Last Week in WashPA

While our last full week in WashPA was very busy, it was busy with fun things and friends.  I did have my last doctor's appointment to have the stitches removed and got a positive report that the squamous spot I had removed was all good.  A sure sign that I'm getting old is that I already have two doctor visits scheduled for August 2016.  Nothing serious, just being proactive. 

Every year we say we are going to put more miles on our bikes.  While we have not done that many miles this year, we are far ahead of the last few years.  We prefer to ride trails over riding on the roads so this week we loaded the bikes and went to the a nearby portion of the Greater Allegheny Passage (GAP) trail.  We did a 26 mile round trip on a part of the trail we have not used.  We still have a bike trip from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC via the trail on our bucket list. 

Along the trail we saw this "beautiful" red waterfall.  It is an example of what happens when we let corporations take resources out of the ground while having no long term plan to deal with the consequences of there work.  We grew up in an old mining town where all the creeks were this color and the mine acid killed everything.  I guess this background is what has shaped our views about our political and economic system. 

And this is where all that red, polluted water flows, into the Youghiogheny, to the Monongahela, to the Ohio and on to the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico.  So we are sharing it with much of the country.

On Wednesday we went to one last lunch bunch gathering with the retired teachers.  Seeing old friends is something we always look forward to when we come back to WashPA.

It seems as if every road we have used during our two month stay is under construction.  These two signs sum up what we have been dealing with this summer.  The closest one says "END ROAD WORK" and the next one says "ROAD WORK 1 MILE".  That is the bad news.  Hopefully the good news will be much needed better roads.

Mike needed to go to Pymatuning to get his boat ready to take out of the water so we did a day trip and a bit of fishing.  It was a beautiful late September sunny day with very few boats on the water.  We even caught a couple of nice catfish.

Here is Capt'n Catfish with his fish.  As you can see he is still wearing a boot on his broken leg, but he is getting around without a wheelchair and just using a walker.  Hopefully, even that will be gone soon as he is going to physical therapy three days a week.  It is always a fun time when I get to go fishing at "The Tune".  Thanks Mike.

On Friday we went the Carnegie with Tom and Georgie to see an exhibit of work by Edward Hopper.  We also went to the Harp and Fiddle Irish Pub for a bit of music and a bite to eat.

The Hopper exhibit included a few of his paintings and many etchings.  While it was great seeing them we were disappointed that there were so few.

Nanc at the entrance of the museum.  While the Hopper exhibit was not as big as we expected we also enjoyed seeing the permanent works at this wonderful museum.

Running the Great Race is always one of Nanc's goals when we are here.  She has run it several times over the years even when we were living in a stix and brix.   She has been running a lot more this summer so was anxious to see how she would do,  She was very happy with her results running the 6.2 miles in 57:22 (well under an hour) and coming in 10th out of 71 women in her age group.

CONGRATULATIONS ON A GREAT JOB!!!!

 

Georgie and Tom were there to support the happy runner.  This was the first time in quite a while that Tom did not run.  I'm sure he will be back next year.  Check out that running shirt, it must have been that bottle of wine waiting at the finish line that made her run so fast.

We will be leaving here on Thursday and slowly heading south.  Our first stop is only seven miles away to get four new tires on Opus.  We were due to get tires this fall but need to do it now because one of the rear tires is loosing air.  After we get tires we plan to go to Washington, DC for a few days, but as I write a storm is heading up the coast so who knows what we will be doing.  After DC we are going to the Outer Banks (weather permitting) for a few weeks,  Then we will be going to Florida for the winter.  As always, and with the weather forecast, these plans are written in the sand and may be washed away.