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When you were a kid, did you ever wish that your parents were cool? You know, the kind of parents that didn’t care if you stayed out all night even if you were only 12? The kind that let your boyfriend have sleepovers, and stay in your room because you swore he’d be on the floor? The kind that said, “Hey if you’re going to get drunk, I’d rather you do it here. What kind of beer do your friends like?”

I think lots of kids feel that way. Then they grow up, become parents themselves, and realize being that kind of “cool parent” is just stupid.

Like this woman. Check this note out. It’s from PassiveAggressiveNotes.com, one of the more amusing Blogs I read.

I don’t know the whole story. Hopefully there is one. Maybe the “kid” is 25 or something. If that’s the case, then “Yo, Hemphead” is pretty darn funny.

Anyway… did you read the note?

Can you guess what I love most about Fall? Aside from the cool, crisp air that is? The colors of course!

Not just in the leaves either. Check out this cool sunset photo I took while en route to WV on Friday.

I risked life and limb to get that shot by the way. I had to pull off onto the shoulder of the road–Route 32–at a place near Fort Meade, Maryland where there are signs posted about every ten feet saying, “Do Not Stop Here. Ever. We will shoot you. No questions asked.”

The signs don’t say that exactly. But that’s what they mean. I had to stop though. The colors were amazing.

I shot the above picture at our WV place. The foliage there is much closer to peak than at our house in Maryland. Which means I get to experience three autumns this year (New England, West Virginia and Maryland).

Here’s another neat shot. I love how blue the sky looks. I did not bump-up the saturation with Photoshop either. It’s all about the angle of the sun.

This is one of my artsy, grass shots.

If you want to see a few more images from this past weekend, go to my Flickr site. I’ll post more one day, when I am rid of this cold I seem to have picked up somewhere, which is making me feel like I am walking through a mental fog…

I made it home safely last night after a drive that seemed like it would never end.

Remember I said I wouldn’t take I-95 to get home? That I would take the scenic route? Well, I changed my mind.

The map software I used said the scenic route would be just over 12 hours. It would be picturesque, sure. But 12 hours is a long time. The drive through Connecticut, New York and New Jersey was only supposed to take about 9. Yeah, it would be harrowing, but I’d get home faster.

I was wrong. My timing sucked. I didn’t leave Freeport until 10:30 AM. I had waited for the outlet stores to open which was a TOTAL waste of time. The LL Bean Outlet is tiny. The LL Bean retail stores are huge, but there were no deals to be had there. And the one thing I was supposed to buy — a robe for Gaige, my 5-year-old grandson — they didn’t have. (I did buy some Wicked Whoopies though; more on that later…)

I hit New York City at rush hour. Traffic was at an almost complete standstill from the New York state line until I crossed the George Washington Bridge. When it finally broke loose, it was moving at 80+ MPH. Then it was at a standstill again through Newark, which, by the way, is where those 14 lanes of traffic are that I mentioned previously. Traffic got moving again at 80+ MPH. But there were still quite a few cars zipping in and out of traffic like we were barely moving. It was dark by then, too.

Anyway… I arrived home safely around 10:00 PM. That’s 11 1/2 hours after I left Freeport. Yeah I hit traffic, but the software underestimated the drive time. Had I taken the scenic route, I probably would’ve had to stop for the night somewhere.

It was a great trip, despite the I-95 experiences, but it is good to be home. After I sort through the bezillion pictures I shot, I’ll share some more with you.

I hope you enjoyed your virtual journey!

That’s right. Today is not just any old day. It is Hubby’s birthday.

He was born 53 years ago today. The picture there at the left was taken about 52 years ago.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUBBY!

I could make a joke about his being old or something. But it seems like just a couple of days ago I was razzing him for being 40. And now I am 41. So I’ll just shut up.

I don’t mind being old. Most days. But I don’t age nearly as well as Hubby. I don’t get why men look more distinguished as they age and women just plain look older. It isn’t fair.

This is a good picture of Hubby , too. He was 4 when it was taken way back in 1959.

I could post lots of pictures of Hubby through the ages. There are quite a few interesting 70s pictures around. And pictures of him when he was a BABY and joined the Army. Not a baby, literally. But he was only 17. And really skinny. And he just looked really, really young to be going off to become a soldier.

Anyway, here’s Hubby now. He’s quite handsome, isn’t he? His hair is a bit lighter. And, of course, he didn’t have a beard and mustache when he was 4. But he still has those big, beautiful blue eyes.

He’s a good man. I am lucky to have him.

I could go on and on about how much I love and appreciate him, but I have to run.

You’ll just have to trust me when I say I am really lucky to have married a man like him.

I didn’t do a blog post yesterday. I really wanted to. Honest. Especially since it was my youngest child’s birthday. The baby. He’s not so small any more though. And, at 19, he is bigger than me.

Anyway… there is one particular picture I wanted to post. But I couldn’t find it. I found lots of other pictures, but not that particular one. I’ll find it one day.

Until I do find THAT picture, which I most definitely will share, this one will have to do. Like I said, I wanted to post it yesterday, but I was having technical difficulties.

Hubby says this doesn’t look like Eric. But I think it does. It was actually taken way back before Hubby was my hubby (he may not even have been my boyfriend, it was THAT long ago).

I know it is an over-used cliche, but I seriously don’t know where all the time went. It doesn’t seem possible that this picture was taken about 17 years ago.

I was only 24. Wow…

It’s been 19 years since Eric was born. I was 22. Almost two decades have passed. Decades!

I can’t remember what it feels like to be that young. To have enough leftover energy at the end of a work day to play with a two-year-old while he’s in the bathtub. And enjoy it.

We were probably singing. Or making weird, echoing noises just for fun. I’m sure Eric remembers none of this. But I have lots of pictures to remind him.

I’m sure that, not long after I actually snapped this photo, bath time ended. I’m also 100% positive that I wrapped him in one of those cool hooded towels (I LOVE those things) to dry him off. After slapping a diaper on, I probably dressed him in his cute little Superman or Batman pajamas (the kind with a detachable cape). For sure, I held him up in the air so he could lay flat with arms spread in proper flying position. Then I carried him around the house making whooshing sounds as he pretended to fly. After I flew him around to say goodnight to everyone, I read him a story or two before tucking him in…

It totally does not seem like it could have been that long ago. (sigh)

Oh well. Happy Birthday, Eric. Sorry I’m a day late telling the world about your special day.

Hubby and I are on an unofficial mission to explore as many roads in West Virginia as possible. That is, after all, THE reason we bought a piece of land and built ourselves a cool little house.

While we aren’t completely finished every single thing there is to do on the house, we’ve decided to put work on the back burner and enjoy the place for a change.

After all, during the summers of 2005, 2006, and 2007, we slaved away. Although, truth be told, we did do quite a bit of work this year, too. From January through mid-May, we worked quite a few weekends. We did take a couple weeks off for our trip to Alaska in late-May/early-June. The rest of June and most of July weren’t very productive for various reasons.

We felt a little guilty for slacking off. But we have all winter to finish all the little things we need to do. And not many good riding days left. So we’re taking advantage of it while we can.

The ultimate destination was Spruce Knob (highest point in WV at 4,863 feet above sea level). It is south and west of Romney in the Monongahela National Forest.

We didn’t make it. We got close, but the road was closed. I should have done some research first. It was still a fabulous, but long, ride (we did 211 miles!). We even stopped at Seneca Rocks for a photo.

One weird thing happened. There’s this tourist train in Romney called the Potomac Eagle. We have been driving past the station, frequently, since 2005, but not once had we seen it move. Until Saturday.

We see lots of people and/or cars at the station. And we live close enough to hear the whistle. But no movement.

Imagine our surprise on Saturday when we pulled into Petersburg, about an hour and a half southwest of Romney, in search of lunch and saw none other than the Potomac Eagle. Finally. It was sitting still at first, but by the time we parked our bikes at the restaurant, it was moving.

It’s about time!