This year marks 39 years of marriage for my husband and I. He is the only man I ever dated more than once ( I am extremely picky!) and the only man I ever loved (except for my family members). The last couple of years have not been such that we could get away and celebrate but this year my husband suggested that we go away for a long weekend, just the two of us. I am always ready for a new adventure so I immediately said yes! He suggested a resort about an hour away, but they were booked for the weekend. So we changed our plans from staying put on a balcony with a good book and room service to staying in a nice hotel and doing some sightseeing. In researching the area, I discovered that it was teaming with history, which my husband and I both love. And delightfully, the history there involves his family! So we headed off on our adventure.
Anytime you go anywhere with my husband, you need to be prepared to eat...a lot! He is a perpetual eating machine and will never pass up anything that looks appealing. Our eating adventures found a groove though. Breakfasts were eaten in a quaint little diner. The wait staff was country folk friendly! The diner was BUSY and bustling with smells and laughter and "Order up!" The coffee was really good and the food was worth getting up in the morning for! I love diner food and I particularly thought this diner's décor was perfect! Don't you agree?
Anytime you go anywhere with my husband, you need to be prepared to eat...a lot! He is a perpetual eating machine and will never pass up anything that looks appealing. Our eating adventures found a groove though. Breakfasts were eaten in a quaint little diner. The wait staff was country folk friendly! The diner was BUSY and bustling with smells and laughter and "Order up!" The coffee was really good and the food was worth getting up in the morning for! I love diner food and I particularly thought this diner's décor was perfect! Don't you agree?
Everyday involves ice cream in my husband's world. He was thrilled to find this place in a tiny little village nearby. We were in the area where his family still farms so I was not surprised that this place was there. It's probably totally supported by Egolfs! LOL!
Several of our meals were spent in this charming restaurant. The food was incredible and the atmosphere was perfect! Over a couple of days we feasted on sirloin sandwiches, salads, hand cut fries, lobster ravioli, NY strip steak, crab and corn chowder-oh my, carrot cake, and a to-die-for strawberry pie made with a shortcake crust instead of graham or regular pie crust. The upstairs was a bed and breakfast decorated with furniture dating back to that time period and there was a quaint little gift shop where we found a souvenir for our daughter who begrudgingly stayed at home while we went on our adventure!
We found our family's park and walked the grounds and nature trail. Our family history on my husband's side is a bit cloudy. Originally settling in that area, there was some sort of hiccup and my husband's closest relatives moved across the mountain range to an area near Mercersburg called "The Corner." So we were unfamiliar with the names we found in the park and other historical sites. Remember how I said that anything I do with my husband involves eating? It must be a family trait. The pavilion in the park named after our family had a long table without seats on the short end. It was, of course, a food table! What an ingenious idea! And the park was located on Egolf road, of course!
The first morning we made our way to a historical village that had been compiled of old log buildings from the area. They had been dismantled and transported to this property and set up to resemble what a village would have looked like during this time period. My husband was delighted to discover that an old farmhouse and barn that belonged to his family was there. The scoundrel with the brown and white fur stole our map of the village right out of my hand! He reached right through the fence and grabbed it and I could not get it away from him before it was down the hatch and gone! I don't think it was his first time doing this! The old goat has skills! LOL! He's really lucky that he grabbed the map instead of the bag of cookies that was fueling us through the day! He wouldn't have been laughing if he had stolen the snickerdoodles!
The church was beautiful inside and is still used for special occasions. The pulpit was raised on level with the balcony so that the minister could see everyone in the congregation and was quite elaborate. The lanterns, the pews, all handcrafted wood, were almost reverent looking.
The schoolhouse was our favorite as it's design was unique and quite functional. The main meeting area was a circle and then there were desks around the outside of the circle for individual study.
And of course, we had to have a little fun too at the jailhouse. I especially enjoyed the smell of the candle shop and the carpenters shop as it smelled of wood. It reminded me of my grandfather's workshop where I spent many hours plopped on a workbench watching him create furniture. My grandfather's work is all over the world. In his working days, he made the cabinets for Moller Organ who at that time were #1 in the world for pipe organs. Maybe some day, I'll be able to see some of his work on one of our adventures.
The church was beautiful inside and is still used for special occasions. The pulpit was raised on level with the balcony so that the minister could see everyone in the congregation and was quite elaborate. The lanterns, the pews, all handcrafted wood, were almost reverent looking.
The schoolhouse was our favorite as it's design was unique and quite functional. The main meeting area was a circle and then there were desks around the outside of the circle for individual study.
And of course, we had to have a little fun too at the jailhouse. I especially enjoyed the smell of the candle shop and the carpenters shop as it smelled of wood. It reminded me of my grandfather's workshop where I spent many hours plopped on a workbench watching him create furniture. My grandfather's work is all over the world. In his working days, he made the cabinets for Moller Organ who at that time were #1 in the world for pipe organs. Maybe some day, I'll be able to see some of his work on one of our adventures.
One morning it rained so we took a 2 hour car tour to 9 of the 14 historical covered bridges in the area. Many were still being used after hundreds of years! We discovered that they were mostly built by the same man, so when we got to #9, we weren't disappointed that we hadn't done the longer tour. Still, the bridges were quite an engineering feat in that day and we appreciated the work and ingenuity they must have taken to build.
Other highlights included a trip to 2 state parks in the area. Our state has an extensive state park network and are never lacking beauty and wildlife! We decided that we could very easily live near either one of these parks. As you can see, some people already do! I loved the bear carvings! Those bears would not bother my birdfeeders!
Our favorite activity of the weekend however was a place that my husband was leery of going. It was part of my adventure bucket list. (Yes, I have one. My husband laughs that I do but he always seems to enjoy our adventures when I steal him away for a day trip to do one of them.) It's not a tourist attraction per se because there's no admission fee, no gift shop, and not even a sign marking it's location. It's a small stretch of road in the middle of nowhere called Gravity Hill. Legend has it that if you stop on this hill and put your vehicle in neutral, it will roll uphill. My husband was skeptical at best. It is marked by some lines spray painted on the road.
So you can imagine his surprise and delight when it actually worked! He drove going both directions. From the starting point to the crest of the hill, we gained 9mph, going uphill, in neutral! He's still pondering the physics of it! LOL! We also saw water and a kid's basketball roll uphill.
Our last stop was White Sulphur springs, a retreat center that I have been to several times. It is such a beautiful place and they have an incredible ministry there. We met a delightful couple who were interested in our story and who prayed for us.
So you can imagine his surprise and delight when it actually worked! He drove going both directions. From the starting point to the crest of the hill, we gained 9mph, going uphill, in neutral! He's still pondering the physics of it! LOL! We also saw water and a kid's basketball roll uphill.
Our last stop was White Sulphur springs, a retreat center that I have been to several times. It is such a beautiful place and they have an incredible ministry there. We met a delightful couple who were interested in our story and who prayed for us.
After all the fun we had, my husband commented that we needed a few more days, or weeks, for our vacation. I think he could get used to this! I know I could. Retirement is looking pretty appealing-and it's not that far away! However, the highlight of it all was just being together, away from the normal and the familiar, exploring new things, and making new memories together. I'm looking forward to many, many more.
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