Friday, March 19th

Hello friends and relatives, far and near, near and far, and just upstairs!!

What a gorgeous day!! Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous....not too cold, not too warm!! See, expanded horizons, warmer weather!! Got up to 75 degrees today, and ya know what we saw? Daffodils!! In Pennsylvania, very southern Pennsylvania, they were about six inches high; in Virginia, a foot; in NC, blooming!!! All over the place, along with forsythia, and dogwood, and some fruit trees!! It just warms the cockles of the heart......does anyone know what cockles are? I have somewhat of an idea....but Mommy says that's the wrong end of the body.....but I digress...

So....the day began with Mommy and me sequestered in the little bathroom....Mommy because she had to....well, you know....and Daddy was outside getting the camper unhooked and hooked up and all those noises made me a little nervous, so I just sat real close to Mommy and shivered and shook and she did what she did and then it was all over, and WHOOSH.....we were on our way!!

The Blue Ridge Mountains, and Shenandoah Mountains, and Allegheny Mountains are all very pretty....even though it was hazy. Mommy wants to come back to this section some day and tour all around just this part of the country. You can't see a lot just buzzing through. We stopped for lunch at 11:30, parked in a big truck stop, and ate in the camper. I got to go for a walk a little, but all the engines bother me, so we didn't stay long. We stopped at some really nice rest areas along the way today, and I got to take long walks. I even met some really nice people! People seem to like me a lot.....so I sit pretty for them, and shake, and give them five, and then look to Mommy or Daddy for my cookie. I don't perform for free, naturally. I'm a Peck.

At 2:34 PM, we stopped in Dinwiddie. Isn't that a funny name? Dinwiddie. That's where I saw my first open daffodil!! I wanted to eat it, but Mommy wouldn't let me. She said other people had to have a chance to enjoy it......I still think first come, first served.....so I dumped right next to it. There. Enjoy that.

We arrived at Aunt Marie's around five thirty....and the FUN began!! Oh boy.....Aunt Marie has five....count them....one, two, three, four, five.....FIVE.....cats. I love cats. They run. They run upstairs and downstairs and around all the rooms and upstairs again. It's just wonderful. And they eat this stuff that smells horrible, but ohmydoggod, it's wonderful. I mean, Aunt Marie had given me a bone, as a treat, when we arrived, and that was good, but next to cat food? Nah, no comparison. Cat food rocks. Needless to say, I spent most of my evening in the camper with Daddy. Such a waste. And you know? If they wouldn't run, I wouldn't chase. But they do! Right after they hiss! It's funny. I don't think Aunt Marie thought it was too funny, but she doesn't know for sure that I wouldn't hurt them. They're just fun to torture! Like younger siblings, right? Isn't that the job of an older sibling? That's what Mommy's older brother, Uncle Gale, always told her! And that's what she did to her younger brother, Uncle Peter, when he was a kid. So see? I'm just trying to carry on the tradition......geesh......

Anyhow, Mommy and Aunt Marie got all caught up and we all went to bed early. Daddy was really tired. I think we're just going to hang out in Raleigh for a day, and then go on to Uncle Dean's tomorrow.

So, until then, be well, think daffodils, and I'll be back....read that as if I'm Arnold....I'll be back...
Juni