A Bear...Oh My!

October is almost a memory now....not sure where all the days have flown, but they certainly have a way of doing so.

The route from Celina to Virginia was a beautiful one...we traveled East across West Virginia, through Clarksburg, took Route 33 East, thru Seneca Rocks, and crossed the Appalachians to Harrisonburg, VA. The leaves were lovely in the higher elevations, and the views were amazing. Much of Route 33 is designated a National Scenic By-way, and it's easy to see why.

The climbs were rather steep at times...I think we climbed three mountains, the last and tallest being Shenandoah. Just as we rounded a hairpin curve, we both yelled, "Ahhhh, Bear!", and sure enough, a big bear, Oh my! was bounding across the road in front of us. He scampered over the rail and raced off into the woods...I grabbed the camera and snapped away, but got only trees and road! Just around the next curve was a tiny fawn, grazing beside the road....sure hope it didn't end up as dinner for the bear!!

We truly enjoyed this drive thru the mountains and would take this route again...anything to avoid I77 Southbound thru West Virginia...the Turnpike there is one of the worst roads we've been on....well, not quite...now that Virginia has cut its Transportation budget so drastically, our roads are getting even worse!! Oh well....

Norah and Howie followed our route a few days later and we met them in Richmond spending a few days there at the Elks Lodge...great "Campground" there, right off I 295, for any of you that are Elks!

We then headed to the River, and spent a few days there, sowing fertilizer and grass seed on the lot....whew! that was a lot of work!! We shared a little Oyster Roast on the Island before we left, eating lots of roasted oysters and fresh fish for a few days!!!

Then it was on to the Farm, to help Paul do a few farm chores before it gets cold. So, we have settled into our little routine here in Montpelier....the boys dream up all the projects to get started on, and I fix supper most nights. It's always good to be here with the kids and spend some time with them.

Last weekend we headed North to Lancaster, PA and the Amish country, to spend some time with Tiff and Scott...gosh, it's sweet to see them!

And we've seen Kristy's kids...they are doing pretty well, all things considered. I'm proud of all of them, and their Mom would be too. Last year at this time, I was busy heading to the hospital each day to care for Kristy....bittersweet days.

We'll head West this weekend to Roanoke and an old timey Farm Auction at my Aunt Jenny's. We'll see my sisters, then head on South and West thru Tennessee and North and South Carolina, where we'll end up at the condo in Myrtle Beach. Busy days ahead! Hugs to everyone!