4100 Miles

A Hungry Heron Morning

6:06

Well, it feels like nothing has changed as I sit here in my living room on the lake, drinking coffee, listening to the news for the first time in ten days.  It's overcast, the lake slightly ruffled by a light wind and 55º.  Our road trips are over for a few months, having driven to Dallas, Texas, then Kansas City, Missouri, and home in April, to Virginia, then Topsail, NC, and home in May. Now our kids get to visit us, the entire gang arriving the week after the fourth of July for the first time in two years.  It's 8:10 and I just returned from kayaking on a surprisingly windy, choppy lake.  I was excited, however, to get photos of both a heron flying by my kayak with a fish in his mouth and an osprey, perched up in a tree just above the reeds.  

Kayak Morning

An Osprey

Our drive yesterday was easy and quick as we made good time, stopping only for gas at the Shawnee Store and Fruit Stand and a Mickey D's for breakfast.  It's a beautiful drive, one neither of us minds because of the hills, the forests, the lack of heavy traffic.  The only downer was all the Trump signs in Pennsylvania, the stupid and vulgar signs as we neared and entered Warren, one reading "Biden and Harris Can Go To Hell," the other, in flashing lights, "Biden Is The New Pandemic." Where do these people come from and what are they thinking? 

Hills, Trees. Clouds And Blue Skies

We arrived home at 3:00, a typical seven-hour drive, and quickly emptied our car and got busy.  We had no water when we turned on the faucet, but it was remedied when Evie realized the water filter needed to be changed and was clogged.  Once that was done, we had water.  I wanted to do one thing, set up our sump pump and weave three hoses from the lake, along the privets to Evie's garden so we could water her garden from the lake. It was bone dry as it had not rained since we left ten days ago.  While I did that, Evie powered up the mower and cut the grass which needed it after ten days.  It felt good to be active after spending the last two days in the car.  We were both surprised at how warm and humid it was and we worked up quite a sweat.  We were never this uncomfortable at the beach.  

By 6:00, however, we were on our front porch, freshly showered, enjoying a bowl of popcorn, a cocktail, and the view.  Although we have loved our trips the past six weeks, it is always good to be home. For dinner, we had frozen pizza which tasted better than when we got it from the pizza shop, go figure.  We watched a bunch of junk TV before going to be earlier than usual, tired from our drive and yard work.