By John Hall for Blue Mountain Town & Country Gazette
With this issue we are looking ahead to the unofficial start of summer, which is Memorial Day. We will also look at one of the ways Americans honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
Americans have long sought ways to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice and today in Arlington, Virginia, the public is welcome to do so by bearing witness to the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In “The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier” we look at the history of the Tomb and how the daily memorial ceremony unfolds.
If you decide to plan a trip to the memorials and monuments in Washington, D.C this summer, I found the Vietnam Memorial particularly impressive. All the names of the fallen are etched into the wall of that memorial. With the help of the extraordinary directory available (there are several copies to work with), I found myself in front of the name I was seeking in less than five minutes. It is so well thought out.
Beyond a summer trip to D.C., summer road trips are a great way for families to see new things and share new experiences. If you want to plan a road trip that doesn’t break your budget and isn’t too far from home, be sure and read “Planning a Family Summer Road Trip” where we give you ten planning tips that will make your whole adventure more fun and less stressful.
When you’re back on the home front, if you have any summer get-togethers planned you will love our recipe for bitesize, mini strawberry cheesecakes. Look for the article “Summer Dessert: Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes” for the full recipe, which is simple and should be a fresh-tasting crowd-pleaser!
As you probably know, we run health stories from time to time and in this issue we have a very interesting one. Did you know that when your eye doctor gives you a full eye exam they have the ability to see warning signs or evidence of other diseases? Evidently it’s possible. We tell you about just some of the health issues your eye doctor can discover in “Health Problems an Eye Exam Can Catch.” It’s a valuable read.
And finally, with gardening season getting in full-swing, the issue of how much to water your plants comes up again and again – shallow, or deep? We give you solid information about watering your outdoor plants and vegetables in “Watering your Garden: Shallow or Deep?” To give you a preview, shallow, or “surface watering” is pretty much a “lose-lose” situation. We tell you why.
So that is our issue for this time around. We hope you will join us next time when we celebrate summer’s bounty in our annual farmers’ market issue – always a favorite of mine! See you then.
