Hey, y’all!  I made it!  Of course I’ve needed a few days to recuperate but I’m here.  I told you last week that I would be going to Pennsylvania to meet my new great grandson and I did it.  It was challenging to be in the car that long but once in the mountains, we were in total awe.  The only thing that put a damper on it was the ears popping at the higher elevation.  It was incredible how the roads wound around and around the mountains going ever higher.  We passed so many small villages, townships and simple crossroads that if you blinked, you would miss them.  I found myself saying, “Where do they go to hear music?  Where are the clubs?”  So, no folks, it was fun to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.  I can certainly appreciate the beauty of the often pristine forests.  One could imagine going back in time before there were any settlements at all.  I am in awe of the tenacity of the people who settled there.  It appeared that mining and farming are the main industries.  I believe it was Huntingdon that granddaughter Haley says they go to for shopping.  From where she lives in the Mapleton, it’s about 20 minutes to anywhere - round and round on sometimes one-lane little roads.  A bit scary; but so beautiful.

I don’t usually share much of family photos but this is going to be an exception and I hope you will indulge me.  Baby Jett James Wallace is a month old now, and he is such a sweet little guy.  His parents, Haley (my granddaughter) and Mason are absolutely over the moon in love with him and are already talking about when they might give him a little sister or brother.  My daughters Melissa and Colleen (who is the proud grandmother), plus her daughter Hannah and her guy Niko, and Matthew (Melissa’s son) were on this adventure together.  Melissa took the young ones, Hannah, Niko & Matthew, to magnificent Trough Creek State Park where they hiked up the mountain to find a small waterfall and a natural phenomenon of a teetering but balanced boulder near the top.  Incredible!  In fact, they call it the Balanced Rock.  They made it all the way to the top to view it up close.  I have a few pictures for you.  Our adventure ended with a day at Hershey Park where they all had a great time riding the coaster rides while I scooted around watching them from my electric scooter.  That’s the way to travel.  (See more pictures in Fun Fotos.)


As Dorothy said, “There’s no place like home!”  Yes, I’m glad to be home.  Guess I’m spoiled ‘cause there’s no shortage of entertainment in our fair town.  I spent the afternoon at Coins for the Jim Long show.  He’s handsome as ever and sounded terrific, too.  The ‘party bar’ crowd were all there and party we did.  I hope you are having a good time out there exploring everything Ocean City has to offer.  As always, I encourage you to always be kind and always party safe!