Back in Virginia-Celia Comes to Visit

September 11 – October 31, 2016                                Most Recent Posts
Greenfield Mountain Farm                                   I Get the Runaround on the Way to Waterfalls and to Spring David
and Charlottesville, Virginia                                          Abrupt Early End to Our Delaware Water Gap Visit

 

Note: if you didn’t see the last waterfalls in the Delaware Water Gap due to my difficulties with Blogger, the link is in blue above.

 

We leave Dingman’s early Saturday morning and arrive back in Virginia on Sunday September 11 after two unusual for us 200 mile days.  David continues to recuperate and meet with his doctor and have blood tests taken.  Finally on September 21st,  he is able to start his 9th cancer treatment which requires weekly infusions in a hospital.  This takes 6-8 hours each Wednesday and has put a stop, at least for now, to our going anywhere but Virginia and Florida where his doctors are. We will stay in Virginia for at least a month to make sure this treatment works out for him before moving on south.

By the 21st,  he is well enough for the new treatment but does not have his stamina and strength back. He seems much more frail than he has at any time over these past nearly 5 years living with a cancer for which there is no cure. We are hoping time will allow his body to fully recuperate. 

 

During September I do manage to take a hike in the Shenandoah National Park on the Rose River Falls trail but amazingly I forget to bring my camera with me and had to take all the pictures with my Galaxy S5 phone and it takes terrible pictures in my opinion.  Nearly all my pictures of the lovely water cascades and the rocky 5 mile hike turned out too dark or too bleached out almost to be seen.   If any of you have an S5 and can tell me any tricks to taking good pictures with it I’d appreciate your help.  I must be doing something wrong here since I’ve never seen any phone pictures as bad as these.

You can see the falls sort of but it’s not much of a selfie.  If you want to see a much better set of pictures of this beautiful Shenandoah Hike, which is one of my favorites,  here are links to two previous hikes.  One in June of 2015 with David and me and one in  July of 2015  with us and Carrie and Matthew that was dated wrong and when I tried to fix it in Blogger messed up my last post from Delaware Water Gap and published this old one over it.  But it’s still got great pictures even if it now looks like their visit happened in November of 2016 rather than July of 2015.  In future, I’ll just stick to Live Writer.

 

 

The trail follows all along the Rose River with falls and cascades the entire way.

Pennsylvania’s portion of the Appalachians has nothing on Virginia’s portion in terms of rocky trails.

 

Big as a dinner plate.

 

 

 

 

On to October when David is feeling well enough to order all the components and over the course of the month install them so we can tow Ruby 4 down and take our chances.  Honda doesn’t approve but our mechanic thinks we should be fine since she has a standard transmission.  It is a costly chance since all totalled we spend $2600 on Blue Ox components including the Patriot braking system.

 

 

Also during our weeks here we of course do the regular eye doctor, dentist, dematologist visits. 

 

But the best thing that happens in October is a visit from Carrie and Celia.  Celia is 4 1/2 months old when she comes to visit her grandparents and see the farm where her mother grew up.

Be prepared, too many cutie pictures.  Like her Grandma, she likes her Pooh.

 

On the day they arrive we stroll down to the downtown mall with Carrie’s good friend Kate and have lunch with Kate’s parents, my friends Pam and Keith and with Pam’s childhood friend Marion who is visiting them.

In order from the left front of the table that’s Kate, Pam, Celia, Carrie, Keith and Marion.

 

Celia likes strolling and socializing.

 

Back at the farm the duo pose in the farmhouse living room.

 

And in the Farmhouse Kitchen with Celia wearing one of her Great Great Great Aunt Carrie’s bonnets with the brim folded back so we can see her sweet face.

 

In the afternoon, baby and bonnet make it out to the front porch swing.

 

She poses in her grandpa’s arms.

 

 

After all that posing, she’s ready for a nap in her Pooh Pj’s in her mama’s old bed with a quilted comforter and Care Bear sheets.  What ever happened to the Care Bears?

 

Their visit is all too short, just two days.  On the way home Celia gets to see but not taste her first Bruster’s ice cream.  Carrie has one scoop of pumpkin on top and on the bottom is JAMAICA ME CRAZY!   Whoo Hoo!.  Really convenient for traveling between our houses that there is a Bruster’s right on the road we take from Charlottesville Virginia to Severn, Maryland where they now live.

 

 

 

But this is my very favorite picture of my two favorite girls in the whole wide world.

David has reacted very well to this new treatment which is unfortunately an infusion which takes 6 to 8 hours every Wednesday but by Sunday October 30, 7 weeks after we got back, we are cleared to head to Florida.  This will be a trip of 726 miles which we have to do in two and a half days in order for him to be at the Cancer Center on the next Wednesday morning.  

It’s been a long 7 weeks in Virginia, about double what we usually spend for routine medical check ups.  We still can’t go anywhere but Virginia and Florida but we are hoping that may change by the end of winter.  We’re glad to be back on the road.

Next post coming to you from Florida.