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After hitting a deer on Good Friday

Our First Rental 2012 Chevy Impala

Our second rental 2012 Chevy Truck

                                                 Matthew enjoying the spring snow

Before the snow arrived

April 24th - 44 degrees - Snow  is melting

We arrived home three weeks ago tomorrow and have been on a treadmill every since we drove in the drive way.  We did have a wonderful trip home and enjoyed the different stages of spring along the way and continued to enjoy it once we arrived home.  Our flowers were just starting to bloom and we have certainly enjoyed their spring burst along with the return of the birds.

We attended church on Friday night after arriving home on Wednesday evening and received sad news from our pastor of failing health on his part.  This is something that is going to require much prayer on everyone's part.  He is currently on a leave of absence in hopes that he can recover and be able to return to his flock in August.  As Lou and I approached the boro limits a deer jumped off of the bank into the front of our car.  Lou did not even have a chance to apply the brakes.  We drove a mile to the Weis parking lot and called Steve and he came to pick us up.

 The next morning, we called a roll back to pick up our car, so eleven days and over $6,000 later we

 receive a call we can pick up the car, so we take our rental car to the body shop to pick up our car.  I take the rental car and come on home.  Lou drives our car and makes a stop at his sister's house and starts home; however, it simply stops in Whitneyville in front of our Pastor's house.  A state policeman eventually comes along and helps Lou get the car into Pastor's driveway and I pick Lou up and once again we call a roll back to pick up the car to take it this time to Cole and Burd for a mechanical repair.  We finally find out it is a problem that is covered by warranty and not from the deer incident, so we have to have a different rental.  Now we have a Chevy truck rental.  Our first rental came from Williamsport and now we have snow and Hertz doesn't have driver to drive in the snow to pick up the rental car, so we have an abundance of cars!!

Lou had an appointment in Bath, NY on Monday and we had four inches of snow so we drove a aChevy Truck with four wheel drive.  Can't say God doesn't take care of you when you need it the worst.  We drove there safely and home safely and today we drove the rental car back to Williamsport, so the girls didn't have to come out in the snow to pick it up.  Now we just have the RV and our car in our drive way.  I am sure our neighbors are thoroughly confused.

I didn't mention that when we arrived home we didn't have any computer either, seems that our modem died again so we waited a week for that problem to be solved.

We also had an electrical problem and that was finally solved by having a new circuit installed on the pole, it seems that somehow was had gotten into the old one that really wasn't that old and shorted everything out.  We also found the water in the barn had frozen and broke a pipe, and we have that all repaired.   Hopefully, all of the bad luck is over and now things will be looking up and forward.

We have cut our grass twice and have planted some of our garden and have the RV cleaned inside,

 and are waiting for a really nice day to do the outside.

Have found that Google has changed the blog posting, so have struggled through this and don't know how this is all going to post, so........

Elizabeth City United Coast Guard Station - North Carolina

Aunt Hettie
Some of the flowers along the way
Arriving in Virginia
Coast Guard Station
The Cars they drive around the base


Fields ready to be planted
Fields of winter wheat
Wistera

April 1st - Elizabeth City, North Carolina - 60 Degrees

Lou and I were up early so we could attend Palm Sunday services on base. Chaplain Jason Rochester brought us a message from Mark 11:1-11 of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, he titled his sermon The Beginning of the End. We also shared The Lord’s Supper and sang a song in closing that I had not sang before. How Deep the Love Father’s Love for Us. Chaplain Rochester had a wonderful voice and lead all of us in the six very meaningful verses. It was a song I would like to sing again.

The service was a very meaningful worship service and everyone was very friendly and warm. We bid everyone goodbye and left the base in search of a place to have breakfast and came upon an Ihop. We enjoyed a delightful breakfast and wonderful hot tasty coffee. As we were finishing our breakfast a young lady came up to our table and told us she didn’t know us, but thought we looked so nice sitting there together sharing love between each other and wished us a good day. We thanked her and she left. A little later her waitress came to our table and told us she had paid for our breakfast. Wasn’t that a nice thing for her to do? Lou and I always sit in a booth and rather that sitting across from each other we sit side by side, so I don’t know if that is what she saw that was different. We do enjoye each others company no matter what we do and we are thankful for each day we have to spent together, perhaps that does show.

We arrived at Aunt Hettie’s personal care home and she remembered that we were coming back on Sunday and she was delighted to see us again, and we asked her if she would like to go for a ride and her eyes shown with delight, so we took her outside to the car, the sunshine was bright, and the spring flowers, dogwood, wisteria and azaleas were all ready to greet her and she just couldn’t get enough of it. You could tell she was a farm girl at heart, she loved seeing the fields that had been prepared for planting and the huge fields of winter wheat that were all headed out.

I love to hear her tell the stories of growing up. She will be 94 in June. This year she told me about her sisters and even her mother dipping snuff. She said there were two different kinds and her mother liked the sweet kind. The paper in the box had a red line on it. She said she never used it and she never smoked. Aunt Hettie said that she got many spankings from arguing with her mother about not wanting to wash the “spit cups” that belonged to her sisters and her mother. She felt if she didn’t use them she shouldn’t have to clean them, but she was the youngest, so she had to do it!!. She said she would have to take them out to the well, prime the pump and scrub them out. She said she hated to do it.

Lou said that Ma Rose even used snuff, and she carried a plastic bag in her apron pocket that she spit into. So guess a lot of the southern ladies acquired the habit.

Aunt Hettie also talked about the kitchens being at the rear of the house and they were separate from the house, so they wouldn’t heat up the house and the houses were built up off the ground so the air could circulate under them to keep the cooler.

Was a lovely day and it passed so quickly, wish we lived closer so we could share more memories with this delightful lady.

Tomorrow we are off to Fort A P Hill in Virginia.

Cherry Point Marine Base - North Carolina

Day Care Center at Cherry Point
Bridge across Neuse River
Leaving Cherry Point
Looking toward where Trav and Noell lived
Base at Cherry Point
Some Azalea bushes
Tank Crossing signs at Camp Le Jejune
Bridge across Charleston Harbor at Mount Pleasant

March 31st - Cherry Point Marine Base - North Carolina

We left Charleston AFB and traveled route 17 , crossing over Charleston Harbor at Mount Pleasant. We just marvel at the Dogwood, Wisteria, Azaleas , it is a pleasure to enjoy springtime in so many locations throughout our travels.

As we pass the many churches throughout the countryside, we notice the crosses that are draped with majestic purple fabric reminding us of the Lenten season that we are passing through on our journey to the arising of our Saviour on Easter Sunday.

As we journey on Route 17 we see the many stands where the local people are selling the pine baskets. Even though many folks sell these baskets, seldom do you see two identical baskets. This route is lined with the beautiful pine trees that line the Great Pee Dee River.

We arrive at Cherry Point, NC at 12:30 pm. This is a bittersweet time. As previously Travis and Noell were stationed here and we made many happy memories here. After Lou and I got settled in on our campsite we walked to the commissary and a young couple was coming in as we were coming out and it just seemed that it should have been Trav and Noell. I came back and called Noell and told her we were there and all set up and were ready for Trav to come and pick us up so we could go to the Sanitary for dinner. Just couldn’t do it!! Oh well great memories. We didn’t even unhook, couldn’t go out and eat with out them.

We left Cherry Point about 10:30 am on the 31st and it was raining, as we crossed the bridge in New Bern on route 17 there was a man fishing in the Neuse River, and he put his boat under the bridge so he could still fish and stay dry, I thought that was pretty smart.

As we were driving up the road on 17, we saw signs for a barbeque sponsored by a fire department, so Lou said if we could pull of we would stop and get that for our lunch, well, not only could we pull off, we could pull in and pull through, so we did and wow what a meal they put on, it was barbequed pork, cole slaw and hush puppies, we got two dinners and we had enough for two days. We took it wish you and stopped at a roadside park at lunch time and had a feast.

We later drove through Edenton, NC where Carolina Moon was written and then of course, Hertford, NC which is the home of Catfish Hunter, the great baseball player.

I never tire of driving through North Carolina, I just love to look at the huge fields. Some had already been planted with potatoes and some are ready to be planted with cotton. Us poor farmers in Pennsylvania wouldn’t know how to work such flat huge fields. It would be pure pleasure.