Fall Break

 Anna has arrived home for fall break, which for her means that she has the week of Thanksgiving off.  She made it home on Thursday night (no class on Friday) thanks to a ride from one of her high school friends.  She arrived to be greeted by Benny, who was the only one home as Joe & Theresa were at a concert.  Joe told her later that her parents were busy every night of the week and had joined a bowling league, been out dancing, played darts, went to concerts.... really she was lucky Benny was home.  😄

Anna has all sorts of tales from the first semester of college life.  An overall theme is fire alarms going off several times a week (usually in the middle of the night) thanks to people smoking/vaping (one would think they would learn).  There also seems to be an appreciation for those basic life skills, like cleaning up after yourself (ask her about the communal kitchen).  She has her roller skates and has been doing some skating with a friend (a point of pride for her mom & grandma, although Joe is concerned, she is going to join the roller derby in Richmond).  

So, what have Joe & Theresa been doing while Anna's at school?  The big news for Theresa was a trip to Hawaii at the end of October with her friend Pauletta who was fortunate to have a work trip there.  Any time Theresa & Pauletta travel together, there is always some sort of adventure.  Highlights from this trip included:

  • Pauletta being 6 hours delayed getting there after a 2-hour delay in Minneapolis to replace a fuel pump on the plane (seems important) followed by an emergency landing in LA due to a medical emergency on the plane (it is a good thing the flight had several doctors headed to Hawaii).
  • A beautiful, yet white-knuckle drive on the road to Hana in Maui in the rain.
  • An accidental white-knuckle drive on the western side of Maui on what turned into a one lane road that wound up a cliff complete with falling rock.  It just so happened this drive was on a Sunday, which turned quite prayerful.
  • A 3:30AM departure to get to Haleakala National Park (a dormant volcano & highest point in Hawaii) to see the sunrise only to have another white-knuckle drive up the mountain in dense fog.  After reaching the top, there were 40 mph winds, and the temperature was 40 degrees.  While the fog cleared, the clouds did not because it started to rain.  Don't do the sunrise.
  • Some beautiful beach time, including snorkeling with sea turtles
  • A lot of laughs, shopping, and just enjoying the scenery
Meanwhile, the fall weather in Virginia has been spectacular, including record warmth on Halloween.  Even with warm temperatures and lots of kids in the neighborhood, there was a surprisingly low number of trick-or treaters.  Could it be that all of the trunk-or-treat events have replaced traditional trick-or-treating in the area?  Theresa's office was the beneficiary of the extra candy.  

Joe continues his efforts to fully seal the house from drafts and balance the humidity level (this involves several thermometers and a ladder in one of the bedrooms so he can check the attic on a regular basis).  At this point, he is more than qualified to work for the Department of Energy thanks to all of his research and testing.

It is Thanksgiving week, and the family is headed to Deep Creek Lake, Maryland to meet the Kohlers for the holiday.  Stay tuned for what is sure to be its own adventure.


Before the accidental drive

No sunrise to be seen

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