A First (Stockton, NJ)

Yesterday was rainy and foggy. We decided to go to breakfast! Up on Rte 202 is a small strip mall with Panera, Gary’s favorite bagel place (besides Bruegger’s which is not up this far north). Fortunately, it was near Kohl’s (where I managed to find a t-shirt and Gary some shoes) and Michael’s (where I managed to find some charms for my wind chime and a flag for Flag Day). Later in the afternoon, it cleared up, so we got busy trying to get more goo off the coach. It’s hard and laborious, but we are making a little headway. Bob gave us a list of paint to get, but we’ll get it when she is all clean.

Today, we woke to a beautiful day, ate breakfast and started scrubbing the coach. We tried a Dobie, which worked wonderfully. It didn’t just smear the goo, it picked it up with its little woven mesh, while the sponge inside held the chemical remover. Spray, scrub, wipe and repeat 400 times. We quit and got cleaned up to return the leftover beer and soda, got some groceries and more goo remover. My back is still a little sore, but much better than yesterday. When we got home, we unloaded after getting around Dave in the excavator digging up the driveway. Suddenly I heard a funny noise near the front window of the coach. It sounded like a VERY large bug. Could it be a hummer??? Yes, it was a little female hummingbird trying to get out through the window. She must have flown in the open door. Gary caught her, and I grabbed the camera. Here she is. We let her go and on her way up to the top of a tree, she was joined by her mate where they rested on a branch. Fifteen minutes later, they were both back at the feeder having their afternoon cocktail. Have you ever held a hummingbird in your hands? It was a first for us. Here’s to the life of many firsts!