Tuesday October11: Franko Family Reunion

The good news is that Steve's arm is healing nicely. As you can see from the x-ray, the ball at the top of his arm is not going to get away again! There is a permanent plate and many screws holding everything together so the challenge now is to get movement back in the joint. He's amazed at how many ways his shoulder doesn't seem to want to bend!

We spent half of the day last Friday in DC with the focus of the day being the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. It was somewhat disappointing as we left without any free samples! There is actually a program on the History Channel called "Money" that is really much better than the tour we were on. Oh well. Rebecca flew into Dulles late Friday night so it was up early and off the Rocky Gap State Park in western Maryland for the Franko Family Reunion. A very cute Farmer's Market consisting of one small produce stand was spotted in one of the small towns along the way. This is a picture of the lodge from across the lake. The leaves are changing and are absolutely stunning. I almost forgot what fall was all about!

We scored on a last minute rental of a chalet (their word, not mine!) that had 3 bedrooms, 3 baths and sat on a hillside overlooking the lake. Wendy and Matt had arrived Friday so they were there to greet us when we drove in. It was very "rustic" (Wendy's word - mine was musty - she was being nice :-)) downstairs but the upstairs was fine. Regardless, it worked out very well as a gathering place for Saturday and Sunday nights as the rest of the Franko Family were staying in the really nice, not at all rustic Lodge. The chalet, however, did have a sunken tub :-)

There were lots of activities around. Steve was prohibited from most of them: a Segway tour, kayaking, swimming and horseback riding. He did manage to join in on a group walk around part of the lake though. He figured that would be safe enough!

The Segway tour was really fun. We had to watch a video prior to a short training - it was really funny. There were stick people in it that showed what NOT to do because of the consequences. Rebecca, Chris, Marialice and I took the video very seriously and came through the experience unscathed :0) We were the second Franko group to go and I'm happy to report we ALL did just fine! Personally, I saw every stop as an opportunity to rest the feet :-)

After dinner at a local restaurant Saturday with the Franko Family, Rebecca, Wendy and I panicked when we were locked out of the chalet - dark and no key. Could one of the sliding doors possibly be open?? But how was this going to work with no flashlight, no moon and lots of places to trip. Fortunately, technology saved the day: Rebecca's iphone flashlight app! And an unlocked sliding door - a good ending.

It was really a great weekend and I think everyone had a great time. We were missing a few folks but maybe next time. For more pictures of the Franko Family Reunion, go to: https://picasaweb.google.com/103245253437046742377/2011FrankoFamilyReunion# (If you right click on this link, you can choose to "Open in a new window")

Too soon it was Monday morning and we were off early to get Rebecca to Baltimore for her flight home. Matt and Wendy had left Sunday to head back to San Diego. The drive back to Baltimore was very pleasant with fog in the valleys but not on the roads. Once again, it's good to be back at the boat :-)