Gecko

Today I buried by Little Buddy. He was an outside cat that we brought with us when we came back from Guam. He lived the outdoors and would only come in to eat during the nice weather. In the winter he would spend most of his time in the house sitting on the back of the couch looking out the window.

Last night it got cold and was raining. I looked for him before I went to bed and looked for him again in the morning before I went to the gym. I came home and got ready for work. On the way to work I saw a gray animal on the side of the road that was below our house. I was hoping it wasn't him but when I turned around for another look, I saw the flea collar that we had just bought him.

He was stiffed and there wasn't much a mark on him other then some blood coming out of his mouth. I put him in the car and went back home. I woke up the wife and told her. We got a computer box that has some foam padding in it and I put him in there. The kids got up and we buried him under the bird feeder in the back yard. He loved to sit under the tree and watch the birds as they ate.

I have had a lot of cats but he was a different one. Every time before he would come in the house he would want me to give him a stretch. This consisted of me placing him on his back on my shoulder with his feet and head hanging off my back. He would then want me to rub his tummy. Then he would put his feet behind my neck and have me carry him like that.

He didn't like to be petted much but would purr anytime you touched him. He would usually bit my nose and then lick it. He was a hell of a hunter and killed many animals to include geckos, ground squirrels, birds and many mice. He will really be missed.

Retirement

I have made the decision to finally retire from the Army. After 25 years it is time to call it quits. It's has been a great career and I've had a lot of good experiences. During those years I've been fortunate enough to have been stationed in places like, Turkey, Italy, Germany, and Guam. Places that I would not have been able to go to otherwise.

The only reason that I'm retiring now is that I've found a home here in Pittsburgh. I really love the city and I don't want to move. I've been here on station now for almost six years. The Army rarely allows anyone to stay in one place this long. I know I'm due for a move and I don't want to, so my only other option is to retire.

It's a scary move and now I have to start over with a new job. The pension that I will be receiving is not enough to live on. This has me worried. I know how the Army works and I'm comfortable with it. Working in a civilian job will take some adjusting.

Hazel

I had to change my travel plans. On Saturday, I received a call from my brother that my Grandmother had died. I immediately left for Galax, VA. I travelled on HWY 460 to Lynchburg and then south on I81. It was an uneventuful trip and I arrived after about six and a half hours of travel.

My Grandmother was 92 and was a great woman. I have many fond memories of her.

Pittsburgh to Richmond on a Bike

We are having a conference in Richmond so I thought that instead of flying or driving a government car, I would take the opportunity to ride my bike down. After all Uncle Sam is paying. I also figured that coming back, since I would be leaving late on Sunday - that I would take my time and take two days to get home.

Seneca Rocks WV was one place that I wanted to spend time at every since I first saw it on another drive home from Richmond. That time I didn't have time to do anything other then to stop and look at the rock raising up from the ground. I didn't even have my camera. This time would be different. I not only brought my camera but camping gear also. Can't wait to do some camping and some hiking.

I left the house yesterday morning about 0730 and headed south on I79. I planned on catching I70 in Washington but a couple of things changed my mind. One was that I forgot the EZ Pass for when I70 merged with the PA Turnpike and two There were signs warning of delays on I70. That made my decision to go on down to Morgantown WV and catch I68.

There were a lot of traffic on I79 but once I got on I68 traffic was very light. The Vulcan 500 did very well and easily cruised at 75 to 80 mph and still had some left to make passes when necessary. I debated on wither to follow I70 to DC and then follow I95 south to Richmond or to take US522. The didn't care for the thought of DC traffic so took 522 and then Highway 33 to Richmond. It turned out to be a good decision. The ride was very nice but very long. It ended up taking me 9 hours to travel 400 miles. I made a few stops and took my time but by the end of my journey I was ready for the hotel and a cold beer.

One of the stops that I made was at Blue Ridge Grocery about 20 miles north of Culpeper. I passed it but turned around and went back to it. I was glad that I did. As I took off my helmet and jacket an Animal Control Officer drove up and informed me that the store was only open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays but that he would go ahead and open it for me. Turns out he lives right behind the store and he's the owner/operator. I told him that I would take a pack of nabs and a bottle of pop. It was just like being at home to have someone who knew what nabs and pop is. He went around and came back with the goods but refused to accept any money. He was a very friendly guy. I highly recommend stopping by if you are ever in that parts on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

Oh, and before I forget. I used 6.65 gallons of gas to travel 400 miles for a MPG average of 59.9. Not bad but still costed $29.06. Gas prices really suck.

Birthdays and Anniversaries

Once again July 16th rolls around. Every year is comes quicker then the last. July 16th is a very special day for me. Not only is it mine and my daughters birthday but it is also my wedding anniversary. Today, I turned 42, my daughter 20, and I now have 21 years of marriage. Since I left home at 18, my wife has been with me longer then anyone else. It has been a really great 21 years and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I love my wife now more then ever. She has been a great wife and mother - more then I could ever have wished for. Here's to her for giving up 21 years of her life to spend it with me.

Wedding

Well, today my one and only daughter got married. Her fiance had a four day pass from Sheppard AFB in Texas where he is taking his Advance Individual Training. He came in Friday afternoon but they had to wait until Monday to get married because of the fourth.

Monday morning they went downtown Pittsburgh to get the license. Normally there is a 3 day wait but because he is in the Army and had to report back on Tuesday morning, they gave it to them the same day.

They then came up to the local magistrates office (whom they had both appear to before)and had him perform the wedding. In attendance was Sam's mother, sister, and nephew. On my daughter's side, there was her mother, brother, and myself.

There were married around 1145 and then we all went out to lunch at the Red Lobster. The poor newlyweds only had a few hours together before Sam had to fly out at 1900 to report back to Texas.

Indigo Bunting

Today I saw my first Indigo Bunting. I was biking to work and along the Montour Trail I saw a blue bird chasing a Goldfinch. At first I thought is was an Eastern Bluebird but there was no brown on the chest and the blue was colored a little different. I just looked it up and discovered it was an Indigo Bunting. It is a very beautiful bird and one that I wish I could attract to my bird feeder.

2008 MS Ride to Lake Erie.

I just completed a two day bike ride from Cranberry, PA to Conneaut, Ohio. It was to collect donations for MS. This was the second year that I did it. Last year I did the Century option on the first day and pushed myself hard on both days. This year I rode with a friend of mine at a slower pace and really enjoyed the ride. It was nice to be able to take my time and enjoy the beautiful scenery. For a ride report, I'm just going to copy what my friend Gwen (who also happens to be my Spin Teacher) wrote. She pretty much included everything except for one accident that we saw. Just north of Morine State Park, at the bottom of a pretty decent hill there was a bridge that looked like the surface of the moon. The pot holes were many and deep. One cyclist hit the bridge too fast and was unable to dodge all of the deep pot holes and he flipped his bike. I was told that the bike flipped over the side of the bridge to the road below. The guy was laying on his back with blood running down his head. I was told that his helmet cracked upon impact. Good thing he was wearing one or he would have had a much serious injury.

Below is the ride report as written by Gwen.

We started the ride in Cranberry, PA at 7:30 AM Saturday morning. There were rest stops approximately every 25 miles with plenty of food and water. Day one was the longest and hardest. We had lunch at Grove City which was half way through the first day. The worst of day one was on the second half of the day. I must say a BIG THANK YOU to my friend Gary who stayed with me the entire trip. There were times during the trip that I had lots of energy then there were times that I was almost, I say almost tapped of energy. During the low times Gary would circle his bike back next to me and either tell stories to keep my mind off the hard task or sing Army sing which kept me smiling and breathing!

He was a great mentor and partner for this trip and he deserves a BIG THANK YOU as because of him, I made it!!! He also had a secret stash of "Espresso Love" which I used to get through the last segment of say one which was the hilliest and hardest by far! For those of you that do not know about Espresso Love, it is a wonderful gel like substance that you eat and gives you the boost you did not know you had. He uses this stuff for marathons. The best part of the day was the finish at Allegheny College in Meadeville. Joann and Jimmy were there to cheer us on the the finish line. It was so nice to have them there. What a relief for me that I did not know I needed! Day one celebration included lots of food, drink and massage therapy for the riders. Gary and I got a well deserved message after riding 81 miles. Then Joann took us out for an Italian dinner and a few more drinks. My son tucked me in bed before he left and he was so great taking care of his mother before they hit the road home.

Day 2 started out a little hectic. Gary and I planned to meet up for breakfast at 5:30 AM. We were both at breakfast but at separate dining halls. When I retrieved my bike from the gym, I asked the guard if he knew how many bikes were locked up. He said 2,700!!! Amazing.

The official start time was 7:30 AM. Both days there were volunteers at every intersection guiding the bikers and stopping traffic as needed. We decided to get an earlier start because of the heat. Yes, it was 90+ degrees day one however, there was some overcast so we felt that day one could have been a lot worse. We both did a good job hydrating throughout the day one. We carried water with us on our bikes and extra water in our back pockets of our shirt. We made sure we ate at least a bite of something at every rest stop and drank continuously!

OK, back to the early start. The volunteers did not start until 7:30 AM but they did have directional signs posted so we thought if we started early we could get a jump on the heat. Yes, what you're thinking happened. We got lost early on. One of the directional signs was missing and we missed a turn. Thank God we did not go to far before we realized that we had made a mistake. We got back on track and on with the day. Now day two leveled out and was shorter in mileage, only 69 miles. The rolling hills were much easier however, there was one segment that was extremely hard for me. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing and it felt like a 15 mile climb without relief. Again, Gary came to my aid with motivating words and songs! Just when we hit the last rest stop and I thought I was going to die, someone said only 9 more miles to go. I jumped up and said let's do this and finished STRONG! The last 9 miles were through town and beautiful. People were in there yards cheering us and the town posted signs welcoming us with mileage updates.

We ended in Conneaut, Ohio at Lake Erie! There was a huge party at the finish with music and food.

Oh ya, in the words of Gary, "I think I rubbed all the skin off my ass."

Nuff said.

Go Pens

The Pittsburgh Penguins almost did it. They came two games away from being the Stanley Cup winners. It was very exciting to see them going to the series and winning with such ease, beating the Sentators, Rangers, and Flyers. The expectations were very high and everyone knew we had a great shot at bringing the Cup to the Steel City. Surely our team which consisted of players such as Crosby, Malkin, Hossa, Roberts, Stahl, Talbot, Gonchar, lovable Ruutu, and of course our Goalie MA Fleury would lead us to victory.

But sometimes even the best will have bad games. Unfortunately ours came in the first two games of the Finals against the Red Wings. It was pretty much a wipe out. We bounced back with two wins - one in Detroit - to take the finals to a sixth game in Pittsburgh. It was a very exciting game and was almost tied up in the final second of the game but the Red Wings took the game and the series. I want to thank the Penguins for a very exciting season and look forward to an even better next season - with a Stanley Cup win.

I will add one more thing. Mike Lange rules - Fox Sports sucks

Region 2 Ball

Today me and the wife went to my unit's annual Military Ball. It was the first time we had both dressed up in a long time. I wore my Dress Blue uniform and she wore a dress that she had picked up for the occasion.

I'll say this, it is pretty cool having the kids old enough that we don't have to worry about a babysitter.

Sam's Graduation

Today, my daughter and I attended her future husbands graduation from Basic Training. He joined the Army Reserve and attended Basic Training at Fort Sill, OK.

Another Winter Gone

It was a struggle but another winter is gone and Spring is in the air. Keeping up my running and biking in the cold was a challenge. My age must be getting to me because some of the days I would have run in the past, I passed up this year. Thank God it is finally warming. I'm looking forward to a lot of run and bike filled Summer days.

Good news. I just found out that Annette Bednosky is putting on a 50K that will go right my the farm where I grew up. It is called the New River 50K and will follow the New River Trail which follows the New River from the town of Fries and will follow Chestnut creek to Cliffview where the turn around point is. I really can't wait to do this race. Previously I ran from Cliffview and followed the trail to the Low Water Bridge which I crossed to my Grandma's house. It was about a 14 mile run. The hard thing about it was that I didn't take any water or fuel with me and I suffered from it. Luckily there are some springs located in a few places along the trail. Above is photo taken from the trail looking across the river.

It has been awhile since my last post so I have a little catching up to do. The real big news is that my daugher's boy friend (Sam) has joined the Army Reserve and is presently doing Basic Training at FT Sill OK. He is due to graduate at the end of the month. My daughter and I are planning on attending the graduation. He will then report to Shepard AFB in Texas for 10 months of AIT. I'm afraid a wedding is in the works. They both have talked about it and my daughter wants to live in Texas with him while he attends school. I'm not crazy about it but what can I do?

My son now has a job. He will be working at Ikea. I'm really proud of him because he did everything on his own to get it. He went and got the application and filled it out by himself. I hope he will be a good worker like the rest of his family