Current Plans and Activity Log

Current Plans and Activity Log

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PRESENT and FUTURE

Travel Plans and Blog

Sunday, June 6, 2010 - After all my good news this week (MRI was clear and genetic tests came back negative) I talked John into taking his bike ride to Pittsburgh. He has been training hard for this and needs to do something for himself! I am in a good place and will need him more after my surgery, June 22.

Here he is loaded with 70 pounds of gear and heading out. He plans on making it to Harper's Ferry tonight. I will continue to post updates as he makes his way north.

Loaded up and ready to ride!

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May 22, 2010 - Every 3 minutes someone is diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Yesterday, I became a statistic. I have Breast Cancer! Did I think this cold happen to me - NO - am I scared - a little. But... it is small and treatable. I have not walked thousands of miles to help fight this disease to let it take my life. I will meet with several doctors next week and map out a plan of attack, and that is how I will approach this. ATTACK! All of you that know me know that I am a fighter and I will fight this with all I have. Stay tuned...

Feb 24, 2010 - Sue and John are on their way to Seven Springs for 3 fun filled days of skiing. Nicole and Steve are going to meet them on Friday for a day of skiing, Unfortunately Nicole could not get off to go for the entire time. Hopefully they will all come home without any broken bones.

Sue and John on their way to Seven Springs

February 6, 2010 - We made it home just in time for the big snow storm. Just had to post this picture of snow removal inside the park. Good thing Cherry Hill has a front loader :-)

The Blizzard of 2010

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February 4, 2010 - Today we begin our journey home :(. Bad weather throughout the US has caused us to end our journey early. We will leave Charlotte, NC late this morning heading back to Cherry Hill Park.

Last night we had another GREAT visit with our wonderful friend Julie. She got to see our house, meet our kitty Mitts, and now wants to join us on a trip! Very exciting!

We will leave Charlotte late this morning, after John gets back from the gym (of course), and get to just south of DC tonight. We will wait until after the morning rush tomorrow to head into Cherry Hill.

Susan is actually looking forward to seeing the big snowfall! Yuma, AZ sounds better to John!

January 26, 2010 - The Alaska Rally was a blast! Spike and Lindy are such wonderful people and it was great to catch up with old friends and make new ones. We got to meet Roger's (tailgunner) lady friend, Teresa, and she is great.

Went down to Ft. Myers after the rally and had a fabulous dinner with Bob and Hope who we went to Alaska with but they could not make the rally. A very fun night! We learned how to play Mexican Train Dominoes :-) and had a most delicious dinner.

Today we are heading back north... :-(((( We will be spending a week in Myrtle Beach but not sure what we will be doing before or after... that is half the fun of this kind of travel.

January 20, 2010 - Sorry for the delay in posting. We have been "on the road" for too many days recently! We got to San Antonio, TX and Susan worked hard for two days at the RV show, while John went for long bike rides and worked out! We did get to stroll the Riverwalk, exploring many Cafe's and shops along the way and had a great party last night at the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum (sponsored by the RV show).

Today and tomorrow we are on the road heading to Tampa for the Alaska Rally then have some work done on the RV at Lazy Days RV Supercenter. After that - who knows - back to winging it!

January 11, 2010 - hanging out at Palm Creek RV and Golf Resort for a few days while Susan's bike is in the shop. So far no news. Either way we have to pick it up tomorrow afternoon and head to San Antonio, TX so Susan can work for a few days. Tonight we are having dinner with Gloria and Richard, who live here at Palm Creek.

Yesterday we had a wonderful visit from Barbra from Cherry Hill Park. Her son lives north of Phoenix so she comes this way in the winter to visit. It was so great of her to drive down here for a fun day.

January 7, 2010 –We drove over the Hoover Dam where the motorhome was searched for explosives. It is a sad world. :( We thought about staying in Las Vegas but we have been enjoying the slower pace of secluded areas so opted out of that plan. John looked into going skiing in Utah or Colorado but cold made him change his mind – WHIMP!

We are in Quartzsite again. It is quite a bit more crowded because of the Quartzsite festival that starts in week. We had had planned on staying a couple days but Susan’s electric bike is broken and we need to get it fixed (she really wants to ride!). However, before we do that, it is back to Los Algodones, Mexico for more inexpensive prescription drugs. It is sad that it is less expensive than our health plan but there you have it…

John managed to get another 50-mile bike ride in over some hilly terrain. He said the flat terrain was not working his legs enough – he is a sick man!. Susan relaxed, did some work for Cherry Hill Park and went grocery shopping.

January 4, 2010 – We left Palm Creek Resort on January 1. We drove to Yuma, AZ, parked our rig, and spent the morning in Los Algodones, Mexico. We then drove to Quartzsite, AZ and spent two days dry camping on BLM property. We have never seen so many RVs in one place; they are everywhere you look. I cannot imagine this place during the festival. John went for a 40-mile bike ride and Susan went for a 2-mile walk. After that, we walked into town (around seven miles round trip - glad we got Celebrex in Mexico). This place is a “trip”!

We left for Meadview, AZ on January 3 and we are now at Meadview RV Park, an $18 a day RV park that is between the Lake Mead Recreation Area and the west rim of the Grand Canyon. The park has full hook up, Wi-Fi and a spectacular view. We are going to the skywalk today.

Skywalk - jump for joy

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Skywalk - jump for joy

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December 31, 2009 - HAPPY NEW YEAR! Last night we had a nice visit with Richard and Gloria, whom we met back in 2005 at Cherry Hill Park. Today John went for a 50 mile bike ride then we went for a 3.5 mile walk around this beautiful park. Tomorrow we head to Yuma, AZ then over the border for some Mexican fun!!

December 29, 2009 - Checked into Desert Palm Golf and RV Resort this morning and decided it would be a nice place to celebrate the New Year so we are staying until January 1, 2010. They offer many activities including stained glass, pottery, silversmith,sewing, etc. as well as golf, softball, pickle ball, and very nice pool tables. The weather forecast for the next few days is bright and sunny with highs in the upper 60's...nice biking and hiking weather!

December 28, 2009 - Leaving El Paso. Heading for Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort in Casa Grande, AZ. How far south do we have to go to get warm weather? We are a stone's throw from the Mexican border and they are calling for 3 inches of snow tonight!!!!!

Update: We just crossed into Arizona as we are running from the snow! Problem with coach fixed. Baltimore Cummins "missed" one of our fuel filters/H2O separators during our many visits to them for service! Susan really was NOT happy about that. They will hear about it during our next visit (when we get back) Sun is shining in AZ :-) as I am writing this...

Filter Cummins missed - see why Susan is upset!

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December 27, 2009 – Cummins is not open on Sundays so we found an inexpensive RV park and settled in for the day. John found a 24-hour gym, did a workout in the Sunday morning and did another one Monday morning before we went to Cummins. Since we had some time to kill, we unhooked our car an tooled around Juarez, Mexico.

December 26, 2009 - Laredo to El Paso TX. Again, we did not take any Interstates. We saw a lot of wildlife; deer, antelope, fox, bobcat, warthogs and camels (ok, the camels were fenced in.)

We got on 90W, no service for 72 miles. About 30 miles in, our coach started to lose power and began lurching. We decided to continue on to Sierra Blanca. There were no qualified services available in Sierra Blanca that could work on our engine. We were hoping it was just bad fuel so we filled up and added some additives to the diesel mixture. We saw that there was a Cummins engine facility in El Paso so were headed out. It was a rough 100 miles. :(

December 25, 2009 – Merry Christmas! Our Christmas gift to us is to be driving down the road from Livingston, TX to Laredo, TX avoiding all Interstates and enjoying each other’s company.

December 23, 2009 - This morning we head out to Livingston, TX for a couple of days. As we leave New Orleans I reflect on how far they have come since Katrina. We were here 2 years ago and revisited the Lower 9th Ward and St. Bernards Parrish. There has been much recovery but there is such a long way to go...

Our Car in College Park - New Orleans is better!

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French Quarter RV Resort

December 22, 2009 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN - Our stay in New Orleans has been GREAT! Lots of walking and people watching. A couple of Hurricane's and going out to a birthday dinner tonight to Coop's Place in the Quarter. We both like Jambalaya they are supposed to have the best.

I bet you are wondering who Chip (the cute little Chipmunk) is. Well... Gene's mom, Mara, sent Susan this little furry guy who sings (in chipmunk voice) "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" so we decided to take pictures of him along the way and send them to Gene and Mara. He is becoming quite the celebrity as he sings and poses for pictures in various places. Just something fun to do... Check back often for the future adventures of Chip!

On the road to New Orleans

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55 years old today - FQ RV Resort - Hot Tub

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Susan enjoying the FQRV resort

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Susan and Chip on the Mississippi

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December 19, 2009 - While everyone in DC has their toes stuck in 2 feet of snow, we spent the day with our toes stuck in the sand of the gulf of Mexico. Destin, Florida has some of the most beautiful white sand beaches in the world. We also played tourist visiting the Eglin Air Force Base Armament Museum and exploring the area. Tomorrow we are off to New Orleans for 3 days.

Susan's toes in the sands of Destin Beach, FL

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December 18, 2009 - It's pouring rain and it's just not fun to drive in this! John's going to a gym. Susan's working to do a little paperwork for Cherry Hill Park. We are going to watch some movies. This worked out great. We just called French Quarter RV resort and they had cancellations on Sunday and Monday so we are heading to New Orleans, French Quarter RV Resort, on Sunday.

December 17, 2009 - Enjoying a few days at our property in DeFuniak Springs, FL visiting with family and friends. We had planned to go to New Orleans but the French Quarter RV Resort was full, so, tomorrow we hit the road again to continue on to the Grand Canyon.

Susan and her nephew, Dakota

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December 13 - Just north of Richmond, VA - Rolled out this morning to Willie Nelson singing "On the Road Again" (Stephanie and Roger will understand) heading down 95 in the pouring rain but who cares... we are on the road!

Just had a GREAT dinner with Julie Adams in Charlotte, NC (thanks again, Julie) It is so good to visit with friends you have not seen in a while. Now for a good nights sleep!

Julie, Charlie and John

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December 13, 2009 - Susan is done workampering until March 2010. John is done with work, at least for a while, so we are hitting the road again. We started to make big plans but decided to play it mostly by hear. The freedom of the road, spontaneity and the vagabond life style is just too irresistible. We were going to head north to visit friends but mother nature changed our minds... we are heading south. We called our friend, Julie, in Charlotte, NC and that will be our first stop.

2.5 month road trip - Penquin happy ... Mitts not!

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November 2, 2009 - Hello from Delaware! We are visiting our friend Gene for a few days then off to Assateague National Park for 3 days of biking and hiking then back to DE for the World Championship PumkinChunkin Festival. Gene is on one of the top teams so it is lots of fun! For more info visit their site Pumkin Chunkin. Some of the chunkin methods are amaizing! This is also a charity event as they donate lots of money to the surrounding communities in the form of scholarships. The festival is Nov. 6, 7, 8 so stay tuned for pictures...

October 26. 2009 IT IS OFFICIAL - John has retired from Kastle. After almost 30 years it is time for a new chapter in his life. His last day will be December 4, 2009! Since I have time off in the winter we will hit the road mid December for 3 glorious months on the road. So far we are planning on going to TX (I will be working for 3 days) then to AZ so I can see the Grand Canyon and to FL to check on our property and attend a rally with Alaska Discovery RV Tours (we went to AK with them). We plan of lots of visits with friends along the way :-)

Kiss in Ohiopyle State Park

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September 30, 2009 - HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to us! 15 wonderful years of marriage. 23 years together. Life is great when you are married to your best friend.:-)

We are in Washington, PA visiting with our friends Nicole and Steve. Their 1 year anniversary was Sunday !

Spent yesterday hiking in the Ohiopyle Sate Park. Well maintained and beautiful trails. The Youghiogheny River is pretty with many waterfalls and several whitewater rafters in the water. Susan thinks it is a bit cold for that!

Today we will be having dinner with Nicole and Steve at The Burgh.

On Friday Susan and Nicole are going apple picking then on Saturday we will attend a big apple festival! Yummy...

August 29, 2009

Can't believe it has bee a month since I have posted. I have been lost in Facebook world! Such fun to catch up with friends :-) I even connected with an old friend from high school!

We have been getting away to the beach as often as possible but the Cafe has been very busy. Susan volunteered with the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to cater a VIP reception so she was very busy with that this past week.

Hopefully we will get to the Fireman's Raffle in Butler, PA Sept. 11, 12, 13. Nicole and Steve may attend and we are waiting to hear if Sandy and Duayne are going to make it this year.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - Lanham, MD

Barb and Susan - We got to tour the house after the reception!

July 12, 2009

OK OK... so I am not good at posting all the time. The summer is really busy here at the park! The Cafe is going strong and taking up many hours.

Our Alaskan musher friend, Hugh Neff, came to visit in May and we had a blast. Susan went with him on two of his school presentations and it was great fun to see the joy and wonder on the kids faces when they met Wild Bill, the dog Hugh brought with him. It was also sad to see the difference between an inner city Baltimore school and a Bethesda school. WOW. We went from peeling paint to closed circuit TV in each room. Somehow that doesn't seem fair to thek ids.

Not much else happening this summer. We are going to head to the beach next weekend. Our friend Gene will not be there but we will still stay in his driveway. He was kind enough to install a 50 amp plug for us to use anytime. What a good friend!

Susan just set up her very own Facebook page and is having fun reconnecting with old friends. She just sent a note to Patty Hypes, an old high school friend and his hoping for a reply soon. Cyber space is really cool!

We will try to write more often...

April 21, 2009

We got back from Florida and hit the ground running. Why is there so much to do when you get back from vacation? Both of us have not stopped yet. The Cafe has been really busy with all the spring break family and the rush for the Cherry Blossoms. John is really trying to keep his hours at 9 per day but we all know how well that works. :-(

We were supposed to go away this weekend but Susan has a huge catering event Sunday so we have to stay home. John is not happy but there is always next weekend! the weather will be nice Saturday so we will be able to get in a good bike ride.

The troubles for Susan's feet continue to grow. She now has tendonitis (sp) in both feet and the Dr. will not give her the injections to ease the pain because she won't stay off of them. She is trying something new - taking one day off each week and staying completely off her feet. We will see how that works. Keep your fingers crossed. We don't kjnow what else to do.

The musher, Hugh Neff, that we met in Alaska will be in the DC area May 16 for school presentations and may be staying with us. How fun will that be?

Stay tuned...

April 1, 2009 -Here we sit at the Hampton Inn in Tampa, FL waiting for our new floors to be installed. We should be out of here on Friday and back to Cherry Hill Park on Sunday.

WOW -what a trip it has been! The FMCA Rally was good and we got a new satellite dish installed. We now have Direct TV HiDef instead of Dish Network. It rained a lot but it did not dampen our fun.

The Keys were lots of fun. Vanessa did a great job as our Activities Director. We went to a fun Drag Show and on a wonderful Sunset Sail. John spent his days biking and we spent our evenings walking Duval Street. So may bars... so little time. Many of the bars had great musical talent so we enjoyed listening to some good bands. After the hustle and bustle of the Keys we moved on to the quiet of the Everglades. We stayed in a nice park about half way across Tamiami Trail and spent our days looking for Gators and birds. We found lots and lots of both.

Here are a few pictures...

A collage of our new floors being installed

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Gators

Us on a Sunset Sail

Sunset Sail in Key West

PAST Travels and Blogs

February 7, 2009 - Well... the surgery is over and Susan is healing nicely. She is not really convinced her foot will ever feel right again but the doctor assures her it will. The stitches came out 3 days ago and she can begin walking on it in 3 more days. The staying home has been the hardest part for her. Fortunately the Cafe is closed for the month of February so she can rest and follow doctors orders.

On March 14 we are heading south for a few weeks. We will be attending the FMCA (RV) convention in Perry, GA for 3 days then on to Key West for a week of rest and relaxation. John plans on playing golf and we both want to hike and bike all over ths island. Of course there will be some drinking an dining thrown in as well. Vanessa and a whole group of friends will be there so it should be a fun time.

On the way home we are going to stop at Lazy Days and get the floor in the RV replaced. We currently have carpeting and it is showing it age. We want something that is easy to keep clean and does not show dirt. Does that exist?

January 5, 2009 - HAPPY NEW YEAR - We spent New Year's in MD enjoying a quiet evening alone. Not much planned, as far as travel, in January. A few trips to visit with Gene is about it. Since he put the 50 amp plug in his driveway we try to get there as often as possible.

On January 23, 2009 Susan will be having surgery on her right foot. Most of you know her background with the Avon Breast Cancer walks and the many problems she has had with her feet. Well... she plans to walk in another one this year but must have a bone spur removed from her right foot before she can begin training. The recovery will be NO WALKING at all for 7-10 days (yeah right) then limited walking for a month or so then - - look out! She will be ready to start training again. John has already volunteered to help her train.

November 10, 2008 - Still not much happening in the Hawley house. We did get away for a nice weekend at the Urbanna Oyster Festival in Urbanna, VA. Sue joined us for a fun filled day of=n Friday and a rest filled day on Saturday.

No plans until February when we head south for the Alaskan RV Rally then on to Key West and Disney World!

September 5, 2008 - WOW - It has been a while since we have written. We really have not been doing much this summer. A few trips to the beach to visit Gene but nothing too exciting. John is riding his bike as much as possible and Susan is busy with the Cafe.

Now that fall is here we will be hitting the road several times.

First we will be going to the Hershey RV show in Hershey, PA September 10 - 14. This is marketed as the biggest RV show in the country so we are looking forward to it. We are hoping to meet our friends Sandy and Duayne in Butler, PA for the Fireman's Raffle afterwards.

After that it is back to PA September 24 - 28 for the wedding of our dear friend Nicole. She will be marrying her long time boyfriend Steve and we could not be happier for them.

2008-05-17 to 2008-05-18 College Park, MD - Backup Oncall Cherry Hill Park

2008-05-18 Culpeper, VA - Celebration of Life, Love and Family. Dave and Karen adopted a sweet little bundle of joy, Cesilia.

Cesi is adorable. She really seemed to like all the attention. You could tell by the look on Dave and Karen's face that they are totally in love with Cesi. What a beautiful family.

2008-05-05 to 2008-05-11 College Park, MD Oncall - Cherry Hill Park

2008-04-25 to 2008-04-27 Hiking and camping on the Appalachian Trail in PA.(weather permitting)
Well, the weather was fine but as we were getting ready for our trip, we discovered that a robin built a nest on our radiator and laid three eggs since the Pork in th Park. Susan could not bare to kill the birds so we just stayed where we were, Cherry Hill Campground. Honestly, it would have been hard for John to kill the unborn baby birds too. Mommy robin is currently sitting on her nest.

2008-04-18 to 2008-04-20 Salisbury, Maryland, MD - Pork in the Park
The Fifth Annual Pork in the Park Bar-b-que Festival will be held at Winterplace Park on April 18-20, 2008! Great food, drink, crafts, live blues music, carnival rides and more - and - enjoy one of the nation&'s top ten bar-b-que festivals sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society.

February 2008

Not much in the way of plans. We were on the road so much the last couple of months that we are looking forward to relaxing for a while. We are also going to look into having the carpet replaced, a new microwave, etc. Just domestic stuff.

2008-02-07 to 2008-02-24 FL
  2008-02-08 to 2008-02-11 ALASKAN DISCOVERY RV TOURS Rally in Seffner, FL at Lazydays

We had a GREAT time at the Rally. Caught up with Bob and Hope. Sally and Jim, and were surprised when Judy and Klondike Mike showed up. They were in the area waiting for their first grandchild to be born. It was so good to visit with everyone.   F Our first afternoon was spent visiting and schmoozing. There was a "block party" in the middle of our section where everyone caught up with friends. At 5:30 pm Spike & Lindy's Pizza Night was a great success.

  Saturday the 9th our friends went to a 10 am class on "Stretching for RV'ers" and at 11 am a class on "Healthy RV'ing ". 2 pm block party again....then at 5:30 head over to the rally room for a catered BBQ/RIB dinner. More visiting with songs, awards, maybe a bunch of give-aways and a raffle. Most important is our time together reliving those Alaskan memories, making new friends and seeing all the new Alaskan photos in our continuous slide show. We spent the day looking at some really beautiful coaches. While many of them were pretty, none of them had the storage that ours has. We decided to keep ours!

2008-02-15 Clermont, FL

After the rally we were planning on heading to Disney World! John has never been and Susan has not been for over 30 years. (Damn, we are getting old) There is a Thousand Trails nearby so we will be staying there. Unfortunately, mother nature had other ideas. The forecast was for rain, wind, and possible tornadoes for two full days. That would have left us with only 1 1/2 days for Disney World. We decided that was not enough time and headed home on Wednesday, Feb 13, 2008. We plan on attending the AK Rally next year so we will try again for Disney then.

January 12, 2008

We surprised Auggie by showing up at his 50th birthday party. His lovely wife Diane sent us the invitation months ago but we were not sure we could make until Susan decided to go to the Stag (RV stuff) show with the RV Store Manager at Cherry Hill Park. Heck, Texas is not that much further than New Orleans, right?

Auggie was very surprised and we had a good time catching up. Buzz also made the trip and everyone had a blast.

December 28, 2008

We are so proud to announce the engagement of our dear friend Nicole Clarke. Nicole called Susan last week and you could hear the screams and giggles throughout the park! Nicole moved to Pennsylvania to live with her long time boyfriend Steve about a year ago. They have been busy working on the house and raising their new baby, golden retriever, Madison. Now they will be busy planning their September 27, 2008 wedding. Of course we will be there!

2007-12-24 to 2007-12-30 College Park, MD - Backup Oncall Cherry Hill Park

Since John was on call we stayed in MD for Christmas. Our friends Arlene and Marjorie invited us to have dinner with them. WOW! They went all out with turkey, ham, turnips, squash, and all the regular sides. Arlene out did herself by baking incredible apple and pumpkin pies. We ate and laughed and enjoyed a good time with good friends.

2007-12-17 to 2007-12-23 College Park, MD Oncall - Cherry Hill Park

Not much going on - we are hanging close to home. Susan continues to work at the Cafe Mon - Fri and John is using Metro to get to work as traffic continues to be a nightmare. He is looking forward to spring so he can get back on his bike! Susan attended the annual TU dinner, this year held at the home of Vanessa Kinsley. Wendy, Leslie, Nancy, and Gail were in attendance. We all figured out that we have been getting together for over 20 years and plan on continuing this tradition for 20 more years! Susan feels truly blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends.

2007-11-19 to 2007-11-25 College Park, MD - Backup Oncall Cherry Hill Park

November 16, 2007

We have been hoping not to have to write this but after nearly two weeks it is unlikely that Neon will return. She left the coach on Saturday, November 3, 2007 and has not returned. We have looked all over the campground but there is no sign of her. She never really liked to be inside. She has her claws and was a barn cat before we rescued her so she has the survival skills needed to live on her own.

2007-11-01 to 2007-11-04 Gloucester, VA - Thousand Tails TT Chesapeake Bay
Urbanna Oyster (raw, roasted, fried, smoked, steamed, in fritters or in a stew) Festival and Scheduled events

Oyster Trivia

Oysters have always been linked with love. When Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, sprang forth from the sea on an oyster shell and promptly gave birth to Eros, the word "aphrodisiac" was born. The dashing lover Casanova also used to start a meal eating 12 dozen oysters.
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An oyster produces a pearl when foreign material becomes trapped inside the shell. The oyster responds to the irritation by producing nacre, a combination of calcium and protein. The nacre coats the foreign material and over time produces a pearl.
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Folklore says that oysters should be eaten only in months with "R's" in them -- September, October, November, December, etc. The notion that oysters should not be eaten in "R"-less months -- that is, months that occur during warm weather -- may have started in the days when oysters where shipped without adequate refrigeration and could spoil.
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Oysters are not only delicious, but they're also one of the most nutritionally well balanced of foods, containing protein, carbohydrates and lipids.
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Four or five medium size oysters supply the recommended daily allowance of iron, copper, iodine, magnesium, calcium, zinc, manganese and phosphorus.
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Oysters help boost your mental energy and are mood elevators - they really are a "brain food".
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It is believed that Chesapeake Bay oysters have been gathered by humans for over 6,000 years.
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Chesapeake Bay oyster production in the late 19th century was over 111 million pounds; in 1980 it was 22 million pounds; in 1990 it was less than 4 million pounds.
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The world's only oyster museum is on Chincoteague Island , Virginia.

2007-10-15 to 2007-10-21 College Park, MD - Backup Oncall Cherry Hill Park

2007-10-08 to 2007-10-14 College Park, MD Oncall - Cherry Hill Park
Saturday or Sunday, the full-timers at Cherry Hill Park are having a picnic... in October???

2007-10-05 to 2007-10-07 Milton/Rehoboth, DE Visit Gene if he is in town. If not, it is an October beach weekend! CANCELED. These plans had to be canceled too. The shop two day estimate for the repairs(Details and Pictures) took eleven days. Eleven days of living in a service bay next to a railroad track made us just want to get back to Cherry Hill Park in MD and relax before John's two weeks of being on call.

2007-09-28 to 2007-09-30 Massannutten, VA - Cancelled because motorhome broken. :(
Visit Aug, Dianne and Angelina. Buzz, Leslie and family are considering a visit so a gathering of the clans is an exciting prospect.

2007-09-22 to 2007-09-24 College Park Collision Center - Getting our rear cap on our motorhome replaced. Details and Pictures
So much for the two day estimate to put the cap on. It is now Sunday, 09-30 and we are still in service bay but we should be out of here by Tuesday, 10-02.
To complicate things, while in St.Clair, our parking brake failed to hold on a tiny incline so used chocks. While driving here, our brakes were barely stopping the coach. We managed to make it to College Park Collision Center but when we are done here, we will be getting our brakes fixed somewhere.:(

2007-09-19 to 2007-09-21 - Thousand Trails St. Clair, MI
Our trip to Round Hill, VA to visit Tom & Marlene at their farm... more like a ranch... was changed because Tom's planned changed. We will have to make it another time. :(

2007-09-15 to 2007-09-19 Holland, MI Oak Grove Resort Campground - Visit Chip, Lisa and Phillip in their new home!
  John just spent time with his friend and had a great time. They worked out, went to the movies and conversed about nothing... just like the old days but without the booze!
  Susan worked on the coach. We both got a nice bike ride in, we did it separately on different days.
  The last night we were there, we went out to dinner... it was a great visit.

2007-09-08 to 2007-09-14 Goshen, IN Escapees RV Club Presents Escapade - We had a great time. John biked 41 miles on Tuesday, 60 miles on Thursday and danced for 3 hours at the Sock-Hop Thursday night. He sweat, he was happy.
We learned about RVing in Mexico, our next extended excursion. We are considering driving to Panama City, Panama but we can not take the cats. :(
We bought a couple cool RV product and met a lot of great people.

2007-09-05

We have not written much lately because we have not done much lately :-) Only one BIG item to talk about... Susan bought an electric bike. With her Osteo Arthritis advancing it became apparent that she could no longer make the 20+ mile bike rides with John on her old bike. One of our neighbors in Cherry Hill has an electric bike and told Susan all about them. WOW! What a difference a little pedal assist makes!!

She bought a Giant (name brand) electric bike. There are three modes of operation. 1) pedal assist - when you pedal the motor in the front wheel gives you a little push. This is what she uses most of the time. 2) pedal assist with throttle - you can throttle up and get more power when you need it. This is used on short hills or for rapid burst of speed. 3) direct drive or cruise - this is where the bike can do all the work, you just sit back and enjoy. Susan only uses this when she needs a lot of help coming up Cherry Hill Road. You can still pedal along with the direct drive. The battery lasts for 40+ miles and it has been great to head out for a ride without having to plan a course that does not have hills. Now Susan says - Bring on those darn hills !!

2007-07-27 to 2007-07-27 Hershey PA - Thousand Trails Hershey Battle of the Sexes - - - Bring it on! Join the Recreation staff for a friendly competition between Males & Females. Relay races, trivia, tourneys, and surprise games the whole family can participate in. Dance the night away with the Dessert Wind Band on Saturday. The Family Circle singing group will be here on Sunday.

2007-08-06 to 2007-08-12 College Park, MD - Backup Oncall Cherry Hill Park

2007-07-30 to 2007-08-05 College Park, MD Oncall - Cherry Hill Park

2007-07-27 to 2007-07-27 Gloucester, VA - Thousand Trails Chesapeake The Thousand Trails Games - Start an annual rivalry with your friends in this contest pitting family teams against one another. Advisory: Not recommended for the mentally or physically fit. Serious injury may occur to those of sound mind and athletic physiques. At night, celebrate your victories, or simply surviving the Games, at the Dance at Dark.

2007-08-20 to 2007-09-22 Rehoboth Beach, DE - Beach Weekend Repeat! We had just a good time last weekend so....

2006-06-16 to 2006-08-18 Alaska Vacation (click here)