A Plague?

Last winter the east coast had record amounts of snow prompting many to say Snowmageddon had arrived. This year it has been record numbers of stink bugs causing many to call it a plague. I thought they were being a tad bit over-dramatic... until I saw one... IN OUR APARTMENT!

Halyomorpha halys... also known as Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

(Okay, so I had to use my big zoom lens to shoot this guy...)

Stink bugs were first spotted in the United States in Pennsylvania in 1998. They are an agricultural pest native to China, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong with no (not even one) predators in North America. Researchers believe they gained entry into the US in packing crates from Asia. Adults are typically just shy of an inch long (although I'm sure the one in our apartment was much bigger!) and pose no threat to humans (other than scaring them to death!). The name "stink bug" comes from the scent glands located on the abdomen and thorax which emit an odiferous scent when they are squished. Have I mentioned they have no predators in the US? In the fall stink bugs seek indoor shelter (like a barn, silo, house, garage) where they go into a hibernation-like state for the winter. Thousands of them often completely cover a building, particularly the doors and windows where they try to gain entrance through small cracks. Have I mentioned they have no predators in the US? Each year the stink bug population increases. Yikes, this is sounding more and more like a plague.

God sent ten plagues on Egypt when the Israelites were captive there. Three of the plagues were insects: gnats, flies and locusts. "All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats." (Exodus 8:17) "Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh's palace and into the houses of his officials, and throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies." (Exodus 8:24) "[Locusts] invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again. They covered all the ground until it was black.  They devoured all that was left after the hail- everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt." (Exodus 8:13-15) 

Wow! Those were plagues; what we have is an infestation. It is so easy to get swept up in the media-driven panic and fear and then to spread that fear as I talk about "this plague" with friends and family. But then I remember what Isaiah 41:10 says- "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." My heart quits racing and becomes calm. As Richard removed the stink bug I thought of things to be thankful for- there was only ONE (and it's the ONLY one we've seen), Richard was home to take care of it, and God is gracious and calms my fear.

Car News

Three weeks ago my car was totaled. I admit that I had been a little too attached to my car. I loved the feel of the leather, the way the seat fit my back perfectly, the responsiveness as I drove. I loved the way she looked. And we had a history together... she went with me when I took Janne down to UofA to begin college, my grandsons loved her "talking map," and we drove over 106,000 miles together- many of them on I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson. So the thought of replacing her was rather overwhelming. But the insurance company was NOT going to provide a rental car forever so the "car game"and fervent prayer began in earnest.

Being a permanent resident of Arizona but living temporarily in Maryland presented several challenges. We were not keen on having to register my car twice in two different states in less than six months. Nor were we wanting to drive a brand new car across the country when we return to Arizona. We considered the options:

• Make do with one car for the remainder of our time in Maryland and replace mine when we return to Arizona. - Not very practical since Richard travels between two offices nearly every day so I would be without wheels much of the time.
• Buy a "beater car" for the winter and sell/donate it when we leave Maryland. - Seriously considered... might not be very reliable.
• Buy a two or three year old car and sell it to Jenne and Jacob (as was the plan for my car) when we leave Maryland. - Not having bought a used car before, this option was a little scary!
• Bite the bullet, pick out a new car and buy it. - I despise being in the position of "having" to buy a car. And driving up to a car dealership in a rental car is like blood in the water to a shark. Sigh.

While I prayed for wisdom and for the Lord to show us the right car, Jacob, who is currently deployed in Iraq, got on CraigsList and found a car in Baltimore. Jenne and the kids went with us to look at it, test drive it, etc. A very nice young man who recently returned from his deployment in Afghanistan and is now going to nursing school using the GI bill (yep, both Jenne and I felt a connection with him!) was selling his first new car because he didn't want a car payment for a car he seldom drives. If you've ever been in downtown Baltimore, you understand why he seldom drives. Uncharacteristically quickly, the decision was made to buy the car! It took several weeks to get paperwork finalized and money where it was supposed to be. On Thursday, October 21st we picked up the car!!

Meet Banana Betty... 

... She is a Volkswagon Jetta GLI Fahrenheit Edition (194 out of 1200 made), a 6-speed manual transmission... 

Actually, Jenne and Jacob bought this car to replace Jacob's car that they sold pre-deployment. They are letting us borrow her while we're here in Maryland. Being the better clutch-driver, Richard will drive Banana Betty and I will drive... 

... the rather sedate "permanent" rental car- a Nissan Altima with no name.

We'll replace my car when we return to Arizona.

Gettysburg... the battle that turned the tide

We recently embarked on a journey into the past at Gettysburg National Military Park, the site of the Battle of Gettysburg, in Pennsylvania. My knowledge of the Battle of Gettysburg was limited to: 1) a battlefield during the Civil War and 2) the place where President Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address. Seeing the battlefield in person gave me a much deeper understanding of not only the battle of Gettysburg but the Civil War in general.

So what caused brothers to take opposite sides and fight against each other? Probably the easiest answer is the slavery issue but that was really only a by-product of the root issues. Prior to 1861 the United States of America were known as separate states that each created their own laws and regulations. Concerns over taxation, commerce and eventually slavery led to heated debates over whether a central government or individual states should decide these issues. So, at the core of the Civil War was a decision of states' rights vs. a central government.

Eventually eleven states seceded from the Union and five additional border states had strong sympathies with the South. It was a politically, economically and socially unstable time for our country... perhaps not so unlike today. Abraham Lincoln was the President of the United States while Jefferson Davis was the President of the Confederacy. Both were strong, capable men, each with a different vision for the future of his country.

We started our tour at the Visitor's Center.

The Battle of Gettysburg, the most famous battle of the Civil War, took place July 1-3, 1863 in and around the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Ten roads from ten nearby towns in Maryland and Pennsylvania converge in Gettysburg making it a transportation and communication hub and desirable property for both the Union and Confederate Armies.  What began as a small skirmish when the Confederate Army (who was searching for food and shoes) saw the Union Army camped out in Gettysburg ended with 51,000 dead, wounded and missing.

The Battle of Gettysburg is really a series of several battles. One of my favorites occurred on July 1st on the west side of town at Seminary Ridge where a small faction of the Union Army was trying to keep the Confederate Army out of town.  General John Reynolds of the Union Army brought reinforcements for General Buford's forces. Reynolds was a highly respected general; some thought he was the best that the Union had.  He was mortally wounded when a musket ball struck him in the head as he was on his horse giving orders. Had he lived, some historians think he might have been the commander of the Union Army instead of Ulysses S. Grant and perhaps would have become president instead of Grant. Interesting to ponder the "what if"...

The Memorial in the photo on the left marks where General Reynolds was killed during battle. The photo on the left is his Memorial.

Every war has its heroes and the Civil War was certainly no different. Northerners would claim Reynolds, Grant and Lincoln as heroes while Southerners would boast about Lee, Jackson and Davis. But my favorite Civil War hero is a female named Sallie who was attached to the 11th Pennsylvania Infantry, an intensely loyal unit recruited as a three month regiment in April, 1861. They earned the nickname "The Bloody Eleventh" in the Battle of Falling Waters in July that same year. Reorganized as a three year regiment in August, 1861, they fought in many battles throughout the Civil War including the Battle of Gettysburg. July 1st was a day of intense fighting and when night fell and the fighting stopped, the fields were littered with dead, dying and wounded soldiers. Sallie, tired and hungry, crept out onto the battlefield and comforted the dying and wounded soldiers, keeping watch over them until she was found weak and near death herself on July 4th. After regaining her health, she continued to fight with her unit in every battle until she was mortally wounded at Hatcher's Run in February, 1865. The men gave her a proper burial. I should mention Sallie was the unit's beloved mascot, a brindle bull terrier who traveled everywhere with the unit. It has been said she hated three things: Rebels, Democrats and Women. 

Sallie's likeness is forever memorialized at the base of the 11th Pennsylvania Infantry memorial at Oak Ridge in the Gettysburg National Military Park.

As I contemplate what war would look like in the mid-1800’s I am struck by the realization that it would be very personal. Unlike modern warfare where soldiers seldom see the enemy, the Union and Confederate soldiers often not only saw the “whites of their eyes”, they sometimes realized they were fighting their own family members.

The cannons could shoot as far as one to three miles depending on the type but had to use scouts to know where the enemy was... still an up close and personal war.  In the photo on the right, the stone wall in the foreground was used to conceal Union soldiers. Confederate soldiers were across the field in the trees behind the picket fence in the middle of the photo. They charged across the field, dismantled the picket fence during their charge, crossed the road and headed up the hill to the stone wall. Union soldiers held their ground and massacred the Confederate Army. This was (General) "Pickett's Charge" - the turning point for the Battle of Gettysburg which in turn was the turning point for the Union Army's eventual victory over the Confederacy.

Like every war the United States engaged in up to this time, this war was fought in the cities and farms of America with ordinary citizens as witnesses- something that has not happened since that time. But it reminds me that the citizens of far off war-torn countries experience that same horror.

Fighting took place on the farms outside of town as well as in town. Wounded were buried where they fell... in farm fields and gardens. Houses, barns and public buildings became hospitals for the wounded.

We visited Gettyburg in the fall- the day was crisp and beautiful. But what would it have been like in the middle of summer? I tried to picture the battlefields very green, with lots of undergrowth. The average temperature in July is 86 degrees (F) with stifling humidity. Bugs would have been everywhere. In other words, it would have been miserable.

Our visit to Gettysburg was beautiful- fall colors, not cannon balls, exploded all around us and the air was cool and crisp, not laden with heat and humidity.

Perhaps the most visible, obvious thing in  Gettysburg National Military Park is the number of monuments and memorials. There are almost 1400 monuments and memorials in the park making it one of the largest collections of outdoor sculpture in the world. The first monument was a memorial urn placed in Soldiers' National Cemetery in 1867- just four years after the battle- by the state of Minnesota to honor the First Minnesota Infantry which suffered huge losses during the battle. Many of the monuments and memorials were placed during the lifetimes of the soldiers who fought there and tell their story as well as honor them.

The Pennsylvania Memorial, completed in 1910, is the largest in the park and lists the name of every Pennsylvanian who fought in the battle- 34,530 men- on the bronze plates at the base of the memorial. Eight bronze statues of military figures are in niches on either side of the four archways.

Gettysburg National Cemetery (originally "Soldiers' National Cemetery") was our final stop.  Leading Gettysburg citizens, distressed at the poor condition of soldiers' graves all over town, begged the governor (Andrew Curtin) for state support to purchase a portion of the battlefield to be set aside as a cemetery for the defenders of the Union cause. Gettysburg lawyer David Wills was appointed the state agent to coordinate the establishment of the "Soldiers' National Cemetery." Removal of the Union dead to the cemetery began in the fall of 1863 but was not completed until long after the dedication in November, 1863. 

Today, soldiers from many wars have their final resting place at Gettysburg National Cemetery. It was an honor to walk along the quiet paths of this cemetery reflecting on the sacrifices every soldier in every war/conflict has made.

Soldiers' National Cemetery was dedicated on November 19, 1863. Many prominent people spoke at the dedication- statesman and orator Edward Everett spoke for two hours, songs and hymns were sung and solemn prayers to honor the men who died at Gettysburg were prayed. But it was President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, a speech lasting only two minutes, that captured the hearts of the 15,000 in attendance as well as future generations. 

It is here that President Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address. I think it's interesting that he felt no one would remember his words after the dedication- yet they became one of the most famous and well-known speeches of all time. 

"...we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."  Abraham Lincoln

Pennsylvania German/Dutch Country

Most states boast about their accomplishments and we wanted to see some of Pennsylvania's first-hand. Janne and Adam joined us on a weekend adventure to explore the Keystone State.

We drove through beautiful forested roads that were bursting with color. Realizing that the whole idea of "autumn" is a foreign concept to us Arizonans, I wondered if it ever gets boring or old. Of course, I can't imagine that any more than I could imagine the dazzling spring-time display of poppies on Picacho Peak being commonplace.

I love how patriotic small towns are! Nearly every building, house or business, had an American flag hanging by the door.

Did you know that the oldest brewery in America is in Pottsville, Pennsylvania? Not only did I not know that, but I would have guessed Yuengling beer is imported from Asia, not a domestic beer from the oldest brewery in America! David G. Yuengling opened the brewery in 1829 shortly after he arrived in Pottsville from Wurttenberg, Germany. During Prohibition the brewery survived by producing "near-beer" products that were available by prescription from a physician for "women with the vapors and nursing mothers." The Yuenglings have always run the brewery; it is currently a fifth generation business. 

After learning the history of beer and how it is made, we toured the production floor . The Egyptians first made beer thousands of years ago. Hops is an important ingredient in beer-making but not used in anything else. At the end of the tour we still had not learned the answer to our question: Why would someone put hops, a plant not used in anything else or eaten by itself, in a drink to begin with?  

The production machinery was HUGE and rather intimidating-looking contrasted with the beautiful stained-glass ceiling that was installed to reduce the glare from the original copper vats. 

We ate lunch at a delightful country store with huge displays of pumpkins, squash and gourds outside. We bought sandwiches at the deli counter- one of the best sandwiches I've ever had!- along with fresh apple cider. The aisles of "homemade" goods called to us and we filled our cart with jams, noodles and other culinary delights.

As much as fall foliage, winter squash and gourds are a rite of autumn!

Our next stop was America's first pretzel bakery, the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery in Lititz, Pennsylvania. Julius Sturgis ran a bread bakery in 1850 when a hobo gave him a pretzel recipe in gratitude for the hospitality Julius showed him when Julius invited him to eat with the family. Julius tried the recipe out on his family who loved the crunchy treats. Eleven years later he added pretzel baking to his business which was a booming success. The Sturgis family continues to bake pretzels today.

Before industrialization, the pretzels were hand-twisted and part of our tour included learning how to twist the pretzel dough. Richard, Janne and Adam all made respectable-looking pretzels; mine was rather pathetic-looking. The pretzels were then baked several times, originally in a brick oven.

Can you guess which sad pretzel is mine?

Anyone who knows Janne knows she is the "Pretzel Queen!" We all agreed the Julius Sturgis pretzels were the best we ever had- and we bought several bags to bring home!

The Amish are well-known for plain but plentiful meals. We went to Plain & Fancy, a family-style restaurant that serves an authentic Amish dinner. I'm not sure how many courses there were, but the food was very good and quite plentiful. If we ate like that every day, we'd have to live the life-style of the Amish in order not to be as wide as we are tall! We had good conversation with our table-mates to go with the good food!

Houseguests

That wealth of information, "Anonymous", once said "The ornaments of your house will be the guests who frequent it." Just as ornaments make a Christmas tree sparkle and come to life, friends and family who visit our home make it sparkle. Thankfully, we have been blessed with lots of "ornaments" the past few weeks!

Jenne and the kids visited over a long weekend. You may be wondering how we fit FIVE extra people in our two-bedroom apartment. Fortunately our guest bathroom is on the larger side so Lexie slept in the Pack & Play in that bathroom. Jenne and Nick were in the guest room  leaving Christopher and Ben to sleep on the floor in our room. We were on the go from morning till night- sightseeing, laughing, talking, eating- so having that many people cooped up in a small space was not an issue.

Whether it's jammin' at Target (Christopher-7), making silly faces in the metro station (Nick-5), "driving a ship" (Ben-3) or jumping in puddles (Lexie-2), we have a sparkly good time!

A few hours after Jenne and the kids left, our next houseguest, Laurie, arrived. Since I was in Arizona when she and her husband visited a few weeks ago, she stopped back at our place before returning home. One thing Laurie wanted to do was ride the metro (just like our grandkids did!). We drove about 30 minutes  to the metro station one morning and rode into Washington, D.C. where we went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. We saw the Hope diamond (really big and really sparkly!) as well as lots of other gems. Most of them were too gaudy for our tastes even if they were priceless. We ate a hot dog on the mall, walked to the Capitol Building then back to the Washington Monument, World War II Monument and the Reflecting Pool before heading back to the metro. I realized that after living here only six months, I was quite comfortable "leading a tour!" Besides sightseeing, talking, laughing and eating, we also saw a movie and went for a walk by Lake Kittamaqundi.

(photos courtesy of Laurie)

I love taking people to our nation's capital for the first time. It is such an awe-inspiring experience!

After all our houseguests departed, our apartment was a little too quiet and empty. But our hearts were overflowing with joy and love that comes from being with friends and family. And if you look hard enough, you can still see the sparkle. 

Angels & Friends

The day after returning home from vacation Richard dropped me off at BWI Airport so I could fly back to Arizona for a wedding. Always a gentleman, he helped me with my luggage and waited until I got in line at security before heading back home. He had several errands to do that morning before friends from Arizona arrived for a visit. Yep, I was going to Arizona the same weekend they would be in Maryland. Ironic? Maybe. Coincidence? Definitely not.

Aside from being long (as it always is!), my flight was uneventful- just the way I like it! When I switched my phone on, I had a message from Richard saying he had been in an accident and to call him. Although the words were cause for panic, hearing his voice calmed me and I quickly pushed his speed dial number.

As he told me what happened, relief surged through my body. Miraculously, no one was hurt. He was taking my car to get it washed and was accelerating onto an on-ramp to an expressway when simultaneously a white plastic trash bag flew up and stuck on his windshield AND the construction pick-up truck in front of him stopped to turn off the road. Richard rear-ended him going about 30 miles an hour. Both air bags deployed and the front end of my car slid under the pick-up's bumper and crumpled. There was very little damage to the pick-up, but my car was totaled.

I realize that cars are designed to crunch thereby absorbing the energy of the impact and protecting the occupants of the car. But I also believe we have angels watching over us. Psalm 91:11 says "For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways."

While Richard walked away from the accident with just a sore nose (burned from the air bag), some hoarseness and chest congestion (from the air bag) and a sore sternum (a seatbelt bruise later appeared), he was still shook up from the experience. Our friends from Arizona arrived later that afternoon and began taking care of him. They were there to distract and comfort him when I could not be there. By the time Mike and Laurie left on Sunday, Richard was fine. Some would say we were "lucky" they were here. I don't think it's luck... I think it was God's plan all along. Thank you, Mike and Laurie, for allowing God to use you for His glory as you ministered to us.

The next step is replacing my car. In the meantime, I get to drive Al Capone's car!!

Autumn Journey 2010 ... days twelve, thirteen and fourteen (Vermont!)

After almost two weeks of traveling, it was time to meander back home. We drove through pastoral countryside dotted with small farms as we crossed the province of Quebec. Our border crossing near Alburgh, Vermont was on a two-lane road and had only one lane/one US Customs official. We continued driving down the Lake Champlain Islands.

Lake Champlain is the sixth largest fresh water lake in the United States. Bridges of varying size and construction connect the islands.

When I was in fifth grade we had to do a report on a state. I wanted to do mine on California (who wouldn't want to write about the state with Disneyland?) but a friend picked it before I could. Seeing my disappointment and inability to decide on another state, my teacher gently "suggested" I do mine on Vermont. All I knew about Vermont was that it was on the other side of the country and had a capital I could barely pronounce (Montpelier). I was not happy. I grudgingly wrote my letter to the state chamber of commerce requesting information about Vermont. In a few weeks my class began receiving the information we had requested. But my package had something no one else's did- a personal letter from the kind woman who put my information together. She told me all the things she loved about living in Vermont and as I read her letter I began falling in love with Vermont, too. I learned many facts about Vermont- it is the Green Mountain State, its name comes from the French words for green mountain ("mont vert"), the state tree is the sugar maple and the state flower is red clover. As I wrote my report, I wondered if I would ever travel all the way across the country to visit the beautiful state of Vermont.

In the past I have cut through a corner of Vermont as we did at the beginning of this trip but this was the first time I spent any time in or traveled through major parts of the state. The first thing I noticed is that Vermont smells different... cleaner, fresher with a woodsy scent. The second thing I noticed is that Vermonters are just about the friendliest people I've ever met. And the third thing that jumped out at me was how absolutely, positively beautiful Vermont is.  I mean dazzlingly gorgeous, simple but classic. But don't take my word for it- you can decide for yourself.

We headed east to the Green Mountains and Smugglers' Notch along a scenic road. Smugglers' Notch is a narrow pass through the Green Mountains that served as a conduit between Vermont and Canada for smugglers. In 1807 President Thomas Jefferson passed an embargo act prohibiting American trade with Great Britain or Canada. This was an extreme hardship for northern Vermonters since Montreal was a much closer market than US cities. Northern Vermonters continued trading with Canada illegally herding cattle or carrying other goods through the Notch. Later, slaves used it to escape to Canada and freedom. And of course, during Prohibition goods (liquor) came the other direction. Now it is a retreat from the rat-race with resorts offering respite summer and winter.

It was a foggy, overcast day which only added to the mystique of Smugglers' Notch!

Most people think of maple syrup when they think of Vermont. While maple syrup is an important product for Vermont, cheese and ice cream are growing in popularity and demand. We drove past dairy farm after dairy farm (reminiscent of Prince Edward Island!) and saw really happy cows (also reminiscent of Prince Edward Island!). We stopped at a cheese shop and after tasting lots of samples, filled a grocery bag with cheese to take home. We stopped again at the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream factory and took a tour. After the tour, we got to sample a brand new ice cream flavor, Milk & Cookies- very tasty! I had always thought Ben & Jerry's was just a gourmet yuppy ice cream company but I learned otherwise. They only use local, small dairy farmers for their milk and cream, not big conglomerate dairies. They use fair-trade ingredients when possible and give back to those communities. And their ice cream is really, really good!

Contented, happy cows are the secret to making happy milk and cream... and that is the secret ingredient for exceptional cheese and ice cream!

We continued on down the eastern side of the Green Mountains. Autumn had arrived and the foliage was spectacular. What a feast for our eyes! They darted back and forth trying to see it all.

Once again there were too many colors to name!

We happened upon a gorgeous waterfall. It was just a short hike from the parking area- about 100 feet!

The waterfall was stunning... I was glad we had stopped to "hike" a bit! And right around the next bend in the road was a green meadow with fall color on either side. The way the red leaves wrapped around the tree trunk made it look like a display at Michael's!

We passed through one small town after another contemplating what life in a small town in Vermont would be like. Then we passed through Killington, VT and decided it would be a fun place to live. Many of the local businesses participated in a hay sculpture contest. Here are a few we liked....

We saw several others but these were our favorites.

And this was our winner!

A local day spa made this sculpture... I like the cucumbers on her eyes!!

We passed idyllic spot after idyllic spot until we wondered how so much beauty could be crammed into such a small space. And have I mentioned how good the air smelled?

We would love to retire here on this lake... but maybe we should come back in winter before we buy a place!

One of the things I love about the east coast in general, and New England in particular, are the many small churches that actually look like churches, not warehouses. I know that the "building" doesn't make the church but there is something inviting and comforting about these small churches with tall spires. As we drove into many small towns, especially those in valleys, we could see the church spires sticking up above the trees like a beacon long before we could see the rest of the town.

I'd love to see this church in the winter with snow all around... it would look like a Christmas card!

Covered bridges are fairly commonplace in New England and we've visited several. After seeing the first one, I was curious about why they are covered. In early days bridges were made out of wood so the cover is to protect the bridge from mold and rot from having snow and ice accumulate on them. Covered bridges are also called "Kissing Bridges"since they gave courting couples a "private" place to kiss as the horse and buggy went over the bridge. We stopped at one last covered bridge before we left Vermont.

The Scott Bridge, built in 1870, has the longest wooden span in Vermont. It is no longer in use but we walked through it.

Before leaving Vermont, we had dinner at the Madison Brewery Co. in Bennington. We ate there four years ago when we cut through the bottom corner of the state and discovered they had the best shepherd's pie we had ever eaten. We were quickly seated at a table. As soon as our server came by, we told her we knew exactly what we wanted without looking at the menu- shepherd's pie. When she told us they were out of shepherd's pie, we thought she was kidding- but she wasn't. That was the only disappointing thing during our travels through Vermont!

The last day was dark and rainy thanks to Tropical Storm Nicole. We drove straight through New York and Pennsylvania back home to Maryland without taking a single picture. Shocking, I know! We were gone 14 days and drove a total of 3,780 miles. What a ride!!