Phew!

We had an interesting trip back to America last week. Of course it was great to see family and spend time at our property in Western Maryland – it always is, but what caught me off guard was the feeling of how large the separation between these two lives that Beth and I are living has grown. It actually threw me into a bit of an identity crisis. A sort of Dan PMS. I suppose that it shouldn’t have surprised me this much because our plan was always to try and share the best of all worlds - country life/city life/Europe/America. But the differences of who we are in each of those worlds have become so pronounced that the “hop” between them is not as seamless as we first anticipated. In fact, the “hop” has turned into a “leap” and it seems to require a longer and longer running start to get the momentum up to make it. Once landed, and after a few deep breaths, then the old feelings of comfort return. I am curious to see if this is just a transitional feeling or if chasm continues to widen…

But enough philosophy! On to the update! We spent the first few days up in Ligonier. All of us “kids” were able to come in for the weekend and we got to take this rare family portrait.

We also had some great meals and went with my parents to buy a new house right smack dab in the middle of town. They’ll keep the property out in the hills, so I guess we’re not the only ones who will be going between city and country.

Down in Maryland, our first day at the house was a bit of a hard one. The water pipes had frozen in a late cold snap and when I turned on the well pump water sprayed all through the basement. I almost called a plumber, but when I saw that all of the damage was done to plastic piping, I thought that I’d give the repairs a shot myself. Well, just call me Plumber Dan (without the asscrack showing). The repairs went well, including changing the elements in the water heater, and we were able to use the commodes and take a hot shower by the second day.

They have also started up the new artificial whitewater river on top of the mountain at Deep Creek Lake. It was looking pretty cool with a nice rapid every 100 feet or so. I’m going to send them the pictures of surfing in Munich as a suggestion for expansion. I think that it would fit in nicely here.

Traffic in the mountains.

Yes, I bought a video recorder. Mostly for our upcoming trip to Africa, but you never know what might show up on YouTube in the future!

Cheers!