Memorial Day and long weekends

Memorial Day...a day that we honor and remember the brave men and women that fought and continue to fight to protect our freedom and serve our country. And we do honor them.

This was a great weekend to reflect, spend time with friends and family and enjoy three days off from the normal day in and day out schedule. It was a great weekend full of fun activities; fitness (hike, swimming and a bike ride), movies, gardening and summer food. I hope that your weekend was a good one and you were able to do whatever you wanted. 3-day weekends are great and unfortunately don't seem to last long enough. Ever noticed how three days in a normal work week seems to drag on but three days in a long weekend goes by in a blink? I certainly wish we had these long weekends more often. The hike was at a popular spot in Shenendoah National Park called Old Rag. If you go in the main entrance you will have company, as it is the more popular way to go. The "back" way is less popular but I think just as challenging. What you'll miss is the couple of places of rock scrambling and the crowds. It was a humid hot day but fortunately not sunny or it could have been oppressive. About 5.4 miles RT and a nice workout. On the way home, besides the stop to the grocery store where I ended up buying live clams (not on my list), we also stopped at a nursery and bought herbs and annuals. Sunday was a nice time at the pool (opened for the first time this year) and the movie The Prince of Persia, which was entertaining. Today was a great day filled with a 26-mile bike ride, the pool and a dinner of bratwurst on the grill. That followed last nights bison burgers. For those vegetarians or vegans, just think of veggie burgers and tofu sausage.

Now it is the end of this weekend and time to head to bed for a good nights rest before work tomorrow. I know, not the same, actually kind of bites. Think short week by a day.

Although the weekend was spent cramming all that we could in three days, remember that we can do this because of those who volunteer to serve in our armed forces. Unlike many nations where it is required, it is not here. And wether you agree or disagree with the politics, we should still honor those who stand/stood in the line of fire, even if they shouldn't be there.

Happy Memorial Day!