On The Road Still . . . Reflections of an Amtrak Traveler

If you have been checking in, then you know that
we are on our Amtrak trek across the United States, and we are now in Virginia where we are visiting some long-time friends with whom we served in the Army nearly 50 years ago when we were all stationed in Berlin. It was a weary world then as it is now, and we were in the midst of what was then called "The Cold War." We have stayed in touch through the years, but this is the first time we have been together in nearly 16 years. Renewing old friendships is such fun, especially when we were surprised with the information that our friends were celebrating a wedding anniversary. We celebrated by driving along the ridges of the Blue Hills of Virginia at the Skyline National Park. The colors were spectacular--hills dotted with yellow, orange, and red trees. All testified that the winter was coming and were showing off their beauty in a last blast of glory.

Now we are off to Atlanta where we will re-connect with another couple who were stationed with us in Berlin. Perhaps being several years behind the Iron Curtain (as the boundaries of the Soviet Union were then called) can cause people to forge friendships that have better-than-average strength, a tensil strength that lasts for years afterward. We will be moving on in a couple days after that to visit with family, spend a couple of days in New Orleans, then journey to Chicago and after a couple of days' sojourn there, journey home via the California Zephr.

Hope all of you are staying well and getting your flu shots, the relatively new pneumonia shots, and updating your immunity regularly. Adults aren't usually good at that so we do well to look to our own health even as we are trying to care for those around us. Keep on keeping on, and I'll be updating you again soon. Until next time . . .