TOUGH COOKIE.....!

Like mother.........like daughter, Sophie is one "tough cookie." A tournament wrestling win in Scarborough, ME made mom proud.

Laura "cut her teeth" in Scarborough schools for six years.

BLACK STALLION..."rode hard and put away wet"

My RAV4 just turned 190,000, so I let him cool off in Wills Creek near Mance, PA. The ride to the spot was RUGGED....but nary a mistep!.

Somerset County (PA) History Tour

On Saturday, July 11, we picked Joan Smith up at her home at 11:00am to set out on a tour of (1) the crash site of Flight 93, (2) The rescue site of the (9) Quecreek miners, and Joan's added attraction (3) the tallest silo in the eastern US.






At 11:12am we were passing the ice cream stand at Berlin, PA. Joan said "I thought you were going to stop". A quick U turn resulted in three GIANT cones (Joan insisted!!). Joan kept imploring "LICK THE BOTTOM", but I soon had to fillet the top half of mine with my hand and deposit it in my glass of soda. Suzy was busily licking the BOTTOM when the entire mound of ice cream plummeted into her lap.

Joan just smiled and had no problem licking away






Then on to Shanksville where we, once again, honored the brave souls whose actions probably prevented the nation's Capitol from being destroyed on 9/11/01. Christine Snyder was one of them. It was a very somber experience.

Ten miles away in Sipesville, we next visited the farm where nine miners were rescued from 240' below when they breeched an old abandoned mine that was filled with water. It took almost four days but they drilled a 26" hole, lowered a rescue cylinder, and one by one they were lifted to safety. It was a very joyous experience.

Lastly, Joan wanted us to see this humongous silo....we did. It was a very MOOOOVING experience.

More Mance Moments..........

Suzy and I spent a relaxing weekend at Mance. Tululah enjoyed her monthly (phew!) bath in the huge kitchen sink.

Suzy enjoyed being lacerated and punctured as she harvested the first black caps (rasberrys) from our property. Alas CSX had sprayed along the tracks.

Tuesday Triathlon

Adventures with "Buster" continued....

With 85 degrees and an azure sky, Suzy and I sought a triathlon. We loaded Buster in the trailer and the bikes on top and headed for Burke Lake. After a vigorous five mile trek around the lake on a beautiful wooded trail, we set Buster in the water and boated to a serene picnic cove and enjoyed lunch. The third athletic event is not mentioned.

Ten dollar horse, and a forty dollar saddle.....

In Meyersdale, PA, this decrepid old building has been "commisioned" by the federal government to receive a VERY expensive mural depicting some history of the town. Various villages along the Pittsburg to Cumberland bike trail (former RR line) have received these grants. The accomplished artist doing the work, first completed the RR trestle, and the background.....then decided a train would look nice on the bridge. And it will.

BUSTER BOAT.........revisited

On Suzy's day off today, we borrowed Roger's "Buster Boat" that hadn't been wet in 6-7 years.

With a fully charged battery, oars, and life jackets, we set out on the mighty Potomac River. Much like our fore fathers, we sought adventure and new lands. Down river we went against an incoming tide. After an hour (at 1 mph) we sighted tables with unbrellas and a tiki bar.

.

After a delightful lunch, we realized this area was already discovered, so we set off back up river against an outgoing tide (3/4 mph). We were soon overtaken by a canoe !!! Nevertheless, Little Buster did his thing and delivered us from evil...........back to our car before the battery expired

to be continued......................."Adventures with Buster"