Bob: We have spent two restful days in North Carolina. Rode my bike for a little over an hour each day. Land is rolling, but not too steep. Not as bad as the one hill in Maryland. We'll see how I do in Florida. Went to Longhorn last night. We had a late dinner. Today we helped JoAnne close up the swimming pool at each home. Bonnie did the laundry for the last time. Packing things up and getting to ready to head out tomorrow morning. Bonnie is getting her hair done at 11:00 so I will pick her up and we'll be on our way. It looks like an 8 and 1/2 hour drive. It will be a long day.
Bonnie: My appointment is at 9:00 in the morning, but it will be a fairly long one, so I envision us leaving about noon. It's been a nice few days, just hanging out with JoAnne and Niels. This morning I went to water aerobics with JoAnne. It was very fun and I enjoyed the exercise! I would like to do it when I get back home. I have no idea where it is offered, but I will find out. One of the things Bob will remember most about our visit with JoAnne and Niels will be their dogs, two bichon frieses, Duchess and Muffin. Bob used to have two dogs the same kind and one of them was also called Muffin. They loved Bob's tummy rubs and he loved teasing and playing with them. They also have a horse and lots of land. In fact, if anyone wants to buy a house here, the Eskelsen's want to sell their other house.
I wish we could stay longer but I am also anxious to spend time with Lori, Scott and their kids, and also with Bob's brother and sister-in-law, Eddie and Lorraine. Florida, here we come!
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Tuesday - October 14
Bob: Spent the morning touring Monticello, plantation home of President Thomas Jefferson. We had planned to tour all floors in the home, but that tour was sold out. We only got to tour the first floor and the grounds. Also went on a 'tour' that talked about Jefferson and slavery that existed at Monticello. Jefferson of course is the author of the Declaration of Independence which states all men are created equal. However, Thomas Jefferson was a slave owner, having inherited slaves from both his father and father-in-law. Jefferson died a slave owner too. This puts Thomas Jefferson in a different position as far as some people are concerned. It was a problem that followed him throughout his lifetime, but he never quit advocating for the abolishment of slavery. It seems that he knew slavery was wrong, but would not give up the practice for financial reasons. He was also in a huge amount of debt. But as one person commented during the tour, "Have you ever known a politician to say one thing and do another?" Well spoken!!
After we left Monticello we drove to JoAnne and Niels' home in Concord, NC. Very beautiful drive through the mountains and countryside. Most of the drive was not on the interstates.
Bonnie says she really loved Monticello and wishes everyone the best. She's still talking to her sister and it's well past my bedtime!
After we left Monticello we drove to JoAnne and Niels' home in Concord, NC. Very beautiful drive through the mountains and countryside. Most of the drive was not on the interstates.
Bonnie says she really loved Monticello and wishes everyone the best. She's still talking to her sister and it's well past my bedtime!
Monday, October 13, 2014
Monday - October 13
Bob: Left Dan and Misty's about 8:40 and arrived in Luray Caverns, which is in Virginia, about 11:00. Toured the caverns, antique cars/carriages museum, and the Luray Caverns' Museum. There are millions of dollars worth of antique cars at Luray Caverns. The caverns are privately owned and that family has spared no expense in purchasing antique cars. After that we drove across the Shenandoah Mountains to New Market and toured the museum there. Then we drove to Montpelier, home of James Madison, but it was closed on Monday. Arrived in Charlottesville around 7:30.
A bit of history on the caverns. They were discovered in 1878 by 3 individuals who in turn purchased the property at public auction. But because they hadn't told anybody about the caverns before the purchase they ended up being sued for fraud. And THEY LOST. After owning the caverns for 2 years the caverns were taken away from them and sold again. In 1905 the present owners bought the caverns.
Bonnie: We have seen some wonderful things. There are fantastic formations in Luray Caverns.The stalactites and stalagmites grow about 1 inch every 100 years! And what was fun was that we met a family from Utah there--Gunnison, in fact. It's a small world.
At the museum in New Market there were several different collections, including items from the Revolutionary War, the Civil War (New Market is the site of one of the battles fought) and World War II. We learned another horrific fact about Hitler, trying to breed his "super" race by impregnating women, if they had the "pure" genetics. It didn't matter if the women were married or not. The babies were taken to be raised by the state when they were born. Imagine the challenge of doing those genealogies! Enough about that.
I have really enjoyed the beautiful countryside today. It seems that every day brings more color to the trees. I'm looking forward to seeing Monticello tomorrow. How blessed we are to live in this glorious land!
A bit of history on the caverns. They were discovered in 1878 by 3 individuals who in turn purchased the property at public auction. But because they hadn't told anybody about the caverns before the purchase they ended up being sued for fraud. And THEY LOST. After owning the caverns for 2 years the caverns were taken away from them and sold again. In 1905 the present owners bought the caverns.
Bonnie: We have seen some wonderful things. There are fantastic formations in Luray Caverns.The stalactites and stalagmites grow about 1 inch every 100 years! And what was fun was that we met a family from Utah there--Gunnison, in fact. It's a small world.
At the museum in New Market there were several different collections, including items from the Revolutionary War, the Civil War (New Market is the site of one of the battles fought) and World War II. We learned another horrific fact about Hitler, trying to breed his "super" race by impregnating women, if they had the "pure" genetics. It didn't matter if the women were married or not. The babies were taken to be raised by the state when they were born. Imagine the challenge of doing those genealogies! Enough about that.
I have really enjoyed the beautiful countryside today. It seems that every day brings more color to the trees. I'm looking forward to seeing Monticello tomorrow. How blessed we are to live in this glorious land!
Those are not fried eggs!
A Reflecting Pool
L-29 Phaeton
1910 Buick
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Sunday - October 12
Bob: Not much happening today. Got up very, very late. Church is at 1:00 and it is Fast Sunday. Packed the truck up as we're pulling out in the morning. Heading to Luray Caverns in Virginia and then we'll stay all night in Charlottesville, Va. Going to tour Monticello Tuesday morning and then head to Bonnie's sister's, JoAnne, in the afternoon. Saying good bye to everyone tonight.
Bonnie: Bob and I are sleeping in later and later it seems. Oh,well...the blessings of retirement, I guess :) We enjoyed church today, even though it was our second fast Sunday for October. The best part of the day was when Dan came back from home-teaching and made blueberry muffins. He finished up the blueberries we brought from Canada. They were delicious! It was hard saying good-bye to Katie and Ammon tonight. They will be gone by the time we get up. Katie leaves for Seminary at 5:45 am and Ammon leaves at 6:45 am to catch the bus to school. We plan on being up at 7 and leaving by 8:30 tomorrow so we can give our good-bye hugs to the other three kids then. Then, it's on to other adventures!
Bonnie: Bob and I are sleeping in later and later it seems. Oh,well...the blessings of retirement, I guess :) We enjoyed church today, even though it was our second fast Sunday for October. The best part of the day was when Dan came back from home-teaching and made blueberry muffins. He finished up the blueberries we brought from Canada. They were delicious! It was hard saying good-bye to Katie and Ammon tonight. They will be gone by the time we get up. Katie leaves for Seminary at 5:45 am and Ammon leaves at 6:45 am to catch the bus to school. We plan on being up at 7 and leaving by 8:30 tomorrow so we can give our good-bye hugs to the other three kids then. Then, it's on to other adventures!
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Saturday - October 11
Bob: Woke up late. The morning was cool and wet outside, but Bonnie, Ammon and I did manage to get in a 45 minute walk. In the afternoon Bonnie and I took Sarah, Michael and Reni to an interactive farm. There used to be a place called the "Enchanted Forest" near here. They shut down in the 1980s. The farm bought most of their exhibits and moved them to their place to go along with their farm animal exhibits. The kids got to see several farm animals, play on some fun outdoor toys and exhibits, go on a hay ride and pick out a pumpkin to bring home. Some pictures of below.
Little Toot Tug Boat
Crooked House
Friday, October 10, 2014
Friday - October 10
Bob: Slept in till after 8 this morning. Weather looked like rain so I didn't go for a bike ride. Decided to mow part of the field beside the house. It hadn't been mowed in a long time and the grass was pretty tall. Worked about 4 hours on it. Looks like I mowed about an acre. Some of the chutes of grass were over 2 feet tall. They didn't want to be knocked down. Several of them are still standing, but the regular grass got cut up.
This evening everyone went to see the new movie, "Meet the Mormons". It was very good with some tender spots. Would recommend it to everyone. After the movie Bonnie and I took Katie and Ammon to Katie's high schools home football game. Katie's team, Glenelg High School, won by a score of 35 - 6. The losing team was 5 - 0 entering tonight's game.
When we got home Michael was still up. He wanted me to read to him before he went to bed. He picked out a Calvin and Hobbs book for me to read. It was one of my favorites. I miss Calvin and Hobbs, especially their adventures with the baby sitter.
Bonnie: "Meet The Mormons" is an excellent movie, very well done in my opinion. If it's in your area be sure to see it! Part of the proceeds go to the Red Cross, which is struggling financially right now, so it's a good way to spend your money!
Today I spent time helping Misty clean the house. It's hard to keep up with 5 kids, 32 chickens and 1 husband! And it's always more fun to clean someone else's house rather than my own. Then I made an early dinner so we could make it to the movie on time.
This evening everyone went to see the new movie, "Meet the Mormons". It was very good with some tender spots. Would recommend it to everyone. After the movie Bonnie and I took Katie and Ammon to Katie's high schools home football game. Katie's team, Glenelg High School, won by a score of 35 - 6. The losing team was 5 - 0 entering tonight's game.
When we got home Michael was still up. He wanted me to read to him before he went to bed. He picked out a Calvin and Hobbs book for me to read. It was one of my favorites. I miss Calvin and Hobbs, especially their adventures with the baby sitter.
Bonnie: "Meet The Mormons" is an excellent movie, very well done in my opinion. If it's in your area be sure to see it! Part of the proceeds go to the Red Cross, which is struggling financially right now, so it's a good way to spend your money!
Today I spent time helping Misty clean the house. It's hard to keep up with 5 kids, 32 chickens and 1 husband! And it's always more fun to clean someone else's house rather than my own. Then I made an early dinner so we could make it to the movie on time.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Thursday - October 9
Bob: Sorry we didn't get anything posted yesterday. We got up early and headed to Philadelphia. By the time we got home last night we were too tired to write. Just said our good nights and went to bed.
There were some very interesting things we did see though.
Bonnie: It was an eventful trip to say the least. First of all, the truck was too tall to go into the parking garage so we had to go to an open lot belonging to the Holiday Inn Express. It was about 30 minutes or more before the shuttle came to take us to the place to buy our bus tour tickets. Then, because Bob had forgotten his jacket we sat down below in the bus, not on top where we could see everything. It was harder to hear and we couldn't see out the windows very well because of mesh over the windows. But, it was an informative tour that gave us a good overview of Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love. After our tour we went to the Visitor's Center for Independence Square. Here we got tickets to see the place where the Declaration of Independence was signed as well the Constitution. This was the best part of our visit for me. I really enjoyed our tour guide. It was wonderful to see exactly what it was like for the Founding Fathers. We then viewed copies of the original documents made at that time to show the citizens. We saw the Liberty Bell next and then headed for the Anglican Church where George Washington, Ben Franklin and several others of the Founding Fathers attended church when they were in Philadelphia. We saw Washington's actual pew! We headed back to our car, first eating an authentic Phily Cheese Steak sandwich and looking at Betsy Ross' home. We didn't go inside because it closed at 5. We also went down Elfreth's Alley, an authentic cobblestone street, very small with the houses all attached together and no front yards, much like it was in the 1700s. Much of old-town Philadelphia still is made up of original or very old buildings and streets. Then, we had our adventure going back! We had to pay $16 at three different toll booths on the way up and didn't want to pay them going back so we tried to go back another way. This may not have been such a good idea! We finally got home about 9 pm. But, it was an amazing experience. I am so grateful for the early leaders of our country, who despite very big differences, came up with a workable plan that has made our country what it is today. I am proud to be an American!
There were some very interesting things we did see though.
Bonnie: It was an eventful trip to say the least. First of all, the truck was too tall to go into the parking garage so we had to go to an open lot belonging to the Holiday Inn Express. It was about 30 minutes or more before the shuttle came to take us to the place to buy our bus tour tickets. Then, because Bob had forgotten his jacket we sat down below in the bus, not on top where we could see everything. It was harder to hear and we couldn't see out the windows very well because of mesh over the windows. But, it was an informative tour that gave us a good overview of Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love. After our tour we went to the Visitor's Center for Independence Square. Here we got tickets to see the place where the Declaration of Independence was signed as well the Constitution. This was the best part of our visit for me. I really enjoyed our tour guide. It was wonderful to see exactly what it was like for the Founding Fathers. We then viewed copies of the original documents made at that time to show the citizens. We saw the Liberty Bell next and then headed for the Anglican Church where George Washington, Ben Franklin and several others of the Founding Fathers attended church when they were in Philadelphia. We saw Washington's actual pew! We headed back to our car, first eating an authentic Phily Cheese Steak sandwich and looking at Betsy Ross' home. We didn't go inside because it closed at 5. We also went down Elfreth's Alley, an authentic cobblestone street, very small with the houses all attached together and no front yards, much like it was in the 1700s. Much of old-town Philadelphia still is made up of original or very old buildings and streets. Then, we had our adventure going back! We had to pay $16 at three different toll booths on the way up and didn't want to pay them going back so we tried to go back another way. This may not have been such a good idea! We finally got home about 9 pm. But, it was an amazing experience. I am so grateful for the early leaders of our country, who despite very big differences, came up with a workable plan that has made our country what it is today. I am proud to be an American!
Inside Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed
The Liberty Bell
George Washington's Pew in Christ's Church
(Parishioners paid for their pew space. Records validate who sat in which pew.)
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