The Return of the Boys

Arrived back today, September 12, 2012, in Warminster. Den and I had lunch, he rested a bit and took off to return home. I still have to script a prayer service for Friday whilst we, Peg and I, are on retreat with the SDS community. This is our annual retreat at the Bon Secours Sisters retreat house. Have you read the reading for Friday, September 14? Wish me luck. The ride from Atlanta to Manassas was quite smooth. We thought about stopping at a Biscuitville, a southern breakfast restaurant, but did not realize the hours are from 0630 AM to 2 PM, daily, and as it was already 1:45 PM when the thought struck me, well it was too late to go. However there was a Hardee’s right next door and we did need the break, so we broke a rule (kind of a flexible one) and had Hardee’s for lunch. It was an easy off/on to US 29. Navigator INSISTED there was an hour and a half delay on US 29 just southwest of Manassas. It was STRONGLY suggesting that we stay on I 85 clear through to I 95 then take VA 234 across to the final stop. We called Julie, who checked Google maps, and her cell phone apt and found no problem. With great care we proceeded on our way using Garmin and AAA maps, neither of which would give us instant travel advisories (of course not with the paper maps and my Garmin has 5 year old maps anyway). We sailed through to VA 28, passing Wilsons, the best local butcher in VA but alas closed for the day, and on to Manassas. No problems found o US 29. I can’t remember the Tex/Mex restaurant name we stopped at but it has been there for 35 + - years. Den indicated that Julie and Lori could probably identify all the people in the snapshots that were stuck in the frames of larger pictures. It was good and popularly priced. We each had a couple of Root Beers, no caffeinated drinks for us this night, sleep was in order. I dropped Den off at home and proceeded to his Mom’s, my Aunt’s house. I found my cousin watching the National’s game, they won (2012 was a good year for them). We chatted about the Road Trip and I remembered the Questions. As Den and I drove, sometimes questions would pop into our heads. Naturally, in the past, we would forget the questions but this time we decided to write them down as they popped in and look up the answers at the motels at night. We looked up none of them because when we would return to the motel we would forget to bring in the book with the questions and who wants to put your New Balances back on just to get the book! Not me! Nor Den! So we have this list of questions still to check out. With the book still in the car and my New Balances off, I could only remember one of the questions. Some needed a scientist and others would need a historian. Just so happens that the cousin I am talking to is the historian and her twin is the scientist (that can wait). The historian question was “Did the Southern States vote in the 1864 election? How many electoral votes did Lincoln need?” Turns out NO, they did not vote and Lincoln received 283 electoral votes which represented all the voting states except NJ, DE and KY, these three represented only 17 electoral votes. Interestingly Lincoln switched vice presidents from his first term, Hannibal Hamlin a radical republican (remember Lincoln was a Republican) to Andrew Johnson, a Democrat, for the 1864 election. See list attached.