kentucky had just ceded from Virginia and land deeds were frequently contested and Tom lost the land for nothing and had to move on.

Close to the house is a magnificent spring which emerges from a natural tunnel and drops down three feet or so into a small pool. A white oak stump is the only remaining element (they told us)from the year of his birth and it is mostly rotted away.

vacation pics

First night was at a B & B in Buckhannon, WV. Walked a lot. At the local eatery a local guy asked, Where in Pennsylvania? Oh, he takes the truck to Gap, Pa., often to get Amish funiture.

This day lily close to the door. It was the Victorian house that had wifi. Lost my electric toothbrush there. Only thing we lost.

farmhouse wifi

Vacation Thursday. Awoke this morning to steady, soft rain. A feeeling of peace, repose, refreshment, and well-being washes over all.

We have Kentucy hill country wifi from the farmhouse office of this retreat house. The google weather says rain all day for New Haven, Kent. That's okay with us. Just read. Do nothing. Watch birds. Enjoy each other's company.

Yesterday, besides a heavy walking schedule, was visiting an artist's studio on the campus of a catholic retirement home and clinic. She specializes in wildly misshapen tree parts that she turns into abstract images.

This morning was going to be the childhood home of Abe Lincoln. But we're just making it up as we go.

Victorian wifi

Day one of vacation. It's 8:16 p.m. We're in Riverside Bed and Breakfast in Buckhannon, Kentucky. We put on 324 miles from Monterey to here. First stop at S. Clyde Weaver's to stock up the ice chest in the Mazda trunk. Then gassed up in La Vale, Maryland for $3.69/gal.

Then ate S. Clyde wraps at a little lake down the road from Hilltop's very own Katie's; then a cone at Katie's. Arriving here at 3 p.m., then, a side tour of the Pritchard hollow tree where Buckhannon's first settlers lived for three years. The tree and park are sponsored by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Then a two-mile walk along the Cheat River and supper at a local-color diner. My meatloaf came in two slabs each as thick as a skinny two-by-four. A local there saw our foreign license plate and asked what part of Pennyslvania? Lancaster. Do I know Gap? He drives there all the time to pick up Amish stuff.

The beds here look like the ornate monsters in the Casselman Inn. Very pleasant. The owner keeps a well-mannered Maltese in the house and a 15-year-old English Setter in the garage.

Mom's settled in for the evening reading and I'm going to join her. Can I dump pics on this laptop? I'll find out tomorrow.

zig-zag web

Here's the spider that showed up today. Any arachnophiles able to identify it? That zig-zag web filler frightens me.

Dorcas and I are off tomorrow for a week's vacation in Kentucky, per last year. I'll do some posts along the way if I find wifi.

weekend at ocean

Today we got back from our long weekend on Long Island at the Watson's beach house in Westhampton Beach, NY.

Here's the crew: our four in front. Seated left are Dorcas's two Hood College classmates--Candy with her daughter Tracey, and Paulette with husband Tom. Sorry about the closed eyes when the camera's timer went off.

The Atlantic Ocean begins just 200 or so yards behind this photo. We spent good time enjoying the surf and the people.