Pennsylvania Vacation

Okay, folks. The AC is back on...hallelujah! So here I sit at the keyboard, ready to give you some vacation details. Oh and btw, it was a transformer that was blown on the AC, not the mother board. So after 3 days of being hot and sticky, I now have cool air:)And the transformer wasn't nearly as expensive as a mother board would have been. So that's a very good thing!

Hope I don't bore you with details, but here goes. On July 21st, I flew to Harrisburg, PA, via United Airlines. This was my second trip to fly by myself, so I felt that I was getting to be an old pro at it. My layover was in Chicago, an airport in which I've had some VERY unpleasant experiences. But this time everything went smoothly...I didn't even have to change terminals. And of course, Indianapolis was a breeze. My flight got in a bit early to Harrisburg, thereby surprising the friends who were to pick me up. But I waited patiently at the baggage claim until Mark and Elizabeth arrived. Fred, Elizabeth's husband, was unable to come get me, due to having to get up at 2am! And my flight wasn't scheduled until 9:48pm. So Mark was kind enough to come with Elizabeth so she wouldn't have to come alone to the Airport. It was so nice to see them! I hadn't seen Mark since April, and hadn't seen Fred and Elizabeth since December. After dropping Mark off at his car, Elizabeth and I had a little late-night snack at Taco Bell, then drove to her house. We then proceeded to talk for a good bit, and went to bed just before Fred got up for work.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we didn't do much. We caught up on each other's lives, and a good deal of sleep. We also did some weeding in Elizabeth's garden, and got quite a bit done. So that was nice, and I really didn't mind working in the garden.

On Thursday, we went to Penns Creek, PA, where Fred was involved in a ministerial meeting. Elizabeth and I sat in on the morning service, ate lunch with Fred, then drove to Selinsgrove to the mall. Elizabeth and I go way back in the shopping department:) We started shopping together when we were both students at GBS, and the trend has just continued since then. Pretty much any time we're together, we find a mall somewhere. So I found a couple of good bargains at Bonton, and then we drove back to Penns Creek, ate supper with Fred, and sat in on the final business session. We then drove to Mark's parent's home, and visited with them until late. It was very enjoyable sitting on their front porch, just soaking in the peace of the beautiful countryside, and visiting with friends. I also got to taste some wonderful pickles that Mark's dad had made, and was inspired to make some of my own on my return to Indiana. Mark showed us a multitude of pictures he had taken, and that was very nice. Below is a picture of the sunset we enjoyed from their front porch. Beautiful!




On Friday, Mark rented a car, and picked me up to drive to Lancaster. Fred and Elizabeth had gone to her ultrasound appointment in Chambersburg, but then called and weren't far behind us on the road. So we pulled over and did some shopping on the way, and they met us for the drive to Lancaster area. We stopped at the Green Dragon, which is a gigantic flea market that is open on Fridays. It was very neat. If I had more time and money, I could have spent alot there. There was so much to see. It reminded me of the Covered Bridge Festival that they hold in Northwest Indiana every fall. We also stopped at a wonderful candy store, and purchased a small snack to fortify us for our drive:) Yum!!! I can't remember the name of the store right now, but it is definitely worth stopping at. It was quite warm that day, and we were very hungry. We arrived at Shady Maple Buffet at 3:15, definitely ready to eat. If you have never eaten there, you need to start planning your trip. And yes, I agree, you should be hungry when you go. But I will not be skipping breakfast, and then waiting all day to eat. Those of you who know me well, know that is NOT a good idea.lol.... Well, the food was delicious, and worth the wait. We also spent a good bit of time in the massive gift shop downstairs, but I again refrained from buying anything. We stopped at an outlet mall in Lancaster on the way home, and I did get a book there. But that's it...promise. A very fun and full day.

On Saturday, we met Mark at his apartment, and then drove to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. Wow...what a beautiful place! It is such a neat place to visit. They had a James Madison impersonator there that day, and we got to hear him speak. They were also having special Civil War activities in the town, had some re-enactors there. So that was cool. Again, a very warm day, so we stopped mid-day for root beer floats. We were feeling a little wilted prior to that, but that seemed to revive us. I will post some pics of Harper's Ferry below. We got to tour several very old buildings, including Saint Peter's Catholic Church. After we were done at Harper's Ferry, we drove to Hagerstown, Maryland, and enjoyed a dinner of pizza buffet. We then drove on to Gettysburg, and went to Christ Church, where they were having a candlelight service. It included remembrances of a Civil War nurse, a wounded soldier, poems by Walt Whitman, and lots of Civil War music. It was great. Mark thought I might enjoy it, since I am a nurse. And he was very right! The church was used as a hospital during the battle of Gettysburg. I would like to go there again sometime. The people even served refreshments outside afterwards, cookies and rhubarb punch. It was very good. We then stopped at Friendly's for ice cream, and headed to wal-mart, then home.








So there you have just a few of the pictures from Harper's Ferry. The famous arsenal where John Brown was captured is the second picture down. And I think you can figure out which is the James Madison impersonator:)

On Sunday, I had the privilege of attending Fred and Elizabeth's church, and Mark came to join us. I didn't slack just because I was visiting. I played the organ, and sang a trio with Fred and Elizabeth. But I didn't mind..it was fun. After the service, we all ate dinner together...a very good dinner too, I might add. I was going to fix my famous "Canasta Cake," but we were out so late every night, that I just didn't have time. It takes a good 2 hours if you're not doing anything else. So we had strawberry shortcake instead, and it was very good. That evening, we went to Newville Bible Methodist, which was cooperating in a VBS with Fred's church. That was fun. I hadn't been to a VBS in forever! Afterwards, we visited and ate supper at Fred and Elizabeth's. Below you will find some pictures of the "Fearsome Four." Well, anyway, maybe we're not fearsome, but we did do alot together and had a blast doing it:) These folks have been gracious enough to consent to me using the pics on my blog. Thanks, guys!




It was hard to say goodbye, but on Monday, I flew back to Indianapolis. Sometimes I hate it that I live so far from most of my friends. My closest friends live in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Colorado, etc. I do have some friends in Indiana, but now that Kristin and Mark B. have moved, I don't have anyone to pal around with that's not a relative. Not that there's anything wrong with my relatives:) I love them dearly, but sometimes it's nice to hang with folks that aren't related to ya. You know what I mean. Well, I had a long delay in Harrisburg, but that was okay. My flight out of Dulles, in Washington DC was quite a bit later. So I didn't miss a flight, and again everything went very smoothly. We got into some turbulence, actually came through some storm clouds on the way back into Indy, but overall, everything was very enjoyable. It was nice to see my family back in Indy, and we had a delicious dinner on the way home at Gray Brother's. And of course, Snickers was ecstatic when he saw me :)

So there you have it. Vacation is over, and I'm a little down about that. I'm a person that needs something to look forward to, some break in routine. I also thrive on being with my friends, and knowing that I probably won't see them for awhile is depressing. But God is helping me, and I am very grateful for the wonderful vacation I had. And school is starting again soon. So I will be ultra-busy once again. I am hoping to return to PA in December, to meet Fred and Elizabeth's new baby, which is due Dec. 8th. I will get to be "Auntie" again, and that's always happy! December just seems so far away right now. But I will get over my slump, and I WILL get excited about school starting. At least I think I will:) I will try! If you think about it, just say an extra prayer for me, okay? I would appreciate it very much.

Well, I hope I haven't bored you completely. Just wanted to blog about vacation while I still had the time. This evening, I did a little shopping, and talked to friends on the phone, and blogged. Tomorrow, I have piano lessons, and a meeting with the principle, not to mention prayer meeting. Thursday, I have a seminar to go to about cardiac and pulmonary rehab(fun, fun!) And Friday, I work as usual. However, we're planning a cousin's night for friday night, games, pizza, etc. So I do have something to look forward to for this weekend.

Well, my hand is going numb. Snickers is asleep in my lap with his head on my hand. This has made typing challenging. So I'm calling it a night. Love to all my friends!