Rocky Mountain National Park

Today Susan and I went to Rocky Mountain National Park. It has to be one of the most awesome places on planet earth.

Great Falls / C&O

After church, we headed to check out the Great Falls Park, located on the Potomac just west of the District. The place was busy because the weather was absolutely beautiful. I had heard a lot about Great Falls, including that there was rock climbing there. We didn't get to see the rock climbing section, but the falls were just tremendous.

After seeing Great Falls, I wanted to check out the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal trail. This 184.5 mile trail is a "rails to trails" project, where they take old railroad lines and turn them into paths for walking, hiking, and biking. This trial extends from Georgetown to Cumberland, MD. When I found out about the trial I started thinking that perhaps Susan and I could take about 5 days and ride our bikes for the entire length. There are campgrounds along the way but there is also the option of staying in motels on the journey. Sooooo, perhaps next spring?????? Stay tuned.

Fun Day!

Susan and I attended the Navy Football game today at Annapolis, MD. It was our first Navy game and it was a beautiful day for football. They played Wake Forest, and although they got beat 44 - 24, it was a pretty good game up until the 4th quarter.

Although we thought we left pretty early, we ran into traffic at the exit for Annapolis. And the tailgaters were already in full force. Ok, all this time I thought parking lots were for parking. I had to manuever around tables and chairs and kids playing football. I finally got parked and we went into the stadium to buy some lunch. After getting a bank loan, I was able to affort a good BBQ sandwich, slaw, and potato salad for both Susan and I.

The seats were up high but allowed us to get a good view of the game. The pre-game was the brigade of midshipman marching on to the field. 30 companies lined up on the field in their uniforms was pretty impressive! And we had a flyover of Harriers to boot!


After the game, we drove to meet our friends, the Gordons, for dinner at the Japanese Steak House. Awesome food! We then went to the Hilton Memorial Chapel for a Steven Curtis Chapman concert. There were two other artists before him (I didn't know them). But SCC was awesome. He sang some of his old stuff, and also did some of the new songs off his new CD being release on 23 October.
The highlight was a song called "Cinderella." About a father and his daughter as she grows up and heads out in the world. I think I have lived this song.

Amish Country

Just got back from trip to Amish Country in Lancaster, PA. Camped first night at Cunningham Falls State Park in Thurmont, MD. Next day went to Gettysburg battlefield. We saw where Lincoln made his famous Gettysburg address.

We headed later that day to Lancaster, PA. Had a great visit there. Camped out at Gifford Pinchot State Park for two nights. It was our longest journey yet in our truck/camper!

Another year

Well, today is my birthday. Another year has passed. Where does the time go?
My last year before I hit _____. I can't even say it. Half a century. Yikes!
Oh well. You can't stop time from ticking.
Got a good weekend planned. Susan and I are headed up to Amish country around Lancaster, PA. Gonna camp out and then check out what Lancaster has to offer. This is something Susan has wanted to do for a while. Also gonna take in Gettysburg sometime in there.
The weather is looking nice, if even a little warm for this time of year.
Bought a couple more pieces of gear for the trip - a sleeping bag for Susan and a screen house, used for putting over picnic tables and keeping us dry and bug free.
We get off today at noon and then I go home, finish packing, and head out.
It really is a good way to spend a birthday!!

Mom and Dad's visit

Mom and Dad came in Friday, 21 September 2007, for a visit. It is always great to have them come up. Mom wanted to go see Mt. Vernon so we headed out there Saturday morning.

It was nice to see our first president's home. The view out the back of Mt. Vernon that overlooks the Potomac is amazing!

Dad and I went to the Nationals game Saturday night. It was a good game but the Nats lost in extra innings. It was the next to last game they will play in RFK stadium. Next year they get a new stadium.

Sunday was church and then we went to the USMC museum and Quantico exchange. The museum was great and they enjoyed it. Only thing was that we forgot our cameras!

Dad and I played golf Monday morning. We tied after I made a nice putt on the 18th to tie and he made his.

They head back to Charleston today. They have an offer on one of their houses so they are hoping all goes well with the sale. They only have 3 left after this one sales. Mom will be glad to get out of the rental business!

More pics from Harpers Ferry Trip

Trip to Harpers Ferry, WV

Susan and I went to Harpers Ferry, WV 14-16 September 2007. I got off early from work and we took off in my truck. I had just finished equipping the truck with a topper and sleeping platform for camping. It makes it easy to go camping without too much preparation.

We took backroads to get there. These days I avoid the interstates when going camping. I prefer to see the countryside. We got to the campsite (which was actually in Maryland: Greenbrier State Park http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/western/greenbrier.html) just as darkness was descending. And it was raining. A good test for my tent that fits over the back of the topper and tailgate. It was easy to setup and worked very well. I had also purchased a Yakima bike rack that swings out of the way to let you access the tailgate. Also worked like a charm. We slept warm and well while listening to the patter of rain.

Next day we got up and had breakfast and then rode to Harpers Ferry. We unloaded the bikes and rode around Harpers Ferry, which really isn't that large but is a pretty historic place. We had lunch at a nice BBQ place in town. We also visited a place I have been wanting to see for a long time: the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.jkLXJ8MQKtH/b.1423119/k.BEA0/Home.htm). It was nice and I got a couple more books about walking the AT. I still hope to thru hike the AT when I retire.

About 2 pm we left and visited Antietam Battlefield (http://www.nps.gov/anti/) where the bloodiest one day battle in America took place. It was a sobering visit.

The next day, Sunday, Susan and I hiked 2.2 miles out on the AT to a place called "Annapolis Rocks" (http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/AnnapolisRock_8872.asp) I didn't know it until we got there that this is a popular climbing spot (Katie would love it!) We sat and watch some folks climbing and enjoyed the spectacular view. We hiked back and both of us felt like we had a good workout from the hike.

We headed home and enjoyed a backroads trip back to Woodbridge.