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.