August 2006: Washington DC, MD, VA

30 August 2006: Tom and I are catching up on our rest and reading. I've been busy taking my Dad back and forth to UVA for medical follow-ups. My Mom is doing well. Her picture was in the local paper recently as a member of the quilting club at the Seniors Center. Harry Cat & Sadie Cat had their annual check-ups today and both are healthy, happy cats. Some of the leaves are already turning yellow and brown and falling to the ground, perhaps due to the extreme drought in this area. Henning's ankle is still sore and he has a cold, probably because of the extreme temperatures from heatwave to air conditioning. He started back to school yesterday and he had his first driver's education class. Tom and I are seriously considering settling down in Morgantown WV for awhile. It meets our criteria of having a university, a hospital, and a commuter airport. The price for land is still reasonable so we could buy land then build. We'll see ...

22 August 2006: Whew! The holidays with Henning are over and we can get some R&R. We did venture into the Luray Caverns which were indeed quite impressive. In Covington, we saw buffalo on Hollow Hill Farm and Tom and Henning ate barbecued buffalo burgers at the Swinging Bridge Restaurant in Paint Bank. Yummy. I was impressed with the taxidermied, stuffed critters. When we took Henning to Dulles Airport, we lunched at Famous Dave's Barbeque, his favorite American food on this trip. He arrived safely back in Frankfurt, Germany on Sunday morning with many stories to tell of both good and bad times, hopefully, more good than bad. We enjoyed his time with us and look forward to our next visit with him and his family.

14 August 2006: Henning's ankle was x-rayed and it is sprained so he has a soft brace and crutches. We took it easy yesterday after the morning hospital visit, but we hope to visit the Luray Caverns today. He is supposed to keep his weight off of his ankle, so maybe he'll use a scooter if one is available, maybe not. Tomorrow, we head back to my parents' place in Covington VA for a few days before we bid Henning a fond farewell back to Germany on Saturday.

12 August 2006: In spite of his injured ankle, Henning went with us today to visit the Frontier Culture Museum and the Eavers Classic Car Museum in Staunton VA, then we ate at the Edelweiss Restaurant. He was happy to find real German beer! We'll probably have his ankle x-rayed tomorrow just to make sure that there are no broken bones or damaged ligaments or tendons. The weather has turned comfortable and pleasant!

11 August 2006: We have traveled safely from Williamsburg over the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Shenandoah Valley and Luray VA where we will explore the Luray Caverns and visit the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton. More reasonable temperatures have arrived, cool enough for Henning to sleep in the tent under the starry sky. We had success today finding soccer shoes for Henning, then playing soccer with Tom, he injured his right ankle, probably just a sprain. It only hurts when he walks on it. They put ice on it, but it's still a little swollen, not much. We'll put an ankle brace on him and continue our sightseeing ventures ...

06 August 2006: It's about 10 degrees cooler with a slight breeze, but still quite hot. We did venture into Historic/Colonial Williamsburg today. So many US housing developments use colonial style housing, that this "old town" did not seem very antique. Our perspective of "old houses" has definitely been influenced by our travels to Europe. We ate in an "old tavern" in which Henning said, "This looks my grandmother's house which she still lives in today." The church in Henning's village in Ilbenstadt Germany was completed in 1158 and he attends school inside a medieval castle in Friedberg. I've learned more history from him than he is learning from me!

04 August 2006: Finally, some thunder, lightning, and a few sprinkles! Cooler temperatures are on the way ... Henning got a haircut that he does not like. Tom said, "What's the difference between a good haircut and a bad haircut? Two weeks." I said, "It'll grow on you." Henning is not laughing. Later this week, I said, "Let it go; it'll grow." No smile, yet. We rented a few movies to keep us entertained until we can spend a longer time outside. There's much to see here and our time is growing short. Let's hope Mother Nature cooperates.

03 August 2006: We've been busy! The heatwave continues to suck the life out of us as we try to venture outside to sightsee. It's so hot even Tom had to buy some shorts! We did a few more outings in DC, then headed south to Williamsburg on Tuesday, 01 August. Yesterday, we had a short visit with Mary, a neighbor from Falls Church VA. We ate hamburgers in a 50's style diner, Cheeburger, Cheeburger. There's a lot of construction going on in this area. Today, we're heading to VA Beach so Henning will see this side of the Atlantic Ocean. We're hoping for cooler temperatures this weekend so we can venture into Historic Williamsburg and Jamestown. We'll try to go to Busch Gardens on Monday or Tuesday.