It’s been a hectic summer. I had hoped to post sooner but real life has a way of messing up intentions. I took my vacation and loved it... despite the heat rash from hell in the nether regions I managed to get on the first day. (Note to self: dummy!!!! wear shorts on 90+ degree days when you’re going to do a lot of walking!)

I left home at 4am on 6/22 and reached Union Station in DC by 7:30. Got 12 miles to the gallon on my 1991 Ford E150 conversion van (equipped with wheelchair lift I used for my wife). For a V-8, that’s good. (Don’t laugh, it’s paid for and only has 37,500 miles on it.! It also hauls my kayak... INSIDE.) Union Station has a parking garage and it costs $20 a day in advance... a good deal! I had to park in the bus area as the van was too high for the car area. I spent the next couple of hours exploring Union Station. It’s a homage to the extravagance of a bygone time. At 10 I boarded the DC Ducks tour which loads in front of the station. Riding the WWII vintage DUWK was an adventure. The ride through DC was quite bumpy but the section on the Potamac was nice. I got a lot of insights for use on future ‘Odyssey’ writings. Then I took a cab to my hotel. The Allen Lee is on the edge of the George Washington University Campus and is a bare bones place. It was clean and met my needs... cheap and a room with a shower. It’s located 3 blocks east of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (6 blocks if you have to walk due to an expressway) and 4 blocks north of the Lincoln Memorial. After checking in I headed down to the MALL. I toured the war memorials... my dad served in WWII and I lived through the worst of the Vietnam fiasco. They made me appreciate the sacrifices made for our way of life. Then I headed down to the Smithsonian where I toured the museums of the American Indian, Natural Histor, and American History. Then I walked back to the hotel. Can you say heat rash?

After a quick shower and powder, I headed to the Kennedy Center. If you get to DC, go there. Every night in the Millenium Hall they hold a free concert. Check out their web site:
http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium/archive.html
Scroll through their listings. If you can’t find something you like, your’re dead. I saw Tony Ellis and his “Appalachian eloquence” on banjo and fiddle (6/22). It was great! The next day I did more touring, then headed back to the Kennedy Center for the next free performance. I’d scheduled my vacation around this show. It was opened by POMPLAMOOSE. I got hooked on them in December when I saw them on a TV commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g947151eKQo
I looked them up on YouTube and love their songs. ‘Mr. Sandman’ is my favorite! Check them out at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/PomplamooseMusic?feature=chclk#p...
and: http://pomplamoose.com/
When I learned they were going to do the show in DC, I set my vacation to catch it. That’s how I discovered the 2nd group on the ticket, OK GO. Check them out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ-uhy_4yMg&feature=related
As the show was the 14th anniversary of the free concerts, the show was held in the Concert hall, which was packed. Both groups were phenominal!

The next morning I left DC for the Bay Hundred area on the Eastern Shore. St. Michaels is a picturesque town. Bozman is hiccup and is Neavitt small. Both are nice and I wouldn’t mind living there. Tilgham is nice and the drawbridge is quaint. Wells point is private land and I couldn’t get onto it but I did drive by.

On the 6/25 I headed to a public launch at the end of Long Road in Neavitt and launched my kayak at 10am. (I seldom eat breakfast or lunch. For the past 40 years my breakfast has consisted of 2 cans of Coke, so does my lunch. At 50 I cut back from 10-12 cans a day to my current 5-6) I attached a plastic food storage box 3 inches high and just big enough to hold my 6-pack cooler on the deck in front of my seat. I’d crammed 7 cans of Coke inside with ice and had another as I launched. I paddled northwest up Balls Creek a mile to explore the inlets and coves of ‘The Clan wells Point’.

I paddled 1 1/2 miles along the coast checking out every nook and cranny. I reached Johns Cove and went inside along the shore which is a bit over a mile long. I checked out the site of ‘The Clan Wells Point Landing. At that point I continued a bit over a mile around Locust Point to Steves Cove. This was a huge cove is just south of Krista’s home. I took my time exploring this and my discoveries will be included in ‘Odyssey’. This cove has a shore 1 1/2 miles long. From here I traveled past Piney Point,, the beginning of Wells Point. Piney Point brought me next to Broad Creek which is a bit over 2 miles wide at that point and had waves about 2 feet high. It was a struggle staying close to shore without getting pushed onto the rocks that have been placed about much of the shore to protect it. I made my way to the tip of Wells Point where Wells Point Lane ends and was able to see the site where the cemetery is located. This was a voyage of a bit over a mile.

I continued around Wells Point to Meetinghouse point, a distance of 1 1/4 mile. Here the coast of Wells Point travels west up Leadenham Creek, dipping into Bromwell Cove then around narrow Fishing Point, a distance of 1 3/4 miles. The eastern end of Bromwell Cove by Fishing Point is just north of Krista’s home. After Fishing Point I followed the shore to Judys Point, the start of Long Cove, a distance of a mile. Long Cove has a shore of 1 1/2 miles. At this point I was half way between the docks of the ‘Campbell home’ and the ‘Clan Wells Point Youth Rehab Hostel. I decided to head back to the launch site. I didn’t go into the coves on the way back but paddled in as straight a line as possible, a distance of 3 3/4 miles. I loved every minute of the excursion and cut across the open waters of Broad Creek to the landing, slicing through the 2 foot waves nearly head on at a minimum of 1/2 mile from shore. Felt so invigorated and alive!

All the distances have been calculated from the maps and I paddled 16 1/2 miles in eight hours. I get about 2 miles per can of Coke per hour. Not a bad feat for a 60 year old confirmed Coke-a-holic who only took up kayaking in May to prep for this expedition.

I spent the 4th of July on Blue Marsh Lake, paddling all day into the nooks and crannies there for eight hours. Again, a can of Coke per hour per 2 miles.

On July 9 I headed up to Connecticut to visit my daughter. Again I took the van as I was delivering some inherited furniture. As I pulled into her town, the transmission began slipping. I made it to her house, but as I went to back up, it didn’t want to go into reverse. I got out and saw transmission fluid running down the street. Peeking under, a steady stream was flowing from the converter. Burned clutches could be smelled. I managed to get it parked. After greeting my daughter, we headed to a nearby AutoZone and bought 8 quarts of fluid. Back at the van I dumped a quart in and it ran right out.

Not being one to panic, I shrugged my shoulders trusting in God to get me home. We went out to dinner. The next day we went out for lunch and mid afternoon I dumped more fluid in. It didn’t run out, so I added all remaining fluid. Then I set out for home in Pennsylvania, 250 miles away. I was on route 15, a limited access road about 40 miles from my daughter when the van began shaking. Determined, I continued on, staying at 60 mph. As it worsened, I began to think the transmission was about to blow. Finally there was an explosion and the floor felt as if it was going to be shredded. I saw black shrapnel flying out the side of the van. Fortunately, no one was near me. I quickly realized the left front tire had shredded. God was watching over me and the tire stayed inflated. I slowed down to 50 and drove 2 miles to a rest area. The entire tread had delaminated from the steel belts and ripped off. That’s what I get for driving 2 long road trips in hot weather with 11 year old tires. They had good tread but were dry rotted! I put on the spare and continued home, making it home without further incident.

The next day I replaced the three old tires (I had replaced the 2 drive tires 2 years ago for better traction). Then I drove to a local transmission shop. A quick check revealed I’d blown the front seal, but it re-seated itself once cooled down. Still, the burned clutches had to be dealt with. Being alone, I had a tow bar installed on my 2003 Ford Ranger. I hooked it up to the back of the van and drove back to the garage to drop off the van. Even with the smoked transmission I made it the 2 miles without incident. The transmission needed a total rebuild.

My last week of vacation I spent chaperoning our church’s youth group on a mission trip. July 24-29, I drove one of 2 rented vans 325 miles to upstate New York where we spent the week working with low income children. The kids were so eager to have attention and someone who cared. The teens in the youth group were a delight to watch. I understood why God had urged me to volunteer to be a chaperone. Needless to say, at 60 I had a hard time keeping up with the teens. Add to that we slept on the floor of non air-conditioned classrooms of a church and had to drive each evening a mile to a public school to use the showers in the locker-rooms. I somehow made it through but spent 2 days recovering once I arrived home. Wisely, I had taken Monday 8/1 off as a precaution.

That brings me up to now. I’m polishing of a follow up to my Center story and hope to begin posting soon. I have three other stories in the works. Getting time to work on them is the issue.

I wish everyone a good summer. If life gives you lemons.... make lemonade! It’ll cool you down during the hot weather.

May the Supreme being, of whatever form you believe, bless everyone in their own way.

Jennifer Sue