The Waterwheelers: Homeward Bound

May 5, 2017 (Fri)

We left our condo about 9:45 am and traveled to Gainesville, Virginia where Yvette had reserved us a room at the Hampton Inn. It rained for the first hour then it cleared up. We arrived in Gainesville at around 12:30 pm. The room was not yet ready so we celebrated Cinco De Mayo by eating lunch at Uncle Julio's Rio Grande Café, a Mexican restaurant. We then went on to Wendell and Yvette's place in Warranton. Yvette had to work so Wendell, Diane and I went to visit Doug and Linda in Chantilly. They had a wonderful meal for us and then we had a nice visit, remembering "the good old times" growing up.

This looks serious

May 6, 2017 (Sat)

Tonight was our night for baseball. We went with Wendell and Yvette to Baltimore to see the Baltimore Orioles play the Chicago White Sox at Camden Yards.

Camden Yards

We were there a little early and went to Dempsey's to eat. The only table they had was one outside. We took it, even though it was raining. We were under a cover.

True orange Oriole fans

Another Oriole fan in line to eat

The game was delayed almost an hour because of rain. Fortunately the rain let up and we were able to watch the game. It was cold though. Diane had on 4 layers of shirts and sweatshirts, my coat on her lap, and a blanket on top of that.

Getting ready for the game after rain

The game was a lot of fun. We can see why Wendell and Yvette are such fans. The Orioles beat the White Sox 6 to 5.

Manny Machado at bat

May 7, 2017 (Sun)

This morning there was an Area Conference Broadcast for all of the North America Northeast Area. We attended with Wendell and Yvette in their building. The first part of the conference was conducted by the stake. Wendell led the music and Yvette played the organ for this part. Elder Gong was conducting and was the first speaker, then Sister Cordon spoke followed by an area seventy. Elder Dallin H. Oaks was the concluding speaker. He spoke about Faith as the first principle of the gospel. He said that faith prepares us to deal with whatever life brings. He also said to do your best and trust in the Lord's timing. After conference we went to Wendell and Yvette's for a nice meal. We left about 2:30 pm to head for Indiana. We went through five states: Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Ohio (We went in and out of West Virginia three times). We finally ended up in Cambridge, Ohio for the night.

May 8, 2017 (Mon)

We drove pretty much straight through to Indiana today. We stopped in Nashville, Indiana for a brief rest stop. Nashville is a nice little "artsy" town with a lot of fun shops.

Diane in Nashville

Is this what you mean by rest stop?

Life really is good

We arrived at Andrea and Jason's about 3 pm. Jason was just leaving for a therapy session so we had some time with Hanna. Kamary and Alyssa came home around 3:30 pm and the rest of the kids were home by 4 pm. Andrea got home a little after 4:30 pm. We had a nice visit.

Strange mother/daughter ritual

Kohler on the computer

Kamary on the computer

Alyssa on her iPad

Hanna on her iPad

Brynlie, the cut-up

Is Lauren actually reading a book?

In spite of living in an electronics world we had time for face-to-face talks and hugs. We had dinner and then Family Home Evening. The kids shared their talents with us. They are doing a good job.

Kohler playing his own composition on the piano

Brynlie singing with the guitar

Kamary and her monologue

Lauren plays the violin

Alyssa plays the cello

Family Home Evening with the Smiths

May 9, 2017 (Tue)
By the time we got up this morning (about 7 am) Kamary and Alyssa were already gone. Andrea had her English session on line. She is a coach for Chinese students learning English. She really enjoys it.

We were off by about 8:30 am. It was hard to say goodby. We took I-70 to St. Louis where we stopped to see the Gateway Arch. It commemorates the westward expansion of America in the 19th century. Many of the explorers and pioneers left from Saint Louis to go west.

Gateway Arch in Saint Louis

We parked in the church parking lot, which is next to the arch.

Oldest church in the region

Inside the church

We took an odd elevator to the top of the arch. It has cramped cars with 4-5 people and makes angle adjustments as it goes up the arch.

Diane at the arch

Arch in the sky

We had to lean over a shelf to look out their small, narrow windows. It was a nice view of the city.

Leaning over to watch out the arch window

View of Saint Louis from the arch

While we crossed Missouri we listened to the lectures on the brain. We continued to St. Joseph where we spent the night.

May 10, 2017 (Wed)

Today was a long day across Nebraska. We drove all day, stopping in Kearny for lunch. We listened to the book "Dragon Watch" and the lectures on "Understanding the Brain"as we traveled. We stopped in Cheyenne, WY for the night.

May 11, 2017 (Thu)

Today we crossed Wyoming, arriving home about 4 pm. We stopped at a rest area and saw a sign for a historical site for Fort Steele. We went and looked at the ruins. It was once a pretty good sized complex. It was a fort used to protect the railroad.