David and Rachael come to visit

Rachael's sister moved to Maryland, which meant she and David have to come here more often. We were happy to be the beneficiaries of a visit from David and Rachael this afternoon. We had lunch and talked about ways to renovate all the houses on our favorites list in Utah real estate. They had some great ideas, although Ed is definitely opposed to putting in an elevator in the Mapleton house that has the garage in the basement! That is unlikely to happen!

Walk in the Park

It was supposed to snow and rain today, but that didn't deter us from taking a walk in the woods this morning. We decided to try out the McKeldin area of the Patapsco state park, as we hadn't been there in a while.

It is only 15 minutes from home, and the trail follows the beautiful Patapsco river.

The weather co-operated and we were able to walk along dirt trails with a minimum of mud sticking to our shoes.

It is especially fun to see the confluence of the North and South branches of the Patapsco river.

Last time we were here it was hot and muggy, and all the "no swimming" signs were a bummer. Today we were not tempted to go in the water!

Wind, Wind, go Away!

It was a beautiful spring day today, except for the fact that it was 40 degrees and windy! We couldn't even get a good picture of Ed and me going to the temple this morning!

In the afternoon Suzanne and I discovered 4 new trees down right in our path on the fire road! They must have blown over in the wind last weekend! We were glad they didn't blow over on us!

In the evening Ed and I (and Coda) stopped by again to look at our giant downed trees. They must have made a lot of noise when they fell!

Wind, wind, go away!

Co-opting a Couch for Conference

We were happy the Gadberrys let us go over to their house yesterday to watch LDS General Conference. Our power went off about 8:30 a.m. and didn't go back on till almost 3 in the afternoon. It was nice having a friendly couch to sit on, rather than a pew at the stake center.

My favorite speakers were Elder Holland (heartfelt reminder to remember what we've learned and felt) and President Uchtdorf (comparison to Dresden rising from ruins and our lives if we repent). I also liked Sister Oscarson (urging us to internalize what we believe) and Sister Marriott.(we should nurture others). OK, I admit, with Sister Marriott, I just wanted to listen to her lovely Southern drawl all afternoon!

Open House Picnic

Saturday Ed and I took the dog to Freedom park for a picnic and a walk while the realtor hosted an open house in our home. It was a lovely day, if somewhat cool. We were happy, because on two previous occasions where we had to leave the house it was windy and rainy. We did two loops of the park and easily finished up our step goal for the day. Unfortunately, we came home to find the house had still not sold!

Appomattox--the End of the War and our Trip

We started out in Charleston where the first shots of the Civil War were fired, and ended out trip at Appomattox, where General Lee surrendered to General Grant. It was almost 4 years later to the date!

The generals met in the MacClean house to sign the terms of surrender. I always thought they met in a a court house, but that was the name of the town--Appomattox Court House, not the building!

We enjoyed taking a long walk through the surrounding woods on a beautiful spring day.

This pretty butterfly felt like a harbinger of spring, despite the fact that we left part of it behind us in South Carolina.

Happily, the redbuds were in full bloom all the way home to Maryland. It was a great trip, but it's great to be home and be back with Coda (who seemed happy to see us despite the fun time she had with Suzanne and Harper last week)!

Easter Ride

We attended church with the Charleston ward today. We got an easy start to the day, as church wasn't till 10 a.m.

They had a nice Easter program that included several choir numbers and a few extra musical numbers, as well. We also enjoyed the Bishop's talk.

Ed single-handedly drove us all the way to Lynchburg in the afternoon. He was rewarded for his efforts with and Easter pizza from the Waterstone Pizza restaurant in downtown Lynchburg! We'd been hankering for pizza since seeing a picture of  Crystal's Hungarian langos. We didn't want her European vacation to look any more fun than our East Coast Adventure!