Hello March: Hiking the Appalachian Trail

Cynthia is JetBoil expert

gourmet breakfast prep; honey & raisins next

The Jet Boil makes a great cup of coffee with protein added and divided between us. Breakfast was a yummy peanut butter concoction of almonds, raisins, honey on rye bread from Smithsburg Market, freshly baked yesterday. It was colder than we thought; the diet coke left out froze instantly when Ron opened it at dawn; fortunately the day warmed quickly, and it soon thawed.

31 Mar, Tuesday. It is hard to keep track of the days. Up at seven AM after enjoying the brief iridescent red glow on the eastern horizon, Cynthia soon finished boiling water for protein mocha coffee with peanut butter breakfast and started hiking by eight while Ron packed up the tent. The two hour hike this morning to Wolfsville Road was warm and pleasant. Cynthia stopped several times for brief rests and excess clothing removal until Ron caught up to her. As soon as we reached Wolfsville Road and Ron stuck out his thumb in the time-honored hitch hiking signal, the very first passing pickup stopped and gave us a ride in the back (brrrh) directly to the post office in Smithsburg, Maryland. This was the first ever hitch-hiking experience for RevC (Cynthia's trail name). Before Ron could locate his ID buried in his pack, Cynthia had already forwarded our bounce box on to Duncannon, PA (for free). Smithsburg Market, Deli and Bakery offered re-supply, a great lunch, and a clean restroom. How good is that? Feeling fat and happy (how has Ron lost five pounds already!!?), we hiked back to Wolfsville Road, hitchhiking and hoping for a ride. Finally, a nice lady in an SUV (who delivered newspapers to ? her daughter? at the corner house where we stood) was charmed by Ron into driving us 1.7 miles to the trailhead. Rain started falling as we neared the Ensign Cowall Shelter, so we rested there for a couple of hours until it quit. As the rain lessened, Ron took the opportunity to do streambed maintenance on the trail & spring. Within twenty minutes of resuming our hike, the rain resumed accompanied by quite a strong wind just as we crossed the first open fields we've seen. It was a relief to reenter the woods after half an hour of wind and blowing rain, fortunately the rain was light and soon stopped. As night neared we began looking in earnest for a campsite and located a wonderfully level, flat, and soft spot surrounded by someone's private dumping grounds (mostly dead tires and wheels of all vintages). We camped off trail tonight.

30 Mar: We departed the Pine Knob Shelter saying warm good byes to our new friends, Iris and Sarafina (2 mountain goats), and Lone Bull (who taught Cynthia how to light the JetBoil this morning). We hiked past Pogo Campground, which looked like a lumber mill with newly sawn logs scattered hither and yon, having decided to get in a couple more miles to make a five mile day. The trail climbed to a ridgeline and stayed very, very rocky for perhaps an endless mile. The large boulders/ constant rocks covering the trail made progress very slow. As evening approached and weariness grew, Shakedown Cruise began to evaluate any potentially level location for rocks and brambles. Even on that rocky ridge, we finally found a level, flat, soft spot barely large enough for our tiny tent. Thankfully, the day had warmed and the wind had died, so setting up camp was quite pleasant. At six PM, group of four boys hiking towards the Ensign Cowell shelter surprised us with news it was only a couple of miles away. Hey! We could have made two more miles (but that would have exceeded our 6 mile limit). We enjoyed an excellent night of sleep, warm & toasty, sleep sorely needed after our restless nights in extreme cold.

panoramic view from top of Washington Monument

Washington Monument towers 52'

29 Mar: At 3:30 AM Ron aka Smooch aka Shakedown Cruise is updating TrailJournals. The peanut butter jar is emptied & cleaned, preparatory to transferring the messy strawberry jam (Ron likes clean fingers; clean fingers leave less food on everything, thereby attracting fewer varments to gnaw on everything). Cynthia is supposed to be sleeping warm & toasty in our room. Computer projects are now finished, time to resume mending. Jeff did indeed pick us up around 10 AM and return us to the trail. Many thanks Jeff. The morning is very chilly, and our packs once again loaded with food. The trail took us past the first memorial to George Washington built in 1827. Here we met super nice hiker, Lone Bull, a retired Health and Science teacher. After climbing the memorial and taking many photos we trekked on in chilly weather to Pine Knob Shelter (high of 49 degrees). Lone Bull had already arrived. Two lovely, charming college girls, Iris and Serafina, had built a fire. Ron enjoyed more conversation while Cynthia ducked under the down comforter inside the tent for an early night's sleep.

Scoutmaster Jeff in red, an awesome trail angel

28 Mar: SmoochSmooch's version: Oh, my, but the morning was chilly when Boy Scout troop 532 arrived. The forecast for this evening is even colder, 17 degrees with a real feel of 6. Smooch's version: Good grief, did it ever seem cold last night. We were barely warm enough in our tent & down blanket, and poor little SmoochSmooch suffered through the night with cold legs (all the while telling Smooch that she was OK). Our water bottles froze, although the layer of ice wasn't too thick to break. The young couple was already hiking out by the time we decided to brave the elements at 8 AM. It was frigid, so Shakedown first asked the other campers for the hot coffee water that they had offered last night. Many THANKS guys. Shakedown Cruise is realizing the need to keep a pen and paper handy to record names (or I guess he could learn to use the new digital voice recorder that he is carrying); the only name he remembers is Ron (imagine that). Cynthia "enjoyed" sitting bundled in the sleeping bag with warm protein/coffee drink and mittened hands. Shakedown Cruise made multiple trips to the tent, getting first food, the Body Glide for the feet, then the tent to pack. The night was so miserable that we were committed to finding a hotel by the time Boy Scout Troop 532 arrived and decided to stay. Their multiple scoutmasters were interesting and interested; they listened to our tales of trauma from the cold and volunteered that, "Jeff likes to hike; he'd probably hike back to his van and give you a ride to a hotel." And he did !! Not only that, but he also volunteered to come back in the morning and get us back to the trail where we exited. We are ever so very GRATEFUL; thank God for trail Angels !! Jeff is a premium example of the kindness of everyday people. We eagerly made the short 2.5 mile hike rejoicing at the thought of delicious sleep and another good meal at the South Mountain Inn. So here we are at a Hampton Inn in Hagerstown, and Smooch has already made a trip across the road to the neighboring Martin's grocery store to replace bear bag rope & buy pretzels. We called Jim & Joni first thing, and they picked us up at 6:30 to dine again at the Old South Mountain Inn. We all enjoyed another lovely evening. Life is Good.

27 Mar: We awoke surprisingly late, 9:30 AM, to a very chilly morning, and we took our time packing and enjoying coffee and diet coke at the office. Cynthia's knee was not an issue today. We enjoyed a much more level hike today, and our tired legs were indeed grateful. Imagine our surprise to see the hiker with dreadlocks again. His trail name is OneStep. I can hardly wait to see if he journaled his hike. He is also good friends with JoAnn and Rachel, the lovely and considerate staff at the campground. The two young hikers we saw at mid-day already had a campfire going at the Rocky Run Shelter, and another group of four cheerful guys arrived just as we did. It was nice to have pleasant weather (although chilly & windy - forecast high 49 degrees) and plenty of time to set up camp. Unfortunately all tent sites were a bit unlevel, so all night we fought against a steady slide towards the door of the tent. Lesson learned: next time feet are downhill. It was bitterly cold in the night and morning. Today we hiked 5.4 miles. This was our seventh consecutive five mile day, so according to plan, we are now allowed to hike six miles every other day.

a smaller tree house at Maple Tree Campground

26 Mar: Wow, did we ever sleep well !! And we were warm enough all night. The first day and a half went great. That is wonderfully encouraging. We were fed, packed, and hiking by 11:30 (no lie). Our legs were quite fatigued, all four of them, from the hike yesterday (that was one long uphill for our unpracticed legs), and Ron went for a quart of water to the spring 0.5 mile steeply DOWNhill this morning. Catastrophe hit midday when a large stick in the trail grabbed Cynthia's shoe lace and tripped her; the resulting fall scared the beJesus out of her (and me) and bruised her kneecap severely. Fortunately she was able to continue hiking, and by 3 PM we arrived at the Maple Tree Campground with reservations for the Bonsai treehouse. JoAnn and Rachel, staff persons are superb. Lovely place. After registering and asking about a ride to town for re-supply, a young couple of angels, Sarah and George, offered us a ride to town !! We both showered (quite a treat after two days hiking), and then George and Sarah drove us to the Weis market in town and then to the Old South Mountain Inn, where we all enjoyed a fabulous dinner.
RevC's version: The first day and a half went great. At noon, Cynthia's shoe lace caught a tree branch capaulting her into a fall onto a rock. Her knee is badly swollen but it seems to be working. We arrived at the Maple Tree Campground with accommodations in the Bonsai treehouse. JoAnn and Rachel, staff persons, are superb. Lovely place. JoAnn communicated our need to resupply to Sarah and George, a marvelous young couple who had plans to go into town. They took us to Weis Markets, and in return, we treated them to a very fine dinner at the Old South Mountain Inn, a fine dining restaurant with outstanding cuisine. Cynthia enjoyed the opportunity to eat a filet. The rain was heavy at times throughout the night; we were indeed happy to be enclosed. Pictures another day! Today we hiked 3.7 miles on the Trail and 0.4 miles on road to Maple Tree Campground.

Setting up tent in the "wild"

25 Mar: Volume 6 is going into Dropbox right this minute. Cynthia says, "It has been a nightmare !!!" The bounce boxes are packed to go to the post office now, we have been well fed, another guest at the Jackson Rose B & B (the wife & son of a section hiker) has graciously offered us a shuttle to the Trail. After four days of five-mile hikes with packs we are ready to leave despite the rain and chill. We arrived without problem at the Ed Garvey Shelter where the hiker was killed by a falling "widowmaker" tree ten days ago. Sad. Very sad. We set up tent by a lovely sunset. Peanut butter never tasted so good. As expected, there was a brief note in the shelter log from Beavis. The night was very cold, colder than anticipated; we (Cynthia) slept in our MontBell downs.

24 Mar: We hiked without packs today, south across the bridge and up the hill to the road. Returned to town for lunch at the Town Inn, then up that long hill to the Jackson Rose. This time that long hill was insignificant, a wonderful and surprising change. We are well satisfied with our prepatory hikes. Ron is now a day late finishing Volume 6. Cynthia dictates that Vol. 6 MUST be "complete" before we can commence hiking. Our preparatory hikes have gone well, no sign of excessive foot pain, back pain, knee pain, etc.

23 Mar: Again Ron arose at 5:30 AM to resume finishing touches to Volume 6 but left that to record receipts and product information into his spreadsheet. Today's plan is to hike to the Harpers Ferry Outfitters store after breakfast to see if Ron can be re-shod (they have a farrier on staff), then to Wally World for a digital voice recorder, MSM (MethylSulfonylMethane), Glucerna, etc after finishing our mandatory five miles. Today provided our first encounter with the magic and mystery of the trail. RevC insisted that we visit the Harpers Ferry Outfitters to find new hiking footwear for Shakedown Cruise. Imagine his surprise when the Cootie Queen (yup the owner has a trailname; real names Laura & Ron) produced a pair of GoLite Mountain sneakers that fit perfectly. As we lingered purchasing a few more items, a scruffy looking hiker came in wearing a large pack which he never took off; he was wearing only long shorts and a fleece despite the chilly, windy day. His mission was to find a compression bandage for his knee and then Advil. Ron asked where he was going and received a monosylabic reply, "Maine." Since Smooch and SmoochSmooch enjoy distributing trail magic, Ron told the owner to put those purchases on our bill. In the ensuing exchanges of "You don't need to" and "It is no problem; it is trail magic," the hiker suddenly asked "Are you Ron Beatty?" Reply "yes" and an immediate "Shakedown Cruise, so good to see you." This was Bevis, who had to exit the trail in 2008 with mersa. We offered him dinner at the Anvil (which unfortunately is closed on Mondays). He accepted, but by the time we left the outfitter (and realized that the restaurant was closed), Bevis had changed his mind - 6 miles to the shelter for the night. We hiked our mandatory five miles; little SmoochSmooch carried a lightened pack, but we've now done three of our 7 consecutive days limited to five miles. We hustled back to the Jackson Rose after a salad & chicken at one of the few eateries open on Monday, just in time for Ron to catch the shuttle to Wally World where he was able to purchase a digital voice recorder, MSM (MethylSulfonylMethane), Glucerna bars, some cord, and other final purchases prewpatory to hiking tomorrow.

22 Mar, Sunday: In Harper's Ferry, West (byGod) Virginia, Ron was up at 5 AM this morning in our very pleasant room at the Jackson Rose B&B, paging through Volume 6. Good God (literally, we are happy to be alive), will he ever finish this endless pursuit of editorial perfection? Sigh. More problems surfacing, more Microsoft Word idiocies to correct, and one impossible situation discovered this morning. Thank God our feet and backs and knees seem to have tolerated yesterday's hike with fully loaded packs. We realized that fully three miles of that was on concrete sidewalks through town - NOT smart. Today we will pick up the trail behind the Conservancy to limit concrete trauma. Breakfast was wonderfully tasty; Phil and Gail do marvelous work. They provided home-made fat-free brown bread to accompany the veggie omelets, fruit, and that essential fluid, coffee. Another couple of couples from Ohio were greatly fun conversationalists; we were thoroughly entertained by Rick, Chris, Mark and "Hey You". Today's five mile hike gave us great optimism; no pain, no difficulties. The hike across the bridge and onto the bluffs afforded us lovely views of the rapids in the river. On the return, as the sun was dropping, the ivy climbing one tree was glistening marvelously in the sunlight. Also encouraging was the fact that we started hiking late, 3 PAM, and still finished five miles, including decent climbs up the bluffs, well before dark. This time we enjoyed trout at the Anvil; since they are closed tomorrow, we departed with dinner (chicken & salads for tomorrow) to go.

21 Mar: Many, many Thank Yous' to Jim and Joni for their marvelous hospitality, companionship, cooking, and for taking us to Harper's Ferry this morning. The snow-covered Maryland landscape was wonderfully, beautifully surreal (even though ALL of the locals are really, really tired of it). Jim spotted some ice sculptures on the shaded bluffs beside the river as we neared West Virginia. We are ensconced at the very lovely Jackson Rose B&B, staying in Stonewall Jackson's bedroom. (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=826316837434037&set=a.729225220476533.1073741827.100001671863529&type=1) After a light salad lunch, we started hiking about noon in 44 degree temperature wearing several light layers, but within thirty minutes one of us did a lot of stripping.(Yay! More, more) We had our pictures taken at the ATC for their scrapbook; we are "flip-floppers" numbers 4 and 5 hiking Northbound (NOBO) from Harper's Ferry. We hiked a little over five miles on the AT along the C&O Canal wearing our packs. The last mile uphill from downtown must have been a fifty thousand foot elevation gain (Haha!!). The bounce box will carry a whole lot more of our stuff; we now begin to fully understand the disadvantage of carrying a few extra ounces here and another few there. Dinner (salmon) this evening was at the nearby Anvil Restaurant.

Jim's pond was frozen yesterday

safety first shoveling

My angelic weefee's snow angel for Zoe

20 Mar: We awoke to a winter wonderland. Ron shoveled snow to Jims car twice. Cynthia made a snow angel for her grandchildren with a note that getting down and up again wasn't quite what she remembered. Jim and Joni came home early to take us to Westminster, MD for dinner (on Jim's dime, THANKS Jim) at Paradiso Ristaurante with their delightful friends of many years, Helen and Michael.

19 Mar:

shock cords make it easy

Tent sans rain fly

who reads these?

You can see how heavy & cumbersome the tent is.

Not so very huge, but it weighs only one and a half pounds.

18 Mar: Ron awakened way too early and finally completed Vol. 6 !! After riding the motorcycle to IHOP Ron realized he had no money!!! He left Cynthia to fend for herself amongst mountains of pancakes and rode back to Jim's to retrieve his credit card. We shopped at Walmart. Now to put up a tent.

17 Mar: Ron again awakened early to resume final preparations to abandon the James Lea book for the duration of our full 3 seasons hike of the Appalachian Trail; Success !! all notations, reminders and status fully completed by 7 AM. After breakfast with Cynthia at IHOP in Mt. Airy, the intrepid couple of us packed nearly all our gear and discovered with dismay that the packs weighed 27 and 24 pounds respectively - each pack fully 7 pounds overweight !! Cynthia was heart broken, but Ron was more pragmatic, and we looked to the Thru-Hiker's Companion for consolation. Therein we discovered that we should be able to re-supply after a couple of days, so needed only to carry food for three days instead of a full five days, and that there were a couple of places to get water on every day for the first five, meaning that we need to carry only about a quart of water apiece for several days. Whew !! Crisis averted, the Smooches unceremoniously, indiscriminately dumped five pounds from each pack and walked the quarter mile from Jim's doorway to the road. All is well, we just need to carry no food and our weight will be fine - which is to say we are now engaged in repacking. Jim and Joni joined us for another stellar evening dining at Mt.Airy Tavern celebrating St. Patrick's Day.

16 March, Monday: Lunch at Mt. Airy Tavern with Tom Mc and Charley from Olney was the BEST! What a great duo. Charley was a WWII gunner and holds the patent for pantyhose. He is a delightful 96year old who charmed us completely. One could not meet a nicer guy than Tom who is Charley's son's best friend since they were five years old. And then we shopped for food to pack in our backpacks.

15 March, Sun: a glorious day for riding to Mt. Airy, MD--departing at 11:00 AM we arrived at Jims house by 5:30 PM having had a great lunch at Ruby Tuesday's in Richmond, VA. Surprise! Snow is on the ground with ice in the lake.

14 March, Sat: Ron rode into the Archives between raindrops returning just in time to meet with Cynthia's Lea cousins from the Raleigh area. We were very impressed with their research projects and enjoyed their company mightily! The evening was spent packing and Getting Younger Next Year.

13 March, Fri: Ron arose early to work on various projects. Cynthia slept until 8:30. The bus does not run during mid-day so we took the cab once again. Despite the extra sleep Cynthia has trouble keeping her eyes open after 2PM - but we stayed the course until the doors slammed shut behind us at 5:30 PM with hugs to say good-bye to Gay. We thoroughly enjoy the effervescent Gay -- the delightful, bubbly Keeper of the Archives. We will miss her awesome smile. Our 305 bus was late, but we were ultimately picked up for the thirty minute ride to the hotel. Because of light mist we took the shuttle to Ruby Tues'day's for dinner and walked home dry just in time for Ron to get Younger Next Year by sweating buckets. Cynthia's tendonitis is greatly improved by staying OFF the treadmill.

12 March, Thurs: Michael J. Joined us for a most delightful lunch to discuss his YDNA Lea links. Other Lea cousins in the neighborhood are going to join us on Sat afternoon for conversation and dinner. Michael drove us to the archives where we spent the day taking photos of microfilmed land surveys. The surveys now platted are very fascinating to see in real time on Google Earth. The temperature in the Archives feels like zero. It is very chilly. Fortunately, our walk to the bus stop is perfect timing for catching the 305 to the hotel. From there we relied on the hotel shuttle for a ride to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner but opted to walk back to Target and then the hotel.

11 March, Wed: rain is forecast for this afternoon about the time the Archives closes, the hotel is uncertain about the bus routes, so we opted to spend $25.00 to take a cab to the Archives today. Our time is being well spent with warrants and deeds on microfilm for the BANKSTON lands in Montgomery County, NC surrounded by Rogers land. The importance of the property location is important. Our new friend, a Rogers descendant, has software that he will use to map the BANKSTON property in proximity to the Leas for Cynthia's book. The deeds show up in real time on Google Earth, too. We will likely be riding to MD this weekend if it does not rain.

10 March, Tues: Cynthia's cousin in-law met us for breakfast, drove us to the Archives for the day, picked us up with his wife for dinner at the 42nd Street Oyster Bar and Seafood Restaurant. She had fun reminiscing with him. We had a nice email from friends we stayed with in southern Norway. Lene is a Rosemaling artist who is making unique gifts for Cynthia's 7 granddaughters. Zoe... The 14 year old is in Paris with her talented designer mom for fashion week.

9 March, Departing Columbia, SC for Raleigh. Lovely day, warm and pleasant ride. Lunch at Ruby Tuesday's en route and upon arrival.

8 March, Columbia, Sc visit with many good friends!!!

7 March, Columbus, GA to Macon GA for breakfast with Danielle and onto Columbia, SC for great dinner with our SC friends at Ruby Tuesdays.

6 Mar: Forecast for Point Clear overnight low was in the 20s. Stay posted; we'll tell you later today (Gosh is it midnight already? No wonder Cynthia is already soundly asleep. Goodnight Y'all. Omg. It was one bugger of a cold ride from Point Clear to Columbus, GA. P.S. To me beloved weefee: I love you (and get points for first I love you of March 6th - we guys go nuts over points).

5 Mar: Brrrh and Brrrh. Ron has been marveling at the red buds and lime-green roadside grasses and had planned to post reassurance to Y'all up north that SPRING IS HERE !! HA !! Spring came, winter saw, and winter conquered. Brrrh. The temperature dropped all day long from a midnight high of 58 degrees, and the wind rattled the windows all day long. Fortunately we sat the day out at the Grand Hotel at Point Clear, Alabama on Mobile Bay and thoroughly, completely enjoyed being indoors and out of the weather; hey, we were even able to walk across to the main building for dinner by using the second floor walkway. Lest you think of us as wimps, we did sally forth for a refreshing hour's walk along the bayside boardwalk. (No, we didn't see any others out walking.) Ron got in his 45 minutes on the elliptical machine although his sweat rate indicates that his heart rate did not make him any Younger Next Year. We were amazed by the Google map placement of the property of James Lea Country Line; many, many thanks to newfound genealogical junkie Tom. This evening the chef made baked sweet potato fries for us besides the redfish and veggies and dinner rolls.

4 Mar: Awake early and breakfasted early, we departed the hotel by ten-thirty. We were comfortable and not a bit cold at first, but soon the temperature climbed to an uncomfortably warm 86 degrees, where it stood when we stopped for lunch at Don's Seafood in Covington, Louisiana. We were caught between a rock and a warm place. If we took off a layer of clothing, we would be too cool, so we opted to be a bit overwarm, and consequently we sweated a bit for a bit. After stopping without sightseeing at the John C. Stennis NASA center on the Mississippi state line, we turned south onto scenic U.S. 90 to follow the stunningly beautiful white sand beaches of the southern gulf coast to Mobile Bay. It was windy and a cool 70 degrees along the Gulf Coast, and several bridges rose nearly into the sun before cresting just shy of that globe and precipitously descending back towards land and water; the views are amazing on a motorcycle. Those bridges are intimidating on a calm day; adrenaline surges on windy days. Our trip was accented by riding through the I-10 tunnel in Mobile and through a pea-soup fog past the ghostly battleship Alabama and across the bridges spanning Mobile Bay. We had an absolutely gorgeous and dry day except for ten seconds of rain once and that pea-soup fog. Tomorrow's forecast calls for extensive rain. We might stay a day or two here at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, AL. Their chefs feed us really really well - even when restricted by our no fat, no oil, no butter, no cheese diet. Salad, flounder, veggies, and even fat free dinner rolls made especially for us since Cynthia let the chef's know to expect us before we left Don's Seafood in Covington.

3 Mar: Arise and Shine! We made one last stop at the storage unit, returned the rental car, ate a delicious breakfast at the Toasted Yolk, and rode east out of town on TX highway 105 about 11 AM. The next stage of the trip is I-10 eastwards to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Me diabetic weefee Cynthia needs to eat every five hours (or more frequently), so we stopped at Don's Seafood in Lafayette, Louisiana for a marvelous meal. The day was warm with sunshine breaking through to a lovely day with only one mishap. Cynthia left her cell phone in the women's restroom at the Chevron station in Beaumont, TX, but thank the good Lord, ten minutes later it was still exactly where she had set it down. This happened two years ago in southern Texas with far less satisfactory results - but that time we were unaware of the loss for an entire hour, and we did not immediately return to look for the misplaced phone. We enjoyed dinner number two with genealogy cousin Pat at our hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn in Baton Rouge. Our itinerary calls for the next certain stop in Columbia, SC to visit friends, then in Raleigh, NC to photograph more James Lea documents until warm weather and clear roads allow us to ride safely to Mt. Airy, Maryland where we will visit Jim & Joni until they can drop us off on the Appalachian Trail in Harper's Ferry, West (by God), Virginia.

Cynthia is ready to roll!
Thanks to dear friend Jane B. for photo...!

2 Mar: Monday Morning Madhouse Packing because our Montgomery forecast changed from warm and rainy to warm and cloudy - meaning it is motorcycle riding weather !! We have a five hour ride ahead of us yet today, and we (Ron) are not yet packed; we (Ron) packed industriously until 3:00 PM when we (Ron) succumbed to exhaustion. The motorcycle bags are packed and two months accumulation of stuff went into the storage unit, but Ron is too tired; besides we are loathe to begin our ride in evening rush hour traffic. Ron's annual box of mail arrived from Clarence in Shawnee Mission late this afternoon with the requisite 2014 tax information, financial statements, and Christmas mail. Tax stuff is stuffed into an envelope for the accountant, Christmas mail goes with us on the road, and financial statements will have to wait to be reconciled until next January. We WILL depart tomorrow morning and attempt to stay ahead of the forecast miseries. Remember how Ron was too exhausted to ride? Cynthia drove silly Ron to the fitness center where he worked out aerobics and strength training for an hour and then walked home.

1 Mar, Sunday: Our AT hike approaches with good hiking weather as forecast by Accuweather for Harper's Ferry commencing March 12th. Between now and then the weather en route is pretty icey dicey. Jim S. forewarned us that ice on the roadways is 1/4" thick in Maryland. We had a marvelously good day, a great worship service at Grace Lutheran Church (Rev. Hinkhouse is inspiring) followed by brunch at the Yacht Club celebrating Steven's birthday with Jon and Barbara joining the "party." Samantha was unable to make it at the last moment.

Posted with Blogsy

My Gosh, is it February already ??

28 Feb: Just as soon as February became the new normal it will be gone tonight at midnight. Short and sweet, that's February but not our days; they are racing by as we pack and prepare to be gone hiking for six months. Younger Next Year is wearing Ron out at the Fitness Center. See you next month!!!

23 Feb: Life is good here in Montgomery, TX. Temperatures overnight allowed cool sleeping, so Ron is again up & at James Lea at 5 AM. (Actually up and at coffee first, e-mail second, blog third, then James Lea - or William or George Lea.)

22 Feb, Sun: Fatigue is apparent with midnight bedtimes and early risings. Vol. 6 Index is so very close to completion. James Lea is in the backseat for now. But, we are being faithful to Younger Next Year by showing up. Speaking of showing up, we did indeed show up for brunch at the Yacht Club, but we could not be seated without reservations because the house was full of reservations - something about a stage reducing seating. Our second choice was brunch at the golf club house; the food does not compare to the fine food at the Yacht Club, and we missed Oscar to cook our omelets. We spent most of the afternoon on our computers before going to the fitness center for an hour's workout. Ron had a second strong showing after being puny (full/upset stomach) for a couple of days. Global Near Frozen will appear in Houston on Tuesday. Rain is forecast for almost every day for the next ten days meaning our motorcycle ride to Raleigh might be postponed due to inclement weather.

21 Feb, Sat: Ron crawled into bed about 3AM after re-working the Vol. 6 index because of too many variant spellings--one alphabet letter at a time-- arising about 8 AM. Vol. 6 MAY be sent to Dropbox yet tonight. We had a lovely day; Ron walked to the Fitness Center while Cynthia baked bread and nursed her feet; the footies are suffering from tendonitis due to daily 4.4 mile hikes on concrete. Will the feet be ok for our BIG hike??? The new Superfeet insoles are helpful; shoulda coulda woulda bought multiple sets to use in all her boots and shoes. Oh, well. The feet will be good by the time we commence hiking the AT. We seldom use the Jacuzzi, but it was wonderful this evening.

20 Feb, Fri: Auuuggghhh. Someone (unnamed) left the keys in the car's ignition last night and the battery was dead this AM. Fortunately, Jon was still home with cables to jump the battery; Cynthia drove the car around the block to recharge the battery a bit. The driveway repair crew cancelled today because the rain forecast is too great. Packing, editing, exercising will continue for more exciting days with the Beatty's. Ron started creating our gear list on Trail Journals besides updating our TJ diary. Notes on the gear: the solar charger charged, the JetBoil appears to be a good purchase and Cynthia reports the LuluLemon Sports Bra is Comfortable. A hiker named Lady Grey recommended 100% Merino wool tees will work for three seasons. Ron's umbrella hat arrived; pictures to come soon. The excitement builds.

19 Feb, Thurs: Off to UPS to return some shoes that won't work, a polar fleece shirt that won't work and the Garmin 920 that worked erratically. The weather on the East Coast will NOT work.

18 Feb, Wed: Cynthia drove to the Woodlands to the orthodontist; she thinks he is wise because he tells her children their mother is an amazing woman. Her plans to spend the rest of the day with her daughter were postponed so we exercised. Imagine that!! The point of Younger Next Year is to keep showing up. Consistency pays off. Boxes of gear are arriving making the afternoon a little like Christmas.

17 Feb, Tues:

16 Feb, Mon: how quickly we forget.

15 Feb, Sunday: In Montgomery, Texas counting down days until departure March 1 towards Harpers Ferry and the AT. We will ride the motorcycle, stop at Mountain Crossing, photo James Lea documents in Raleigh, and be ready to hike by March 17th when warmer overnight lows average above freezing. Jim has graciously agreed to let us park our motorcycle in his garage for the duration, and Cynthia, the veteran on-line shopper, is accumulating gear even as we speak. Pr. Hinkhouse had a marvelous sermon on this Transfiguration Sunday sharing his life experiences of being transformed making the points: Jesus Christ is the center; being transformed cannot be manufactured and it happens within the communion of saints. After such good news we enjoyed brunch with Roxanne and Kiira at the Walden Yacht Club; Jon is sick in bed with a bad cold. Now, back to Vol. 6 since the skies are leaking. Cynthia, have you ordered those rain ponchos yet????

14 Feb, Sat: Happy Valentines Day from the TWOS of US. Our Younger Next Year increased by two minutes this morning as we exercised our hearts fitter at the Fitness Center including the usual 4 mile round trip walk to and from, preceded by breakfast brunch at the Golf Club. Valentines dinner at the same place was delightfully festive with a rose and a filet mignon for the girlie. In between times Ron exercised the motorcycle briefly and returned with coral pink roses for Smooch Smooch. She failed the "you didn't notice" quiz and was surprised to see the updated slide show of recent sunrises and sunsets on Lake Conroe. (On digital photo frame that was a wedding gift from Walt & Pam; many thanks.)

Friday the 13th: Smooch and Smooch Smooch! Marvelous food and service for dinner at the Walden Yacht Club, except we forgot about their noisy Happy Hour revelry. We were also force to sit seated across the table with a vast gulf of dead air between us; we do so prefer to side snuggled against one another.

12 Feb: Good grief, awake at 2 AM in Montgomery, Texas, but Ron had 7 hours sleep already, and there is plenty of coffee needing to be reheated. James Lea calls as soon as e-mails are answered and blog updated. Happy Valentine's Day to my beloved SmoochSmooch; I love you so much. (I wonder which day is actually Valentine's Day; guess that will be the day all the candies go on sale at big discounts. Maybe I can afford roses then.)

11 Feb: Another 5 AM day in Montgomery, Texas. The lake is so foggy this morning that nothing is visible beyond the patio railing. Perhaps we will have another lovely red sunrise like yesterday. (Photo still captive in camera.) (Nope, dense fog only today until late.) Valentine countdown: I love you SmoochSmooch. Mmm! We did indeed have a lovely day with a 4.5 mile walk, round trip, to the fitness center so Ron could sweat enough working out to fill Lake Conroe. The walk on concrete sidewalks has been hard on our bodies -- especially Cynthia's feet when she is hustling. Four pair of new shoes have arrived; we have hopes that hurty feet will soon be permanently banished. The Salomen's are the most comfortable. Her present pair of Vasque Vista which work well for hiking have been joined by a brand new pair. The other two pair will be returned immediately, worlds less comfortable than the Solomons. Ron decided to post a gear list on Trail Journals.com; we looked at Gossamer Gear groundcloth, OutDoorGearLab for solar cell phone charger, AntiGravityGear rain poncho, and Big Agnes tent. We love our Marmot down undie_wear and mittens, ThrmoRest air mattress and down comforter, GoLite and Granite Gear backpacks, and Ron loves his treadbare "layered" clothing. Good night from Cynthia; Ron crashed before finishing one sudoku after his workout this evening. He must plan to become Younger Next Year by sleeping.

10 Feb: And yet here we are again at 5 pm, wide awake and back to work on Ben Rose's books about Caswell County Lea Families. News agrees that N'oreaster did indeed clobber Boston. Today Ron MUST shift gears and begin preparing for departure to Harpers Ferry. We seem agreed to ride the bike so that we can stop at Mountain Crossings in Georgia to acquire needed ultralight gear. Long range weather forecast for Harpers Ferry is cold, but we can sit in Raleigh researching while waiting for warmer weather. Let's hope my beloved is feeling better this morning. Happy Valentines Day sweetie. (Is that enough planning?) Her first (of six !) new shoes arrived; these Solomon's seem to fit her hurty feet perfectly. Cynthia wore the shoes for an hour before bedtime, and the feet felt comfortable until she took the shoes off - then the pain resumed !! Ron is again Younger Next Year for 10 minutes on elliptical at 95-104 bpm; Ron is also exhausted. Where did the day go, it was suddenly 7:30 PM and time to slice and bake sweet potato french fries; the experiment was successful, but the oven needs to be hotter for crispy fries.

9 Feb: Coffee is on at 3:30 AM, kitchen floor swept, cereal quieted the hungry beast, and it is time to resume James Lea (and plan Valentine's Day). Plan ? Who wrote that? Younger Next Year is again the mission, and it is amazing how much effort is required to raise my heartbeat to 100 bpm. After reviewing photos of Wilhelmina Lea's diaries, Ron is ready to resume forward progress on James Lea whilst Cynthia sleeps. Omelet finished, Vol. 6 indexing progressing, fitness center elliptical machining completed with complementary talking while walking to & fro fitness center, a bit more indexing, and after doing the dishes at 10:30 pm, Ron is ready to sleep - it has been a long day. The genealogical highlight of the day was diving in to Chronicling America and discovering nothing useful therefrom, but finding two gems via Ancestry: Vance Mechem is on Find-A-Grave and George B. Mechem is in Pennsylvania death records on Ancestry; both died in 1960. Sistah Carol is excited to track down children for more DNA samples.

8 Feb, Sunday: Rev. Hinkhouse delivered a wonderful sermon promoting distributing the good news. Breakfast buffet at the Yacht Club is always a real treat. Amusing that Ron coached the novice omelet chef to use a little more cooking spray for the egg white veggie omelets; that worked out much better than too little. Next on the agenda was restocking the depleted diet cherry coke supply (plus veggies, flour, cereal, etc. etc.). After a couple of hours proofing Vol. 6 index Ron walked & talked while walking to the fitness center for 20 minutes on the elliptical machine, simultaneously watching TWC live coverage of yet another N'oreaster about to clobber Boston. The disadvantage of a low heart rate (50 bpm at rest) is the amount of effort required to get to 65% of max (99 bpm). After walking home, consulting with the "boss" afoot dinner (skip it), and an hour editing Jonasson vs Jonason in Vol. 6, Ron suddenly became incredibly tired - at 7:30 PM. Good Night. Cynthia, poor dear, is suffering mightly with hurty feets from those blisters. (Mankind's worst enema is continually changing my words.)

7 Feb: The Garmin 920xt is looking good; battery lasted more than 10 hours and still shows 50% charge, heart rate showed reliably, but menus decidedly awkward. After brunch at the Walden Golf Club we walked home to get our workout clothes and walked the 4.5 miles RT to the fitness center, worked up a good sweat, stopped at the yogurt shop followed by lunch at the Caddy Shack. In the meantime, sistah Carol and bro Dean provided non-stop humor by phone. Sistah Carol is just overjoyed that cousin Ray found obituaries for the two John Mechems who died in Belmont County within two years of each other, although the tombstone she found is not our ancestor. Fatigued but busy, Cynthia addressed 75 Save the Date cards for Roxannes birthday party while Ron is indexing. We are too tired to go out to eat, or to Wal-Mart to shop, besides Cynthia's feet are badly blistered - and painful. Online articles from Backpacker are pretty good reading. Only three weeks to go before departure.

6 Feb: We really got younger today after a 4.5 mile RT walk to the fitness center plus using the machines and weights until soaked with sweat. The Garmin 920 works better than the 305. But it is impossible to get an elevated heart rate, even while walking fast to catch up to Cynthia. Party canceled; the birthday girl has the flu; the anticipation of a wonderful dinner at Perry's with Roxanne and Kiira will have to continue until they recover. So instead we enjoyed Mardi Gras Seafood Buffet at the Walden Yacht Club. At 10:30 Ron said he'd be back in an hour and walked the golf course for two hours; one hole out there is surrounded on three and a half sides by water.

5 Feb, Thurs: The Garmin Forerunner 305 was returned. It worked erratically. The Garmin 920 will be tried out today. Brother Dean is sending his Polar heart rate monitor. Free. That's the best kind: free. We exercised. We ate. Volume 6 with 802 pages was sent out via Dropbox. Checking for/ correcting duplications in the index, and then it is done. Done too: We have completed our medical visits, most of the tax info, with four weeks to departure for serious hiking. It is time to get serious about shopping for hiking. (Obviously Cynthia wrote that last sentence, Ron serious about shopping - HA !)

4 Feb, Wed: Etc., Volume 6 is close to completion. James Lea needs a lot more work. After working on our projects we repeated yesterday's schedule apart from breakfast at the Toasted Yolk; and we stopped to rent the car for another month followed by a sweat producing workout at the Fitness Center, lunch at the clubhouse, computer work, another two miles walking, dinner at the Caddy Shack, and now one more walk around the golf course while talking to Ed K. We must be getting younger next year???

3 Feb: Lake house on Lake Conroe, Montgomery, TX. Yup, been here for nearly a month already and we are still working on the same projects. One difference is that this year we are interested in leaving less in storage than last year. That is going to be a BIG challenge since the Christmas reindeer& ornaments are occupying a top shelf. We went to the Toasted Yolk for breakfast yesterday and resupplied the frig with fresh veggies, so today I cooked egg white veggie omelets. Dishes are done, work on James Lea preceded breakfast, so it is now time to create index for Volume 6. Wish me luck. More later. And... Later we worked out at the fitness center actually reaching heart rate goal for a brief time on the elliptical machine. We spotted 13 or more deer leaping off into the bushes on our walk home from the fitness center. Did I mention we are having fun, too?

Fowl Weather

Fleurs for Smooch Smooch

Once a comedian... always a comedian!

2 Feb: So it says on this computer. Golly gee, where does the time go? The newest gadget is a Garmin heart rate monitor (discontinued 305 model) that tells me that I cannot achieve "Younger Next Year" simply by walking briskly. My heart rate never climbed above 79 beats per minute; it needs to be above 90. Fooey. Maybe I can carry a couple of cans of beans to do curls while walking. Either that or I'll hafta learn that duck waddle race walking. There, now that Cynthia will be shocked to see that I've updated the blog; it is time to return to editing James Lea. Our lives here in Texas are just too consistent to provide fodder of interest for this blog. I wake up early, make a pot of coffee, drink that while editing James Lea; Cynthia wakes up, I fix omelets & wash dishes, we go for a walk to the Caddy Shack for a late lunch and continue afterwards the fitness center - or vice versa. Then we type or read until dark:thirty and go to bed early. Can you figure some way to liven up that schedule for daily blog posts? I cannot without resorting to fiction. We walked to the fitness center, and even on the elliptical machine for 10 minutes I couldn't get my heart rate above 90. This "Younger Next Year" gig is becoming much more difficult than I imagined.

1 Feb, Sunday: We enjoyed going to Grace Lutheran Church again; pastor Hinkhouse delivered a timely message to spread the good news. Although I grew up Methodist and converted to Southern Baptist during high school, I prefer the Lutheran focus on the grace of God. (Never mind that I don't know who/how/what/or why God is - not my job - my job is simply to Thank God and praise "Him" - and I do that continually). Hmm, let's do the calculation for my heart rate. 220 minus my age (67) gives a "max" of 153. 65% of that is 65+32.5+1.9 = 99. With my knees, I'll need some way besides walking/running to get there. Hard for me to imagine a way that I can get it up to 90%, i.e. 153-15.3 =138

 

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2015 - Happy NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

31 Jan, Sat: The first month of the glorious new year bites the dust with resolutions intact. Ron is close to completion on Vol.6 of the Colonial Record Project.  James Lea and his kin James and James will not be finished before we begin the Appalachian Trail hike next month.  The two GPS watches with heart monitors arrived: Garmin Forerunner 305 and the 920 to see which works best for us. Tent and backpacking shopping at REI is on the agenda. the biggest challenge will be leaving computers behind.  We pretty much have everything we need using box bouncing for supplies as we go.

30 Jan, Fri: Smooch, the world traveler, returns home from Denton, TX this afternoon reassuring me he is becoming younger next year by doing TWO 45 minute cardio workouts a day.  We have dinner plans with son Jon, my bishop and his lovely wife at the Yacht Club.  Now, this blog returns to its rightful writer.  The microphone paired with the streamer by Bluetooth to the hearing aids is quite remarkable.

29 Jan, Thurs: The new bread baking machine is working nicely, although more complicated than the old Panasonic, it WORKS!  Dorothy savors the "homemade" bread Ron brings when he visits her.  Ron is good to her; he is one of the most considerate people I know.  Speaking of considerate -- see the meaning of it's opposite, inconsiderate.  I would add arrogant and judgmental to the definition of being INconsiderate.  Inconsiderate people do not deserve my consideration.

in·con·sid·er·ate

ˌinkənˈsid(ə)rət/

adjective

1. thoughtlessly causing hurt or inconvenience to others. 

   synonyms:

   thoughtless, unthinking, insensitive, selfish, self-centered, unsympathetic, uncaring, heedless, unmindful, unkind, uncharitable, ungracious, impolite, discourteous, rude, disrespectful; More...

28 Jan, Wed: Great Blue Heron on our boat slip.  she sat still for an hour...

How highs the water, mama?

Dorothy and Ron

27: Jan: Cynthia is enjoying beautiful Lake Conroe:  Ron is in Denton with our 98  year old genealogy cousin, Dorothy.    He tried to install an old/new computer for her because the new/new one works too fast and competes with the internet when she is trying to focus on writing.  But the memory card is bad.  TOO BAD!  My new Bluetooth speaker for the hearing apparatus arrived today; it will improve my hearing in a group.  This is a good thing.  Ron can clip it on his nose so he can hear me in the kitchen.  Hahahaha!   I leaped (well, almost) out of bed at 5:45 AM,  completed the usual stretches, did two sets of modified sit-ups and set the incline level to 15 on the treadmill for a short workout.  Once I get past the first ten minutes, my feet stop hurting.  The Foot and Ankle Dr. Gave me some exercises.  No surgery needed.   Both of us have good health reports from the cardiologist.  Ron's blockages remain, but he appears to be gaining blood flow around the blockages (not IN the arteries, but around the arteries).  My labs were awesome even.   The evening sky is breathtakingly beautiful with shades of blue and rose blending into deep lavender.  Aweeee!  Thank you, Lord for the wonder of creation; thank you for the  gift of family the past two weeks.  JOY!  Thank you, Lord!

Thank you Lord!

26 Jan:  Here's a bit of a blog: its a beautiful day on Lake Conroe.  The skies are a briliant blue with yellow and golden sunshine promising a warm day for Ron's trip to visit a  98 year old genealogy cousin in Denton, TX.   Ron will install a different PC, clean her gutters and spend quality time visiting that sweetheart.  She was the first female CPA in the state of TX and became one of TX leading watercolorists in mud-life.

25 Jan: GOOD GRIEF!  Four days of blog abstentia.  Yes, good grief! We ARE busy.  Roxanne arrived early morning to make her momma happy by painting the front doors, but she could not go to brunch with us. Thank you, Roxanne!  We re-listed the house with Keller Williams.  The agent is highly experienced; but she expressed caution because the current market is soft.  Our hearts were warmed listening to Her story: she told us she wants a relationship like ours.  How nice!  It is indeed a joy to be in a positive, healthy relationship. Ron's story is one of a perfect life; but leave it to God to improve upon perfection.

Ron, sunshine and Sudoku

24 Jan:  Rainy and cold.  Dinner at the Yacht Club with son Jon, Pastor Hinkhouse and his lovely wife Judy.

23 Jan: Rain! Once again, departure to Denton is postponed.  Cynthia is cleaning while Ron is organizing ahead of that ferocious roaring beast vacuum cleaner.

22 Jan: Ron's plans to go to Denton got washed out by heavy rain.  Cynthia had a girl day, then time with her daughter in the afternoon.

21 Jan: The Toasted Yolk fed us mighty good omelets before the morning drive to Spring for the Audiologist appointment.  Somehow, I forgot what we did all afternoon that delayed our return home until dinner time.  Or maybe it was nighttime????

20 Jan: The 9:00 AM appointment with the audiologist was disappointing; UPS had not delivered the new hearing aid.  Oh, well.  We are rescheduled for tomorrow in Spring, TX.  Breakfast at the Toasted Yolk across the street was worth the drive.  The ride home again afforded several little stops: scans on a John Lea research paper,  the MAC stand in the storage unit, plus mailing Cynthia's class notes at UPS, and Walmart to have bent eyeglasses bent back in shape.  Well!  The stellar day is ending less spectacular!  Cynthia has scanned hundreds of files, photos, documents, etc into PDFs and put on flash drives.  Tonight, all of the flash drives were copied onto the Mac with a corresponding index when she accidentally hovered making All Files highlighted.  Then she hit Copy and 250 plus files were copied onto her desktop.  Fortunately, the new Time Machine is supposed to restore the desktop to yesterday.  She hopes.  Ron is puzzled.

19 Jan:  Blue skies, nothing but blue skies do I see.  Ron attempted to repair the broken paper shredder, ran errands to give the touring machine some exercise, and he is close to wrapping up Vol. 6.  Cynthia drove to Brenham for an appointment with her ophthalmologist followed by lunch with two best girlfriends while Ron enjoyed the lake views.   We dined "in."  We are indeed enjoying the book, "Younger Next Year!"  Likely we have already gained five years.

East Patio

Life is Good!

18 Jan, Sun:  The sunrise was so spectacular.  Ron called Cynthia out of the shower to see the magnificent view.  Even so, we arrived at church ten minutes too early.  That is a record because we usually walk in during announcements.  The interim pastor had a terrific sermon about being chosen to follow Jesus, "Do you remember sixth grade recess? "  That was the long recess when sports were played and teams were chosen the smallest and shortest being chosen last.  One recess, when he had a brand new baseball, one team captain called him - right at the beginning of choosing sides!    How good it feels to be chosen when we are too small, too short,  or undeserving; how awesome it is to be chosen.  Cynthia told the pastor she really appreciated the message; he gave her a hug and said, "So you were too small and too short, too!"  Oh what fun.  Merry and Bill joined us for Sunday brunch at the Yacht Club after worship.  Now I need a nap!  Ron walked for a couple of hours talking to Ed K, Donna G. and sistah Carol.

17 Jan.  Sat: Another super stay at home day to work on computers.  Cynthia copied her sister's idea to create  a medical file to hand out to doctors at each visit so she does no have to fill out endless, repetitive forms.  It will always be on her computer complete with end of life instructions.  Ron bought the book "Younger Next Year," an excellent read.  Cynthia ordered the same tittle but for women as a download on her Ipad.   The AX Year End Summary is ready for the accountant.  Receipts are ready, too.  Very, very sad to learn that one of our favorite folks from the Norway tour has passed away.  Natalie S, one of the super Scrabble players had a stroke 23 Dec.  Deepest sympathy.

16 Jan, Fri.  HOME and NO PLACE TO GO! What fun is this!  We slept until we were done.  One day Ernie asked Bert, "Today, let's do nothing."  Bert replied, "OK.  Good.  But how will we know when we are done?"   HMM.  Instead of doing nothing we pecked away at the keyboards with the new Mac "Airport" running in the study backing up every thing on the Mac.  It  - Will  -  Take     - Days -- at the rate of 3-5 GB per hour.  The new bread bakery arrived; Cynthia's 17 or 18 year old bakery machine is breathing its last.   23 deer were spotted cavorting around on a perfect cloudy day.

Deer in Walden

15 Jan, Thurs: We are running to appointments and not having time to blog.  The first New Year's resolution has been tossed: the older posts have not been corrected and "smythed" to correct errors and polish verbs that have accumulated in our haste to write something, anything, to remember where we are and maybe who we are.  Somedays we are not certain of those important facts!  Another busy day of running only Ron ran in place at the lake house while Cynthia raced to appointments.  Ron accompanied Cynthia in the afternoon to the audiologists for another session to learn about the techie part of her aids to hear.  Lunch at the Toasted Yolk is always good.  Being in proximity to the Montgomery County library is always a great way to spend five hours until closing.  Dinner at Pappadeaux.  Always good.

14Jan: Mac instruction for organizing and editing photos.  Endocrinologist appt was fruitful. Dinner at the Caddy Shack. Good night

13 Jan: we are indeed still alive but cold!!! Cynthia had an appointment with the ENT followed by the Foot and Ankle specialist. She may have found a Bluetooth device that works with her hearing aid to assist with her hearing loss.  Dinner at Pappadeaux was awesome.

11 Jan: Oh what fun!  Most everyone came to the a Yacht Club for Lovely Brunch.  One granddaughter objected to her photos so the group picture is not here.  The girls looked very cute and the guys handsome!!!

Steven, Sam, Karen with Grandmother

Jon, Lauren, Grandmother Cynthia

10 Jan: Our days are filled with doctors, computer work and now preparing for a big family late Christmas, New Years, Epiphany, early Valentines Day and save the Dophins Week... Tomorrow!

9 Jan:  Dr. Gould said it, so we will believe it; we are still alive.  It's always good to have a professional opinion.  And the good doctor did not need to chastise Ron because he had gained weight.  The nurse slid the weight bar to read 173.  It was a miracle. The good news kept coming: no more Niaspan, no more Plavix, just double the Statins, and we get to eat when we are backpacking and hiking the AT in the spring.  The idea of eating trail mix is overwhelming.  All other reports being good, we walked to the Rotary House out the back door of the professional building accidentally touring Rice University before we figured out we were sorta lost.  Fasting for early AM blood work, we worked up an appetite.  Cynthia stopped for a hair cut, bought new hiking boots, Lowa Renegade GTX, at REI, and we drove an hour and a half to the BMW shop for oil they don't carry.  Another hour of driving to Cynthia's daughter's Roxanne's home; she gave us a tour so she could see how she redecorated before joining us for a lovely dinner.  The hour drive from Houston to our lake house was interrupted a shopping spree at Kroger's.

8 Jan, Cynthia drove us to the medical center for our cardiologist appointments at the crack of light tomorrow.  Because the med center is heavily trafficked we spend the night at the Rotary House and walk to the Hermann Professional Building. The restaurants in the Rotary House have exceptionally good food. The salmon was awesome.  Two boat sized potatoes arrived by accident.  Cynthia doesn't eat potatoes and Ron never leavs food. Those potatoes will show up on the scale already a few pounds heavy.

7 Jan: Dentist and Ob-Gyn; nice dinner at Pappadeaux.  REI in the Woodlands is NOT the sporting goods store, but an insurance company.

6 Jan: Frustrating that photos from the IPad cannot be directly accessed by this blog.  Our fun day was accomplished by seeing check lists after projects that needed to be done.  4 months of mail, a box of receipts sent to accountant, Rons gift returned. Well. One of the many gifts returned. One to be exchanged. And maybe we keep the JetBoil Flash.  We did enjoy a three mile walk after Lunch at the Caddy Shack.  The AT looms large as we search ideas for gear from recent hikers.  Cynthia ordered wool  balaclavas.  Go lite has gone out of business (bankrupt).  Bummer. They had a tent we liked.  The packing list has to have weight lists. Rons pack can be no more than 20 pounds and Cynthia can carry 10 pounds. No cute shoes.  She ordered new Vasque Breeze and plans to try the Lowa Renegade.  Two shirts, one pair of hiking pants, one pair tights.  Our meds and vitamins weigh a lot!  Friday we ask the cardiologist what we can carry to eat on this ten grams of fat a day heart reversal program.  Cynthia cannot eat sugar.  We will find a plan.

5 Jan: Monday. Ohhh boy.  29 degrees at 8 AM.  And the Gerbings heated gear has a malfunction. The oncologist is 45 minutes away so we braved the cold bundled up in the wind blocking rain gear on top of the heated gear that doesn't work.  The good news from the doctor was heart warming. All is well at 3.5 years.  The next mammogram will be 3-D no longer needing the ultrasound.  We celebrated with a great breakfast at the Toasted Yolk.  And Then we picked up the CAR!

4 Jan: Sunday was a stellar day with bright sunshine for the last leg of the trip home to Texas.  We ate a lot of breakfast so we didn't need to stop other than the necessary stops and arrived home about 4 PM. By that time the thermostat was turned down to COLD.  Son Jon had the house decorated for Christmas with poinsettias throughout and the tree beautifully trimmed

3 Jan:  Sat: Posted by a friend on FB: "Ralph Waldo Emerson once asked what we would do if the stars only came out once every thousand years. No one would sleep that night, of course. The world would become religious overnight. We would be ecstatic, delirious, made rapturous by the glory of God. Instead the stars come out every night, and we watch television.” ~ Paul Hawken

May this new year be filled with moments of wonder, of tenderness, of presence. Blessings and love.

Ron drove during the rain respite to mail post cards he wrote last September about the time he mailed this year's Christmas cards.  Washing the bike seemed like a perfect idea until the rain poured again.   Cynthia accomplished a lot of DNA organization in a new spreadsheet.  Now we pack.  Tomorrow we drive four hours with the sun shining on us.   G'nite!!

2 January:  It is raining in SW LA all the way to TX;  so - we are ensconced in this hotel until Sun AM; OH WHAT FUN!  Cynthia used the fitness center; we walked to the market for lunch and drove to  Don's Seafood Restaurant for another fine meal.

1 January:  Happy New Year!  Ron, today is January 2nd!  What happened to blogging on January 1st?   Is this a foretaste of the year to come?  Well,  this is the excuse for tardiness:  rain is forecast all the way to Lake Conroe leaving us no choice but depart now, as in yesterday.  We did.  Packed and fed, we left Point Clear at 11:45 AM - hugging Roxanne good-bye as she left for the airport.  Our four hour ride was dry and uneventful to the Hilton Garden Inn at Lafayette, LA.  Dinner at Don's Seafood was quite nice; we appreciate when the chef agrees to prepare our favorite sweet potato french fries BAKED!  Don Landry had the first Landry's Seafood Restaurant.

LEFSE!

POINT CLEAR, LOUISIANA