Learning something, learning anything in our second stay in PA was against the rules. We were there strictly to decompress. Smell the flowers. Muse. Feed the ducks. And eat, don't forget the eating.
My own favorite decompression method was out of reach, though. Our first day in the bustling metropolis of Denver, PA, we ate lunch at an Italian restaurant which featured free WiFi. My cousin thought she would have to blast me out of there with some sort of substance that's now banned in airplanes and federal buildings. In fact, she did leave me there while she went grocery shopping. I indulged in coffee and a bad cannoli. No, I also would have thought that cannoli was much the same as pizza, that there was no such thing as a bad one. However, I left most of the cannoli on the plate, and while that's happened to the occasional dessert, it's because I could no longer force anything down. Even a wafer thin mint. That was not the case with the cannoli.
My own favorite decompression method was out of reach, though. Our first day in the bustling metropolis of Denver, PA, we ate lunch at an Italian restaurant which featured free WiFi. My cousin thought she would have to blast me out of there with some sort of substance that's now banned in airplanes and federal buildings. In fact, she did leave me there while she went grocery shopping. I indulged in coffee and a bad cannoli. No, I also would have thought that cannoli was much the same as pizza, that there was no such thing as a bad one. However, I left most of the cannoli on the plate, and while that's happened to the occasional dessert, it's because I could no longer force anything down. Even a wafer thin mint. That was not the case with the cannoli.
For the record, the picture of the ham? That would be ham for which my son and daughter begged, after I ordered them the cheese pizza slices they usually get. (The infidels! They are not worthy of the vowel ending their last name!) Yes, begged for. . .and then picked off. That's okay, though. I put it on a ham sandwich that night.
We had a great time at the campground. The kids rented paddle boats, and managed after some very entertaining stunts to get control of them. We bought duck food and fed the ducks. (My alma mater, Furman, now frowns on the feeding of the ducks, which is a shame. I understand the argument, though, having been tossed into the lake for my birthday at least once, and thinking that I would be poisoned. The overpopulation of the ducks was not good.)
That night, the campground had a barbeque dinner, and the smell of the open pit was wonderful. We'd bought the last few spots the night before, and were able to bring the food back to the cabin. The portions were so huge, even though we only purchased 6 for our group of 7, we were able to eat from that dinner for the rest of the trip.
And, yes. I snuck out that night, updated this very blog and surfed the net for a while. Why do you ask? (blinks innocently)
The next day, it was time for some Chocolate Therapy. When we planned the trip, I had found this, this and this. We decided against the amusement park for a couple of reasons. Half of the party lives just a couple of hours from The Happiest Place on Earth, and we saw no reason to accumulate the misery and crankiness that comes with a visit to any park, even the happiest one. This was our day of relaxation. And while I know that the Chocolate Spa fits right into that relaxation. . .the price tag was a bit steep for chocolate I wouldn't even get to eat. Better to get a regular pedicure/manicure/massage when I got home, along with a bag of peanut butter M&Ms. Please tell me I'm right. (Maybe if I win the lottery, I can do this sometime. Note to self: must play to win.)
On the third day, we left. We had to make a tour of Amish Country, and did indeed see many a horse-drawn carriage. We did not, for the record, see any blue doors. Isn't that one of the Amish things? (I may be making that up, though.) We also saw several Mennonite families, who are similar to Amish, but more 20th century than 19th. They also wear colors. (And, the Mennonites are the authors of Rod & Staff curricula, which JaxMom uses for grammar.) We made a quite interesting geographical survey of the area. As we headed into our campground a few days before, we had passed through Virginville, PA, and crossed Maidenhead Creek. As we left, we made a special point to also go through Blue Ball, PA, Intercourse, PA and Paradise, PA.
One does wonder what the Amish do after the sun goes down.
We had a great time at the campground. The kids rented paddle boats, and managed after some very entertaining stunts to get control of them. We bought duck food and fed the ducks. (My alma mater, Furman, now frowns on the feeding of the ducks, which is a shame. I understand the argument, though, having been tossed into the lake for my birthday at least once, and thinking that I would be poisoned. The overpopulation of the ducks was not good.)
That night, the campground had a barbeque dinner, and the smell of the open pit was wonderful. We'd bought the last few spots the night before, and were able to bring the food back to the cabin. The portions were so huge, even though we only purchased 6 for our group of 7, we were able to eat from that dinner for the rest of the trip.
And, yes. I snuck out that night, updated this very blog and surfed the net for a while. Why do you ask? (blinks innocently)
The next day, it was time for some Chocolate Therapy. When we planned the trip, I had found this, this and this. We decided against the amusement park for a couple of reasons. Half of the party lives just a couple of hours from The Happiest Place on Earth, and we saw no reason to accumulate the misery and crankiness that comes with a visit to any park, even the happiest one. This was our day of relaxation. And while I know that the Chocolate Spa fits right into that relaxation. . .the price tag was a bit steep for chocolate I wouldn't even get to eat. Better to get a regular pedicure/manicure/massage when I got home, along with a bag of peanut butter M&Ms. Please tell me I'm right. (Maybe if I win the lottery, I can do this sometime. Note to self: must play to win.)
On the third day, we left. We had to make a tour of Amish Country, and did indeed see many a horse-drawn carriage. We did not, for the record, see any blue doors. Isn't that one of the Amish things? (I may be making that up, though.) We also saw several Mennonite families, who are similar to Amish, but more 20th century than 19th. They also wear colors. (And, the Mennonites are the authors of Rod & Staff curricula, which JaxMom uses for grammar.) We made a quite interesting geographical survey of the area. As we headed into our campground a few days before, we had passed through Virginville, PA, and crossed Maidenhead Creek. As we left, we made a special point to also go through Blue Ball, PA, Intercourse, PA and Paradise, PA.
One does wonder what the Amish do after the sun goes down.
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