In Which We Find Harper's Ferry

Last Saturday, I took a day trip to Harper's Ferry, WV. It's only 60 miles away, through the countryside. It was a sunny autumn day, and I printed out directions, so unlike the usual wandering until we found the right place, we had a plan. HA!

After driving for miles down scary West Virginia Appalachian roads, expecting to run into Joe Bob  coming out of one of the rusty, run-down trailers to shoot us with his shot gun, low on gas, we decided my directions were wrong. We found a gas station, with less than 20 miles of gas left in the tank, and backtracked.

We eventually found Harper's Ferry, the historic town known for John Brown's slave uprising. Here is John himself, ready to shoot your eye out.

It was built on the Shanendoah River. It's a beautiful river, and in the summer, people go tubing in it by the town. Harper's Ferry was also flooded out many, many times. Here's how deep the waters were in some of the biggest floods.

It's a very quaint little town with lots of shops, cafes, and little museums run by the National Park Service. I would liek it noted here that Blogger changed how pictures are uploaded and now I can't figure out how to arrange them the way I want them.

Here is one last picture.

In Which I Pass

I finished the first semester of classes towards earning an autism certificate. I passed both classes! Yay, Yippee, Yahoo! Two more classes to go!

In Which I Pick Pumpkins

It was a beautiful fall weekend, so Saturday, we headed out on an adventure. First stop: Virginia Arboretum and Experimental Farm.

There were a lot of trees. Also, a man made out of plastic flower pots, holding a little dog. the man was nice enough to take a picture with me, but the dog tried to bite me.

Then, we stopped at a scary roadside shop to get a drink. I didn't take a picture beacuse it looked loike the kind of place where big, burly men come out waving shotguns at you. Turns out, it was run by a little old Chinese woman who sold cold drinks, bait, and fresh vegetarian eggrolls (in rural Virginia!).

Next stop: Pick pumpkins. We went to Hollins Farmin Fauquier County, VA. It was waaaaay up on the top of a hill. I've never been to a pumpkin patch on top of a hill before. We had to wind up a narrow road around and around, past cows and streams, and fields. the view at the top was really pretty.

By this time, we were thirsty, so last stop was Delaplane Cellars to taste some local wine. I have to say, I'm not much impressed by Virginia wine, but it was a pretty place on top of another hill (though I don't have a picture, what was I thinking?). The bread they served was very good, crisp on the outside, warm and chewy on the inside. the perfect way to end an autumn day. Now it's back to reality tomorrow. Sigh.

Any Takers?

Did anyone place bets on whether or not I'd have school today? Well, there is no school. Something to do with flooding and police recommendations to stay put. I guess they don't want the children to be swept away for some reason. Of course, the real reason school is closed is because I had managed to schedule myself a rare paperwork day.

In Which It Floods

So, it's been raining for 5 days. It's been raining, and raining, and raining. And now it's flooding. I've never driven through a torrential downpour before, while also driving through 2-inch-deep puddles. It was a real fun drive home today. And it is still raining. Should we take bets on whether or not there will be school tomorrow? It' s supposed to rain all night. And tomorrow afternoon. And Saturday. It's getting a bit rediculous. Maybe I should build an ark.

In Which Vacation Ends

Today is my last day of freedom, and I am spending it writing a paper. diid I mention I'm taking online classes through Regent University to get a special certificate in autism? It seemed like a good idea at the time. It's been a long time since I've had to write a formal paper. it's amazing how annoyingly time-consuming it is to make sure everything is in the correct format. Sigh.

Well, good luck to all the teachers out there, and best wishes to the students. We're all in this together.

In Which it Shakes and Floods

It's been quite a week in Virginia. I feel a little like Garrison Keillor saying, "It's been quite a week in Lake Wobegon".

The old news is the 5.8 earthquake we had on Tuesday, epicenter in Mineral, VA. I had just got home from a training for school (I know now how to escape when a student tries to choke me. Not that that's ever happened.). I was about to call the cable company to complain about how much it costs me to watch tv stations I don't want, when the floor started shaking. I was a little confused because I don't live close enough to the road to feel the shake from the construction trucks across the street. Then the shaking went on. And on. And on. I was really proud of myself for remembering to stand in a door frame. None of my tables are sturdy enough to crouch under. It ended up lasting at least 40 seconds where I was.

Then yesterday Hurricane Irene came through. I live far enough inland that all we got was rain. 16 hours of rain. I think it came out to about 3 inches of rain. It was badly needed, as it's been so dry the grass has turned to dust. today, there aren't even puddles on the ground in my neighborhood. It's been quite a week, but not anywhere near as dire as the news makes it sound.