The C&O Canal near Shepherdstown

On Saturday, we visited the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Park on the stretch near Shepherdstown. The park is based alongside 184 miles of an old canal, which is partly dry now and only functional for some of the stretch. The canal runs alongside the Potomac at Shepherdstown, and there is a wonderful view of the river and the multiple old bridges which have fallen into disuse from there.

The towpath is great for walking- and also looks great for cycling along. We walked along a stretch of the canal, and saw an old civil war battle site at one of the Potomac's fords.

The towpath is marked every mile, which was very motivating. Here is Sarah after our 71st mile.....

We also explored Shepherdstown, a lovely University town with lots of cafes and restaurants.

One added bonus - I added another state I have visited to my list: West Virginia! Soon, I will make a list properly....

Plant Update - Memorial Day Weekend

As tomorrow is the first day of summer (and a day off!), we wanted to check on the status of the plants, to make sure they are happy before the sun comes out in earnest.

The tomato plants are now huge, nearly topping the railings on our balcony. They are also starting to flower, so I am hoping for a full crop of tomatoes for next week:

The basil and pepper plants are also doing well (if needing alittle more water, today was a hot day):

Also, the cactus has sprouted another cactus thing on its side. The only plants that aren't thriving under our care is Sarah's pot of Dirt/Hay/Strawberries....

Finally, we have also managed to grow an extra bonus species. They seem to disappear by day, and come up at night. I favoured a strong anti-fungal agent, but apparently pulling them up will also be effective...

Cooking with Basil

Used some of our balcony grown basil with dinner tonight. It went very well with the Steak and mixed veg!

Sunday Update

Today's run was to and around the beaver lake nearby. It poured with rain for about 45 minutes on the run, and I couldn't see much of the lake because my glasses don't have automatic wipers. Still fun, just got very muddy. I also used the magic of GPS to track my run:

As to the plants, they are still not dead, and are even positively thriving in the combination of intermittent rain and sun. The tomato plant is very far from dead, in fact seems to have doubled in size over the week:

The tomato plant is even producing a flower. I am hoping this will grow up to be a tomato:

The chilli and Basil are also doing well, and still going strong.:

The pretty flowers are looking less good. I watered them after this, and they perked up:

Also, Sarah's pot of dirt is still a pot of dirt, and produces no evidence it has, or ever will, contain Strawberries:

George Washington's House vs Ickworth

We visited George Washington's house at Mount Vernon (just south of DC). In order to properly evaluate Mount Vernon, I will compare it to Ickworth house in Cambridgeshire, our favourite National Trust house in the UK....

Category 1: Historical Significance

Ickworth has been the seat of the Hervy family, the last of which to own the house was John Hervy the 7th. Mount Vernon was built primarily by George Washington, the First President of the United States, who led the US army during the revolution against the British and defined the office of President.

1-0 to Mount Vernon.

Category 2: The House

Mount Vernon (not a good photo, but good for an idea):

Ickworth:

I think Ickworth wins. 1-1.

Category 3: Edutainment

The museum at Mount Vernon was great - really good history of George Washington and lots of exhibits/information/movies etc. I honestly can't remember anything from looking around Ickworth, except that one of the wings was once a squash court.

2-1 to Mount Vernon.

Category 4: The Grounds

Here it was closer. Mount Vernon is situated on the Potomac, with a wonderful view of the river:

But Ickworth, although not as spectacular, has more walking trails and routes. I even ran a 10K there afew years ago on the paths, although the run ended in a rather steep hill just before the finish line....

I think here Ickworth wins here - its a great place to walk around on a Sunday afternoon :) 2-2.

Category 5: Tea Rooms.

The most important thing about a house is probably the tea room, for cake after a long walk. Here, Mount Vernon had a food court, with food from pizza to sandwiches to cookies. Very nice, but no cake.

Ickwork had a tea room featuring a nice seasonal selection of meals with, more importantly, cake, scones and cream teas.

So, Ickworth wins by a scone, 3-2.

Also - following this had Meatloaf for tea....

Plant Experiment Update

After yesterday's adventure with the power, I had a much more relaxing day, tending the plants and spending some of my first pay check on consumer electronics. Plus, today, I discovered that the beaver lake we went to on our first few days here is in fact only a 15 minute run from here; which is great for my Sunday morning run. On this run, I also found I can run to work (although do not think I will do this as a way in which to actually get to work).

Quick Plant update. Tomato's are not yet dead:

As are Chilli's. Basil doing particularly well:

Pretty Flower's also not yet dead:

Cactus unchanged. May need to check it is actually alive:

Finally, this week, Sarah made an addition to our collection:

This pot of dirt and hay is purported to contain strawberries. Until this is confirmed, I will put its status as "Not yet Alive". The question this raises is - can you kill a plant that was never alive?

Driving License!

I write with much news! First, I am currently having tea in the pizza place around the corner, as our place is without power (although, as a plus I now know our power company has wikid cool online stats and help services).

So, I passed my driving test yesterday, and recieved a Maryland license! This beats my previous record of three goes to pass a driving test. I am really pleased to have this, as it marks the last required piece of paperwork for me to be a real person in the US. Looking back on the past seven odd months, it is amazing to reach this milestone :) Very pleased.

Sarah is away with friends for a few days, so this may not be the last Pizza I have this week....

[Edit; a few hours later.] Power cut over. We now also own a rather fetching set of candles.

Location:Center Point Way,Gaithersburg,United States

Botanical Investigations (Hypothesis)

Following spending alittle too much time relaxing this weekend, we decided to begin something more like work. The experiment we decided to perform was an investigation of the ability of various plant species to survive our careful ministrations. To begin this test, we purchased a small number of plant specimens, planned to establish them in appropriate conditions and rated their survival chances before commencing the experiment.

Following the planning stage, I was unsure of how to proceed, perhaps due to over-excitement:

Sarah however had a solution:

Here our the newly planted 'crop' type plant. From left to right; three tomato plants, a chilli plant, some basil and another chilli plant. Chance of survival: Low - Medium.

We also decided to test some 'non-crop' type plants. Chance of survival: Medium.

Finally as a control, we established a 'cactus' type plant, marked for sale as 'resilient' and able to survive with 'little or no attention for prolonged periods'. Chance of survival: Medium.

We will update you as to the experimental progress with time.

Our Stuff has arrived :)

Today, the familiar crate we shipped off across the Atlantic arrived! Here is our crate on the other side:

Sarah did a great job setting us up, and we now have a flat that is looking more full with our much loved furniture:






Just had Pizza for tea at a local Pizzerea. Still got lots of local places to try...

First Day at Work!

First day at work today. Went really well, had fun meeting everyone at work and am now alittle zoned!

Also, my green card arrived today! Great news, although was surprised it was in fact off-white...



And now, lasagne for tea. A good day.