Blog Entries Oct-Deb 2008

Period Ending 12/31/08

After our enjoyable overnighter at the Oxford Hotel in LoDo (compliments of E2PSI ), Scott and I were up early and heading to Front Range Airport  for a breakfast flight to Pueblo, Colorado. In spite of somewhat stiff winds, it was a surprisingly smooth ride. Must've been the superior piloting skills of my flyboy husband, eh?  :-)

The better part of our New Year's Eve was spent in the company of friends at the home of Chuck and Brenda Spaur. The evening began with a delicious pork roast dinner. Although pork roast is one of my absolute favorite things to eat, I gave up cooking it long ago. In spite of my best efforts (including flavor brining), it always seems to come out dry. Brenda's roast was one of the juiciest and most flavorful I've ever eaten! She was gracious enough to share the recipe link with me so I can have a go at it. 

After dinner we played a card game that Chuck has dubbed "the dumb game." Count me among the dummies, because I found it to be great fun! In between hands, we were served a tasty birthday dessert in honor of Chuck's 50th.

While peeps around the globe were ringing in the new year with toasts, singing, and fireworks, Scott and I were already counting sheep by the time midnight rolled around; though our slumber was interrupted by the distant sounds of  the Mile High Holidays New Year's Eve fireworks display.

Uncopyrighted photo by Sara N. found here

Well ... It hardly seems possible, but this closes out our blog entries for the year 2008. What an eventful year it has been for us! Click here for a summary of the places we went and the things we did. 

More next year.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 12/27/08

Sunday marked Scott's first time waking up in his own bed on a weekend since leaving for Pittsburgh, PA on Saturday, September 20th! One might expect that he would spend his time lazing around the hacienda, but in typical Scott fashion, he jumped right back into our biggest unfinished home improvement project. When last I blogged about the infamous floor-covering saga, I said, 

    "... the only noteworthy event that took place last week was the   completion of our flooring project on Tuesday night. Well ... We're not exactly finished as we still have to replace and paint the baseboard and install the transition pieces. Scott's work schedule is fixin' to pick up soon, so not sure when we'll get to it." 

Four months later, we're finally getting to it!

Our week was spent in the typical flurry of holiday activity: watching Christmas movies, shopping, wrapping, cooking, church, re-connecting with family members/friends, and, of course, over-eating. Although I had finished my own shopping, I went out with Cass on Tuesday--ya, she's one of those last-minute shoppers. First on our list of stops was the gas station. Cassie's stellar parking job at the pump was funny in and of itself ... and this was after three attempts to straighten herself out!

But it gets better. After she had squeezed between the car and pump and set the nozzle for automatic fueling, Cass hopped back into the car where we sat chatting and giggling about the fact the her less-than-perfect parking had caused quite a stir amongst the other patrons. Several minutes passed before a station attendant came scurrying out trying to get Cassie's attention.

There's no way to convey in writing how funny this actually was, but he commenced to saying in his thick middle-eastern accent, "You did not push the button. You are not pumping any gas. You can sit here all day. I don't care. But you are not pumping any gas." He was laughing, we were laughing, and every person within ear/eye shot of Cassie's re-fueling spectacle was laughing. It was one of those things you just know people were chuckling about for the rest of the day.

After that all-important Starbucks run, we were off to shop! Cassie, being the generous person that she is, gets a great deal of satisfaction from giving. With her limited budget in mind, her goal was to put together gifts that would spread a little Christmas cheer yet also be useful to the recipients. I think she pulled it off quite nicely with these cute little mailboxes stuffed with Starbucks gift cards, butane lighters, scratch tickets, hand-made tree ornaments, gum, and candles. Her friends seemed to appreciate them.

For the first six of our twenty-five years together, Scott and I attended the annual Christmas Eve family gathering at his parents' place. The large group included grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and five out of six Mills children with their families.

Following our move to Florida in 1990, the tradition of getting together with the Mills parental units continued on a much smaller scale: Arthur & Elaine and Nana & her husband (all of whom headed south each winter) and Scott, me, Stevie, and Cass. Not long after relocating to Florida, once I had come to a deeper understanding of the true meaning of  Christmas, we added a candlelight service to our Christmas Eve activities.

In 1998, following Stevie's enlistment in the Navy and our move from Florida to Colorado, the family group had dwindled to just three. While holiday gatherings with kith and kin are now but cherished memories, Scott and Cassie and I continue to observe the Christmas Eve traditions of church and a buffet spread of finger foods and hors d'oeuvres. This year we added watching our favorite adaptation of A Christmas Carol to our night-before-Christmas agenda.

The 25th of December was a bit more subdued than the earlier part of the week had been, but we thoroughly enjoyed the day. Cass and Tyler joined us for a late afternoon dinner of Honey Baked ham followed by a game of Clue.

Our friends Gary and Carolyn Zilik stopped by for an impromptu visit on Friday afternoon. We went to Red Robin for a burger and then spent a few hours playing cards. Had a great time with them.

On Saturday afternoon, we headed to the 117-year-old Oxford Hotel in downtown Denver for E2PSI's holiday dinner and overnighter. What a great time we had socializing with Scott's bosses and co-workers and their significant others. The hotel's elaborate decorations really added to the festive mood. (A certain nameless someone forgot to bring her camera, so alas ... no pics.) Many thanks to John and Barry for footing the bill and to all those involved in the planning of this most excellent party--we had a great time!

 More next week.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 12/20/08

Not much to report for last week. My focus continued to be on cleaning and decking the halls in preparation for Christmas. Our untrimmed artificial tree, which Cass had helped me put together a few days earlier, loomed large in the basement. The all-important first step of "rigging up the lights" has traditionally been Scott's job, but with him out of town, the task fell to me.

My first attempt ended in disaster when I ran out of lights a third of the way up the tree. A fair bit of fussing and fuming was followed by a renewed resolve not to accept defeat. A little Internet sleuthing turned up some tips for novices. While there is, of course, more than one opinion about the "best" way to approach the dreaded ritual of stringing Christmas tree lights, I did find a few helpful hints.

My second attempt, in my humble opinion, was a complete success!

Aside from the mundane, the only blogworthy event of my week was a fun afternoon of shopping with Cassie on Wednesday. First stop, lunch at Panera Bread. The place was mobbed, as usual, but Cass managed to snag us a cozy fireside table.

Scott made it home from Kingsport on Tuesday morning and headed directly to Front Range Airport to perform maintenance work on 339A. He spent Wednesday and Thursday on his least favorite of office tasks, reports and paperwork. Friday it was back to the hangar for more maintenance--gotta get the aircraft up to snuff in preparation for our group RV trip to the Cayman Islands in April '09!

More next week.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 12/13/08

With favorable weather conditions and all but four of our 9.5 hours en route back to Colorado behind us, we had planned a somewhat leisurely departure from KOKM on Sunday morning. Freezing temps in east central Oklahoma meant that a frosty chariot awaited us on the ramp.

Less than two hours after departing the Sooner State , we and our shadow were making the first of two landings for the day at KDDC in Dodge City.

One and three-quarter hours after our Kansas PP stop (petrol and  potty), we were back in the Mountain Time Zone at Front Range Airport. Following eleven long weeks away from the homestead, the familiar sight of FTG's control tower and runway 26, with snow-capped Rocky Mountain peaks in the distance, never looked so welcoming.

After landing, gassing up, and stowing/unloading the plane, we relaxed in the hangar over a grilled brat and a cold drink while reminiscing about the trip and reveling in the fact that we were finally home!

Scott's home time was short-lived as he had to turn around and catch a commercial flight right back to Kingsport, Tennessee early Tuesday morning. I happily spent the week cleaning and running errands. While there's certainly nothing glamorous or exciting about these activities, it's the first time in a long while that I've taken such great pleasure in them. I guess that's what three months away from home with no responsibilities whatsoever will do for a person--we'll see how long the afterglow lasts.

More next week.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 12/06/08

Picking up where I left off last week, we spent a rainy Sunday s l o o o o w l y making our way by car from Waycross, Georgia  to Kingsport, Tennessee. When we came up with the plan to fly as far as Waycross on Saturday and  drive the rest of the way on Sunday (as opposed to waiting out the weather in Florida and flying the entire way), we had overlooked one significant detail ... it was the last day of the four-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

What would've taken about 2.5 hours by plane took ten long and frustrating hours by car. We went off the beaten path a couple of times in an attempt to get around the glut of cars on the major roadways, which, of course, took us out of our way. This was just  one of those situations where driving the long way 'round seemed preferable to sitting in stand-still traffic.

While we would have preferred to be cruising along at a speed of 170 mph high above the whole mess, we were held captive on the ground by bumper-to-bumper traffic doing 0 - 20 on highways where the posted speed limit is 70. This Florida license plate on the truck in front of us could not have been more appropriate to the situation.

Scott and Dan-O worked at the Eastman Chemical site (which, when lit up at night, looks like a small city unto itself) Monday through Friday afternoon while I continued to live "the suite life" at a particularly nice Holiday Inn Express in Kingsport. Our anticipated two-week stay was cut short when the customer began experiencing unexpected problems that resulted in delays. Since it would be a few days before Scott could resume his work, we opted to fly the plane back to Colorado.

Mid Friday afternoon, Scott and I were in the car headed back to Waycross. Thankfully, the return trip took three hours less than getting there had. It was still a long drive and a late night, particularly for hubby who had already put in a full day on the job before spending seven hours behind the wheel. But, in typical Scott fashion, he took it all in stride with a good attitude.

We departed KAYS at 9:30 a.m. EST on Saturday morning and made our first stop about an hour and a half later at KMEI in Meridian Mississippi. In addition to great customer service and a welcoming attitude, the folks at Meridian Aviation  offer up chili dogs, popcorn, coffee, and snacks to fly-in visitors free of charge.

Our second stop, at F24 in Minden Louisiana, was planned for the sole purpose of landing in our 36th state to date. On the recommendation of a most helpful and courteous FBO attendant  named Jeorge Zaldevar (who even assisted me in disembarking), we took the courtesy car into town and ate lunch at J. P. Ranch. Though the service was a bit slow due to thinly-stretched wait staff, the food was very good.

Next landing, and our stop for the night, was at KOKM in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. Our first experience with City of Okmulgee Airport / FBO Manager Jeremy Porter had been on our way to Florida for the Turks and Caicos trip in 2007. As was the case during that first visit, he was courteous and helpful, even giving us his cell number and offering to return to the airport after hours if it looked like rain so we could get the bird inside.

More about our flight home in next week's post.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 11/29/08

Week two of our stay in Florida began with an early Thanksgiving dinner at the home of the Spradlins. We thoroughly enjoyed the turkey with all the trimmings and visiting/reminiscing with our friends. Seeing them is the highlight of any Mills trip to the Sunshine State!

Included on the dessert menu was an ice cream cake for two. Scott inched one year closer to the big 50 on Sunday, and on December 5th, our "baby" will forever leave her teenage years behind.

Though the mercury had dropped several degrees a couple days after Cassie's arrival, this didn't deter her from taking a chilly dip in the hotel pool on Monday.  

We ate dinner at the T-Rex Cafe in Downtown Disney on Monday evening. Similar to the Rainforest Cafe (also owned by Landry's), the theme at T-Rex centers around dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures. Cass and I had eaten lunch there a couple days earlier and liked it so much that we talked Scott into going back.

Click here for more pics

On Tuesday evening it was Bond. James Bond. While Quantum Of Solace  was an entertaining action film, it didn't have the familiar flavor of a Bond flick. It was missing key elements that hardcore 007 fans like myself have come to expect and even anticipate in each and every Bond installment: the all-important name drop, quirky Q and his gadgets, shaken-not-stirred vodka martinis, and Miss Moneypenny. While the opening song sequence remained pretty true to form, Bond in the gun barrel didn't show til the closing credits, nor did the Bond theme music.

As one on line movie reviewer put it, What is most disappointing about Quantum of Solace is that while it might have James Bond as the lead character, it doesn't feel like a James Bond film. Even the worst films in the 007 series have a style that is unmistakably Bond ... I whole heartedly concur with her assessment. Sigh...I miss Pierce.

On Wednesday it was back to "the perfect place" for a day of park hopping. We've been to WDW so many times, that we've all but perfected the fine art of park hopping. Having spent the previous Saturday at the Magic Kingdom, we skipped that park altogether and hit the highlights at Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot Center. 

One of our two faves at the Animal Kingdom is Expedition Everest.


We spent Thanksgiving day with Shamu and friends at Sea World.


We enjoyed a traditional turkey dinner at the Sharks Underwater Grill.

Cass and I spent a few hours shopping Celebration, Florida on Friday with Jayne, Heather, Ashley, Brittany-Jayne and Nick (who was such a good sport about shopping with the girls). After breakfast-for-dinner at IHOP, Scott and Cass and I tried to see a Christmas movie at Downtown Disney, but the place was so mobbed that there wasn't a parking spot to be had. This was just as well since we had to pack up and get ready to leave next morning.

Our Florida stay at an end, Cass headed back to snowy Colorado early Saturday morning. We needed to get to Kingsport, Tennessee for Scott's next E2PSI project. Inclement weather in our flight path left us with two choices: hang out in Florida until the low pressure system made its way beyond our planned route or fly part way and then rent a car and drive the rest of the way.

Scott really needed to be on site in Kingsport on Monday morning, so we went with option #2. We flew into Waycross Ware-County Airport where Scott had arranged for a rental car and hangar space. After tucking the plane into a T-hangar, we headed toward town for a bite to eat, a movie, and a night's sleep before continuing on to Kingsport by car.

More about that nightmarish drive in next week's post.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 11/22/08

Scott had Sunday off, so we made a return visit to the Kennedy Space Center. While most of what we saw there was familiar to us (having been there a handful of times before), it's always an interesting and educational way to spend a day.

During our last visit six years ago, we watched everyone's favorite Hollywood astronaut in an IMAX presentation of Apollo 13. Tom Hanks is the narrator, producer, and co-writer of the current KSC IMAX film,  Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon. While not one of the 12 men to actually walk on the moon, Tom reportedly has a passion for the stories of this elite group of men. The title was inspired by the words of Astronaut Buzz Aldrin who marveled at our moon's "magnificent desolation."

Vehicle Assembly Building

Nothing much to report for Monday through Wednesday other than a dip in the temperature. Scott worked and I hung out at the hotel anxiously awaiting Cassie's arrival. She flew in on Thursday, compliments of Daddy and his frequent-flyer points.

While shopping Downtown Disney on Friday, she and I visited the Once Upon A Toy store where genius marketers have taken something as simplistic as Mr. Potato Head  and turned it into money-making magic. Kids and wannabes alike can't help but have fun transforming their favorite cartoon and movie characters into spuds at Disney's hands-on potato head station.

We spent Saturday at the Magic Kingdom with our Floridian friends the Spradlins. As is always the case during this time of the year, "the perfect place" (as Cass and I like to call it) was decked out in holiday finery. Evening festivities at the kingdom include a spectacular fireworks display over Cinderella's castle. The only thing that may have made our day more magical would've been several thousand fewer people to share the magic with. Oh well ... in the words of Clark W. Griswold, "it's all part of the experience."

AWESOME photo by Heather Spradlin

More next week.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 11/15/08

Sunday morning for Scott began with a short hop to Smoketown Airport where Kirk Groves, RV8 pilot of the Dakota Queen, graciously offered up hangar space and supplies for 339A's oil change.

We spent Sunday afternoon at The Museum and Visitor Center at Gettysburg National Military Park. As memory serves, I found our first visit to the battlefield at Gettysburg in 1988 (pre-museum days) to be quite boring. A few hours perusing the artifacts at the museum and I came away with a deeper appreciation for the historical significance and personal sacrifice of the Civil War in general and the Battle of Gettysburg in particular.

Dinner at the Dobbin House Tavern on Monday evening was a fitting finale to our stay in historical Gettysburg. Tuesday was spent packing and preparing for Wednesday's departure.

The temperature on the ground in York, Pennsylvania at 8:15 on Wednesday morning was a chilly 37 degrees. Nine hundred thirty-eight miles south in Kissimmee, Florida, a balmy 79 was much more agreeable. 

This is what Friday's launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour looked like through our windshield  about fifty miles west of the launch site at Cape Kennedy. We would later learn that this was the first of nine final shuttle missions and the last nighttime launch.

Before becoming landlocked in Colorado ten years ago, seeing the ocean was no big deal. Now it's one of the things I always enjoy about going coastal. We found a great deal on some ocean front property at Clearwater Beach.

More next week!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 11/08/08

In our quest to add states-landed-in and airports-landed-at to N339A's repertoire, we took to the northeastern skies once again on Sunday morning. Two touch downs in Delaware and one in New Jersey brings our to-date total to 32 states and 95 airports in three years!

Although the fall foliage had peaked in all its splendor, conditions were overcast and hazy that day preventing the vibrant colors from really popping.

The Flight Line Restaurant, on-field at Millville, is housed in a building that was an original Army Air Force WWII guardhouse from 1943-1945. Not much to look at, but the food was pretty good.

On Tuesday, we unloaded our Harrisburg real estate and moved southwest about 35 miles to Gettysburg so the guys could be closer to the site of the fifth and final unit of E2PSI's project in Pennsylvania. As we awoke on Wednesday morning to headlines confirming that Democratic candidate Barack Hussein Obama (yes, I used his middle name) had indeed been elected our 44th president, we (like the rest of the country) understood that this was American history in the making.

How fortuitous that on election eve we would be in the campaign battleground state of Pennsylvania and the next day we would move to the battleground arena of the bloodiest clash of the War Between the States--a war initiated by the South in response to Republican president Abraham Lincoln's desire to prevent the spread of slavery to the western territories. In spite of her flaws, the gold ol' U S of A has come a long way in 147 years.

Friday was an absolutely glorious fall day as I walked the tree-lined streets of "the most famous small town in America." The air was crisp and clean, the temperature was pleasant, and the autumn leaves were absolutely ablaze in the afternoon sunshine.

Downtown Gettysburg--complete with landmarks, 17th century buildings, museums, and quaint little shops peddling Civil War memorabilia--just oozes history.

More about our stay in Gettysburg next week.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 11/01/08

Many (if not most) of Scott's site projects for E2PSI involve working 7-day weeks, so it's been nice to have a few Sundays to play during our very extended stay in the Keystone State--six weeks and counting!

A Sunday morning flight to Frederick Municipal Airport in Maryland allowed us to get another look at the changing leaves and add another pin to our airport landings map.

Later that afternoon, it was Pizza Hut and the movie FIREPROOF. This, unlike many so-called Christian movies,  is believable with a positive message, and I wholeheartedly recommend it!

While the rest of our week was nothing to blog about, we did enjoy a nice dinner on Thursday evening at The Firehouse Restaurant in Harrisburg. The Harrisburg Hope Fire Company's Station #2, which now houses the restaurant, was a functioning fire house from 1871-1980.

More next week!

__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 10/25/08

Twenty years ago, Scott and Stevie and I made the 8-hour trek to Hershey, PA in the family station wagon with pop-up camper in tow. The highlight of that summer vacation was, of course, a visit to Hersheypark. Despite the fact that I cannot recall the details of that trip, except that I was pregnant with Cass and it was oppressively hot in Pennsylvania, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of nostalgia to be retracing those steps with our now-28-year-old son and his family.

(click here for more pics)

Hershey's rating system categorizes rides from  "mild" (children's rides) to "wild" (aggressive thrill rides). While I thought it a bit too chilly for high-speed coasters (particularly after the sun went down), this did not deter Scott, Stevie, and Dan-O from riding Comet, Great Bear, and Fahrenheit.

Fahrenheit was recently featured on TV as one of America's best coasters.

The cold weather, which prompted us girls to buy sweatshirts and layer up, was appropriate to the park's Halloween festivities. We enjoyed all that Hersheypark in the Dark had to offer: themed decorations/lights, rides, face painting, Animal Encounter, seasonal hot drinks, greasy fries, gooey S'mores, and even a little early Trick-or-treating for Jade at Treatville. Our thanks to Stevie for "treating" Dad, Mom, and Dan to park admission.

Stevie, Mio, and Jade flew up to New Hampshire on Monday morning for a couple weeks of face time with extended family before heading back to D.C. and settling in. They have a lot on their plate with Mio and Jade being separated from her family and getting acclimated to life in America and Stevie working toward his E6 rating, obtaining his security clearance, and beginning his intensive 16 to 18-month ACINT training program. On top of all that, they will be shopping for, decorating, and outfitting their first house.

The rest of our week was pretty routine ...

More next week.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 10/18/08

Since Scott decided to be a slacker on Sunday and work only half the day, we took the opportunity to go up for another bird's eye view of the changing fall colors. They still hadn't peaked in the area surrounding York Airport, but we managed to find a few vibrant pockets interspersed here and there.

The topography in South Central Pennsylvania is an interesting mix of tree-covered hills and farm-laden valleys. Heavy glider/avian traffic made it obvious that the unique ridge and valley landscape had more to offer soaring enthusiasts than mere visual stimulation. A little Internet sleuthing revealed the fact that "ridge lift makes the uplands of Central Pennsylvania a mecca for serious glider pilots from around the world."

We returned to KTHV about an hour later and gave 339A a quick bird bath before heading back to Harrisburg for pizza and a movie. Appaloosa, the flick I wanted to see, wasn't playing anywhere in the area so we settled on Body of Lies. While neither of us could be considered fans of Leonardo DiCrapio, we found the film to be entertaining and well acted.

During my dinner preparations on Monday, I inadvertently answered one of life's big questions. If you try to bake a potato without first piercing the skin, will it really explode?

On Thursday afternoon, I made the 45-minute drive to Scott's job site in Tolna so we could eat dinner together and then head directly to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to pick up Stevie, Mio, and Jade. It was dark and we had not the time nor the inclination to do any sightseeing, but I did get a quick glimpse of the lighted dome of the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument from the west side of the Potomac. Now that Stevie and family will be living in DC, I look forward to lots of opportunity to get a good look around our nation's capitol.

Finally getting a chance to meet our granddaughter for the very first time was an event we won't soon forget. Aside from being just as cute as can be, Jade is quite the precocious little gal. She's the only soon-to-be six year old I know who speaks two languages quite fluently and, according to her mom, likes to watch the cooking and shopping channels. Babaa and Jijii (Japanese for grandma and grandpa) look forward to doing what all grandparents live for . . . spoiling our grandbaby.

Though their visit was brief, we are thankful for and thoroughly enjoyed the three days Stevie, Mio, and Jade were able to spend with us. It was so nice just to talk, eat, shop, and watch movies together. Details about our Sunday visit to "The Sweetest Place on Earth" in next week's post.
_____________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 10/11/08

Our impromptu family visit at an end, we left New Hampshire en route to York, Pennsylvania. Trip day began much the way our previous two mornings at Vintage Hill had begun -- with an awesome breakfast compliments of VH staff. Thanks to my sister Linda for putting us up and to all who helped make our stay such a pleasant one.

After dropping my mother-in-law's car back at her place (thanks to Elaine for letting us use it) and catching a ride back to the airport with she and Judy (thanks to Judy for playing chauffeur/dinner host), we said our goodbyes and took to the skies over Concord.

Our send-off party: Samantha, Shawn, Elaine, Judy, Shane

Anxious to add more pins to our airport landings map, we made a quick fuel stop at Dillant-Hopkins Airport. The remainder of our flight to York, PA was smooth and pleasant. We spotted more traffic during this short  2.4-hour flight than we have in all others combined -- understandably so because it was an absolutely gorgeous day to be flying.

Expansive Pennsylvanian farmlands make for lots of visual interest from the air.

Upon landing at York Airport, we firmed up hangar and car arrangements and enjoyed a tasty sandwich at Orville's, KTHV's on-field restaurant, before heading to Harrisburg where the majority of our extended stay in south  central PA will be spent.

The remainder of our week was pretty typical for this type of trip: Scott and company working long days on the job and me doing (or not doing) whatever tickles my fancy. 

We got a call from Stevie on Tuesday morning and were excited to hear that he and Mio and Jade will be making a detour to Harrisburg to see us before heading to NH and then to D.C.

More next week!
_____________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb

Week Ending 10/04/08

On Sunday we set out on foot for the Fort Pitt Museum and Block House in Point State Park. A few hours later, I had a better appreciation of the significance that "the gateway to the West" held for the Brits, the French, the Natives, and the Colonists who warred so bitterly over it.

After the museum, we headed to The Waterfront Shopping Mall for dinner and the movie Eagle Eye.

Not much to report for Monday and Tuesday. Scott finished up at the Brunot Island job site and we began making preparations for a short interlude in New Hampshire before heading to Harrisburg for the duration of our stay in Pennsylvania. Weather conditions were iffy when we checked out of our Pittsburgh hotel and headed to Beaver County Airport, but we remained optimistic. By 2:00 that afternoon, the only thing that had become clear was the fact that we wouldn't be flying out of Beaver Falls on Wednesday.

By 10:45 on Thursday morning, we were in the air and on our way to the Granite State. Sporadic IFR conditions along our planned flight path dictated that Scott do some weather skirting. While I have certainly witnessed his skillful evasive maneuvering at low altitudes, conditions on this particular day were a bit out of my comfort zone. Aside from that and the BuMpY ride, the three-hour flight was actually uniquely interesting and quite beautiful.

The combination of rain and sun made for lots of rainbows.

The autumn colors, while not at their peak, were nonetheless B-E-A-utiful!

My sister-in-law Judy picked us up from the Concord Municipal Airport and drove us and Scott's mom, Elaine, to her home in Penacook for a visit and a delicious stuffed cabbage dinner, complete with baked potatoes grown in their backyard garden. After dinner and a quick visit with Scott's nephew Shawn and great-nephew Shane at Elaine's place, we drove to my sister Linda's in Pittsfield where we watched the much anticipated Palin / Biden debate before turning in for the night.

My assessment of the debate? I felt that one of the VP candidates came across as a typical pompous, manipulative, dishonest, plastic politician and the other as down-to-earth, genuine, patriotic, and quite likable. Guess it's easy to see which side of the political fence I stand on. I have seriously toyed with the idea of making a bumper sticker or teeshirt that says, White Trash for Palin.

After enjoying a family-style breakfast with Linda and her Vintage Hill folks, we picked up Elaine and set out for what proved to be a very long and busy day of visiting friends and family. When we finally returned to the homestead at 9:00 p.m., we found Linda still hard at work finishing up paperwork. It didn't take any of us long to fall asleep to a movie that night.

Saturday morning began with tasty breakfast sandwiches prepared by Vintage Hill staff. As Scott and Linda and I ate and got ready for the day, we received a much-anticipated call from Stevie letting us know that he would be back in the states on October 16 when we will finally get to meet our beautiful granddaughter Jade who turns six on the 29th of this month. Look for details about Stevie's exciting new job with the Office of Naval Intelligence soon-to-be-posted on our Home & Family page.

After breakfast, Scott, Linda, and I headed to Henniker for a very pleasant day of visiting with my other sister Toni, her husband Kyle, and 7-year-old Brian. My niece Angie and two of her children, Kailee and Logan, also dropped by for a short visit.

It was a particularly exciting day for young Brian who got to ride in 339A.

When the boys returned from the airport, Toni and Kyle prepared a delicious dinner of barbecued ribs. After our pig out, we retired to the living room for a movie and dessert. What a great day of R & R!

While our stay in NH was brief, we packed a lot into it and had a great time!
_____________________________________________________________
Posted by Deb