Saturday, August 18, 2007

Traveling the backroads of the Shenandoah Valley....

I've got to admit I'm taking a respite this weekend from politics. My 11-year-old niece, along with her mom (my sister), are in from Richmond to visit for several days and I'm enjoying having them here and doing things together. A little of this 'n that....

The storms that went through my neck of Augusta County Thursday night were intense but nothing like what they got east of here. One of our SWAC chairs was enroute home from Richmond and had to sit in traffic on I-64 for an hour while they cleared debris and trees that had been downed on the interstate. Lots of power outages over that way....

My niece is a "tween" and for those who have children that age you know how much fun they can be. They are "between" being a kid and a teenager. Like most little girls her age, she is into Disney's "High School Musical" ... so with that in mind....

... it's a "High School Musical 2" weekend at my house! We watched the premiere last night and the encore presentation tonight. We'll be tuned in for the sing-along version Sunday night. I've got to admit that it's fun to watch ... the music is catchy, the lyrics clean, and not the first curse word to be heard. Instead of two teenagers all over each other it's got a little plot about friends, disagreements, misunderstandings, making up, and everyone being pals. Even my 19-year-old daughter likes it.

Went to the Green Valley Book Fair today, opening day for this two-week run, and found it pleasantly not packed of people at 9:00 a.m. When we left around 11:30 it was filling up. Lots of bargains ... I headed straight for the polititical books, as usual, and found some good ones....

After the book fair my sister and I went to the Dayton Farmers Market for roasted root veggies and big soft pretzels. That is one of the best places to sit and people watch ... and we sat and ate and talked for a long while. The pretzels from The Pretzel Corner are the best anywhere ... the dark chocolate-covered toffee from Warfel's Chocolates is yummy ... my sister loves the coffee from the Kaffee Klatch. Ran into friends from Harrisonburg ... he's one of the deans at JMU so we talked a bit about businesses coming to the area to employ the computer science majors. There was a Mennonite wedding this afternoon so many from the Mennonite community were stopping by before the wedding for treats -- ice cream, pretzels, candy -- all were dressed in their Sunday clothes ... a horse-and-buggy pulled in.

Drove through Dayton and the backroads and enjoyed the countryside and the clear mountain view due to low humidity. What a gorgeous day ... a nice breeze was blowing and it was cooler than it had been in a while with temps around 80. Took some photos to post later....

I enjoyed sharing the area with my sister. I love the Valley....

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