As we pause near Knoxville TN for the weekend I am puzzled with the concept of the farther South we have come, the colder it has gotten! It was 28 degrees this morning with a lot of frost on everything. But the entire southeast is in the throes of a cold spell and temperatures are to return to normals early next week.
I will take this time to update this blog with some photos from our summer in Hershey and whatever else comes to mind. We had to have some work done on the RV this summer and there are still some things unfinished. We need a compressor for the dashboard air conditioner and the tech we had used could not locate the correct item before we left, so we are not unhappy with the cool weather so far. We have needed the heater rather than the AC!
Our travels will be a little different with our new residential style refrigerator we used to replace the RV model capable of operating on either propane or electricity. That style is made primarily by a company called Norcold and the wags have suggested the units are not so cold. We could not keep ice cream, frost buildup was constant and annoying and when the old one quit working it was almost good news. The household refrigerator only runs on alternating current and at that only the flavor that comes from a real electrical source. The ac output from the power inverter onboard is not compatible with the cooling syatem of the regrigerator. So while we drive we are not making cold, but preserving the cold in the box until we get to a place to plug into shore power again. The insulation in today's refrigerators is excellent and we do not anticipate any problems, since we do not boondock or dry camp any more.
Before and after Kendalyn went to be with her father in Illinois she and her Mom were frequent weekend visitors. As I chronicled Kendalyn mastered riding the bicycle this summer and it was always the first thing she wanted to do when she got here. What an amazing transformation from her fear and trepidation that she would "fall and smash her face" at the earliest times to the unbridled joy of racing around the campground at the end! Alas the bike was not too durable and developed a problem of slipping the chain off the sprocket. Repeated attempts to adjust the chain tension resulted in stripping the threads on the rear axle and the bike was deposited at the dumpster. Maybe Santa will have a new one he can spare.
Not too many bird pictures this summer but we did see this blue heron frequenting the shallows of the lake. We also saw, less often the Green Heron below. It was more wily and flew off if we showed too much interest.
Fall was trying to impress but rather slowly as the usual bright specimens around the lake were unspectacular this year. This one in near the Family Center was the best we saw. Neither have we been fortunate with seeing fall color on our jaunt through the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia this year. Only the very distant and highest moutain tops seem to have substantial coloration.
Laura and Kendalyn went to a local corn maze and managed to escape without getting lost. The first photo shows the maze as a drawing. It is in the shape of a farm tractor if seen from the air.
They also took some "selfies" and some from the wagon ride through the pumpkin patch. Kendalyn is tall, but not as tall as the corn was this year. Conditions were good all summer and it looks like there was a bumper crop. So much was still standing when we left I think there must have been a major price drop so the farmers are waiting hoping for better returns.
Mother and daughter amidst the corn.
And finally, it would not be the end of summer at the Shicks unless there were family "portraits" taken. So on a blustery fall afterneoon we all posed. New this year was the inclusion of the dogs, Hydro (the big dog) and Dixie our companion.
So we have the Geezers
The Children and Kendie Laura and Kendie....
Randy and Hydro
The Shick Gang - 2013
