The plot thickens

Last week I got my NEW smart phone. It turned out that I still had three weeks left on my warranty. That was particularly great news since I had hoped all the time to have the model that they sent me. Plus, with the replacement phone, I really now have only paid $200 for the first phone and $200 for the second. I could be a presidential press secretary with this kind of spin. The new phone is fabulous. It fixes much of what I did not like about the old phone, and is much more compact. Hopefully this euphoria will last longer than that with the last phone.

I went out to a conference this week in Pennsylvania. Most of the places that I go I don't care for very much, but central PA is beautiful. Doug convinced me to bring my fishing pole along and we stole a few odd moments to fish a bit on a stream that was close to where were were staying. The fishing was fun (but not very fruitful, 3 fish), but the river was spectacular. Wending its way down through several rural communities and farms, the river ducked through some small, limestone hills that gave it a secluded feel. The foliage was wonderfully green and a touch of fog from an afternoon rain settled on the water to give the place a look straight out of the travel magazines. I wish I had my camera for a few pictures but, since it is integrated with the smart phone, and because I am prone to going for a full body dip when wading around in streams in sandals, I don't have anything to show for our adventures (plus, I am not sure I could convince them to float me a new phone so soon after the last one). So, you'll have to take my word for it. We were curious why we were the only ones walking around through the dense underbrush in shorts (everyone else had waders), but the answer was a little clearer when Doug helped me identify the prolific poison ivy that grew everywhere; my first experience up close and personal. Thankfully, I still don't know what it feels like as I was able to avoid it. What was the saying..."Leaves of three, leave it be"?