Autumn out East

The days are without humidity, the air is crisp and skies are crystal blue. Evenings are breezy and cool enough that I found myself up in the attic rummaging through our tubs in search of our sweatshirts ~ Tim's Vikings and Harley and my Iowa State and Denver Broncos. The leaves are just beginning to change color and with so many valleys, hills and mountains surrounding us, walks and rides throughout the east are absolutely beautiful!

Road Trip. Virginia.
Over Labor Day weekend, Tim and I loaded up the truck and headed to Charlottesville, Virginia to see Monticello, home to our nation's third President, Thomas Jefferson. I had no idea of the talent, in addition to politics, that President Jefferson possessed. He was a seasoned horticulturalist with an enormous vegetable garden, vineyards, and hundreds of different plants, flowers, bushes and trees. He was also an accomplished architect, designing Monticello and several of the first buildings on the University of Virginia campus of which he founded. He was a musician, talented at playing the violin as well as an inventor, inventing a rotating book stand, a device that copied what he wrote, as he wrote it, a swivel chair and so much more!
On the grounds, right next to the mansion, is Mulberry Row, a dirt road where many of President Jefferson's slaves were housed. I found it ironic that as the "principal author" of the Declaration of Independence, "...We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal," that President Jefferson owned so many slaves -- as many as 600 throughout his life time.

Ash Lawn-Highland. A few miles down the road, we toured Ash Lawn-Highland, home to our nation's fifth President, James Monroe. His home, unlike President Jefferson's, was small, simple and modest. As we walked the grounds, we met Ed, a retired FBI agent and his faithful companion, Buck. Ed spends many of his days, dressed in a Colonial uniform, roaming the grounds at Ash Lawn-Highland and visiting with the tourists.

Later that day we drove into the beautiful town of Charlottesville where we enjoyed dinner on the patio of a restaurant in Charolottesville's historical downtown district. We strolled through the outdoor pedestrian mall on cobblestone roads where dozens of vendors were set up selling unique goods and quaint little shops were open for business. Somehow we ran into a beer garden where we naturally grabbed a beer, found a spot in the grass and listened to a local band play Beatles music. Later the University of Virginia's marching band marched through the crowd, playing their instruments and banging their drums to the tune of U of V's fight song.

Take Me Away Again to Margaritaville. The following day we headed to Bristow, Virginia to see our first Jimmy Buffett concert (thanks to my new hairdresser, Heather who got us tickets)! And, though I absolutely LOVE Jimmy Buffett, the tailgating experience was the best! Maybe a little too much fun according to my head the next morning.

Who's on First? As I understand it, the AWC cut back on the number of softball games the seminar groups played this year, due to the number of injuries in previous years. This year games were set up as double elimination ~ you lose two, you're out. Tim played first base most of the time and he did very well. His team, Seminar 9, won their first game. YIPPEE! Lost their second. BOOOO. And, last week lost their third game by one point. BUMMER. Seminar 9's softball days are officially over.

YOU CAN DO IT! YES, YOU CAN! GO TEAM! GO! Shelle, one of the spouses, brought small cow bells to the games so we could root and rattle for our team. Our spouses told us that our cheering section was the best! I am pretty confident that, at least in the beginning, we were the loudest spouse's cheering section on Post. Are you surprised?

Study. Study. Study. Tim's been putting in alot of hours studying and writing papers. His typical day goes a bit like this: up at 5 a.m. to study, off to class at 8 a.m., home for lunch at noon, back to the class room to study until 5 p.m., dinner, more studying...need I say more? He did very well on his first paper. The verdict is still out on his second. Needless to say, I am very proud of him. He's secured a faculty advisor for his research paper which he hopes to have complete before the end of the year so we'll have more time to "play" during the remainder of our stay. I hope to fly back to Iowa sometime late October - early November to give him some 'quiet time' to focus on his paper. Besides, I'm missin' my peeps back home :-) especially Curtis, our grandson!

While The Cat's Away the Mice Will Play. The Carlisle Barracks Spouse's Club (CBSC) keeps me hopping, going on various day trips throughout PA. Recently we took a trip to Lancaster, PA, home to over 30,000 Amish. We shopped until we nearly dropped, buying up home homemade foods, quilts, furnishings and more, most of which were made by the Amish. A real treat of a place to visit. Already planning a trip back for some bigger items that wouldn't fit on the bus!

Another CBSC outing took us to Meadowbrookes Gourds farm where we toured their "factory" where gourds are dried, cleaned, carved and painted into some very creative items. The carving, sanding, painting, etc. is all done on sight and by hand. Their creations are sold locally and through vendors nation-wide (49 states) and Canada. Check out mbgourds.com to see more.

9-11 Memorial Ride. Tim was the guest speaker on 9-11 at the annual Memorial Motorcycle Ride - Rumbling to Remember in Clinton County, PA. The first annual ride took place four days after the 9-11 attacks. Every year since then, they've hosted this event on 9-11 with guest speakers, refreshments and a short motorcycle ride, in memory of those who lost their lives during the 9-11 attacks and those who've lost their lives since, defending our freedoms. We rode the Harley to the event with our dear friends, Cedric and Cynthia. This years ride took us through several small towns along a 37 mile route. The community support was overwhelming.
The woman on the right, holding the flag is a survivor. She was on the 82nd floor of one of the Twin Towers when the planed crashed into it. She miraculously made it down the stairs and out to safety. Over 200 of her co-workers did not. The flag has the names of all the firefighters and police officers who died trying to save lives that day.

Flight 93 Memorial Motorcycle Ride.
Last weekend we left Post at 7:30 a.m., bundled in our leather jackets, chaps and gloves and linked up with approximately 15 other riders to begin our journey west to Shanksville, Pennsylvania to see the Flight 93 Temporary Memorial. The 3 hour ride was a beautiful one. We cruised along several winding roads throughout the hilly country sides of Pennsylvania, passing a few horses and buggy's along the way.

The Flight 93 Temporary Memorial sight was humbling. Just beyond where the ground is dug out (directly behind the black crane in the picture) you can see a grassy area. That is where Flight 93 went down. The hole where the plane crashed has been filled in and planted with wild flowers that are now in bloom. The fence is filled with memorabilia that visitors have left in memory of the lives lost that day. Tim left his combat action badge on the corner of a sign that hung on the fence.

Inside the temporary "museum" are binders filled with pictures of the passengers and copies of their phone records and phone conversations they had with their loved ones after the plane was hijacked. One entire wall inside the museum is filled with hand written messages from tourists. May we never forget.

On the Road Again. We've had a whirl wind of events since we arrived here in Carlisle. And, it doesn't appear it will be slowing down any time too soon. We'll be traveling to New York City in the upcoming months and have another bike trip planned with our friends, Cedric and Cynthia, to the Seneca Lake Wine Trail in New York. We hope to tour as many of the 35 wineries that we can.

It's been a wonderful adventure thus far. And, I can honestly say we are having the time of our lives. But, we haven't forgotten about our family and friends back home who we love and miss very much. And even though we're enjoying ourselves immensely, and love it out east, there truly is no place like home.