I’ve been so focused on getting my year-end posts done (I know – I still owe you the HUGE number filled post!) that I’ve totally neglected other things.

I left off getting back to Hickory Hollow. I had been away over a month and I was anxious to see my baby girl! She owed me some snuggles! It was so amazing to see that big smile when I saw her!

Bill has been keeping busy with installs, working on his 5th one since returning from our time in NJ. We’ve had a bit of rearranging with regard to our install schedule. One client was involved in an accident less than a week prior to his arrival date. He is ok but sounds like his RV didn’t fare too well. I was able to reach out and move the next client up a bit, allowing about 10 days to fill his spot. I reached out to our final PA client to see if they wanted to move up, but they couldn’t, so I called another client that had postponed his spring install. I just found out today that he is taking delivery of his new coach and is able to come! While that is awesome, Bill needed to take inventory to make sure we had all supplies and since we didn’t, stuff had to be ordered. Whew! So glad that worked out!

It is hard to believe how fast August and the first half of September have flown by!

We’ve done a few local/touristy type things. First thing was the Johnstown Flood Museum in Johnstown, which is about 45 minutes from here. The museum tells about the great flood of 1889, when the South Fork Dam, located on the south fork of the Little Conemaugh River catastrophically failed, sending about 14.5 million cubic meters of water 14 miles downstream to Johnstown, killing about 2,200 people. We also visited the site of the actual dam. It’s difficult to imagine what it must have been like. Pictures and descriptions of the devastation were hard to look at.

There was more to see in Johnstown, so we headed to the Heritage Discovery Center. We learned about immigrants arriving in the area and the prejudices they faced.

We learned a lot about coal mining the day we visited the site of the Quecreek Mine rescue, which is right here in Somerset. Back in 2002, miners accidentally breached a flooded neighboring mine, trapping 9 men for over 77 hours 240 feet below ground. The miracle was that all the men survived. Part of what was interesting to us was to be told that the tunnels the men go into are only about 3 1/2 to 4 feet high, meaning they “walk” crouched down or have to crawl. It was also hard to believe that some of the men actually returned to work in the mines. Coal mining is still a large industry in this area, I see dump trucks all the time with coal in them.

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We celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary with a day in Pittsburgh. We took in the movie “It Chapter 2”, seeing it in a special Dolby Cinema, called “Completely Captivating”, which is described as “Powerful images and sound technologies combine with cutting-edge, reserved recliners to transform each show into a completely captivating cinematic event.” The movie was good, although a bit long and we loved the recliner seating! After the movie we were starving; we had plenty of time to get to our dinner reservation at Eleven. Our daughter and son-in-law had given us a gift card for this restaurant and it was a perfect time to use it!

Our meal was wonderful! Crab cake, scallops, tenderloin, and lamb were all expertly cooked and delicious! Our drinks – Bill enjoyed local brews, while I ordered a Southern Comfort Sour and later a Red Sangria – were also excellent. For dessert, Bill indulged in their Chocolate Candy Bar, while I splurged on their Bourbon Brown Sugar Creme Brulee. Coffee and a shot of Bailey’s completed the meal. Many thanks to Michelle and Derek for the gift card!

We generally love attending local festivals, so one afternoon we headed to Somerset Historical Center and the Mountain Craft Days. Michelle and Freya met us there after awhile. We enjoyed the local foods and displays and craftsman showing how they create their wares.

One weekend we welcomed long time blog readers, Deb & Tim for a visit. They have their RV parked on a seasonal site about two hours away, but decided to get a room at the local Hampton Inn since they were only coming for two nights. Bill & I felt terrible when we had to make an unplanned trip to Lancaster, but we did have our dinner the following day. Deb & Tim were so understanding. It was good to finally meet these two in person. Hope our paths cross again!

Should go without saying that we have been spending lots and lots of time with our baby girl! She is growing so fast, as all babies do at this age. At her last doctor visit, she was almost 20 pounds! She is generally a very happy baby, although she recently cut her first tooth and has been pretty miserable – poor baby! Mostly though her smile can completely light up a room and it melts my heart! I’ve stayed overnight with her while Derek and Michelle had a night to themselves, which went really well. She loves coming over to the campground and going on walks in her stroller. She is starting to really enjoy eating off the spoon and trying new things. It has been awesome being here and bonding with her. I’m so happy for Facetime so when we head south, we can use that so we can keep up with her and she with us.

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