Saturday, November 17, 2007


It was a moving experience to think off all of those who gave their lives in the cause of freedom.


Gettysburg, PA. We aren't sure where the scene from "Remember the Titans" was filmed.

We had a fabulous guide at the Gettysburg National Cemetary. He brought the history to life.


Linda and Kurt listen to our guide at Gettysburg.


Gettysburg National Cemetary on Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Monday, November 05, 2007


The street lights were Hershey's kisses. One wrapped and the next unwrapped. Yum!


Great street sign. The hotel where we stayed was on Chocolate Ave.

Welcome to Hershey, PA


Racks of chocolate and we didn't buy any. Amazing!

Rack and racks of chocolate


Kurt chats with our guide for the trolley tour of Hershey, PA.


Hershey, PA

Hershey, PA


Amish hang their laundry. They have beautiful quilts.


Plowing the fields


Carriages just drive along the roads with the cars.

The Amish gather for a wedding. They start coming at 7:30 AM and stay for the wedding and two meals. 400 guests are not unusual all being invided verbally. Weddings are on Tuesday and Thursday between October and into the first couple weeks into December. We were lucky to see a wedding as we drove through the community.


Amish farm in the community.


It was a little awkward to get up into the courting buggy.

Courting or summer wagon.


Amish women's clothing. They each have a color of dress. The girls wear a white pinafore when they are married. It will not be worn again until burial. They wear a black pinafore after they are married. It is done up with straight pins not buttons. They wear a white organdy cap over their hair. The hair is never cut and worn parted in the middle and rolled into a tight bun at the nape of the neck.


Amish bedroom. They make beautiful quilts for themselves and for sale.


Kurt and Linda had never been to the Amish village before either.


Before our tour of the Amish Village on Tuesday, October 30.


Crossing the Susquehanna River on the way to Lancaster, PA.


Dad, Ryan and David (and Tom's feet) in the best room in Linda and Kurt's home. They hosted a dinner of grilled chicken, veggies and fruit on Monday, October 29, after we returned from Monticello.

The sunroom is the room Linda uses as her office. It is the room that dad insulated in the attic. I love to sit there and look at the back yard, trees and the squirrels.



Kurt and Tom in the sunroom or Florida room as Linda calls it. You can see right into the dining room and on into the kitchen.

We were blessed to be able to be the witness couple as we attended the Washington Temple with Kurt and Linda.

View from the front of the Washington Temple on a rainy day, October 26, 2007.


Curtis put a ceiling fan up in Linda and Kurt's bedroom.


Information about the South Pavilion.

South Pavilion was Thomas' first home on the property.

This beautiful flower has a very velvety feel.

Thomas Jefferson was an inventor. He loved clocks. The clock here is outside on the porch and inside the house. We couldn't take pictures inside the house. The thing on the ceiling of the porch is hooked to the weather vein on the top of the home. They can see from the porch which way the wind is blowing.

The kitchens were in separate buildings in the plantations and homes of the day because of heat and fire hazard. They cooked in the big fireplaces. The charcoal stove to the left is an invention of Thomas Jefferson. The slaves also made the charcoal to use for the stove.

This is a view of the valley from Monticello. The fields are part of Thomas Jefferson's plantation.


The home of Thomas Jefferson. Monticello is up on a hill. As a boy, he would look up to the hill and dream of building a home there. Most people built by the water for easier access to supplies.


Dad held his camera really low in order to get the beautiful flowers and the house.


Butterfly at Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello. Linda, dad and I went to Monticello on Monday October 29, 2007.


Dad captured some great photos of a butterfly in the flower gardens at Mount Vernon.


This is the side of Mount Vernon that faces the Patomic.


Linda and I are looking at the Patomic River from the front lawn of Mount Vernon.


It was fascinating to see a tree planted by George Washington. I brought home a leaf. I am not sure if it has survived.


"Martha Washington" was there talking about her life at Mount Vernon. It was fascinating. Anyone could ask questions. She answered as if we were there at the time she was alive and living there.

Linda, dad and I went to Mount Vernon, the home and plantation of George Washington, on October 23, 2007. It has changed alot in the 30 plus years since we were last there.

Sunday, November 04, 2007


Linda and Kurt's church building sits right in the middle of rows of town houses. We went to Church there on October 21st and 28th.
photo's of Sondra's life


Great pictures


This is the guest bedroom where we stayed at Tom's townhouse in Reston, VA.


Tired after a week of travel.

This Tom's townhouse