One Final Look at the West Virginia Wedding....

Woke up at my usual 7:45am or so, with Reagan the Airedale barking for her morning biscuit...5 more days and she will become the longest living Airedale we will have raised over the past 35 years...Max lived to the ripe old age of 12 years 7 months 8 days, she will pass that on the 15th of February.  Everytime she seems to slip a notch, she rallies, and despite her age, seems to be ready to hit 13 come July.  After taking care of the morning feed,  I checked the computer weather station and despite the bright sunshine coming through the windows....it was hardly toasty...6 below zero, with a wind chill approaching minus 20.  The coldest day of the winter, without a doubt.  Damn!  Usually by this point in February, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel....but not this long winter, it seems the bitter conditions wants to hang on as long as she can.  Next week they say we many reach the 40s and even a day in the lower 50s...somehow with the rock solid casing of snow turned to ice on the ground, I doubt it.  But if it happens, the melting, despite the mess, will be welcome.

Sunday, Coming Home_____

 The wedding and following dinner went off without a hitch, except the hoped for snow never materialized....and after a good night's sleep, we arose early and prepared for our trip back to Ohio.  Lisa's dad Tim, and his wife Kim, were charged with fixing the getaway breakfast for nearly 20 folks, before all, except Hal and Lisa, prepared for the drive back to the Buckeye State.  A grand feast it was....

Sausage, eggs, bacon, more sausage(both links and patties), fresh fruit, coffee, juices, biscuits, and crescent rolls, were on the menu....and we ate well...thankfully despite the over eating this past weekend, I have  dropped back to my pre-weekend weight, but it wasn't easy.

After breakfast we said our good-byes, until we hook up again at the delayed(by choice) reception in the Dayton area on February 19th.  The Hemmelgarn's and our car decided to drive Highway 19 past the New River Gorge(where we would stop for a photo shoot), then take US 60, the long and winding Federal road, back towards Charleston, where it would hook up with the interstate.  We would then cut off on US 35 just south of the Ohio River, and head towards Columbus, time wise not a great savings, but 75 miles shorter save some gas money and the monotony of the boring Interstate trip.  Once there, we would drop off the Tuxedos at the Men's Warehouse location, and then Sam at his apartment near the Ohio State Campus.  Back onto US 33 we would go, and arrive home at 4:15pm.  There we were greeted by a previous days 6 inches of heavy, wet, snow that plugged our walks and driveway.  That would take another hour or so to clean out....then I sat down with a couple of cold beers, and watched the Packers squeeze out a victory over Pittsburgh...which topped off a excellent weekend indeed.

3 more basketball games to work this week...tonight a Girls JV game at Van Wert, tomorrow I stay in Celina to work a WBL Boys contest at the historic Fieldhouse, then Saturday I finish up the week at Allen East for another Girls JV contest.  By that time the deep freeze should be broken with highs reaching the mid 30s, and hopefully upward from there by the middle of next week.

back later>>>>

Photos-The look at the New River Gorge Bridge on US 19 near Fayetteville, West Virginia.  Kim and Tim fix breakfast for the masses on Sunday morning before our departure....and Sam standing on the platform before it begins it 600 foot walk down the wood stairs into the gorge....I would have walked down, but time, and the realization that I had no chance of making the walk back up the stairs kept me on top of the situation.