Budget Inn Natural Bridge

... of the migratory “Flight of the Monarch Butterflies”, and for several miles through this region, almost every tree is filled with the ‘Caterpillar Tents” that will become the beautiful Monarch Butterfly around the end of September.

Back out on the Skyline Drive early, we headed on ...

... my surprise they said yes. Next we went to see Foamhenge which was a little dissapointing, the foam was a little worse for wear. Then we drove on to Abingdon, VA a three hour drive with a pit stop at Walmart for supplies. The hotel in Abingdon is great. We arrived at around five and by five thirty thirty Debbie and I were sitting in a whirlpool ...

--My first weekend Krissa and Andrew took me to Baltimore to watch the Preakness horse race, which is one of three in the Triple Crown. It was not was I expected, but I loved how everyone gets decked out in their big hats and cute dresses. There were a lot of people and a lot of betting. The horses were gorgeous.

--Went and stayed with Amara’s friend in Hampton, VA. We went to the ...

Twelve hours -- for those of you who are wondering how long it takes to drive from Chicago to Lexington, Virginia, the answer is 12 hours with just a few pit-stops. Most dramatic parts of the trip thus far were seeing the golden-domed Capitol building ...

... Maury Park where it was being held. There is a campsite there right by the river, but as it’s only 20 mins from our site there didn’t seem any point in moving. Probably just as well, because when we arrived the campsite was full, turns out this is quite an event and although most of the people there were from Virginia, there were a few from the Carolinas and I saw a few stray plates, Maryland and ...

... through the music of the time, many of their instruments are original and much of the music they play is either the actual scores of the time or adaptations thereof. Formed in 1986 there are three of the original players still there, John Carruth their conductor is also the narrator. Looking every inch the part he eloquently sets the scene before each piece, eager to correct any misconceptions or even “correct” the history books along ...

We are told that only 25% of this years American graduates have been able to get a job, thankfully Melissa is one of them. She is joining the staff here at the university straight after graduation, so she will be staying in the area. This means she is moving from a student apartment to a 'proper' one…ah…house move could there have been an ulterior motive here?

Well, with the convoy of Doug, Matt (Melissa ...

... bit daft in this location; anyway the grounds man here has placed some protective stones around their eggs. The poor birds are forever feigning injury and broken wings every time anything or anybody comes near and they try to draw the threat away. Squirrels seem to be particularly irksome. They must be stressed out all the time! We carefully – and with a zoom lens – got this piccie for you ...

TREES by: Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918) THINK that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth's sweet flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in Summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree. I haven't posted anything the past few ...

Today we toured Mammoth Cave. Calvin and Nolan enjoyed it, Tyson slept through the whole thing. We just did a short tour because we felt like we left Lawrence eons ago and were only in Western Kentucky - time to do some serious travel today. We drove through torrential rain and about 40-50 mph winds a lot of the time (Matt's arm still hurts from trying to keep us on the road) but it was a good ...