Mom and Dad are safely back upstate; we had a great time together exploring Gettysburg, checking out a real St. Mary’s County stuffed ham and oyster dinner, doing some work/sightseeing in downtown Baltimore, and meeting up with a cousin to tour the Antietam battlefield. Mom got in some quality granddaughter time, Dad got some scenic exercise, and we all were treated to gorgeous fall weather and turning leaves. I’d place a bet that 50% of them will be gone by next weekend.

I finally got dome light bulbs for the Honda that fit, so I can now see in the dark. I installed them just in time for some asshole to walk down Frederick Road and lift valuable items from unlocked cars at 5AM; I’d forgotten to lock mine so he walked away with my old 60GB iPod. Later that morning (5:30, to be exact) the police knocked to see if we’d been burglarized, and to report they’d caught the guy, but we were too tired to get up. Later, our neighbors let us know what was happening, and I confirmed our loss. I’m supposed to call the officer when he gets on duty tonight and see if I can recover my iPod. While I was at the dealer, I picked up some touch-up paint to cover a scratch I hadn’t noticed on the passenger door. I have to scuff off a little rust and brush over it before the snow flies.

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I’m trying not to let something that happened on Tuesday bother me too much. A 75° ride in the Scout today helped a little bit.