2022 Life Logs, Day 158: Caverns and Mountains
Date: Tuesday, June 7, 2022
Weather: Overcast, Afternoon Rain; High 75, Low 63 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Gate House at the Monroe Institute, Faber, VA

The weather forecast for today was right on . . . cloudy all day with afternoon rain. I drove to the Retreat Center at the top of the mountain first thing this morning to pick up Ziggy and Coco after their overnight with mommy and daddy. They were having breakfast on the patio when I arrived, and we discussed plans for the day. We would be able to come visit with Justin and Jo in the afternoon, but for the morning we decided to take advantage of the cloudy weather to go underground. We went to the Grand Caverns, discovered in 1802 and opened for tours in 1804. Their claim to fame is that they have been open for tours for longer than any other caves in the US, and maybe in the world. We walked a mile and half in 70 minutes and saw a massive array of fantastic formations. We then drove home via the Blue Ridge Parkway that we visited yesterday. But today the wind was whipping the trees limbs and we were driving through the clouds. It was truly dramatic. As was the shortcut Google Maps suggested. It was 9 minutes shorter, so I took it. It was Turnpike 610—a one-way gravel road straight up a mountain. It was quite an adventure, but it did come right into the Parkway. We got back to the Retreat Center to visit with Justin and Jo for a couple of hours and then came home to make a taco dinner. Later in the evening we drove up and brought Justin and Jo down to spend time with Z and C. Justin and I started talking about the Monroe Institute and about the conference he and Jo are attending. I felt guilty keeping him away from the kids, but really enjoyed learning about his work with the Institute and the interesting people I have met attending the conference. Ziggy, Coco, and I have set tomorrow as our day dedicated to exploring Roberts Mountain afoot, so Justin and Jo drove the van back up the mountain tonight. We will walk to meet them at the lake in the afternoon.

2022 Life Logs, Day 157: Country Roads
Date: Monday, June 6, 2022
Weather: Bright and Sunny; High 80, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Gate House at the Monroe Institute, Faber, VA

Today was all about driving country roads. We drove only 14 miles of the 469 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway, but in those 14 miles we had wonderful views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley. Just as we entered the Parkway, a black bear crossed the road in front of us. But something was wrong. This bear was having a very bad hair day which made Coco think he looked like Dracula. He looked nothing like the plump, furry black bears in photos that make you want to hug them. Later in the day, we discovered the problem.

After seeing the bear, we stopped at the Dripping Rock parking area and got out for a short hike on the Appalachian Trail. The name literally comes from a dripping spring emerging from a rock right off the parking area. Signs warn to boil the water, but we watched a number of Appalachian Trail hikers wearing sturdy hiking boots, carrying big backpacks, and using high tech walking sticks. Ziggy looked at me and said, “Don’t you think that is a bit of overkill for a 1.7 mile hike?” I smiled and explained that these hikers were going much further, maybe all the way to the state of Maine. He simply could not understand why people would do such a thing. We did half the loop trail and Z and C thought that was long enough! I always find myself in awe in the beauty of the delicate blossom and Coco shared my awe.

On we drove to a visitor center where we had a picnic lunch and then on to the northern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway at Rockfish Gap where we switched to the Skyline Drive. The Skyline Drive is in the Shenandoah National Park, so we had to stop and show my National Park Card to continue on. I started talking to the ranger and asked him what our chances were of seeing black bear in the next few miles ahead. His reply was surprising. He said that black bear in the area all seem to have mange, some with no hair at all, and are very sickly. They are basically in hiding, so I guess we were lucky to see one mangy black bear. I didn’t ask what is being done to help the bears, but I do hope something is being done. We drove a few miles to the first Shenandoah Valley overlook and then headed back to the Blue Ridge Parkway to hike part of the Humpback Rock trail, a 2-mile loop trail that leads to a rocky summit via a very steep trail. There is a 4-mile trail to the summit that is much gentler, so we did a bit of that, took a side trip on the Appalachian Trail, and back to the van.

It was then time to head home to visit with Justin and Jo who are not in sessions from 1 pm to 4 pm. We didn’t get back until almost 3:30, but the 4 pm session didn’t start on time so the kids got a bit of extra visiting time. We then went home to have some relax time, write in our journals, and have dinner before I drove Ziggy and Coco back up to the Retreat Center for an overnight with Justin and Jo. I am here in the Gate House by myself tonight, but will pick Z and C up in the morning when our Virginia adventure will continue.

I talked to Heather tonight. They had a good time with Shadow this weekend and he is now with Sheri and Meghan. Jonah’s band concert was tonight. She said Jonah looked the role of a bass guitarist and the band and jazz band sounded fantastic. She reported that Ollie had a great weekend camping with Jed, Sam’s soccer team won their game on Sunday and won their division, Jonah made the ACI soccer team for next year, and Heather really enjoyed hosting the team she works with who all live in different locations around the country. It was the first time she had met the team that works for her in person. The only downside of the weekend was that Heather and Shadow came home from a walk, both covered in ticks. Yuck. But other than that, it sounds like all is well at home.

2022 Life Logs, Day 156: Laid-Back Sunday with Z & C
Date: Sunday, June 5, 2022
Weather: Bright and Sunny; High 79, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Gate House at the Monroe Institute, Faber, VA

It was a laid-back Sunday . . . slept in until 9 am as we didn’t get to bed until after midnight. Ziggy fixed pancakes for breakfast and then we drove up to the Retreat Center to go swimming in the pool and walking in the woods. When the morning session for Justin and Jo ended, we had lunch with them and spent time around the pool before Justin drove Ziggy, Coco, and I back down to the Gate House. He and Jo had a 4 pm session and thought they would drive down to read bedtime stories to the kids later tonight. But the plan changed, and Justin came to get us to come up to the Center for a nighttime fire and music. It is almost 11 pm and we are still at the Center but will be driving down the mountain soon. It was a clear night out with a crescent moon and so many stars. There was a very powerful telescope set up and Coco and I took turns trying to get a photo of the crescent moon through the lens of the scope. The best part of the night for me, however, was getting to watch Justin and Jo make their electronic music together. It was a special evening.

2022 Life Logs, Day 155: Wonderful First Day with Ziggy and Coco
Date: Saturday, June 4, 2022
Weather: Partly Cloudy; High 81, Low 57 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Gate House at the Monroe Institute, Faber, VA

An early morning walk with Justin and Jo down through the field to explore an old log barn . . . a walk up the mountain with JJZ&C to a beautiful little lake . . . jumping off the dock into the water (even Oma) . . . canoeing in the lake (even Oma) . . . having lunch at the Roberts Mountain Retreat . . . seeing the largest single quartz crystal in the world in the side yard of the retreat center . . . having Ben and Jerry’s ice cream in Charlottesville followed by a shopping spree at a thrift store for Coco, Target for Legos for Ziggy, Whole Foods for sustenance, and to Love Sushi King to pick up dinner . . . seeing lots of deer on our way home . . . seeing a deer looking in the bedroom window of the Gate House as we drove into the driveway . . . making our first entries in our nature logs . . . having sushi dinner back in the Gate House . . . later driving up the mountain to the retreat center to pick Justin and Jo up . . . seeing a skunk on the way up the mountain . . . Justin and Jo having story time with the kids and then driving them back up the mountain where they will be spending their evenings, overnights, and mornings into the early afternoon for the rest of the week . . . seeing an eastern gray fox and a deer on the way back down the mountain . . . tucking the kids intro bed and Oma writing her log. That was our wonderful day in nutshell.

It is after midnight and I just tucked Coco and Ziggy into bed. None of us really knew what the schedule would be like this week, but now we know that we will only have three hours in the afternoon with Justin and Jo. But we are welcome to go up to the retreat center and swim in the pool and walk on the mountain paths at anytime as long as we are quiet and don’t interrupt. Tomorrow we will go up around 11 am, take a walk on a mountain path, and then swim in the pool until Justin and Jo are ready to come down and have some afternoon time with us. On Monday and Tuesday, Ziggy, Coco, and I have plans to go to Monticello and to the Grand Caverns, but we will try to get back in time to have time with Justin and Jo. We’ll just be flexible and see where the week leads us.

All of us are really enjoying our time here. The area is beautiful, teeming in wild life, and the atmosphere is just so relaxing. I don’t think Ziggy and Coco have ever spent this much time away from their mom and dad, but they seem to be adjusting to the idea. They have been so helpful and so much fun to be with. Let’s just hope the week gets even better!

2022 Life Logs, Day 154: Missed Flight, but All is Well
Date: Friday, June 3, 2022
Weather: Partly Cloudy; High , Low degrees F
Location: At Home in the Gate House at the Monroe Institute, Faber, VA

I missed my flight this morning, which I will explain, but with Heather’s quick research skills, I got to Richmond to meet up with Justin and family just an hour or so late. If it hadn’t been for Heather, I wouldn’t have arrived until mid-afternoon, so big thanks to H! Despite getting up at 3 am and driving out of the driveway by 3:20, I was three minutes late checking my bag. Because I had purchased an economy ticket, Jet Blue would not let me take my bag as a carry on. So at 5:30 am, they rescheduled me for an 11 am flight. I checked and could find no other flights going to either Reagan or Dulles until later in the afternoon on any airline, so the 11 am flight seemed the best bet. The original plan was for me to fly to DC because it was half the price, and then rent a car to drive to Richmond to pick up JJZ&C. None of us could afford to drive into Charlottesville which is where we needed to be. But under the original plan, we would all meet in Richmond and then drive to Charlottesville together. But my later than planned arrival (must have bags checked 40 minutes prior to flight) blew those plans out of the water. I sent a text to Heather, who gets up at 5:30 every morning, to tell her what happened. Then a few minutes later, she texted back with info on an 8:40 Jet Blue flight to Richmond. I would arrive an hour after Justin and family. I immediately got back in the long help line and waited an hour and a half in line and at the help desk. It took forever for some supervisor to say they could change the flight to Richmond, but I would have to fly home from Reagan in DC. That was not going to work. So, it took another forever, plus two supervisors to finally make the change for me to fly into and back out of Richmond. It doubled the cost,, but at that point I was ready to pay anything to just get there. So, I did. While waiting for all that to happen, I cancelled my rental car reservation out of Reagan and rented a car in Richmond. I should not have been so cheap and done this to begin with, but it all worked out.

Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco had hoped to get to the San Juan airport last night and get some sleep before their 3 am flight. But no one really slept. They flew to Orlando and then had a bit of a wait for the flight to Richmond. Again, no sleep. But everyone was in a great mood despite being tired and we continued on and had a wonderful day. At no extra cost, a National Car Rental agent gave us a mini-van instead of the car I had reserved when he saw how much luggage we had. It’s a Toyota and it is super comfortable and the gas mileage is not bad. Thanks to that agent! We drove the hour and a half to Charlottesville, had lunch downtown, did some shopping for strings for a mandolin and for food, and arrived at the Monroe Institute about 30 minutes south of Charlottesville in the late afternoon. The view from Gate House where we are staying at the base of the 600-acre campus is beautiful. But while Jo took a nap, Justin took me, Ziggy, and Coco further up the mountain to the main campus to explore. The view from the top is stunning. I’ll explain more about what goes on here as I learn more, but I must say I was very impressed with what I saw today. In the buildings at the very top, Ziggy got to play the grand piano and we met Robert who gave me an introduction to the research they do here at the Institute. He is probably around Justin’s age, and he is a sailor with a dream of sailing around the world. Needless to say, we got along great. While Justin continued talking with Robert, Ziggy, Coco, and I started walking back down the mountain hoping to see deer. We had not seen any when Justin picked us up, but then once in the van they started coming out of hiding. The kids were so excited as they have never seen deer before, at least not since they were old enough to remember.

After dinner, Justin and Jo went back up to meet the other artists who were coming in this evening from places far and wide. The kids were watching a movie on a computer while I started writing this log. But right now, Coco is snuggled up in Justin and Jo’s bed fast asleep and Ziggy is sound asleep on the living room floor right beside me. Life couldn’t be better.

2022 Life Logs, Day 153: Ready, Set . . .
Date: Thursday, June 2, 2022
Weather: Overcast; High 68, Low 55 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth

I’m running out of time, but I am almost ready and set to leave tomorrow morning at 3:15 am. Not my best time of day, but once I get on that 6 am flight from Boston Logan to Washington Reagan, all will be fine. Once there, I’ll pick up a rental car and head to Richmond, Virginia to pick up Justin and family and then on to the Charlottesville area where we will all be for the next week. Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco have a 3 am flight from San Juan directly to Richmond, so they are probably on their way to San Juan right now. They hope to check in early and nap for a couple of hours in the airport tonight. Hopefully I’ll be writing tomorrow night’s log from Faber, Virginia.

2022 Life Logs, Day 152: Gardening at Olga’s, Ollie’s Band Concert
Date: Wednesday, June 1, 2022
Weather: Overcast with Misty Periods; High 64, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth

I spent my day in a friend’s backyard planting San Marzano and Matt’s Wild Cherry tomato plants I had grown from seed. My friend Olga is letting me use her raised beds this year to see if I can increase my yield. I really had to get them planted before leaving for Virginia as I had no way to water them in my absence. So, I weeded, roto tilled, dug holes, and planted tomatoes, cucumbers, and assorted winter squash plants. Olga has a drip irrigation system, but we didn’t get that hooked up today. I return tomorrow to get that done and maybe get a bed of Matt’s Wild Cherry tomatoes planted here. But then all other gardening will have to wait until I return.

Tonight Heather and I went to Ollie’s band concert at Mullen Hall while Jed took both Sam and Jonah to soccer tryouts for next fall. Ollie is one of three fourth graders that play alto saxophone and they were definitely the best instrumental group (no Oma bias). They were loud and clear and on key. Ollie’s favorite song that they played was When the Saints Go Marching In. I thought that was because the saxaphones were the predominant instrument. Ollie said it was because the saxes played loud because they were good! But that is not why it was his favorite. That tune was the school song for his East Falmouth Elementary where he attended kindergarten through third grade. He likes Mullen Hall but will be glad to be back with his friends from EFES next fall as all Falmouth fifth and sixth graders attend the same school. Since none of us had eaten dinner before the concert, we got sushi afterwards to celebrate.

2022 Life Logs, Day 151: Gardening
Date: Tuesday, May 31, 2022
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Thunder and Rain Late; High 78, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

As I started to write this log, I realized I have been a day behind since Saturday. But I am now fully aware that tomorrow is Wednesday, and I leave here at 3:30 am Friday morning to get to Boston Logan for a 6 am flight to Washington, DC. I am in a bit of a panic as I have so much gardening that needs to be done. I worked on that today and will continue to work on it tomorrow. But what doesn’t get done tomorrow will just have to wait until I get back. I will be in Virginia until Saturday, June 11. June 12 is a little late for getting things planted, but it will just have to be for this year. I will spend Thursday getting ready to go and then sit back and enjoy the trip.

Shadow’s every six-week grooming appointment was set for next week when I will not be here. The groomer I take him to is so booked that there is no way to reschedule, so today I tried a groomer here in East Falmouth. I got a call around 2 pm saying that Shadow was not being cooperative and that he was very matted. I wanted to say that I knew that. That’s why I made the appointment to get him groomed. But I didn’t say it. I just had no suggestions. Shadow has gone to the groomer every six weeks of his life, and I am always told that he is so cooperative. As I listened to the groomer on the phone I figured out the problem. This groomer uses an industrial hair dryer that is very loud and she said Shadow really didn’t like it. I don’t think the other groomer uses a hair dryer at all. They have told me that Shadow’s hair has to be combed while it is partially wet because it is impossible to groom when totally dry. But I just told today’s groomer to do the best she could. Sam and I picked him up on our way to rowing in Hyannis. He looked fine but was a little shaken. He’ll survive, but I don’t think I’ll be taking him back to today’s groomer.

2022 Life Logs, Day 150: Memorial Day
Date: Monday, May 30, 2022
Weather: More Sunshine and Blue Skies; High 74, Low 64 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

The Goldstone’s were well represented at Falmouth’s Memorial Day parade and observance this morning. The fire department brings out its tallest crane to fly the red, white and blue high above the library lawn where the observance takes place. The military honor guard, the Veteran’s Association, town officials, the Scouts of Falmouth, and the Brian Boru Pipe Band parade from the Falmouth Greene to the library lawn to begin the celebration. Jonah led the Boy Scouts carrying a big American flag, but he was so hidden behind the flag that I didn’t see him. I did see Sam and took photos of him. Later, when I looked at the photos, I saw that it was Jonah wrapped in that big American flag. Jed led the Cub Scouts alongside Ollie who was carrying the American flag for the Cub Scouts. After the parade, there was a program celebrating the lives lost while serving our country and giving thanks for the veterans in attendance. After the observance, all the Scouts gathered on the library steps for a photo op and I manage to get a picture of the Goldstone Scouts–Jed, Sam, Jonah, and Ollie.

This evening Heather got home from week in San Diego and Telluride. She had a wonderful time. If you’ve got to travel for work, let it be travel to beautiful places. Sam and I grilled meat and veggies for dinner to celebrate the return home of both parents. I now have three days to get ready for my trip to Virginia to be with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco. If I am going to get the garden planted before I leave, I am going to have to move fast. So I had better get to bed so I can get an early start tomorrow.

2022 Life Logs, Day 149: Sunday on the Water
Date: Saturday, May 29, 2022
Weather: Sunshine, Blue Skies; High 73, Low 56 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

It was a perfect day to be out on the water. Friends Jane and Bruce Woodin, and their sailing partner Sam Patterson, invited me to tag along for their first sail of the season. This was the shakedown cruise. Yesterday was so gloomy, but this morning Shadow and I woke up early to sunshine and warmth. The sky above was Cape Cod blue with just a few puffy white clouds around the edges. Perfect, except for one thing. There was very little wind. So, on our trip across Buzzards Bay to Mattapoisett Harbor, we motored with just the main up. Even though we were we motor sailing, it felt wonderful to just be out on the water. In the small town of Mattapoisett, we went a waterfront restaurant, The Inn on Shipyard Park, where Sam’s wife Hazel joined us for lunch. Then it was back to L ’Escargot to sail back across Buzzards Bay. The wind piped up and it would have been a great sail, BUT when Sam went forward to unfurl the headsail, it wouldn’t budge. Once again, we motor sailed with the just the main, but it felt like we were sailing. Sam and Bruce dropped Jane and I on the dock and then went out to the mooring to try and figure out why the headsail would not unfurl. I think there was just a line wrapped around the top of the sail, but I don’t know if they were able to fix the issue as Jane and I had come in my car and we headed home. It wouldn’t have been a ‘perfect’ shakedown cruise if there hadn’t been at least one little issue, so I say it was a great afternoon.

As Jane and I walked to the car, I had a nice surprise when I heard someone say, “Hello, Judy.” It was Gretchen Coughlin from Concord, NH, walking back to her family’s summer home across from the West Falmouth Harbor dock. She and her husband Mike, plus other family members, are down for the weekend. It is always good to see friends. Then, when I got home, I called Jed to check in. Sam’s soccer team won one and lost one game today, so they will not be playing in the tournament finals tomorrow. That means that I won’t be driving him to the Outer Cape. Instead, I will be able to attend the Memorial Day Parade downtown.