Settling In

Well, I feel that we’re just beginning to be “settling in” again. Yesterday we pried ourselves from our house after arriving home the night before and nearly kissing the ground of “home”. We walked to town and back to Panera Bread for an easy breakfast, cup of coffee, and read the Chicago Tribune. Ah…this feels more like our routine! (Batavia is experiencing bridge closings due to road construction and we’re finding that sometimes it is much easier and obviously better for us to just walk the mile and a half each way.)

I wanted to say that after leaving Jean and Mike’s in Bethesda, we enjoyed lunch with our friends Don and Vanice. Don and Steve are friends from high school days and then they both went to Iowa State and lived on the same dorm floor. We were discussing with them and two other friends, who we saw over the summer from the Last Man’s Club, that we need to get together next summer for our 30th reunion.

From Bethesda we drove onto Paoli, Pennsylvania to enjoy an overnight stay with Rob, Holly, Tim, and Brent. We’ve known them for 25 years after meeting in a babysitting co-op when our Jeremy and their Matt were almost one. Despite their moving from the Chicago area to Pennsylvania 17 years ago, we still remain in close contact and it’s always good to spend even a little time together. It’s hard to believe that the 25 years have flown by so quickly.

From Paoli, Steve and I drove along Route 30 through the Amish countryside in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania thinking we’d experience pristine farms dotting the very green and beautiful farmlands throughout the countryside with an occasional buggy. Well….Lancaster County tourism has certainly capitalized on the Amish way of life, only except for the occasional Amish shop, shopping areas now remind one of strip malls or “one stop shopping” areas complete with buggy rides. After we suffered a flat tire in York and replaced two tires at Sears, we decided it was time to get on the Turnpike to head westward to Ligonier and avoid the traffic and congestion of Amish territory.

In Ligonier we stayed with my cousin Linda and her husband John. They invited my cousin David and his wife Peggy and their daughter’s boyfriend for dinner. We enjoyed dining on their deck and watching the nearly full moon make its appearance. This was our last stop to visit family and friends across the country, and we enjoyed a wonderful sleep in John and Linda’s luxury R.V. What a contrast it was to our little tent and sleeping bags that we own for our recreational gear!

So, it is Saturday and time to continue unpacking and putting things back where they belong. The travel information that I’ve collected sits in bags on the dining room floor beckoning for some organization. The dozens of photos are either uploaded in the computer or awaiting to be done in our digital cameras. Thoughts keep racing through our minds on what to write and share with others. And, the clock keeps ticking as we get closer to our return to work. Promise that more will come as I know that Steve especially has much to revisit. — Love, Diane