After a fine night in my own bed I wish everyone a good Sunday morning. We left our B&B yesterday morning and decided to take a more scenic way home. It was the expressway to Huntington, WV; then crossing over near Ironton, OH and followed Route 52 to town.

Now, Marcia is still sleeping and I am sitting here with a hot coffee in front of me.

As an added bonus, I have no idea what to write about!

The week was filled with a flurry of images, days of rain beginning with a day of snow (eventually 5” to 7” of the stuff). Decent enough temperatures and evenings filled with a nightly movie (we brought a stack of them). The movie fare was made more interesting due to the nightly shot of 100-proof we’d pour (locally made stuff which triggered a fit of coughing on my first sip).

     

We had no WiFi and to connect for texting meant that I had to sit on the right side of the couch, hold the phone up high and in front of the window blinds; then, which on attempt two or three it would be successful.

I did bring our little XM Radio and after a bit of ‘jiggling’ and ‘rigging’ it performed flawlessly. We had a window into the world!

 

Half off our week of adventure was trying to find places:

me; “which way to Harmony (name of town)”. Local; “Y’all jist head yonder and you’ll be there direckly”. This left Marcia and me ‘apondering’ since it would probably mean another hours’ worth of driving through one ‘holler’ after another.

We loved it!

Except for that one time when we were given directions and our road (actually a narrow single lane with a proper county marker) switch backed down one steep mile long hill after another. In near tears she ‘ordered’ me to turn around and head back to civilization. OK, no problem, other than the fact that there was no place to turn around.

 

At the end of the road we were on was a ‘highway’, turn left and a quarter mile turn left into Sissonville – seems like about twenty houses and a barbeque joint. We drove this road except we got caught up by a road crew removing trees fallen by a land slide (they seemed to do a lot of that in West Virginia). Once through (after a mile or so) we had to turn around feeling like idiots since we had to wait and pass the same crew.

If you like West Virginia trucking in a Semi this guy is your guide; some mouthpiece:

Where we stayed – was as close as we could get to a season at our Northern Comfort. Yup, we got our knotty-pine fix,

 

Lunch in New Richmond, OH – almost home

 

President U. S. Grant – Point Pleasant, OH – Immediately adjacent to the highway is the birth-home of our former President. I’ve read his memoirs and taken a class on his background. What I didn’t realize is that one of his ancestors, Jean De Lannoy (1570-1604) was a Huguenot.

The plaque referencing this at Grant’s home sort of jumped out at me since it was my father who, as a High school graduation gift gave me a small, golden, Huguenot Cross (Huguenots chose the Maltese Cross to represent them rather than the more common Roman Cross)

Fini – Today, in 1865 the 13th Amendment was ratified, abolishing slavery.

Then, in 1922, Benito Mussolini threatens Italian newspapers with censorship if they keep reporting “false” information. Anything familiar, or is the reverse true today?

Then, it’s amazing how history is often seen through ‘rose colored’ glasses. 1969 was considered to be part of the ‘Summer of Love’; yet on this day some Hells Angels, hired to provide security at a Rolling Stones concert at the Altamont Speedway in California, beat to death concert-goer Meredith Hunter.

Then, this coming week it’s Happy Birthday to Donn

Make it great week, keep the peace, be happy, stay safe, and be healthy!

Dirk

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