Back in WashPA

I'm way behind with the blog even though we have done a lot since the last post and  I have been lazy about posting. A big part of that is, we are no longer traveling so we aren't doing many new things. Another reason for not traveling is that the rising Covid numbers have made us more cautious. We had one scare when we had dinner with someone who got Covid who ended up in the hospital for six days. Because of that, we were tested twice and were very happy we tested negative both times. The person who had Covid is out of the hospital and on the road to recovery. We are slowly heading back to Stuart and as I write we have had a stop in Washington, DC and are now on the Outer Banks in Buxton, NC.

We arrived in WashPA on Sunday July 25 expecting to move into a furnished apartment for eight weeks. When we opened the door, this is what we found, a totally empty apartment without even a roll of toilet paper. So the first two nights we stayed at the Hampton Inn complements of the rental company.

On Tuesday three men and a truck showed up with everything we needed for our stay. Everything including wine glasses and a corkscrew, both of which made Nancy very happy. 

The furnished apartment at the Residences @ the Street.

It proved to be an excellent location with several restaurants within walking distance, including a Primanti's. There was also a brewery and winery.  

We checked out J and D Winery where I drank wine since they did not offer beer....

...and Whitehorse Brewery where Nanc drank beer since they did not offer wine. We liked both places.

On the weekends both had music. Neither has food but you could get takeout and bring it in or get your meal from a food truck the brewery has on Fridays.

Getting together with friends and family is always at the top of our to do list when we are in WashPA. Here is Nanc with Mary Lou, who is now back in PA after living in Florida for several years. She and Jack were the ones that introduced us to Stuart our first year on the road.

Here is Nanc, her cousin Bea and her sister Judy. We had not seen Bea for many, many years so it was great spending the day getting caught up with her at her beautiful home.

Bea's garden. She lives in Pittsburgh, but loves Florida so she has palm trees in her garden. No, palms do not survive the PA winters so she buys new ones every year. We hope to see her some time in Florida.

We always look forward to seeing friends at the weekly teacher's lunch bunch gathering. Unfortunately, we only got to do a couple because of rising Covid numbers and finding restaurants with outdoor seating for large groups. Here are Nanc, Georgie, Lena, Linda, Ann Marie,Charlene, Reg, Pat, Gail, Patty, Joy, Charlie and John. 

I took in a Pirate game with Mike, Brian and Garret. We had great seats in the second row behind third base. That was the good news. The bad news, it was well over 90 degrees, so we moved into the shade. While PNC Park is one of the best in the country, the Pirates are among the worst. On this day they were once again able to claw defeat from the jaws of victory.

The section we sat in was where usher Phil Coyne spent the last few years of his life seating fans. He worked games for the Pirates 82 seasons at three different ballparks so they put up this plaque for his 100th birthday. He was there working the day the plaque went up.

We had dinner with Rick and Denise at LeoGreta. 

In addition to music at the winery and brewery, we attended the First annual Washington Jazz Social Jazz Fest. The evening started with the Dan Baker Group. We have always heard them at Al'n Rubens, but because of Covid the restaurant changed their hours and no longer has music.

The next act was Calvin Stemly, a Chicago transplant who has a degree in Ethnomusicology from Pitt. He is a great traditional jazz and R and B musician.

The feature band was Marbin, a progressive jazz and rock band. Their music was a mix of jazz with heavy metal. It was a great evening and we hope the first of many Washington Jazz Fests.

We always look forward to euchre with our old card club. Here and Nanc, Mary Lou (smiling because she won), Mike and Tim.

At table one is Sherri, Jim, Di and Georgie. Playing cards with this group is near the top of the list of what we miss about living in WashPA.

On Thursdays when we are in WashPA Mike and I get together and usually go fishing at Cross Creek Park. The deck we fish from is normally three or four feet above the water, but after two days of heavy rain it was hitting the bottom. We did catch some fish that day after we realized they were hiding under the deck. 

While Mike and I fish the ladies shop. Here are Sherri, Georgie and Di at one of their favorite stops, Neubauers in Uniontown.

Ed and Donna had a gathering at their place with a few former co-workers. Here are Karen, Donna, Ed, Linda, Georgie, Cliff, Nanc and Chuck. It was a fun get together with old friends.

Nanc's sister Judy at her new house. She moved back to Wellsburg, WV after her daughter Betsy and her family moved to Hawaii from Marietta, OH. Her house, near her sons Rick and Scott, is a very neat 1950's home that she is remodeling with decor from that era. It is a work in progress and we are looking forward to seeing it on our next trip north.

Here are Nanc, Suzann and Judy at Suzann's new she shed. It was her aunt's home that she and her sister Patty and remodeling. Turns out that once the leaves fall, Judy and Suzann will be able to see each other from their new homes. 

While we had a great time in WashPA, will did not get to do everything we had planned because of the increasing Covid numbers. We did go out to dinner with many friends and family but did not patronize places that did not follow Covid safety protocols fearing they were still super spreader sites. One thing we did do was spend a day in Pittsburgh. We did so many things that day it will have to be another post. 

As I said we are now in the Outer Banks. When we leave here we are heading to Myrtle Beach for a few days and then back to Stuart. We still plan to go to Punta Cana for a week to celebrate our anniversary at the end of October. So it looks like I will have a few more things I can blog about. 

Stay safe and healthy and

GET THE DAMN SHOT!!!!!