Allen I set off to the park on a beautiful day with the sun coming down. We drove the convertible with music playing & it was a great drive. When we got to the park we took a trail that was 5miles in total. The walk went along the Appalachian trail. At the half way point we had an amazing view out over the valley. Just before we reached the turning point we encountered a bear. At this point I decided to read the handbook, about what to do when you encount...

Monticello is the former home of US president Thomas Jefferson. Located atop a hill Jefferson sculpted the landscape & designed a home that was always changing. The house itself contains many gadgets that are very simple but quite ahead of their time. When we arrived we watched a short film on the life of Jefferson before proceeding up to the house for a tour of the ground floor. The tour consisted of 25 people, moving from one room to the next. We learnt a...

The day was once again stated with a run. The temperature had dropped around ten degrees from previous days. This made being outside much more bearable. I took Ellen car & drove to the Northern end of the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway. This road traverses states following the path of the Mountains. I stayed on the trail for an hour. There were plenty of deer to be seen. Unfortunately shortly after arriving a rather large thunderstorm broke out that prevented ...

I managed a run without getting lost in the rain break of the Wimbledon final. With thunderstorms due in the late afternoon I spent a few hours in the garden with the sun. When the storm came I watched it for a while from the covered patio. Allen and I went to dinner at a quaint Italian restaurant. On a Sunday evening they have an Irish folk band playing some songs which created a good atmosphere. I watched some more Dr Who before calling it a night.

For the third day in a row I got lost on my morning run. This time it took my over 30mins to find my way back. All that meant that I had a longer run & a good dose of sun. I stayed inside for a while to make sure I didn't over do it out in the sun. Allen later suggested that we head over to the city pool. The pool is outdoors with swimming lanes for adults & a playing area for children. I mixed sunbathing with trying to cool off in the pool. Due to the ...