Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Long Weekend

We just got done with a four day weekend that we took to drive to Pennsylvania. Since our vehicle doesn't really have room for luggage we try to travel as lightly as possible.

We got everything tucked in as good as we could and started off. We planned on stopping in Indiana for the night at a friends house. So we took the northern and most boring route. Since we all enjoy traveling we kept our eyes open for anything we could find that is odd, or happens to strike our funny bone. It didn't take long at all. First up was an elderly couple sitting on lawn chairs in the middle of a pasture along 63 each holding a rope so their horses can graze.

And before long we caught up with 9 bikers out enjoying their Harley's. Trust me there were nine of them. I counted them as they rounded a curve in front of us then again as they went up a hill, and again around the next curve. You get the picture.... Once I start counting something I can't stop. And so I counted them over and over and over again until they finally pulled off at a gas station.

Going through St. Louis the children wanted to stop at the arch, but since we had already rode to the top of it once we kept on going. We had to contend with a lot of road construction which slowed us down and really heavy rain through Illinois and Indiana. We were amazed at how many people travel with their dogs. In one 6 mile stretch of road construction there was no fewer than five vehicles stopped with a dog that needed to get outside and it's owner waiting rather impatiently with an umbrella until they could continue on their way safely.

At the Indiana, Kentucky line we saw a field with hundreds of barrels that were converted into rooster hutches. Each with a rooster tied to it by it's leg. We are still puzzling over the sight. What is the purpose of raising them like that and what will they do with them?

We enjoyed our visit with our friends in Indiana and then headed on to Pennsylvania, back to the beautiful Appalachian mountains.
We met with the guy that wanted us to come in and see his farm and then drove around the old familiar roads. We wanted to fuel up again and went to the nearest town, but their gas station had closed and the other was under construction and the only one that was open didn't have diesel so we headed for the next town only to discover there is no diesel there either our low fuel light came on and we were getting desperate, we ended up going clear to Fuel City (a place with nothing but truck stops and fuel stations) I had forgotten how almost nobody back there drives diesel vehicles.
We stopped at one of the shopping centers and stocked up on Snyder Cheese Curls, which in our humble opinion are the best in the U.S. and unfortunately can only be bought in the east. I thoroughly enjoyed the vast quantity and quality of businesses and stores once again. Things I used to take for granted before we moved to the middle of nowhere.
We then headed for my husbands cousin where we stayed for two nights. It is impossible to not enjoy your stay there. We all enjoyed it very much, but early Monday morning we started for home taking the southern route.

Once we left the mountains behind things got boring and since we wanted to drive home without stopping for anything except to fuel up, it got tiresome and we started getting goofy. We have approximately two hundred pictures to prove it. Everything from my husbands Hillstrand brothers impersonation to some of us waving at whoever passed us and lots of other things too. I'll have to go through all of them and delete the majority.




I'm off to do that now.

13 comments:

  1. Hello there! Thank you so much for coming by my blog, Loveleigh Treasures. I love having new visitors. Your road trip appears to have been a huge success. The photos of the children in the back of the car remind me of trips my family took when I was little. There is nothing like being wedged in between siblings for hours at a time in a car. I don't know if it's harder on the parents or the kids, especially if you get to listen to "Are we there yet" countless times!

    I was very interested to read you grew up Amish. I have always been fascinated with that lifestyle. I imagine it would be wonderfully peaceful and family-oriented, yet I imagine it could be a terribly hard life to
    choose and maintain in this day and age.
    It appears that you have retained some of the familiar aspects of the life however in reading some of your former posts, I think that's wonderful.

    I will be trying your recipe for cheese bars, they look to good to resist and I thank you for sharing it.

    It was a joy getting to learn a bit about you and I look forward to seeing more. I'll be back to visit. God Bless and have a wonderful day!

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  2. Dear Joyful Chaos, Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a nice comment. I am interested in looking at your site when I get some time to browse.

    I liked your post about your trip. I could relate from days gone by when we would go on long trips with our three girls when they were growing up. You kind of look for anything and everything to do to entertain yourselves,...especially when the scenery is unchanging.

    Like the last comment that was posted,..I too have always enjoyed reading about the Amish. I especially like the fiction of Janette Oke about the Amish. I am curious as to why you are no longer Amish. (Just if you'd like to share)

    Isn't blogging fun? I have met many nice people and sisters in Christ.

    Blessings!
    Linda @ Truthful Tidbits

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  3. What a wonderful post. It sounds like a great trip. We live in PA and there are parts that can be pretty boring! Running low on fuel would have driven me nuts! Thanks for the kind words on my blog this morning. I'll be back to visit again!

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  4. Hi there...nice to meet you & thanks for visiting my blog...Your road trip sounded like a lot of fun...your children are beautiful & look very happy. I like the name of your blog too... ;-) Bo

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  5. Thanks for taking us along on your road trip...I would have loved it if you took a pic of the two elderly folk sitting in the pasture...good for a laugh.

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  6. SOunds like a nice trip! You saw some interesting things on your trip, that's for sure!
    Blessings!

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  7. I loved this post~I do the counting thing too!!! ESPECIALLY if it happens in fives for some reason~weird, I know! I haven't been to the Appalachias since I was a little girl of about eight. My Father's roots are there and are said to be Melungeon, which fascinates me! Thanks for stopping by my blog for a visit~I enjoyed ya! (((((HUGS))))) sandi

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  8. I want to see all the goofy pics, too! lol I enjoyed your road trip and the lovely photos. What a serene, pastoral scene with the green hills and red buildings and I love your relative's house. Just great. thanks!

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  9. Lovely to meet you! Pennsylvannia must be just beatiful! The rolling hills of green are so peaceful! I look forward to reading more (I'm in OKla. right now, visiting family for my Grandpa's funeral and I won't be back "officially" for another week!)

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  10. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog, it's nice to meet you! I enjoyed reading about your trip--brought back fun memories from when I was a kid. I hope you'll stop by for a visit again soon, and I plan on coming here again as well☺

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  11. Sounds like you and your family had a wonderful trip to PA...which happens to be my favorite placed (Lancaster/York/Reading area)to go each year.

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  12. I'm coming late to the party, as I just found your blog and am reading from the beginning.

    The roosters that have been tethered to the barrels are fighting cocks, and they will attack any other bird they can reach, so they must be kept apart. It is a "sport" that is now illegal, but obviously still done. Sad, isn't it?

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  13. I'm two years behind on your blog, having just started reading! You stopped by my book review blog and commented on my review of Ira Wagler's book, and I just now am checking out your site.

    I LOVE IT! My husband is having to get dinner tonight because I'm not leaving my chair til I've read through everything you have here.

    And your family travels much more nicely than mine does. We tend to get very crabby VERY fast when we travel together. And it's just us and our daughter.

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Thank you so much for taking time to comment. I love hearing your thoughts.