We rolled out of bed early on December 29 to get an early start on the drive to Dan and Malena’s in Charlottesville.  The coach was sitting in their driveway and we were going to drive though in one day in the tow’d (our RAV4).  There were boxes and suitcases scattered on the floor and I wondered how everything would fit into the back of our mini SUV, even with the seats folded up.  As we ate breakfast we started moving stuff into the car.  It soon became clear that everything would fit just fine and there were only a few boxes left to move. 

Murphy picked this moment to visit.  I was transferring five cans of gingerale into a wine case to consolidate one more item when one of the cans tumbled onto the floor and hit a corner of a cabinet putting a small hole in the side.  Gingerale sprayed over the floor and up the wall as I grabbed the can and tossed it out the door onto the deck, where I will find it come Spring.  After cleanup we finished loading and closed up the house.  I opened the garage door onto 9 degree, blowing snow weather.  The forecast said we had to tolerate this for about 60 miles and then we would be out of the lake effect area and into clear skies.

Clear skies couldn’t come soon enough.  The roads were not bad, but every passing car and truck threw ice and sleet onto the windshield and the windshield washers froze up.  I drove the 60 miles with declining visibility, stopping every so often to scrub the windshield.  After a stop we saw some clear blue sky and could see rainbows to either side of the sun.  An omen!  Murphy was left behind.  The rest of the drive was uneventful, other than finding that Tedd’s Landing (landmark for those who run US 15 through Pennsylvania) was not open for lunch any more.  Perkins, anyone? 

It snowed in Virginia over Christmas – 28 inches at the farm.  It has not warmed up much since.  We found Gee 2 under a blanket of snow, but with paths shoveled to the door and bins where Dan had gone to find an electric heater and a water jug for use in the house during the storm.  Tuesday night we moved it back into its usual spot (ten feet forward from where we had parked it), hooked up the electric and used the water jug for wash water since I was not up to dewinterizing the water system in the dark and cold and I was tired from the drive.   Wednesday we got everything back into live aboard mode and we are cozy and comfortable.  Each morning the children come out to play for 30 minutes before doing their chores and schooling.

Here is Carol (Bubbeh) reading to Alex and Corey:

and this is the view down the driveway as I am writing:

It has been a while since i have had anything to post here.  After getting back from Vermont and the Adirondacks, Gee 2 spent most of its time in storage.  For Thanksgiving we were invited to Malena and Dan’s.  We decided that it would make some sense to move Gee 2 to their yard so we could have some space and add to their sleeping quarter.  Then it seemed reasonable to leave it there until time to start out winter travels at the end of December. 

As I write these words, Dec 11, I am on AirTran flight 60 bound for Los Angeles to visit with Yechiel and Miriam and the boys.  Or as Carol might say the boys, but we will spend time with the parents as well.  Some family news; Yechiel has left academia and is in early times as a life insurance salesman.  I wonder where he got that idea. 

Our winter itinerary has some very definite stops and then gets really fuzzy.  On or about December 29 we will drive the tow’d from Rochester to Covesville for an extended visit.  They are leaving for Mexico on January 10 so we will depart on the 8th or 9th and drive through to St Petersburg, FL for a visit with Carol’s brother and sister-in-law.  On the 13th we will drive the tow’d to Miami airport, with a stop in Boynton Beach to visit Aunt Evelyn, in preparation for a flight to Havana, Cuba with a group from the JDC.  Upon our return on Sunday the 17th we will drive directly back to St Petersburg.  Our current plan is to head west on the 20th.  From there on it is really fuzzy.  No route plan yet, and no specific dates to be anyplace. 

Travels this Fall have included a driving trip to NYC for the JDC Board Meeting in October which included a stop at Peg and Jon Kerner’s in Pound Ridge. Jon was my college roommate back in the dark ages and the four of us were good friends when we lived in Manhattan in the late ‘60s.  We had not seen each other in many years and it was wonderful to have some time with them in there new house.  Jon was always a collector, but he has become a major Wedgewood collector and there are hundreds of pieces displayed in the living room, and other places too.  The drive in the Prius was uneventful and it was really thrilling to drive 350 miles and stop to buy 8 gallons of gasoline for the trip home.  No comparison to the coach, $200 to get to Dan’s!

I am in a chatty mood with no real time constraints so I may just wander on for a bit.  

It is now December 23 and there is two feet of snow in Virginia and very little on the ground here in Rochester, so much for our plans to get Gee 2 out of the weather.  We plan on driving down there on Tuesday the 29th, weather permitting.