Hike and The Hermitage

Today was a good day! This morning, my brother and I went on a hike about 30 minutes from where he lives, Henry Hollow Loop trail. It was a nice hike! There were some ups and downs on the trail, the trees created shade from the sun (although we were there at around 8 in the morning so the sun wasn't too bad yet) and it was a beautiful area!

The water seemed low in the river or stream but it was still pretty!

It was beautiful!

The trail wasn't always this wide but it was a nice well traveled and well marked trail!

In the afternoon, I went to The Hermitage, the home of former U.S. president, Andrew Jackson. It was really interesting. The grounds were beautiful and the house was lovely!

I took a mansion tour but I couldn't take any pictures inside. It was cool because there was a lot of original stuff in the house from Jackson's time. This is the back of the house after the tour was over.

There were some really cool trees on the property!

This is called the First Hermitage and is the place that Andrew and Rachel Jackson first lived when they moved to the property before the mansion was built. Once they built a little bigger place (not the mansion at that point, that came later), they turned this into a slave quarters. (The Jackson's owned slaves and grew cotton).

This is where Alfred Jackson lived. Alfred was a slave born at the Hermitage. He had many jobs on the plantation but ended up mainly taking care of the horses and keeping the farm equipment running. He also lived at the Hermitage longer than anyone else (even members of the Jackson family) and when he died was buried in the Jackson family plot.

The grounds had a garden and it was beautiful!

So many pretty flowers!

The Jackson family cemetery in the gardens on the grounds. They're currently cleaning and repairing the tomb of Andrew and Rachel Jackson hence the scaffolding in the picture.

I loved the flowers in the garden!

The trees were cool too!

The road leading up to the house is shaped like a guitar. Seriously. Overall I enjoyed my time at The Hermitage and learned a lot about Andrew Jackson and his life. 

Today was a good day and I'm grateful for the things I was able to do!

Tennessee

After Pennsylvania, I spent a week in Virginia so that I could get my second Covid-19 shot and see some of my friends before I was gone for the summer. I'm glad for the friends I was able to see while I was there!

I'm now just outside Nashville, Tennessee staying with my brother, N, who lives here. So far I've mainly just been working and taking walks around where my brother lives. 

I decided to do a little more exploring after work today.

I saw this sculpture on my way to the store when I first got here but didn't stop to see what it was. Today I drove there to check it out. 

It's a sundial!

Around the sundial were these plaques dedicated to the memory of the people on the flights that crashed on 9-11. I was not expecting that and I got a little emotional reading them.

 

This lake is not too far from where N lives. It's within walking distance, but there are no sidewalks or a shoulder wide enough to walk on to get there from his place so I had to drive. Oh well. It's still a nice lake!

N and I were looking up trails to hike on near his place and found this one! We went on a scouting trip tonight to see what it was like. I really liked it!

The trail follows the river and is mostly flat. We actually couldn't see the river most of the time, though, because of the trees between the trail and river.

 

I was trying to get a picture of the bird on top of that tree. I had to zoom all the way in so it's a little blurry.

 We didn't hike the whole trail but the part we did see was nice!

 

So far I like Tennessee! It's a nice place! Hopefully more adventures to come from Tennessee soon. :)

Second Shot!

I got my second Covid-19 shot today! Yay!!!

Pennsylvania

So my first stop on my grand adventure without a home base is Pennsylvania! My sister, L, and her family live about two miles down the road from Valley Forge. 

I've been here about two weeks now. The first week I was here L and G were in Utah house hunting and I stayed here with A and E to be the adult in the house while their parents were gone. I worked during the day while the kiddos did their school work and online classes and then we just got to hang out after work and school were over.

Their dog, Rocky. He is smelly and loud but he can be kind of cute sometimes too. ;)

One of the evenings for dinner, A, E and I got chicken sandwiches from four different fast food restaurants and did a taste test to see which one was the best. We got Chick-fil-A, Wendy's, Burger King, and McDonald's. We knew Chick-fil-A would be the best, but we weren't sure about the rest. 

Our results for the chicken sandwich were: 

1. Chick-fil-A

2. Burger King

3. Wendy's

4. McDonald's

Our results for the fries were:

1. Burger King

2. Chick-fil-A (but for me I think I would put McDonald's fries in second place and Chick-fil-A in third)

3. McDonald's

4. Wendy's

Since L and G live so close to Valley Forge, I've been multiple times since being here. It's so pretty there and there's so much to explore!

Last Saturday, I convinced A and E to go on a hike with me at Valley Forge! It was such a nice day!

The next day, I went to Valley Forge by myself. I walked a different part of the trail than the day before.

It's just so pretty there!

 

 

 

One day during my lunch break I noticed something in L and G's backyard. I had no idea what it was but later learned it was a groundhog. I'd never seen one before in person. It was kind of cute.

L and G came back from Utah and then left again two days later with everyone. I'm still here in PA at their house taking care of Rocky while they're gone. (They get back later this evening.)

Rocky does not like to be alone. If there is anyone in the house, he wants to be where they are. Since I work from a desk in A's room that's where Rocky wants to be (while everyone else is gone). He just looked so peaceful sleeping on the bed one day while I was working.

Today I went to a different part of Valley Forge! Just in case I haven't said this enough, it's so pretty there and I love it!

An old train station turned museum near General Washington's headquarters.

The side of General Washington's headquarters.

I've really enjoyed my time here in Pennsylvania. It's been good getting some quality time with my family here and also being able to explore the surrounding area.

I'll be leaving on Monday after work to go back to Virginia for the week. (I have my second Covid-19 shot this next week. Yay!) Depending on how I feel after my second shot, I should be heading to Tennessee next weekend!

A New Adventure!

So I am now officially without a home base. A lot has happened in the last month or two. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had to move out of the place I was living and that lease was up yesterday, April 30.

I had decided to look for a room to rent within 20 miles or so of where I was living. I looked at a lot of places and found one that I thought I would be okay with, the location, the other roommates, the price etc. I got far in the process of taking that room and then it ended up falling through a couple weeks before I was supposed to move out of my other place.

Basically with that room falling through, though, I took it as a sign that I should just put everything in storage and drive to my siblings homes and work from their places for awhile. Since I can work from anywhere and my siblings were okay with my plan, I no longer have a home base and will be driving a lot in the next few months.🤷

As of right now, I only plan on traveling for the summer and am planning on ending up back in Virginia, but those plans may change.

 

I took a day off of work, rented a Uhaul, and hired movers to help me move. I filled up a 10' Uhaul truck and a 10' x 10' storage unit. (This picture is clearly while the movers were in the process of filling the truck.)  I've decided that hiring movers (through Uhaul) is the way to go! 😉

I moved out on a Friday and Rachel and Cat moved out on Saturday. 

(Cat and Rachel couldn't fit this couch into their new place so they had to put it on the sidewalk (so they could return their truck) and then post it in different places to sell quickly so it wouldn't be outside too long. We ate lunch on the couch outside.) ;)

I'm a little nervous about all of the driving I'll be doing in the next few months 😅, but I'm also excited about the adventures the next few months might bring. 😁