LAZY DAYS

Since returning from my baseball trip to Pittsburgh, I haven't done a whole lot. Yea summer is just around the corner and I have hit those Lazy Days of Summer a bit early.  I have tried to get some videos edited and ready to upload and I have been just slightly successful. Right now I think I have three Texas Videos ready to go plus a new video from last years trip to Georgia.

Since getting home from Pittsburgh, I have been waiting on the IRS to come and haul me off to jail.  So far today I have gotten 4-call alone from some piece of crap with a heavy accent telling me that I current have outstanding charges against me and that the police are on the way.

Finally fed up with these calls I answered laid into the Piece of crap on the other end. I must say that I am not proud of my language. It is safe to say that the air around here was blue for several minutes.  But the camel jockey on the other end of the phone ended up hanging up on me.

Evidently, I have a couple of new neighbors. One who have moved in across the street has not done a lot to endear himself to the neighborhood.  According to one neighbor his one attempt to welcome him to the neighborhood was rudely rebuffed. According to my "friendly" neighbor he tried to strike up a conversation with the new resident and was told, "I'm not here to be friendly or to be neighborly, I just want to be left alone until I can get back home." If true all I can say is WOW!"  According to what my "friendly" neighbor has been able to find out, about our new resident he is only renting and will only be here through the end of the year. I haven't met him, and probably won't

My other new neighbors are a very likable young couple with twin girls.  They moved in while I was in Pittsburgh and when I go back they treated me to plate of Homemade Brownies. They told me that they wanted to meet their neighbors and to let us know how glad they were to be living in the neighborhood.  So I've got two new neighbors that are completely on the opposite end of the spectrum.

One thing that I have done is edited and posted a bunch of photos on my FLICKR SITE. So if you want to take a look please click the link.

I have uploaded the first of the Dallas videos. There is probably going to be 3 or 4 videos from the Metroplex before I move on toward Waco.  So he is the first of the Big D videos. Now I am going to get back to being Lazy.

THE BOYS OF SUMMER

(PITTSBURGH, PA) For the past three days I have been in Pittsburgh enjoying some baseball at PNC Park. I really enjoy coming to the Steel City for baseball. If there is a better ballpark in the Major League I haven't found it. PNC Park sits on the "North Shore" of the Three Rivers.  It is here that the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers merge to form the Ohio River. 

I have attended several games at PNC Park over the past few years, but this three game trip was a mixed bag to say the least.

This was sort of a spur of the moment trip as I didn't decide to actually to buy tickets until this past Sunday.  This would be the Dodgers only trip into Pittsburgh this season and I really wanted to see the Boys in Blue this year. So I quickly bought tickets and made my hotel reservations.

Tuesday Morning I hit the road for the 6-hour trip to the Steel City. When I first bought my ticket the weather in Pittsburgh called for less than 20% chance of rain during the entire three game series.  But, just as I was arriving in the Pittsburgh area my phone and radio started sounding severe thunderstorm warning for the entire area. 

Angry Sky over PNC Park

It was clear when I left my Hotel from the 10-mile, 30-minute drive to the ballpark. But as I got closer to downtown the dark clouds to the north seemed to get even more angry.  At 6:30, just 35 minutes before the scheduled first pitch, the sky opened up. Thunder, lightening and wide moved through and it was obvious that the start would be delayed.

Just as quickly at the rain started it blew through and the sky cleared. But the temperature dropped from about 75 to 62 when the first pitch was made shortly before 8 p.m. By the time the 8th inning was in the books it was 54 degrees and I was really cold.  Being June I never though that I would need long pants and a jacket.  The Dodgers came out on top with a 5-0 shutout win. 

By the time I made the walk back across the Roberto Clemente Bridge the temperature on my phone showed 49.  I was glad to be in the car and warm again.

Yasiel Puig signs autographs before Wednesday's game

A check of the weather for Wednesday Nights game showed another chilly night so I made my way to the nearest Wal-Mart and bought a light jacket and a pair of cheap sweat pants. It was cloudy but no rain and I managed to stay warm and saw the Pirates Raise the Jolly Roger with an 11-9 win.

Now I am a creature of habit and I don't like change. Today's game was set for  12:35 p.m. first pitch.  I had never been to an afternoon weekday game and just as I feared parking in my usual parking garage on Fort Duquesne Blvd., was full. In face all of the parking lots and garages on the south shore were full.

Matt Kemp

So I headed to North Shore and eventually found a $15 lot between Heinz Field and PNC Park.  It was a bright sunny day and a great day for baseball.  The Dodgers basically pitched their bull pen for the entire game using a total of  9-pitchers, but still managed to come out on top with an 8-7 win.

Parking on the North Shore meant that I had to get back across the bridge in order to return to my hotel near the airport.  This was a major ordeal in afternoon rush hour traffic.  The game was over just a little after 3:30 and it took me almost two hours to make it back to the "West End" where I could pickup Steubenville Pike.  After making the turn onto Steubenville Pike, it took me less than 30 minutes to make it back to my Hotel.

Learning my lesson, I will probably pass on any future weekday afternoon games.  Trying to find parking and navigating afternoon rush hour traffic is just to much of a hassle. I am looking forward to returning to Pittsburgh later in the season for a weekend series with either the Cardinals or the Cubs.

HISTORIC WINCHESTER & CHARLES TOWN -

JUDGE RICHARD PARKER

(WINCHESTER, VA) Today was a mixed bag when it came to weather. As I left the hotel temps were in the 80's and it was very humid. I spent the night in Martinsburg, West Virginia because the hotel rates here are better than in either Hagerstown, Maryland or in Winchester.

I drove back to Winchester this morning and made my first stop at Mount Hebron Cemetery. This is a very old and historic cemetery. The earliest graves date back to 1769. 

THE BYRD FAMILY

Because of it's size and age, I know that the grave stones would be weathered and hard to read so I did a little bit of research last night and had a pretty good idea where some of the more historic graves are located.

My first stop was at the grave of Judge Richard Parker.  Judge Parker was the jurist who presided over the Trial of John Brown following his raid on the arsenal at Harper's Ferry.

The Ashby Brothers

Mount Hebron is also the final resting place of the Byrd Family who were a noted political family in Virginia.  Harry Flood Byrd, Sr., was the brother of Richard E. Byrd, Jr., who was the famous naval aviator who led an expedition to the South Pole.  Harry went on to enter politics and served as the 50th Governor of Virginia and then served in the United States Senate from 1933-1965. He was succeeded in the Senate by his son Harry F. Byrd, Jr., who served from 1965 - 1983.


In the rear of the cemetery is the Stonewall Jackson Confederate Cemetery. Here confederate dead from the Civil War are resting. Some of the more notable Confederate Veteran that are resting here are The Ashby Brothers. General (a rank that was never confirmed) Turner Ashby was a member of the 7th Virginia Cavalry and was killed in action at the Battle of Good's Farm near Harrisonburg, Virginia on June 6, 1962.

Turner Ashby is buried with his brother, Captain Richard Ashby, who was killed in 1861 during a
skirmish near Harper's Ferry.

The Patton Brother

Resting next to the Ashby Brothers is the grave of The Patton Brothers.  Waller Tazewell Patton and his brother George Smith Patton both served during the Civil War and both were killed in Battle.  Waller Patton died on July 3, 1863 during the Battle of Gettysburg, while George died on September 25, 1864 during the Third Battle of Winchester. They are resting together under the same marker.  George S. Patton is the grandfather of the famed World War II General by the Same Name.

My final stop in Mount Hebron is at the grave of Revolutionary War General Daniel Morgan. General Morgan was present at a number of Revolutionary War Battles and was at Yorktown when the war ended.  He also served as a teamster during the French and Indian War with his cousin Daniel Boone. He died on July 6, 1802 at his daughters home in Winchester.

After finishing my visit to Mount Hebron, it made a stop at the Stonewall Jackson House in downtown Winchester. This house served as General Jackson headquarters from November 1861 through March 1862. It was here that he planned the Valley Campaign.  The tour take about an hour and is conducted by a couple of wonderful ladies in period dress.  The house is furnished with a mix of Jackson artifacts along with period pieces.  They is no photography permitted inside the house.

Jefferson County Courthouse

After my tour of the Jackson House I headed over to Charles Town.  I did manage to visit the grounds of the Jefferson County Courthouse. This is where John Brown was tried following his raid at Harper's Ferry.  The courthouse is still an active courthouse and is only open Monday-Friday.  Today
I was only able to walk around the outside of this Historic Building.

The site where John Brown was Hanged

Just a few block away on South Samuel Street is the site where John Brown was hanged on December 2, 1859.  A month after his trial John Brown, with his arms tied, rode to this spot in the bed of a wagon sitting on his coffin. He was escorted to the gallows that stood on this spot and hanged.

While walking around downtown Charles Town, the sound of thunder and a couple of flashes of lightening cut my visit short and I headed by to the car and made my way to the nearby casino.  I waited out the storm by pumping a few buck into the slot machine. Having quickly reach my $20 limit I called a halt to gambling and hit the buffet for an early supper.

After spending a couple of hours at the casino, I made my way back to Martinsburg, where I am again spending the night. 

I'LL KNOW WHERE I'LL BE..

(MARTINSBURG, WV) There's an old saying that applies to me.  "I'll know where I'll be, when I get where I am going." 

This morning I rolled out of bed and was enjoying the bright sunshine and my coffee on my deck. After so many days of rain, the sun was certainly a welcome sight. I was on my second cup of coffee, and all of a sudden I got the piddlin itch. So I threw a few things in my backpack, and grabbed my camera and hit the road.

I had absolutely no idea where I was going but I knew where I would be when I got there. I stopped for gas and decided to flip a coin, Heads I would go south on Interstate 81 and Tails it would be North. Tails won and I headed North.

I made a quick stop for lunch at the Southern Kitchen in New Market. I have been by here several time and had always thought about stopping and today I did.  Talking about a throw back to the days when Route 11 was the main road through town, this is it. An old school diner with real southern comfort food and plenty of it.  The serving are huge and delicious. I couldn't leave without have a piece of their homemade Lemon Meringue Pie. Wow is an under statement.

After a great lunch, it was back to route 11. The traffic on Interstate 81 was crazy as usual and since Staunton I had opted for the much more leisurely pace of Route 11.  Near Middletown I decided to visit the Historic Belle Grove Plantation.

I paid the $11.00 Senior Admission for the house tour which is scheduled to last 30-45 minutes.  We were scheduled to meet our guide at 2:15 but the previous tour was running long. We finally met him at 2:30 and began our tour of this wonderful plantation home that was built in 1797 by Major Isaac Hite and his wife Nellie Madison Hite.  Nellie Madison was the sister of President James Madison and I think our guide said that James and Dolly spent some time here.

Our guide was Mr. Russ Finch and I must say he was one of the best tour guide I have ever had. He was knowledgeable and his delivery was more like a conversation with friends.  I absolutely forgot that I was on a tour.

Belle Grove served as the headquarters of General Phil Sheridan during the Valley Campaign. During the Battle Confederate General Stephen Ramseur, who was wounded and died in the upstairs nursery of the house on October 20, 1864.

At Ramseurs side when he died was his West Point Classmate, George Armstrong Custer.  Custer requested that Confederates under Ramseur's command be allowed to pay their respect. General Sheridan agreed and officers from both sides paid their respect to General Ramseur whose body rested in an open coffin in the parlor.

My visit to Belle Grove lasted most of the afternoon and it was close to 4:30 when I head north on Route 11.  Before pulling out of the parking lot I used the Choice Hotel App my phone to make a hotel reservation in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

Just south of Winchester I headed over to the Shenandoah Memorial Park where I visited the grave of Virginia Hensley Dick, better known to country Music fans as Patsy Cline.

While at the cemetery I met a gentleman and we got to talking. He was an avid history buff and we got to talking about the history of the area. Time flies and the next thing I knew we had been standing in the middle of a cemetery talking for over an hour and a half.

As were were leaving we decided meet for breakfast at the IHOP just up the street and continue our conversation.  Only me could make a new friend in a cemetery.

I am now in my hotel in Martinsburg, West Virginia listening to the thunder as a storm rolls through. Not sure where I will end up tomorrow  but it's safe to say, I'll know where I'll be when I get where I'm going.