After our marvelous backpack in Virginia we returned to busy times on South Mountain.  First a day of cleaning and drying our gear, recovering our baseline metabolism, and resuming our typically more sedate lifestyle.  Then, dealing with the unusually wet spring that continues to throw a storm at us every few days.  Thank goodness I installed a drain inlet beneath the basement floor.  The pipe has been taking water, at times lots of water, for more than a week.  On one day we took 3.7” of rain some water infiltrated through the opposite side of the basement.&n

An early April walk on the Appalachian Trail in central Virginia seems pleasant enough.  I wonder though, as I see my porch here in southern Pennsylvania turning white this evening from a late snowfall that may continue off and on through tomorrow night.  The weather is supposed to turn warmer next week but will remain damp.  We begin our planned nine-day backpack on Monday morning at Pearisburg near Blacksburg.  Give our adventure your thoughts and prayers. 

Already a week since our return.  The drive went well despite the painful increase in the price of gasoline.  I had sympathy for Mohamed Bouazizi, but the cascading events have been painful to all of us.  Sadly we didn't take out Gaddafi before he recouped to carefully exterminate the opposition.  Now, until he accomplishes that, the price of oil will flutter.

    This was a fabulous day in southwest Florida.  Bright sunshine, warm air, and a fresh breeze off the Gulf made the water sparkle.  Anne, Mom and Dad joined the Gallup’s early.  I arrived in mid-afternoon.  Everyone had a wonderful week.  Great tans, not too much burn. 

The sun shines and a warm breeze blows across south Florida distracting us from the turmoil of the world.  I am at the condo working on chores.  Anne has taken Mom and Dad to the beach to join the Gallups.  We are retired but still seem to be the generation in the middle.  Mom was anxious to leave this morning, apparently concerned that the family needed her as soon as possible.  Dad was concerned because the water was turned off in the condo for some kind of maintenance.

The two of us made a three-day, two-night excursion across the Everglades beginning last Thursday.  We awoke early and shivered in the 50 degree weather to get started in the darkness.  It took us twelve hours to cross the peninsula and turn south to Homestead where we had motel reservations.  Most of our stops were in the Big Cypress Swamp and Shark River Slough areas where we spotted the usual wading birds and studied the tropical trees.  We made our last stop at the Chekika entrance to Everglades National Park, but a volunteer was closing the gate as we arrived. 

The Woods and Davidsons enjoyed a fine weekend in southwest Florida.  We enjoyed a walk in Lakes Park, walks, jogs, swims, and great meals at Heritage Cove.  Mark and Mary Helen were blessed to have both sets of parents here. They enjoyed their time in the warmth and returned to a storm in New York on Tuesday.  We resumed our more hum-drum schedule here but made a wonderful canoe trip on that day.  See notes on that below. 

A cold front arrived yesterday uneventfully.  There was a stillness and fog at dawn.  Anne and I (Chuck) worked up a cleansing sweat jogging around Brant Point Circle.  We greeted and chatted with a dozen or so couples and singles walking dogs or themselves along the course.  Usually, in consequence of this being a "senior community," we are the only ones actually running. 

It is dawn at our little house in the forest.  Cloudy and 24 degrees, but only traces of snow among the leaf litter.  Forecasters have annonced that the threatening storm will materialize out to sea and allow Chuck's sister and parents to come up the montain to join our Christmas feast.  Last year heavy snow kept them away.

We are at home and enjoying domestic tranquility so have not posted lately.  Still, a lot has happened since our last post.  We enjoyed a trip to New York State for the wedding and stayed a week reaping the gracious hospitality of the Woods family.  On the Saturday after the wedding we moved the RV to Arrowhead Marina and RV Park on the Mohawk River west of Scotia.  The private park is lovely in a birch grove along the river.  Our friends Jane and Bob arrived to begin a bike tour of the Erie Canal bikeway from Albany to Buffalo.