So the rain and thunderstorms finally quit this week and we all got out of the house for the weekend. Tom was gone for the week in Chicago at work. Since the weather was so bad across the US, his flight was delayed  getting home. He arrived after midnite on Friday. We had planned on camping this past weekend with SCott leaving Friday night. It was the annual White Water Rafting weekend in Pennsylvania. Scott had to be at the campsite on Friday night since they were heading out so early Saturday morning. And it is about a 3.5hr drive out west. So I sent him off with another scout and his mom. The river is located in Ohiopyle, PA. The boys arrived in time to set up their tents in a rain storm.

On Saturday morning, Tom was coughing so bad, trying to recover from a 2wk old cold. We decided to skip the tenting, but drive up and spend the rest of the weekend biking a bit on the trail along the river. Tom ended up getting a hotel room so we could spend the night and bring SCott home on Sunday with his gear. We stopped for lunch in the small town of Ohiopyle, visited their new tourist center and then went for a two hour bike ride along the river trail. It is a pretty flat, dirt trail so it wasn't terribly strenuous for Tom. He just did not want to spend the night sleeping out in the cold in our tent and coughing and keeping up all the other campers. Plus, he needs to make a quick turnaround and head out to Vermont early this coming week for another business trip. He really needed to catch up on his sleep. Which he did back at the hotel. We stopped in to check on Scott. He had enjoyed his rafting trip. They finished early since we had so much rain, the river was high and fast. Also, the boy scouts have decided that older boys need to have a river guide right in their raft now for safety issues. So with a guide, things went a lot more smoothly(less boys falling out). Also, they were no longer allowed to stop at their favorite swimming hole and jump off the rocks. New boy scout safety rule. Probably a comfort for us moms, but not terribly exciting for the boys.

We had to head home since Scott had some homework assignments to catch up on. And we had to unpack the car and do all the household chores we missed out on while we were gone(laundry, grocery shopping, yard work). And pick up Cookie from our friends. Cookie hangs out with their cavachon puppy. Good for us, not so great for Cookie who gets pestered the whole time. Keeps her young!

Allison was also off camping this past weekend. She packed up her duffel box and headed off for a week of Girl Scout camp counselor training. On Sunday she finished her CPR recertification. We don't hear much from her as there is little cell phone connection in the camp area. But I know she has been looking forward to going back to camp and seeing all her old counselor friends(and meeting new ones). Plus she was recertified for archery which I am sure she is looking forward to getting back into this summer with the kids.

Before our camping weekend, I was busy running errands and stopped in for a visit with my parents. I arrived just in time for my mom to get sick while visiting DAd. I helped her back to her apt and got her in the shower and packed up her dirty clothes to take home and wash. I had to leave her in her own apt for 24 hr quarantine. She was not too happy being gone from DAd. But she felt better. And I also managed to squeeze in a girl's night out on Friday. I participated in my first BUNCO party. It has been very popular here in Maryland for years, but it is hard to get invited into a group(popular activity). I finally made the grade! After only 19 years! It is a fun dice game and you rotate tables and partners. Plus you get to nibble and sip your wine and chit chat with lots of very different women. And it is a gambling game so you can win some money. I think I won something, but I did not quite understand the rules completely for rolling BUNCO and I lost track. Maybe next time. If I am invited back!
Waterfall at the visitor center

 View from the Bike Trail bridge over the river

 Biking the Ohiopyle trail in PA