As the sun was trying to make its way into the Arkansas sky in Fort Smith we prepared to make our journey to Pennsylvania to attend a reunion. Jim had spent many hours pouring over an atlas and researching routes on Map Quest online. Printing out the very intersection that we were going to have to turn on, as they looked pretty confusing he compiled all the sheets together. So with a full tank of gas and the trunk filled with suitcases and the gift for Mom and the back seat area filled with snacks, water and miscellaneous items.

With the seat belts fastened I placed the key into the ignition switch and turned the key. The engine immediately came to life. A double check to make sure that the trip odometer was set on 0000 I then put the car into drive and we were on our way. A long awaited trip had finally begun on October 17, 2005 at 7:30 a.m.

Our drive took us past places in Arkansas like London, Lebanon, and Knoxville as we headed toward Memphis. We had thought about stopping to see Elvis while we were in Memphis, but we remembered that we wouldn't be able to see him so we continued on toward Nashville. We thought that we might see some of the Country Music Stars out driving on the highway, but the word must have gotten out that the Angel was behind the wheel so we didn't see any. The traffic wasn't bad driving through Nashville, as we must have been going through there before rush hour. We then headed toward Knoxville, Tennessee and although I was going 5 miles over the speed limit and sometimes 10 miles over, everyone was passing me as if I were sitting still. The only vehicles that I could pass were those slow trucks that weren't doing the speed limit either. We made it through Knoxville, Tennessee just as it was starting to get dark as we had just gotten into the Eastern Time Zone. We had finally reached the 421 exit so that we could get onto highway I-81 and we could then start looking for a place to stop for the night.

We spotted a Day's Inn in White Pine, Tennessee and pulled in there. We found that they had just the right room for us and that they give discounts to Veteran's that have a VFW card on them. Across the street was a Wendy's and they do serve some really good meals especially when you are tired and hungry. Day's Inn has promised us a Continental Breakfast in the morning. So having driven 719 miles today and our stomach's are full we are finally ready to sleep for the night. I am sure that we will be dreaming of the great breakfast that we shall have in the morning. Not really sure what a Continental breakfast will contain at least we can dream.

October 18th brought us a gourmet breakfast at Day's Inn. It consisted of a bowl of Fruit Loops with milk, juice and muffins. I had gotten a baby muffing for Jim but he didn't want it so I made the sacrifice and ate it for him. He really didn't have to twist my arm too much in order for me to eat it for him. So with the car packed again and the gas tank full again we were on our way. We would be driving over some of the same roads that we drove on when we went to Washington, D. C. so not much was new other than there were some new road construction area's. The speed limit in Virginia is 65 mph on I-81 and so as you can imagine it is quite boring to drive at 65. We stopped at a few rest areas and then it got to be lunchtime and so we pulled off this one exit that promised us food. When we got there it was a gas station that sold the sandwiches that you heat in an oven and so we passed on that so that we could have a gourmet lunch of Reese's Peanut Butter Ice Cream Bar. After having the lunch we continued on our way. It was a good thing that we had brought some grapes and nuts with us to fill in when we didn't get the exact food that we needed.

We traveled through a few miles of West Virginia and less miles through Maryland. I knew that we were getting close to Pennsylvania when I seen a sign for the Mason Dixon Road. We arrived into Pennsylvania at 3:08 and we traveled on until we see a sign for a rest stop. So seeing that it had been a while since we had stopped we pulled into the rest stop only to be told that the restroom were closed. Really you don't tell people that have driven over 200 miles that the restroom are out of order, but they did. Jim found some woods out back and decided to see what they looked like up close. When he came back he told me that the woods were great and that he felt much better. So getting back into the car we continued on toward Carlisle, PA and had to turn off I-81 and get on highway 11 and had to head toward Middlesex, Pa. We had to follow the signs to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. It is a good thing that Pennsylvania has plenty of signs letting the drivers know in advance so that they can make the proper lane changes if needed. Finally we were on the turnpike (I-76) heading toward Philadelphia. So when we spotted the first exit on the turnpike we pulled off for the night and found that we were spending the night in Mechanicsburg, PA. We got our motel room at Econo Lodge and got the suitcases out of the car and the travel bag that we needed for the night.

We ate supper at the Peppermill Restaurant, which was a short distance from the motel. The weather was much cooler than we had been accustomed to so we had to wear a jacket when we went out. We turned the heater on to warm the room enough then turned it onto a lower heat. Sleep came easy that night as I fell asleep a short time after 9 p.m. and slept the night through

October 19th brought forth-another gourmet breakfast of grapes, nuts and fiber crackers. Neither one of us was hungry, but knew that our stomachs would start to growl if we didn't put something into it. Besides we needed to have room for lunch. We had 92 more miles to drive before we got to King of Prussia. The morning brought forth a beautiful sunrise, a crisp feeling in the air and fresh air to breath in. It was great to be back into Yankee country. The leaves on the trees were starting to turn, but hadn't turned completely. The reds, oranges, yellows, browns and greens all coming together to make a beautiful view. We traveled the speed limit on the turnpike as we were in no hurry to get to the Hilton in King of Prussia, as check-in time wasn't until 3:00 p.m.

We ran into more road construction, but was too early in the day to see very many of the workers out there actually working. We did pass by one area that had typical Penn Dot workers in there. The sign said Road Work and there was two workers holding up a rake or a shovel so that it wouldn't fall down. I am sure that it isn't just in Pennsylvania that it happens either. I remarked to Jim that there was the tax dollars at work. So finally we arrived at the spot when we had to get off the turnpike and go into the King of Prussia. Because of the great work that Jim had done on the maps we didn't have any problem making all the turns that we needed and suddenly there was the Hilton Hotel on the right. We turned in there and asked about checking in and found out that when the Hilton says check in time is 3 p.m. they mean just that; no early check-ins.

(The Hilton Hotel)

So we parked the car in the parking lot and found some of fellow comrades.

(the lobby at the Hilton)

Jean and Al were the first two that we seen and Jean told us about a shopping mall that was close by, but not within walking distance. She mentioned that there was a shuttle that would take us there and then they would come and pick us up. Meanwhile, Sam, Sandy, Pat and Arthur came in and we told them about the mall also. Sam and Arthur didn't want to go to the mall, but Sandy and Pat did. So after a few minutes we were off to the mall with Jean. Jim and I didn't care about shopping, but did want to get some lunch.

(Sign for the King of Prussia Mall)

(an ariel view of the mall)

We got to the mall and found a Friendly's Restaurant; we knew that we were in a great place then. Jim had been telling me about Friendly's and the great Frappe that they make; however, they didn't call them frappe, but did call them Fribbles. We ordered sandwiches and fries and of course we couldn't pass up the Fribbles. Now if you have never eaten at a Friendly's Restaurant then you are missing out on great food. The shakes are so thick that you need a big straw in order to drink them. They also serve you a long handled spoon just in case you want to eat it instead of drinking it. I am so glad that we were able to find one of the Friendly's Restaurants. So with our stomachs full we walked around for a little while, but wasn't really in a shopping mood. After a while the shuttle was back and Sandy and Pat was waiting with us to go back to the hotel. We were unable to find Jean, but knew that she would make it back to the hotel. The shuttle pulled up and there Jean was on the shuttle already. Come to find out Jean had been riding around chatting with everyone that got on and off the shuttle. So we got back to the hotel about 15 minutes to 3 and had to wait a little while longer before the clerks would let us check in. We got room number 525 and it was a good size room with a king-size bed.

(our Hotel Room clean)

There was two bottles of drinking water waiting for us in our rooms. We noticed also that there was a keyboard for computer hook up, but we knew that all our online friends wanted us to have fun and not be spending our time online.

After getting settled into our room we went down to the hospitality room to chat with a few people.

(our Hotel room messed up)

October 20 we grabbed a quick breakfast of fiber crackers, nuts and grapes. We needed to be downstairs at 8:30 a.m. to board the bus so that we could tour Pennsylvania Dutch Country. On our trip to Lancaster we went through Paradise, PA.

(Amish Farm in Lancaster, PA)

We enjoyed a guided tour of one of America's most important inland cities, the English City of Lancaster. Our guide explained the lifestyles of the "plain people," The Old Order Amish, from the cradle to the grave. Among many sites we were to see were the courting buggies, one room schoolhouse (which we couldn't tour inside because school was in session), the grossdadi's (which we entered first when we toured an Amish house. The grossdadi is where the Amish holds their church service. The men sit on one side of the room and the women sit on the other side. Course they face each other and we were told that their church services last for about 4 hours. They are held every other week. Each service is held at a different place so that each family only has to prepare for it once a year. They don't have a church building, as does the secular society. And we also seen an Amish cemetery and there were no flowers or trees to decorate it.

The Amish house was furnished, as an Old Order Amish would be. We learned a lot about how important family is to the Amish. Many of us remarked that the principles that they have needs to be instilled into our society now days. They have telephones, but only for emergencies and they are not in the house. They are either in a barn or another outer building. The home is for family togetherness and the children are only required to go through the eighth grade. They learn the 5 R's I think is what the guide told us. Reading, writing, arithmetic, respect, and religion, but not necessarily in that order.

We learned the history, the religion, and the culture that enable the Amish to lead a simpler life. They do rely on our medical doctors, hospitals and medicine. The language is actually German, but is like the Dutch.

We visited a gristmill also and got to see how wheat and corn are ground up to make flour and cornmeal. The corn that was ground up for us was actually roasted first and boy the smell was great. Would have loved to have some muffins made out of that with some butter on it.

(Grist Mill)

We had lunch at the Kitchen Kettle Village in Intercourse, PA. It is a community of country shops where fresh foods and handmade crafts are available. We had a great lunch of smoked turkey and smoked ham sandwich with a soft drink. The meat was piled high on the sandwich. We had to get a table and chair outside to eat it. The weather that day was a bit on the cool side. We walked around for a little while and then finally decided to get some ice cream that was made by the Amish. We found a place to sit down and the next thing we knew Howie and Leroy found us eating that ice cream. Couldn't even sneak ice cream in without someone seeing us. As a result we were great advertisers for the ice cream shop. The line was suddenly getting longer.

(Part of the Kitchen Kettle Village in Intercourse, PA)

The time came for us to board the bus again so that we could go back to the hotel. We got back to the hotel just before 4 p.m. and we had to be back downstairs to board the bus for the evening out that we booked this year.

(A banner from the Lily Langtry's program we received.)

We went to a dinner and show at the Lily Langtry's. Our table was down front next to the stage. We had our tickets in front of our glasses of water. A waiter/waitress came by and gave us a picture to place on top of our tickets. The picture was either of a cow or a chicken depending on what we had ordered. Someone at our table asked the waiter how come the picture seeing that our ticket already had either beef or chicken written on it. His response was that he was illiterate and that he could look at the picture and know what we wanted. He laughed after making that statement and so we didn't want him to laugh alone so we joined him.

(The dining area at Lily Langtry's)

The show that night was "Ice Castles". It was a musical revue featuring a chorus of dancers, singers, and entertainers. Ice Castles is a singing and skating extravaganza on ice. It was great and the first time that I had ever been to a dinner and show type of entertainment and will be one that I remember always. When the show was over we boarded the bus again and headed back to the hotel. Time to hit the sack as we had a 9 a.m. bus boarding the next morning.

October 21st brought rain with it so preparing for the Philadelphia City Tour the umbrella was taken along with us. It is a good thing that I have one handy in the car with me all the time. However it is also a reminder to put the golf umbrella on the list of things to bring next time.

Our tour guide Sarah gave us some of the information about the King of Prussia and the Philadelphia's Main Line. Even though it was raining some of us wanted to continue on with the tour and so we walked in the rain with our umbrellas. We got to walk on some of the same streets that our Founding Fathers waked on. We got to see such places as Carpenter's Hall, site of the First Continental Congress, Independence Hall and Congress Hall, the Liberty Bell, and Christ Church.

(The Liberty Bell)

We needed to go through security in order to go in to see the Liberty Bell. We had to take our jackets off, our pockets had to be empty and the wallets and purses needed to go into a bucket so that they too could be scanned. Then we had to walk one at a time through an archway that scanned us. Just like the ones that they have in airports. Well the idea is that you do all the things that they want you to do then walk through there and pick up your stuff and continue on. Well it worked for everyone that was ahead of me, but when I did what he wanted and the alarms went off. So he told me to back up and try it again. The lady on the other side that was scanning the buckets of stuff said that perhaps it was my metal necklace that was causing the problem so they told me to hold my hand around it. So I did and then proceeded through it again and this time the shoes supposedly was the problem. Finally they decided to just have me stretch out my arms and then the guy waved the wand over me and then had me pull my pant legs up above the top of my socks. Finally I was able to pick up my stuff and proceed on. I got into the building where the Liberty Bell is at and it dawned on me what caused the alarm to go off. Ladies I recommend to you never and I repeat NEVER wear a long line bra with metal staves in it if you are going to visit the Liberty Bell. So we are looking around at the different exhibits and suddenly we are asked to please clear the area around the Liberty Bell as a group of important people was coming in. Suddenly we saw some Secret Service agents. They came in and made sure the area was secured and then we seen the group of people coming through, but it wasn't anyone that any of us recognized.

(Mrs. Tony Blair/a.k.a. Cherie Blair/Cherie Booth)

After a few minutes we seen that people were relaxed a bit around the Liberty Bell so I walked up where Sarah our tour guide was and asked who the VIP was and she said, "MRS. TONY BLAIR" from England. She posed with several of our Veterans and many pictures were snapped. So after they left the building then we could carry on with our tour.

After walking through some of the above mentioned buildings we boarded the bus again so that we could go to the Reading Terminal which is actually a Farmer's Market place and we had lunch. It was very crowded in there and Jim and I got out of there as soon as we could and went back to the bus.

After lunch we boarded the bus and continued on with our City tour and the rain had stopped. We drove by the Betsy Ross House; Elfreth's Alley, the oldest continuously occupied residential street in America. We seen Penn's Landing and the Vietnam Memorial; Society Hill; Benjamin Franklin Parkway; and Boat House Row.

When it got to be time for us to leave the city and head back to the hotel we got trapped in rush hour traffic, but we had a really good bus driver and he got us through the area and back to the hotel on time. We had enough time to go up to Peppers Restaurant and have a bite to eat for supper before we got ready for the Wine and Cheese reception. We had delicious sandwiches with coleslaw on the sandwich. It was quite tasty, but had a tendency to be a little bit on the messy side. But definitely got our money's worth.

(Peppers Restaurant Dining area. We sat at the table near the window.)

We had a Wine and Cheese Reception that gives us a chance to mingle with others and talk gets pretty loud at times. It is a great time to socialize with our friends. Becky Rowe spent a long time making all kinds of cookies to bring to the Wine and Cheese Reception. So this year we had an added treat as well as the wine and cheese. Thank you Becky for your hard work and dedication to making things better. So what was suppose to be only an hour social time ended up being longer. Finally we decided to tell our friends that we would see them in the morning we headed back up to our room.

October 22nd brought with it more rain. At 9 a.m. we had our Memorial Service for the 49 Vets that died in the past year. It is also for the ones that was lost during the war and the years since. After the Memorial service the business meeting was held. We met our friends afterwards and went to Michael's Jewish Delicatessen & Restaurant for lunch.

(Michael's Jewish Delicatessen & Restaurant)

They have 500 different beers to choose from for anyone that wants to buy them. It was a busy place and we were really pushing our luck to get back to the hotel in time to catch our bus for our tour to Valley Forge. But we made it just in time, but not enough time to get the umbrella from the room. I had forgotten to bring it with me that morning.

After getting on the bus we found out that once again the microphone on the bus didn't work. Out of all the tours only one microphone worked. So the tour guide stood next to our seat and did all the shouting so that others in the back of the bus could hear. Jim had to turn off his hearing aid. Then as the rain got heavier suddenly the drops of rain was hitting several of us as the bus leaked also! We didn't realize that we would need an umbrella inside of the bus. Because of the rain we weren't able to get off the bus and do any of the walking part of the tour until we came to the area where General Washington had his headquarters.

(George Washington's Headquarters at Valley Forge, PA. This is the original building.)

We walked though the building that was the original headquarters for General George Washington. It is interesting to walk through a building that one of our forefathers walked through and lived in. We saw the bed that he slept in and the desk that he sat at. There was so much that was talked about that I would recommend people to look up on the Internet and get the information about Valley Forge. We got to see some white tail deer along side the road also while we were traveling along.

(The huts at Valley Forge)

It was huts like these that George Washington's men stayed in during their time at Valley Forge. I would recommend that you search on the internet and get the story about Valley Forge. It was quite interesting what the Tour Guide told us.

Finally we got a chance to go to the gift shop and Welcome station and then after a short time there we boarded the bus once again and headed back to the hotel.

We then had to prepare for the banquet that was going to start at 7 p.m. and because I had gotten so wet the hair spray on my hair was a horrible mess. Thus a complete hair washing was needed in order to make it look good for the banquet. Presto chango as the cartoon character says and I was finally ready for the banquet. Jim looks fine in his suit and tie (that darn tie is too tight around his neck) but it enables me to lead him around.

Al took a couple pictures of us so that we could have a memento of our reunion, as Memory books weren't being done this year. So after dinner was over with and we chatted with several people we headed back up to our room. We still had to get our suitcases packed up and all the other stuff except for what we were going to need the next morning. So with all of that done it was 11 p.m. way past our bedtime.

October 23rd brought us some sunshine and after getting dressed and the last minute things packed we made another check of the room to make sure we had everything. We grabbed everything and proceeded to go down stairs to check out before attending the Get Away Breakfast. We loaded the car up and headed back inside. We had such a long time to go before we would be able to go for the breakfast. So we walked around and chatted with a few, but the seating was limited in lobby and after a while we headed down toward where the breakfast was to be held. We meet the Reunion Coordinator in the hallway and she said that several others were already there and that we could go in and sit down. We were then told that we could start in as the hotel personnel were finished setting up. So it is a buffet type breakfast so you take what you want and can go back for more if you want.

One trip was enough for Jim and me. We chatted with the people that shared a table with us and when we were finished we went around saying our farewells to our friends. We all promised to see each other out in Reno, Nevada next year. So another Reunion was over with and next year it will be in Reno, Nevada where the Cottontails once again will come together for another fun time.

So with that note I am going to close this section of the great adventures and will continue on for a part two of the family reunion.