Travels of Mark and Pat

Tuesday - September 15

Perfect day for traveling with lots of sunshine and pleasant temps - would love to get out and walk, soak up all this beauty and breathe the fresh, crisp mountain air. West Virginia and western Maryland - sooooo beautiful and just seeing the slightest change in fall color here and there.

We took a short break in Claysville, PA and lo and behold saw a bunch of dandelions in a grassy area? Dandelions in September??? Stopped in Morgantown, WV for lunch - always enjoy a

Tim Horton fix!!!

Lost a good 30 minutes due to a several vehicle accident, but turns out that it happened in the westbound lanes. Fire trucks were on our side, so big time back-up and once we were cleared, the long line of 3-lanes of traffic heading west went on and on and on!

Arrived in Annapolis around 4....stopped at the boat yard.. Catrina looks good although her engines are still ailing. Mark talked to one of the mechanics and we stopped at CVS and West Marine before checking in to the Maryland Inn (very old,, historic boutique hotel). I've always admired this place during our many visits here and along the way today, Mark suggested we stay here.

It is lovely and my man gets extra brownie points!

We walked to the Carrol Creek Café. We've walked or driven by many times, but usually heading to the Chart House, so....decided to try it (highly recommended). We got a table on the water and had wonderful salads with fresh crab and shrimp and the grand finale was a fresh pear with lemon sorbet coated with a cabernet reduction in a small circular pastry shell....HEAVEN!!!

Sooo good to be back in one of our favorite cities - it is a beautiful evening and enjoyed our walk back to the Inn....

Overlooking Spa Creek from our table

Ahhhh...tsk tsk! Luke is drinking while driving!

Monday - September 14

It's been a busy day starting with breakfast with our old neighbors (Mark and I each drove separately), followed by a stop at the storage unit to do some re-organizing, put the pack 'n play and booster seat away, etc. Mark went back to Daisy to do some things, load up the truck, etc. I had therapy with Lee and wonderful workout with the neck. Felt so good when I left there, but within an hour, all the crappy pain and discomfort were baaaack!!!!

I met Sharon for lunch at Biaggi's - sooo fun to catch up

(hadn't really seen her since Florida in March)

Then to the Red Cross to donate blood. Met Mark at the airport where we left my car, jumped in the truck and we were off by 4:00. I had made some sandwiches so we ate along the way - it's been a gorgeous day and evening!

Our friend, Kassie and daughter, Brooklyn joined us for breakfast this morning!

Pat and Brenda's daughter and granddaughter.

And then we have our little multi-tasker, Miss Priss

Blair took off her pull-up, put it on her head, sat down to do her business,

while playing a game on her I-pad and enjoying a nice cup of milk!

We are in Springfield, Ohio tonight....still 500 miles to go!

Sunday - September 13

It was a spectacular Sunday in September here in central IL.......wow! The weather could not be more perfect with low 70's, lots of sunshine and a gentle breeze.

After breakfast and one more short walk in the park by Luke and Grandpa, we packed up Luke's stuff and drove to the Busy Corner to pick up a Triple Berry pie and off we went. The trip thru the country was just delightful checking the crops and enjoying those deep blue skies. Won't be long till the fall harvest begins. While some corn and bean fields look "ready to go", others are

still pretty green

We arrived at Dave and Judy's (Luke's grandparents) around 11. Grandpa Dave took Luke for a tractor ride, he fed the chickens and just ran and ran. After lunch we said our good-byes to our little man and he went down for his long nap. We 4 enjoyed delicious BLT's and watermelon, followed by the pie and ice cream....

Had a good visit and then on our way....sure have happy memories of our 6 days with Luke.

In the car with his I-pad off to see Nana and Grandpa Dave

Love this tractor

Dave is remodeling their living room - Luke is showing Grandpa the tall tower that Grandpa Dave built for him (and... made all the blocks)

Lunch time!

Back to Daisy at 4:15 and started packing - the Nomads are going "on the road again" starting tomorrow afternoon heading to Annapolis to winterize Catrina; Virginia Beach next weekend to see Ryan and the Blues (it will be 4 weeks since Kansas City - we definitely need a "Blue Angel" fix) and finally to NC to see Blair and the boys! We tidied up Daisy, vacuumed and "thought' we had gathered all of Luke's belongings, but found a little car....we'll give it to him at Thanksgiving.

Walked around the park - beautiful evening

Liam and Connor ended their fall baseball games today - Liam went 4 for 4 in a 10-4 victory!

Hockey season....bring it on!

Just got this photo from our good friends, Paul and Kathy in McKinney, TX who went to the Fort Worth air show yesterday with their daughter, Elizabeth and family. After the show, they had their picture taken with the team AND Jet #6.....we've never had that (usually #1)! Awesome!

Saturday - September 12

A mostly cloudy, cool day......we left Daisy with 4 loads of laundry, Luke and his stuff and after a quick stop at storage, we spent the afternoon with Liam, Connor and Patrick. I did laundry, we had Jimmy John's for lunch and Luke took a long nap. Patrick left for his sound job at 2:30, Colleen (sitter) came and stayed with the boys while Mark and I went to 4:30 Mass at Holy Trinity.

Anne worked till 5.

We picked up Monical's pizza for supper and after a bit more playing, we were on our way home for bath time....Luke's last night on Daisy. He and Grandpa went for a walk in the park and Cliff (owner) was driving around in his John Deere tractor and gave Mark and Luke a ride! Luke loved it as he's had his eye on that tractor all week!