Day 197

Days that are out of the ordinary or not what was expected are usually the ones that are best remembered.......
Today was one of those. 

Wade and I woke up at Chief Logan Lodge this morning and had some conti-nental breakfast in our room along with coffee. Then we put on these 'beautiful' yellow rain outfits and headed out.

 The scenery was beautiful -we drove on back roads through West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. We rode in rain and clouds the whole way. There were towns in West Virginia that are dying - empty, abandoned homes and businesses. So sad.

Somewhere on a back road in West Virginia. And this, children is
how we used to pump gas. I couldn't get phone reception
either. Very, very secluded. And Wade said that the clerk was very
envious of him getting to drive the motorcycle.

 We went over many miles of twisty, curvy roads through national forests. We went past beautiful homes and farms and animals. On a motorcycle, everything seems more vivid and close up.  I didn't take pictures of the sights along the road with a camera, but I did take many, many mental pictures that I will be able to recall in my imaginations. 
And my rain pants fell apart about halfway home, so after that, my jeans got wet from the knees down - but, oh well. We both got cold and were pretty tired out when we arrived home but would I do this again? You bet!!! 
First thing I did was take a nice, long, hot shower and my sweetheart of a husband made a pot of coffee. After we recovered, he took me out to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. And now we're watching recordings of "Haven" and "The Closer" in the living room. 
Another good day and one that we'll look back on and say, "Remember when.......?" 

Day 196

Today we had our day of adventure to Logan, West Virginia on the motorcycle.

Why Logan, West Virginia?? Why not?? It was chosen for the route - the curvy-ness of the road and the potential for beautiful scenery. We were up and gone before 8:00 in the morning. For an overnight trip we don't need to pack too much. A change of clothes, some walking shoes, our toothbrushes, and we're good to go. 

The animals got their breakfasts, we had a cup of coffee and headed out. It wasn't too cold. We needed our jackets and gloves, but we've driven in colder weather. Our first stop was breakfast in Jeffersonville. It's the restaurant at the Flying J Truck Stop. It used to be just the Flying J Restaurant, but it is now Denny's - which is fine for us. 

We split a "make your own" Grand Slam where we choose the four items. Wade got eggs, potatoes, and half a biscuit. I had the oatmeal and other half of the biscuit. Perfect and I still couldn't finish the oatmeal. 
We came across some fun roads, lots of curves and scenery. We drove along the Ohio River through Ohio and crossed over into West Virginia. 
Some of the areas we drove through in West Virginia were very, VERY depressed areas and I tried to imagine in my head what they might have looked like in good times. And there were an average of 1-2 churches every half mile. Amazing!! So many "Baptist" churches. 

We arrived at around 3:30 at the Chief Logan National Forest Confer-ence Center. Beautiful view from our room. We have a pretty big suite with a patio area. It's pretty quiet here tonight since it's a Sunday night. We may get some rain tonight, but it should be clear tomorrow morning. But we were so tired when we arrived (that happens to old people when they ride on motorcycles all day) and the dining room closed at 3:00. 

After a short nap, we went to the gift shop to see if they had anything we could buy that might resemble dinner, but it's just candy. The lady at the front desk gave us a menu from Giovanni's which will deliver to the lodge. We ordered:
Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs (which came with garlic bread),  
Fried Raviolis with Marinara Sauce,
and two forks. Not a bad dinner for two old people. We ate what we could and put the rest in the fridge in our room. It's available for us if we want to nibble again later tonight. 
Right now, Wade is watching football and I'll either watch something on the computer or read the book that I brought. It's a new one I got called, "A Twisted Faith" by Gregg Olsen. It is a true story that has been discussed on NBC's Dateline. I bought a used copy through amazon.com and only spent a few dollars. I love buying used books off that website. 

Day 195

Wade wanted to make sure that we were not quite as lazy today. So this morning we went to the Fairfield Mall and walked around. Mainly just looking, but we stopped in Dick's Sporting Goods and he bought a pair of running shoes. Surprisingly, it was pretty quiet and calm at the mall, but then again it was early in the day. We were probably just awake before all the teens woke up. 
This afternoon we sat out in the side yard and had our lunch and just relaxed out there. Nice view, nice sounds, wonderful time - 

Our view from left to right as we sit outside.

Tonight we went to a small church service that a friend was holding in Huber Heights - the One Love Church. They just celebrated their one year anniversary last week. It was fun to be there and to see some of our old friends from our old church that now attend there. It is held in a building that is next to the post office in Huber Heights. It's too far for us to attend, but it was nice to just pop in and see how they're doing. 

Day 194

la·zy

   [ley-zee]  Show IPA adjective, -zi·er, -zi·est,verb, -zied, -zy·ing.

adjective

1. averse or disinclined to work, activity, or exertion; indolent.

2. causing idleness or indolence: a hot, lazy afternoon.

3. slow-moving; sluggish: a lazy stream

   (See diagram at left)

Can we be any lazier??

It was chilly this morning. After breakfast we wound up in the living room with little blankets over our legs and it felt very comfortable. Wade has discovered the whole first year's series of "Game of Thrones" on HBO.com and spent the day watching all the episodes. I just had to keep him company and watched other shows on the TV while he had his earphones on. 

Tonight we did a Pizza & Movie Night. Jason & Peggy stayed too and spent this time with us. We watched the movie "Tangled" and had cheese-stuffed crust pizza, salad, and chips. Then during our 'inter-mission' we had cake and ice cream. 

It was a fun time - and we don't see Jaide and Jared as often because of other things that they do during the week - so it was nice to see them too.  

Jared sat with me in the chair for part of the movie. And just so you don't think I'm TOTALLY lazy... ..... I actually had to physically drive the car to pick up the pizza because they don't deliver to our house. So I feel like that should redeem me from being considered completely lazy.

Day 193

Hocking Hills Trip October 2010

The weather has turned today and given us the promise that fall is just around the corner. I spent the morning with Wade - we are trying to have his favorite breakfast every morning until he leaves. So far we've had it 5 mornings. 

Hocking Hills Trip October 2010

We also talked about an overnight motorcycle trip and made reserva-tions for Sunday night. It looks like lots of fun and I can't wait. I love autumn trips on the bike. It will be to Logan, West Virginia and is in a national forest. How fun!!

This afternoon I did some of my favorite pastime - shopping! But not JUST shopping, but saving while shopping. I had coupons and bought some clothing at Kohls - $120.00 of clothing for $67.00 final price PLUS a $10.00 Kohl's Bucks certificate for my next trip. Then I went to Wal-Mart where I bought $135.00 worth of groceries for $115.00. Not bad. I love using my coupons and saving money like this. 
Now tonight we are watching television and enjoying a quiet evening together. 
Again, Wade is hoping to be able to stay awake until at least 9:00. Last night he didn't make it past 8:00 - so we'll see how he does. I couldn't FALL asleep last night so I finished "The Help" and started reading a Kindle short by Stephen King called "Mile 81". Seems pretty good. And "The Help" was an excellent book. 

Day 192

Wednesday - Now that I'm not doing my normal weekly activities, it's very hard to remember what day it actually is. Thank goodness I have a computer, cell phone, and multiple calendars to help me figure it out. I have not, however, determined yet how many days Wade has left in the US. It will come fast enough. 
Wade went into work today to see his co-workers and bosses. They had a meeting and he discussed what his plans and expectations are for 2012. Then he went out to lunch with some friends at Max & Erma's. I did not go with Wade this morning. I figured it would just be better for him to meet all his friends on his own. He also took in two cakes we baked last night to share with everyone. 
While he was gone today, I took the time to catch up on laundry, vacuuming, and dishes so that I wouldn't have to do those things while he was here with me. 
And tonight we are just resting in the living room and watching the movie "Avatar".  

He's still trying to adjust to the different time zone and usually starts getting sleepy around 8:30 or 9:00 and ends up falling asleep in his chair.
We are looking at some different ideas about an overnight trip and hopefully a MOTORCYCLE overnight trip. It would possibly be Sunday and Monday. 

Day 191

It's Tuesday - We stayed at home this morning and enjoyed breakfast, coffee, and recorded television shows. Then at 12:30 we took off for Hal & Rose's home. They live almost 40 miles away and it took us about an hour to get there, but on the motorcycle, it was a wonderful drive. The weather cooperated and we had warm sunshine and some winds, but no clouds and no rain. 

Here are Wade and Hal in the yard beside the pool. We were intending to swim if the weather and pool water was warm enough, but it was just a little bit chilly so we decided not to. 

The landscaping was so beautiful. 

The colors were spectacular and this is all Rose's handiwork.

Lunch was delicious too. They served us:

Jack Daniels Pulled Pork with buns

Fried chicken

Baked Beans

Corn on the Cob

Potato Salad

Deep Dish Apple Pie

Their house is so big and beautiful. We moved around to different locations throughout the house to just talk and enjoy each other's company. 

This is the view from the kitchen window.

All too soon our visit was over. We had a great time with our friends and made plans for a meal at our home next time when Wade comes home on RnR. 

Now it just so happens that Young's Dairy happens to be on the road that we took home. How could we not stop in and pick up some ice cream for our dessert tonight?? 

Another great day of Mr. Wide's 2011 RnR Experience.