Fayetteville, PA, August 10 and 11

We left Connecticut Sunday morning, August 10 and headed for Pennsylvania and our friends, the Gambles. They live at Penn National Golf Course just off I-81 south of Harrisburg. It rained off and on for the whole 300 miles, but was otherwise uneventful.

We met Jayne and Don through mutual friends, Pam and Morris Everett, when we lived in Columbia, MD, from March 1998-March 2001. When we left Connecticut we were more than a little worried about how we would adjust, given that we lived in the same general area for more than 26 years. But we met the Everett's when we joined New Hope Lutheran Church, and they introduced us to their friends, including Jayne and Don, who welcomed us into their group, and soon we had a network of interesting people and subsequently had some wonderful times. Most people in the people in the group are a little older than we, but are extremely active - they enjoy golf, skiing, bridge, camping, classical music, dining out, and just having a great time together. They say that staying active is the key to a long and successful retirement, and these folks are all testimony to that philosophy. We had a wonderful time in Maryland for the 3 years we were there. Morris has since passed away; Pam recently remarried and we hear she is very happy, which makes us very happy.

We pulled into the Gamble's neighborhood around 5PM on Sunday, fortunately just in time for Happy Hour. We "camped" on the road next to their house, using their electricity. On Monday, Steve was a little under the weather, so Jayne, Don, and I played nine holes at a local course (not Penn National). The three of us agreed that it was among the worst any of us had played in recent memory, but it was still, as a golf game usually is, good to be outside in the fresh air getting some exercise.

On Tuesday we headed for Hagerstown, Maryland, for All Season's RV to get a few things attended to on the trailer. The water pump was still making too much noise, the main slide-out blew a fuse in the dining area lights whenever we opened or closed it, the front door needed adjustment, and so on...all minor problems, but we felt it was time to take care of them. So we found All Seasons and decided to take a chance. Patti, their receptionist-manager has been there for 20 years and knows absolutely everything about RVs and their insides. She was a great help.

We had planned to stay in Hagerstown, but decided at the last minute to head for a KOA outside Harper's Ferry National Historic Park. So here we are for a couple of days to visit the park, restock, do laundry, and catchup on email and the blog.