Day +67, Saturday

With a break in the weather, we decided to explore a bit more of Maryland. I wanted to hike a few miles and share something historic with Mom, which is why we planned on the original Washington Monument. With that in mind, we parked at Turner’s Gap, near Old South Mountain Inn, and hiked 2 miles north on the Appalachian Trail, passing through Washington Monument State Park with its ample parking. There was a moment when, realizing a parking lot existed less than 1/4 mile from the monument, Mom commented, “so…we could have parked here, right?”

I just shrugged, grinned mischievously behind my mask and remarked, “where’s the fun in that?”

This is what happens when I plan the outings…what can I say? I enjoy hiking and am working on building my strength and endurance. Again, I need to hand it to Mom as she was a great sport for the entire trip.

Our return trip to Bethesda was nice; I had glimpses of a blazing pink-orange-red sunset while zipping south on the 270. Traffic was – meh – but we made it. Dinner consisted of Czech dinner leftovers – pork chops, cabbage and dumplings – and we ended up Zooming with Dad and Andy. It felt sorta like a dinner date as Andy had pizza and Dad munched on tacos, but without half the people or fun drinks or nice ambiance. Even if we can’t all be together, I am very thankful to have this Zoom/FaceTime/FBMessenger option.

For the rest of the evening, I’m planning on reading, perhaps powering through Book 2 – but we’ll see. I’m feeling OK – that slight itching under my skin is still there. The cortisone cream makes my face greasy, and the same can be said for the stronger stuff that I put on my shoulders and chest. But I just manage to the best of my ability. Otherwise, that’s about all I can think of. Tomorrow is more rainy weather, hence the perfect opportunity to start indoor strength training and yoga. Huzzah!