August 8 & 9 Visiting Friends in Downingtown, PA

In March when we went to Vietnam we made friends with a young man, Larry, who was on the trip. He was there to visit the site of his father's death in Vietnam which happened when Larry was just a young boy. Larry is a very gifted photographer and was a joy to have on the trip. He lives in Downingtown, about 40 miles outside Philadelphia, since we were going to be relatively closeby we wanted to see him again and meet his wife.

Larry travels a great deal with his photography work so we were lucky to catch him at home and available to go to dinner with us.

Using my mapping program, I located an RV park said to be within 6 miles of Larry's home so that's where we headed. The mapping program lays out all the turns and guides us verbally along the way to our destination. However, this time I learned a valuable lesson. There are other hazards that cannot be monitored and reflected in such a program. Pennsylvania has the most beautiful, BIG trees (oak and others) that grow along and over the roads everywhere. The mapping program tells me if there is a low lying overpass but not a low lying canopy of branches.

The RV park ended up being in a beautiful setting along the banks of an awesome, calm creek with cranes and egrets fishing from tree stumps for their dinner. However, it was a long and winding road with a low lying canopy of tree branches leading for a number of miles down into the RV park. We had (and I emphasize HAD) two antennas on the roof of our motor home. Well, I think one may still be there but just be laid down on the roof. I haven't been up there to check yet. The second one was mounted along side the top of the drivers side of the coach. It got totally broken off and will need to be replaced at some point. Gary is usually pretty excitable about such things but has mellowed a bit as reflected in his reaction..."Well, we don't have to listen to it hit branches any more!"

We spent one day resting up in our remote forested hideaway and then had a wonderful evening visiting with Larry and his wife. They took us out for a delicious dinner at their favorite Greek restaurant and we had a great time.

Next stop will be Cherry Hill Park in College Park, Maryland. It is close enough to Washington, DC to take tours and public transportation to visit all the national tourist sites without having to drive in all the traffic congestion.