Tobyhanna Army Depot

August 6th Friday - Sunny Beautiful day.

Lou and I were up very early and on the road to Tobyhanna Army Depot at 6:00 am. We had signed up for a day of activities and seminars for retired Armed Forces personnel. The colors were being presented at 9:00 and our goal was to arrive in time for that.

It was a beautiful drive down and we drove for a couple of hours and decided to take a break and have a quick breakfast, who has better coffee than McDonalds? Not only that we really had a good breakfast and had time to chat and enjoy the setting.

The total drive to Tobyhanna was three hours and the scenery was wonderful, as it was a beautiful day and we could see activity every place we looked, from farmers harvesting grain, so some Amish finishing their haying. Beautiful fields of corn and family gardens lush and ready for the harvest.

Upon our arrival to the base, we found huge tents set up with vendors filling the spaces. They had information on everything a retired person could ask for. Even a health clinic was in operation, checking blood sugars, blood pressure, and giving our menus for special diets. If we had been interested in a nursing home, I do believe we could have reserved a bed on the spot.

We did pick up a little information for future use regarding health benefits. The planned program was very short with their choice of speakers and we were soon dismissed to tour the base by bus and a bus ride to the cafeteria for our lunch. During lunch we were able to chat with a couple from the same town we will be camping this weekend, so that was enjoyable for us.

The seminar Lou and I decided to attend was given by a retired officer that was now an attorney. He talked and gave out information for over an hour and he covered every topic one could think of. Explained the new tax law as they will affect retired persons along with inheritance tax changes as of this year and how best to overcome the changes. I took many notes and we both found it all very interesting. Lou and I stayed after the seminar for some questions that we had and he was very gracious to answer any and all questions.

Of course, any time we visit a base, we visit the Commissary and the PX and we again saw most of the people that had been at our seminar. We picked up some things that we always try to get on base and were back on the road for home at 4:00 pm.

We drove into the sun coming down and of course, going home it was the same thing, so we stopped in Williamsport and had a very relaxing and fun time for dinner, and arrived home safely at 9:30 pm.

We had been a bit concerned about Estee, as we left her at home, as she is aging and having difficulty getting around, so we were delighted to walk in the house and find a note from Krista saying that she had been down and had been working on ceramics in our garage and she took Estee out with her and before she went home fixed Estee a special dinner, fed and loved her. It is really nice to have family close by that seem to know what needs to be done and when it should be done.