Four N Twenty Pies

What a busy and fabulous week we've had with friends and family visiting. Our dear friend from home passed through DC on Sun/Mon with her tour. We had a late night drink Sun night after dinner and then I spent the afternoon with her Monday doing a quick zip around the museums. She came for dinner Monday night and delivered a load of goodies (chocolates, tim tams, weetbix and other treats from home) and did her washing - after 5 weeks on tours, she had a massive load to do. She headed off to tour Canada and I will meet her on Friday in New York for a week of exploring the big apple.

On Monday Deb's niece and fiance arrived from the UK - I affectionately called them the 'kids' despite them being quite grown up. They had been in Ohio the week before on this really cool car tour. It is an annual stage race hosted by Hotrod Magazine and it's called Hotrod Drag Week. Each day they followed the cars to a different town, watched them do a timed drag and then got their instructions for the drive to the next town. I'm thinking of joining them next year if they go. Sounded awesome.

Deb had a few days off and they all enjoyed themselves sightseeing. The dogs loved their company and they both spoiled the dogs also. We enjoyed some dinners out and simply enjoyed having them stay with us. It was nice to have family in the house and it was great to show them as much as we could around DC. On the last night we had swapped cars with a friend who needed our car. They have a little Saab convertible so we drove home from the city with the top down in the warm evening air.

They also had brought a load of gifts and goodies including some very cute bandanas for the dogs. They also added to our booty of chocolate so we have about 20 Cadbury blocks of chocolate in the fridge. They also bought some UK chocolate over and we demolished a huge block of 'Galaxy' during the week. We have some serious calories to burn this week. Deb's niece is a very successful and talented tattoo artist - I have said that I would only ever get a tattoo if she did. We had a chat about a batman tattoo so who knows, maybe I'll have a stunning tattoo in years to come. 

Another highlight this week was the arrival of the Four N Twenty pies. There is a distributor in Philadelphia and he contacted the Emb a few weeks ago about selling the pies to us poor pie-deprived Aussies. Everyone was super excited and I ordered some. I think we will be able to order these on a regular basis. Anyway, we plan to have pie and veg with gravy for dinner one night this week. I can't wait !!

The election here looms closer and this week sees the first of three debates. There is nothing Clinton or Trump can say or do as supporters are firm on their views. I guess it's the undecided who are key but they probably won't vote. We're having an election party at home that night and inviting some friends to watch the circus on the night. 

The Aust Prime Minister was in town this week. The kids met us after work and we were walking to a restaurant. Turnbull was giving a presentation near the Emb and was leaving as we walked past. I really wanted to yell out 'Ditch the plebiscite mate and show some real leadership'. But, decided against it.

My last day of work is Thursday as I start three weeks of leave. I'm off to New York to meet Ms V and then return home together to start our two week road trip. We're all excited about the weeks ahead. 

The kids left Saturday morning on the train to continue their holiday and we enjoyed a restful weekend given the past few weeks of concerts and visitors have kept us busy. The US have official commenced Fall (autumn) and the weekend temperature was a remarkable change to previous heat and humidity. The leaves are falling everywhere and I'm quite excited about a cold Christmas.

Family and Friends

It's nice to know that my weekly post has been missed :) This is a very short update as we've been flat out getting ready for our first family visit. Our friend from home also arrived, passing through DC for two days on tour. Deb's niece and hubby also arrived today and the house feels fantastic - filled with laughing, chatter and warm conversation. Our friend took the chance to do washing after 4 weeks on a tour bus and enjoyed a bbq dinner with us. She continues with her tour while we have Deb's niece for the week. 

Our friend and Deb's niece have come bearing loads of gifts in the form of chocolate, Weetbix, t-shirts and very cute bandana type things for the dogs. We feel totally spoilt.

Nothing much spectacular to report from the past week but I will simply add some photos for those who enjoy pics. The costume pics are from our visit to Target when we stumbled into the Halloween costume aisle. 

KISS and Culture Club & Boy George

The week dragged by, my shoulder improved and the heat has been relentless. We've started watching some football and only worked out one rule - it's just a confusing game when you don't know what's going on. BUT, the absolute highlight this week was going to my/our first KISS concert. These guys have been around for 40+ years and I had several albums as a kid. They were playing in Richmond, Virginia which is about 2 hours south of here. We took the train down and stayed the night, back the next morning. Where do I start !!

 

I have loved this band forever and there were plenty of older folks in that crowd rocking it away. I sat next to a lady in her 60's and this was her third concert. Her first concert was when she was 50 ! She told me it will be a night I'll never forget and she was right. It was a small stadium which made for great viewing. The band has two original members, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons and the other two (Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer) joined later replacing Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. They were in full makeup and costume and the performance was spectacular with fireworks, bangs, lighting and smoke. And Paul Stanley sounded as good as ever. His voice is fabulous after all these years. Gene Simmons and the others sounded great also. And of course, Gene did his blood spitting show and flashed that infamous long tongue all through the show. I have to admit that even as a no-nut girl, Paul Stanley is still sexy, sounds sexy, moves great and is a great entertainer. 

When they first came on stage I actually got a little teary. I think it was just unbelievable to finally see these guys in concert. I knew most of the songs and the whole crowd was electrified. Lots of people had their KISS t-shirts on and die-hard fans were dressed in costume. 

I was a little disappointed they didn't play some favourites like Shandi or Sure Know Something but they've had so many other rock n roll hits they can't play them all I guess. I was just amazed at the spread of ages there - there were small kids to old folk and all kinds were dressed up. We got back to the hotel somewhat deaf and googled until we went to sleep. We discovered that Paul Stanley has had two hip operations and a third one is needed in the near future. He says that the many years of walking in those high heel boots has caused him problems. 

One group we met was a brother who had organised his family get-together with his siblings and mother. They had flown from all across the country to stay at a resort half an hour away. They were about our age and also had their mum who was probably in her 70’s. They heard the KISS concert was on so they decided to come for the night – as you do when you’re in Virginia !!    Anyway, it was a great night and I hope I get the chance to see KISS in concert again. 

 

To continue this 'throwback' weekend, the finale was the Culture Club concert. It was at a theater not far from home. Deb was very excited as she is a long time fan, especially of Boy George. It turned out that this was their final concert after a 7 week tour. It was the original band with backup singers and the accompanying musicians. They sounded A-mazing !!  George’s voice is fabulous – always was and sounded as great as ever. He was also a wonderful entertainer and the audience, while much more civilised than the KISS crowd, were fairly energetic and excited. They played ALL the hits and it’s mind blowing just how many they had. The support band invited a ‘friend’ on stage to sing their last two cover songs. It was George of course and the house went wild. What a buzzing entrée to the concert. During the show he of course played ‘Do You Really Want To Hurt Me’. He said he had received sad news that day that the actress (Alexis Arquette) who played the band signer in the movie ‘Wedding Singer’ had died that day. He explained Alexis (a transgender lady) had played the role and how he thought her performance was hysterical (in a good way). He dedicated that song to her that night.

We also went exploring the local trails with a friend. We took the dogs also. There is a series of tracks called the 'billy goat trails' and we did on of those loops which is a bit of an off-road scramble. I managed to turn my ankle quite early so walked back to the car. When Deb returned with our friend, I rode my bike on the trail, C&O Towpath, which is a nice flat scenic trail which goes for miles (180 in fact). I rode with her while she finished the last few miles of her training run. Deb and I will go back for some runs along this trail. It's beside the Potomac River and really is a beautiful and popular spot for hikers, runners and bikers, and walkers.

We have visitors (family) arriving next week so we are quite excited and are getting the house ready.

The weather might be starting to change as we look to be heading into the 20's now and out of the blistering mid-30s. It's getting dark in the mornings so we have headlamps on we we run and I bought some flashing collars for the dogs to wear on their walks. Few pics below from the Richmond train stations - it was very late departing, I would have preferred a sleep in after the late night at KISS.

 

Gettysburg (Civil War), Pennsylvania

The week started in agony, absolute screaming agony for 3 days. I woke last Sunday feeling fine but by lunchtime my shoulder muscle (trapezium muscle for the clever dicks) was seized with a big knot. Referred pain went down across my collar bone and in my shoulder blades and I just screamed every time I moved. It - was - painful !! First task Monday - find a physio. Easier said than done. I could be seen the following WEEK on anyday, but NOT TODAY. Eventually I got one to see me in the afternoon. I said I would need dry needling to release the knot. Oh, you'll need a Dr. referral. What??? Second task, get into the Dr before the physio appt. By some miracle I got in before the physio and got the bloody referral. Walking around the city for these appointments was not a pleasant experience. Once at physio, she massaged my shoulder area and while that gave some relief, I was still in agony. As for the dry needling - well the physio who does that wasn't available until next Wed, that is, in 10 days time Wednesday!! I nearly cried. So the rest of the week was spent in much pain and discomfort and although I had another physio appt to loosen the muscle a bit more, the knot is still there. By Friday, I felt more relief and it was a blessing. It feels better but I'm still quite stiff and will still need dry needling on Wed to hopefully release that knot. I was not a happy camper this week but thankfully I was ok on the weekend.

On a much happier note, a friend from primary school messaged me on Facebook. He asked if it was actually me and said his mum had always given him a hard time cause he never said goodbye to me (when he left in Grade 4). So the story goes, I had a little crush on him and we were good mates. He moved south at end of Grade 4 and I was pretty upset. 37 years later, and we've re-connected. He then tells me his mum kept a letter I gave him before he left...the letter said...Tick a Box - I love Merryl or I hate Merryl. He said it was probably why he took off suddenly because he was scared to reply. Awww, primary school romance. Well, I did have a crush on him but I have no memory of this letter. But it gave me a great laugh and smile especially that his mum kept that letter !!  To my new friend, if you're reading this blog post, I can tell you that I am embarrassed but do find this very cute and funny too :) I hope one day we can catch up for a drink.

GETTYSBURG. The big highlight this week was our day trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. So yes, we've touched another state but it's just across the border so I will not count Pennsylvania just yet, maybe when we've been to Philadelphia. Everyone has recommended Gettysburg and it was totally overwhelming to see this historical place and learn about an important event in US civil war history. We watched a few documentaries the night before to at least get a headstart on the history. It is about 90 min drive from DC so we had an early start and packed in a solid day as usual. We first went to the visitor centre (massive) and watched a 20 min video on the Gettysburg battle and then into this display called the Cyclorama. The cyclorama is....standing in a massive room surrounded by a 360 degree dome wall/roof. It is painted floor to roof with battleground scenes and has artefacts on the ground between you and the wall to give the impression you are in the middle of the battlefield. They tell a story and you get a feeling as if you are there. I found it quite hard to understand where I was supposed to be looking at certain times but it was very impressive and certainly gave you a sense of 'being there in the war'. I got these pics from the internet as my photos would not do it justice.

 

 The Battle of Gettysburg is important as it is considered the turning point of the civil war (North versus South). The civil war was largely about the Southern 'slave' States leaving the Union after President Lincoln was elected with the goal of abolishing slavery. The southern states went independent, because they believed slavery was their constitutional right and underpinned their agricultural (cotton, tobacco) livelihood which was a huge economy. The formed the Confederate States of America. After peace negotiations failed (because Lincoln refused to keep slavery), the Confederates (south) fired upon the Union (north) in 1861 and so began the bloodiest battle in US history. The war raged for four years, until 1865. There were many battles and there are other battlefield sites around the US which offer similar historical value. However, the battle of Gettysburg was a three day battle on 1, 2, 3 July in 1863. (Note that 4 July has no relevance here as Independence Day is from the American revolution back in 1776.)

The very long story really short is....the Confederates had pushed up into the North near Gettysburg and the Confederates felt that if they could win this battle, it could possibly win the war. They thought Lincoln would give-in at that point. So for three days, the Confederates and the Union fought at a cost of 51,000 casualties (dead, wounded, missing).   At the end of the third day, the Union had overcome the Confederate attack and the Confederates retreated and headed back south the following day. 

 

A fabulous part of our day was taking a tour with a battlefield guide who drove our car around the huge battlefield and explained day by day how the battle was fought. It was fantastic. We could see the fencelines, strong points, high ground and exact locations where key events happened. It was fascinating, sad, overwhelming and incredible all in one. Our guide was excellent - he has written two books on two war generals who have proven interesting if not controversial. I didn't take a lot of photos because we didn't stop too much but there were a LOT of memorials, artefacts and statues. So much effort has been taken to preserve this historical place. The whole time though, we kept remembering that thousands upon thousands of men fought and died here - EACH DAY !!! What a terrible loss of life.

After the battle of Gettysburg, the war raged for two more years but eventually, the Union (North) won as we all now know. With that success, slavery was abolished and the 13th Amendment was eventually passed. Lincoln however, was assassinated just two months before the end of the war and sadly, never saw his goal achieved in 1865 when the 13th Amendment was finally adopted.

 

The Battle of Gettysburg left the town in shambles with wounded and dying crowded into nearly every building. Most of the dead lay in hastily dug or inadequate graves, some had not been buried at all. Within four months, the Soldier's National Cemetery was dedicated (Nov 1863) and this was where Lincoln gave his infamous Gettysburg speech. It was only 272 words and two minutes long, but it is considered a masterpiece of the English language. It transformed Gettysburg from a scene of carnage into a symbol, giving meaning to the sacrifice of the dead and inspiration to the living. I never understood the significance of Lincoln's speech that day but after learning about the battle today, I appreciate the importance of this speech and why it is so famous. Lincoln gave his address at the memorial on the left, but there is a wall dedicated to Lincoln and his address about 250m away (see below). Take time read his address, it really is quite moving and brilliant.

 

We also toured the museum in the visitor centre which again, was excellent. The information, artefacts and presentation were well worth seeing and it helped consolidate our tour around the battlefield. We are keen to go back again and drive ourselves around the battlefield to stop and look at the many things. The town itself has a lot of tourist spots too so it's a great place to visit. 

It's a long weekend here, Labour Day, so we're enjoying the extra day off. A few pics to finish off the blog this week. Check out the gun-support guy with his NRA (National Rifle Association) shirt on. It says 'Free men do not ask permission to bear arms'. I'm not sure what was more scary - his shirt or his dress sense !!

Cricket - sound asleep

Sitting with Lincoln - an inspirational man

Some of the wildlife - a squirrel