We're still here - Day 1495 (Year 5, Day 35)

Augusta, GA

Just a real quick note to let you all know that we haven't fallen off the face of the earth (G-d forbid!) since it's been 21 days since I've last written.  Just that there hasn't been anything interesting or eventful to report on.  During the week it's been life as always with both of us working, and on the weekends there isn't much to go out to do that we haven't done already (or that we're physically capable of doing), so Sundays are spent catching up on shopping, laundry and general household stuff.  I know... B O R I N G!!!!  Indeed.

In addition to his arthritic knees (for which he gets shots), Mitch has been having a lot of back problems lately.  He started going to physical therapy a few weeks ago, but hasn't noticed much an improvement yet.

I have a trip to NYC planned in 2 weeks (from 8/14 to 8/22).  I plan to spend most of the time with my dad in the Bronx, and at least an overnight (possibly more) with my sister in law Doris.  I wish I had more time and a way to get around so I could visit with all my other friends and relatives scattered around NY and NJ, but that's not meant to be this time around.  For now, it's just for Dad whom I haven't seen for a long time.  Mitch will stay home as he can't take the time off work.  Hopefully in the near future we'll be able to travel with our home to the area and stay for a while.

The goal is that Mitch is trying real hard to find an alternative remote vocation that will pay the bills, allow us to travel more freely, and be a lot less physically taxing for him.  If any of my readers have any leads... !

Augusta History Museum - Day 1474 (Year 5, Day 14)

Augusta, GA

On Sunday, we finally made it back to the History Museum (it was closed when we went there on April 23rd -- that was the day we saw a train that ran in the middle of the street).  The place was much larger than we thought, and we spent 4 hours there, and still didn't see every exhibit.

It was quite fascinating and it had galleries & exhibits dedicated to the history of Augusta, from prehistoric times to the present day (did you know James Brown and Brenda Lee were from here?)  It was good that for the antebellum and war period, it was referred to as the Civil War, not the War of Northern Aggression.  It was interesting to note, however, that Abraham Lincoln was not mentioned even once, although General Sherman's vicious attacks were mentioned often.  Because of its location off the Savannah River, it was a tradepost for tobacco and then cotton, as well as had many types of mills (including a gunpowder mill that was used for ammunition during the Civil War).

Mitch learned of an air & space museum located at Fort Gordon AFB that he'd like to visit (about 15 miles away).  It's only opened M-F during business hours, so we'll plan on going on his next rain day (which he hasn't had for a while).

On another note, regarding our November vacation:  the resort reservations were made, and we finally got confirmation that we will be here in Augusta until the end of November, so we can start to look for flights now as well.

Fourth of July - Day 1470 (Year 5, Day 10)

Augusta, GA

As the 4th of July rolls around again, as always, we didn't do anything to celebrate.  There were a few all-day festivals going on around town, culminating in fireworks at night, but we chose not to go because (1) didn't want to spend the day in the 100+ degree heat index, and (2) due to large crowds, it would be impossible to find a place to park our monster truck (hard enough for a regular car to find a parking space).  We chose, instead, to just stay home and relax (read, watch movies) in the air conditioning, although Mitch did a little bit of puttering first.

Interestingly enough, when I was in bed at 9:30 pm, I heard what sounded like fireworks coming from the direction of my window.  I turned over and opened the shades, and lo and behold -- there was an actual fireworks show which appeared to be almost across the street from the campground, just beyond the tree line (I looked at the map and there are no parks or public areas there; the closest that could have been in that direction was 8 miles away, but due to what I saw, there's no way it was that far away.  It was most likely an unpublicized show, although I have no idea from where).  Even so, it was beautiful, complete with spirals and "rainfall" and lots of colors; all of which I got to view from the comfort of my bed!  Only drawback is that they needed between 3-5 minutes between "sets" to reload, so each time I thought the show was over and put down the shades, the banging would start again.

For the most part, the campground was pretty much empty (except for all the regular long-termers).  Then again, this isn't a destination city other than when the Masters are in town, and it certainly isn't a destination campground with anything to do here (not even a playground for the kids, and you can't light a campfire), so weekend campers tend not to come here unless they have family in the area or are just stopping by en route to somewhere else.