2010 ANNUAL ROAD TRIP NORTH
1500 miles driven, a dozen households and thirty-seven people visited, countless smiles, laughs, hugs and stories traded
May 12 through 21, 2010
SHENANDOAH VALLEY - OLD DOGS AND RASPBERRIES
This year's pilgrimage started in the Shenandoah Valley with Glen Rodes and family and then on to Keezletown where Catherine Armentrout stands beside her wonderfully fragrant peonies and talks about her garden. She confessed that her husband Mark may be right about her having planted too many raspberries. You can see them waving boisterously at us from along the fence to the left of the garden. Click on the picture for good look at those bad boys.
Mark Armentrout wasn't in so we sat awhile and talked, gave their dog a good petting and drove over to where Catherine told us he was doing some work with his older brother.
THE TOOL SHED
Here's the field where several generations of Armentrouts have been storing their old farm vehicles and equipment. It has long been jokingly referred to as the "Tool Shed." One thing's for certain; this side of the family has a great sense of humor.
TWO HUNDRED THIRTY-ONE YEARS OF ARMENTROUTS
The first thing these three Armen/Armantrouts do when they get together is start swapping stories and jokes. Ticky (short for Paul) is ninety-five, his youngest brother Babe (a.k.a. Mark) is eighty-five and Bob is fifty-one. Bob asked Mark if he thought they were going to have enough raspberries this year just to see his reaction.
A JOB WELL DONE
Catherine gave us good instructions and we were pleased with ourselves for finding Babe and Ticky. The timing was perfect being because the hard work was already done. We are impressed to see these two still working so hard. Click on the photo to the right to see details of their load.
MELVIN AND BETTY
Next stop, Harrisonburg. We stopped in for a chat with Melvin and Betty Armentrout. They farm a piece of land not too far from Mark and Catherine's place. We found them in good humor and got all caught up.
MATT AND JENN
A few hours later and we were in Pennsylvania to visit Matt and Jenn at the Dickinson College Farm. We wandered around the farm picking produce and enjoyed a lovely dinner and an overnight stay.
SHIPPENSBURG
The next day, we went to Shippensburg to visit Camille's family. Check out Cumberland Valley Family Visit 2010 for photos of our stay with John and Darla, a shopping trip with Mom and a nice Sunday hike at a State park.
NEW JERSEY SHORE
After three days in Shippensburg, we drove to the shore where we went for a long walk with Camille's cousin Mark and brother Jim. That evening we went to dinner at cousin Frank's and the next morning spent a little time in Camille's childhood neighborhood. There's more story on this page: Sandy Hook and West Long Branch, 2010
CAPE MAY-LEWES FERRY
Bob loaded car and wife onto the ferry for the trip to Delaware after a quiet evening in Cape May.
OUR GOOD FRIEND, NED
We are always tickled to spend some time with Ned and take the obligatory sunglass photo. This year we did a little gardening, some cooking, went for a walk and invited Frankie and Jessica over for dinner. More at: Hanging out with Ned in Cabin John - May, 2010
TLC FOR BLANCHE
Along the way, Bob fueled up with Biodiesel whenever possible. We only had to make one fill using petroleum diesel. We were already humming down the home stretch when Blanche began choking on a clogged fuel filter. We pulled off into a little town and Bob swapped it out in minutes!
[ Home ] [ Up ] [ Annual May Road Trip North ] [ Dickinson College Farm Visit ] [ Cumberland Valley Family Visit 2010 ] [ Sandy Hook and West Long Branch, 2010 ] [ Hanging out with Ned in Cabin John - May, 2010 ] [ Sunken Gardens of Moncure - May 2010 ]
