Eleven years can be a very long time in a person's life. Many things can happen and have happened. A divorce, marriages, births, and several deaths have happen in my family since I seen my family last. With great anticipation Jim and I headed north after the get away breakfast at the reunion. We had a bit of sunshine to welcome us on our way onto roads that neither of us had traveled before. Getting out of King of Prussia was easy as we had the great detailed instructions on which turns to make and all.

We got onto I-476 headed north and drove for quite a while until we picked up I-80 headed west. There was some brief rain storms that we drove through and then we would get back into a clear sunshiny day. The fall foliage was just so beautiful and I now wished that I had pulled over and stopped a few times so that Jim could capture that beauty, but I didn't and so we shall just have to rely on our memory of those trees. After having traveled on I-80 we finally seen our exit sign so that we could get on US-15 and headed north toward Williamsport, Pa. I had mentioned to Jim earlier in the day how much better that our trip had been because of the work that he had done on the maps and the instructions. Have you ever had the feeling that everything was going too good? Well as we got on US-15 I had that feeling as I remembered that US-15 was not just a divided highway with one lane of traffic going each way. I seemed to remember it being two lanes going North and two lanes going south. Well here we were on a divided highway with only one lane going North and one going south. I brushed it off as just a bad memory as it had been over thirty years since I had been on that road so we continued on. Suddenly we were in South Williamsport and there was road construction. So you go where the signs say to go, but then you get the feeling that you are in trouble and that you are seriously lost. You come around a curve and suddenly there on the left side is a Uni-mart and so we pulled in there and Jim asked the clerk how to get onto route 144. She evidently doesn't get out of town all that much because she didn't even know where it was located. A customer came in Jim asked him and he was about to give us directions when he asked how far we were going on 144. I told him that we were trying to get to Route 6. He said that the way we had been traveling would have gotten us where we needed to go, but that it is quite confusing and he gave us simple instructions to get us back onto US-15 and told us to go to Mansfield instead of taking the route 144. So we did as he had told us the directions and they were easy to follow and then we found ourselves heading in the right direction once again.

(Pennsylvania Fall Foliage)

In Mansfield we then got onto Route 6 and headed toward Wellsboro, PA and then we headed toward Coudersport, PA. Coudersport is the town where I was born many years ago, but we didn't want to travel all the way to Coudersport this time. We got to Gaines, PA and picked up 249 and headed toward Westfield, PA. Once we got within the village of Westfield, I was able to point out to Jim the Tannery that my Dad had worked over 40 years in. Then quickly to the left was the Eberle Mansion. And I was able to explain to Jim how Joe Eberle used to go into the Tannery and talk with the men and see what kind of problems they were having. That way he would be able to see what could be done to improve the working conditions. It was as if each worker was a part of the Eberle family and that helped to keep the morale up and the production up also. It was a sad day when Joe Eberle retired and in doing so the Tannery was sold. He was a great boss and my Dad used to say how much he missed seeing Joe come in.

We continued on down that road until we got to the only stop light in the town and made a left turn onto Route 49. I pointed out that one of the upstairs apartments was where I had my first apartment. And now we were only 10 miles from my Mom's house. We went through Potter Brook, Elmer, Harrison Valley, and Mills. We were a little ways out of Mills, not quite a half-mile when Jim asked me if I could find Johnson Road. I said yes and then I put my right turn signal on as we had gone a half-mile and I made the turn and said, "This is Johnson Road." "Now do you see why you haven't been able to find it on the maps when you put in the street location at Map Quest?" Jim said, " This is really out in the boondocks, I thought I had lived in the boondocks when I was a kid, but this is really out." Then he asked me if I could find my Mom's house and I said yes and then put the left turn signal on and pulled into the driveway on my left and went past the house and turned into the yard.

(The home that I was raised in.)

I then turned to Jim and said, "This is where Mom lives and has been our homestead for the past 53 years." Then I tooted the horn to see if any of the grandkids was going to run to the door. But they didn't so we got out of the car and went into the house.

Mom was sitting in her recliner and Missy was on the couch, Dave was in another recliner watching the NASCAR race. Jessica was rather shy at first and so was Josh. Missy is my baby sister (19 years younger than I am), Dave is her husband and Jessica and Josh are their two children. We had originally told Mom that we would be there between 3 and 4, but we got there about 2:30 p.m. After giving Mom a long hug and kiss, I gave Missy a big hug too while Jim was giving Mom a hug I think. Then I introduced Jim to his new family that he had never met. We sat down and chatted with Mom and Missy and occasionally Dave would say something too. Josh tried to get our attention cause he wanted us to see his NASCAR underpants. He had pulled his jeans down so that we could see the undies. We all told him what great undies that they were.

My oldest brother, Earl, and my sister-in-law Rosy and their granddaughter (my great-niece) Vivian were the next ones to arrive. It was good to see them again and to meet Vivian for the first time. And so we continued to talk and we found out that we had driven past the road that would have taken us to Earl's & Rosy's when we were in Williamsport.

My youngest brother Chuck, my sister-in-law Penny and their daughter Tasha were the next ones to arrive. Chuck carried in a huge pot of spaghetti. Rosy had fixed a toss salad and Missy had brought the sodas. So we all sat around for a while longer and talked. Josh tried to help Vivian out when he found her purse on the floor and she was sitting at the table drinking a juice. So he placed the purse on the table and she would pick it up and throw it back on the floor and then sit there and smile about it. This went on for several minutes and you could see Josh getting really upset, but he didn't hit her but sure gave her a tongue-lashing. And to think that he will have a rougher time as he gets older so he had better get used to it at an early age.

Well we all decided that we were hungry and so we went out and started fixing plates and I fixed Jim's and Mom's before fixing my own. It was so great and I thought of our granddaughter Michelle and how much she likes spaghetti so I ate an extra helping just for her. I believe in doing my fair share in everything. Penny also fixed a dessert that was made with cottage cheese, Jell-O, and whipped cream and fruit. I can't remember what it is called, but it sure does taste good.

Now you would think that with all that many people around that there would be a lot of dishes to do. But hey you have a bunch of men that don't do dishes, and you have a group of women that are always doing dishes. So out of the whole group someone said we would use paper plates and plastic utensils as Moms dishes were packed away. So there were no dishes to do. Hurrah there is more time for us to sit and chat.

We wanted to get pictures of us kids and Mom.

So here it is from left to right: Earl, Inez (Angel), Missy and Chuck. Mom is the one sitting down.

Then get another one with all the in-laws with Mom.

From left to right: Jim, Penny, Rosy, Dave with Mom in the Center again.

And then finally one with the grandkids and great-granddaughter and Mom.

From left to right: Josh, Missy doesn't count, Vivian, Tasha, then Mom and Jessica

Missy had to hold the two little ones, as they wouldn't get in front of Mom or near her either.

After the pictures were taken Earl, Rosy and Vivian had to leave as they had over an hour's drive to return to their home. It sure was great to see them again and to see Vivian. Then Missy and Dave, Jessica and Josh had to leave. Reservations to meet again on Wednesday night was made and that we would have another Meals on Wheels again. Chuck and Penny and Tasha left for the night with the promise of coming back on Wednesday night.

After everyone left we brought in our suitcases and bags. We also brought in the gift that I had mentioned in the first part of our story. I had promise a group of my friends that we would get a picture of Mom when she opened it up. Well here is the expression of that time.

(Mom opening her gift -- the afghan)

The afghan is a house warming gift as Mom is selling the homestead and moving into an apartment. Since our visit she has indeed made the move to the apartment and the afghan will be going on her bed to keep her warm.

So we chatted a while longer with Mom and then decided that we were all tired and so we all turned for the night. This all happened on October 23, 2005. This was the first time that I had been home in 11 years.

October 24th brought us a new day with SNOW falling from the sky. Now I had mentioned to my boss before leaving for vacation that if it snowed I would be out of there and be on my way home. Well here I am in Pennsylvania, my home state, am here finally visiting with Mom and no way were we going to go home just because it was snowing. Maybe if we waited a while it would stop. Jim grabbed his camera and went out side and caught these pictures for our collection.

(First Snow: October 24, 2005)

First snow October 24, 2005. We got 2 inches of snow that day. So other than going up to Ulysses to the grocery store and the post office we stayed inside for the rest of the day. These pictures were taken when it started snowing. We ended up getting about 2 inches of snow that day. Course by Wednesday that week it was all gone. We didn't do much that day other than chat and eat and in the evening we watched a TV with Mom. Then when it got to be time we all hit the sack for the night.

October 25th brought us another day of rain and sometimes a few snowflakes. We were sitting around the table eating a cup of soup for lunch when suddenly I looked up and Uncle Brud was coming into the house from the back porch. He said he had already eaten and so he sat down and chatted with us while we finished lunch. We told him that we were going to go up to Aunt Jean's in the afternoon. So after a little while he left and we finished up with the few things that we had to do. Uncle Brud is a couple years younger than Jim! So we all got into the car and headed up to Ulysses which is 5 miles from Mom's.

Aunt Jean was happy to see us all and to meet Jim for the first time. I told him that he could hug our Aunts. We all sat around and chatted for a while and got caught up on what had happened since I was home last. We discussed the Lawrence Welk show and how we watch it each week. Aunt Jean had actually met some of the people from there, at least that is what I remember her saying. Aunt Jean showed us the area that used to be her grocery store and how Uncle Bill had remodeled it before he died. I told Jim where the counter used to be and where the one cooler used to be and the freezers and the shelves. I told him about the man that gave me some M&M's one time and where I stood with them in my hand and that they do melt in your hands if you hold onto them long enough. I was a very shy little girl then and to think that my parents had told me never to talk to strangers. Then that man gave me some M&M's, but I didn't talk to him. I also showed Jim where the penny candy used to be and that we would fill a small sack with penny candy for a quarter. Aunt Jean said that we were well-behaved kids when we were in the store. Ah! It is interesting to think of the many memories that we have in our minds of a different time and so many years ago.

Well we didn't want to wear out our welcome so we left Aunt Jean's and headed back to Mom's. As we got in front of the Northern Potter High School my car suddenly turned off the high way and stopped in front of Audrey's Restaurant. I said, "Let's get some supper!"

We went in there and had a delicious meal. Jim and I both ordered the liver and onions with French fried potatoes. We told Mom that she could have anything that she wanted from the menu and so she ordered the chili and grilled cheese sandwich. We really enjoyed the meal and we were full when we finished. We then proceeded to get back to Mom's. We watched some TV with Mom; I think it was some of the baseball game from the World Series, but then it got late and we went to bed for the night.

October 26th brought us a little bit of sunshine for a little while. Today we are going to go and see Aunt Ella. So after breakfast was over with and we got dressed we took off for Westfield, Pa to visit with Aunt Ella. She is my only Aunt that is older than Jim by one year. As we were walking in to the Retirement home where she lives we ran into my cousin Arnold. He is the son of Aunt Ella and he was going to get the mail for her and for himself. We went on down to her apartment and Arnold came in too and after all the introductions we sat and talked. It had been a little longer than the 11 years since I had seen them last. But we had a good chat and then after an hour or so we decided that it was time to go back to Mom's. Before we left the town though we stopped at the Big M, which is a grocery store, and I got some fixings for omelets.

(Angel & Mom fixing postcards.)

We had ham and cheese omelets for lunch with a small tossed salad. We didn't want to eat too much as this was the day that we were going to have Meals on Wheels courteously of our family members that was going to prepare it. When Chuck and Penny and Tasha got there, they brought with them a huge pot of homemade potato soup with ham. They also brought some double stuffed Oreo cookies that had vanilla centers and then some that had peanut butter centers. Missy brought the soda again and they were delicious too. She sure knows how to pick good sodas.

Once again we used paper or Styrofoam bowls to eat out of and used plastic spoons. Presto the dishes were done quickly and everyone had more time to chat. It was definitely great to be there with the family. Josh and Jessica brought their Halloween costumes with them so that we could see what they were going to dress up as and they got some delicious treats.

(Josh in his Costume for Halloween)

(Jessica in her Costume for Halloween)

Soon it was time for everyone to leave as it was a school night and the kids needed to get their sleep. We laughed at the fact that we had to tell Josh that there was a big black bear in Grandma's bedroom so that he wouldn't go in there. Course he wanted us to take the bear with us when we left and we promised him that we would. We didn't want to temp him with all the zippers that were on our suitcases and then we had medication in there too. So with everyone gone we watched the baseball game and it got to be our bedtime and so I said well this game isn't moving very fast so I am going to hit the sack. I said to Mom wouldn't it be funny if the White Socks won 1 to 0.

October 27th is still are rainy day and the news this morning is that the White Sock won the Worlds Series 1 to 0 on their last game from the night before. My mouth just dropped open when I heard that news. Well today we have planned on going down and visiting with Aunt Marion sometime after lunch. So as usual we just lounged around and watched Jim vacuum the living room floor. We couldn't let him just relax for the whole trip so we tested out to see if Mom's vacuum cleaner would fit his hand. We think that it fit very well and hope that you think the same thing.

(Jim vacuuming the livingroom)

We had a few other chores that he was good at too.

(Jim tending the coal stove)

This is the job that he did the most of and by the looks I am sure that you will agree that he is doing a great job at it.

(Jim resting. We did let him rest a little bit.)

We went up to Ulysses and stopped at the cemetery on the way there and we got pictures of my sister's tomb stone and the maker for my Dad.

(My Sister tombstone and My Dad's marker)

A double headstone will be placed on the grave in the near future, weather permitting. You know as a kid no matter what the age is you think that your parents aren't suppose to die. That they will live for a very long time, but then sometimes sickness comes and takes them quicker than what you want. That was the way with Dad. I thought that there would be enough time to be able to see him when I got enough vacation time to make the trip there. But it didn't work out that way, so instead we visited him in the cemetery. I hope all that reads this understands that sometimes there is never enough time in a person's life. We have to live life fully each day, because we never know if we will see tomorrow.

Okay lets change the pace here. We had lunch and then we got into the car and traveled to Knoxville, Pa. Remember in my earlier story I mentioned Knoxville, Arkansas and then Knoxville, Tennessee and now we are in Knoxville, PA. Aunt Marion lives here in a big house. Well it wasn't all that big one time when her husband and two children lived there with her. But Uncle Charles died three years ago and Mark her son is married and lives close by to her, but her daughter Donna lives in Texas. So that leaves Aunt Marion all alone in the big house. She told me that all my aunts are getting old and I thought that I am aging right along with you all. She had been busy making pies that she sells. She had made some apple pies and mincemeat pies. Some lady that had ordered them came by and picked them up while we were there. It was great to see her again and to see the pictures of her grandchildren.

I had asked her how to get to the cemetery there in Knoxville because my grandparents are buried there along with my two uncles. So she told me how to go and we were able to get pictures of the head stones so that I can include them with the genealogy research that I am doing.

(My Maternal Grandparents Tombstone)

Then it was time to head back to Mom's as it was starting to get closer to supper time and everyone know that the Angel loves to eat. Food is not safe around me.

This will be the last night that we will be spending here as in the morning we have to leave to go back to Arkansas. It was good to see the homestead one last time. Mom is selling the homestead and moving into an apartment closer to my sister. So it was good that we could have this one last reunion in the homestead.

Chuck and Penny and Tasha dropped by one more time on Thursday night. Chuck loaned me a book about the Young side of the family and told me to check it out and see if there was any information in there that might help me trace Mom's side of the family more. Then after they left it was close to bedtime so we all hit the sack one more time.

October 28th brought us a frosty morning. The frost covered all the green grass as well all the weeds that were around in the fields. But the sun was shining very bright and promised for a warmer, brighter day than what we had been having. My car window and headlights were also covered with the frost. Jim was wonderful and went out and scrapped all the windows clean. He put on a pair of gloves so to keep his hands warm while doing the scraping. However, I didn't have a very good ice scraper because I have my car in a carport at home and that spoils me. By the time that Jim got the windows scrapped I had finished fixing breakfast for Mom, Jim and myself. It was good sitting there at the table eating another meal with Mom. We got the car loaded with the suitcases and all the bags and took another look to make sure that we didn't forget anything. Would love to have had Mom come with us, but we understand why she wouldn't.

So we gave Mom some last hugs and kisses and a promise not to be so long the next time to visit her. And at 9:40 we started our journey home. We got on Route 49 and headed toward Ulysses and then made a turn and headed toward Coudersport. As we got closer to Coudersport there was some fog and it reminded me of the morning that I went to take my driving test many years ago. It was really foggy then, but I made it through taking the test. We stopped at Skeetes and got the car filled up with gas and was on our way again on Route 6 heading west. We were heading for Kane, PA and had to go through several towns including Port Allegany, Smethport, and some other little towns in between. Once we got into Kane we needed to head toward Clarion so that we could pick up I-80.

So after a few hours we finally got on to I-80 heading west and some where around Sharon, PA we pulled off for lunch. We stopped at a Kings Restaurant. And let me say if you ever get a chance to eat in one of these restaurants by all means stop in and have a meal. We got two eggs, corn beef hash, cheesy hash browns, wheat toast for only 4.25 each and course we couldn't pass up a three-scoop milk shake for another 2.99 each. So with our stomachs full we got back into the car and headed toward Youngstown, Ohio on I-80. Once through Youngstown we headed toward Akron, Ohio and then on the other side of Akron we picked up I-71. We continued on I-71 to Columbus, and finally Cincinnati. We had some rain in various places between Akron and Columbus.

Instead of taking the bypasses around the big cities we decided to take the interstate highway right through the heart of the cities. It wasn't too bad until we got to Cincinnati and there was 5 lanes all going one way. Even that wasn't too bad sometimes but I haven't driven enough into big cities to really get the hang of going really fast regardless of what the posted speed limit is. Somehow the thought comes to me would I do everything that everyone else was doing just because they were doing it. Somehow that goes through my mind when I am driving in the big cities. What is that I see ahead of me, surely it can't be a really big bridge that I am seeing. I brace my hands on the steering wheel and try to calm myself as I start over the bridge. Jim so innocently says to me, I think that is the Ohio River down there under the bridge. I'm thinking okay I can do this…just try to block out the fact that there is water down there. Finally we make it over the bridge and we are now getting closer to Kentucky. It is starting to get dark and we are trying to find an exit that has lodging that we can pull off for the night. But suddenly the exits aren't all that close and so we drive for a little while in the dark. I did have the headlights on so we weren't totally in the dark.

Then we finally got to an exit that had gas, food, and lodging so we took that. When we got there we saw that it was all in one group of buildings. Maranatha was the name of the complex. Jim went in and registered and we got room number 3 that night. So we took in all that we were going to need that night and after a few minutes we decided to go to the restaurant and get a bite to eat. After supper we decided to give Mom a call and let her know that we made it into Kentucky. We thought about 18 miles south of Cincinnati. So being tired out we decided to hit the sack. Lights out for the night.

October 29th brought us the alarm ringing letting us know that it was 7 a.m. and was time to get up and get the day started. Looking out the window we seen that once again the car was covered with frost, but also that it was very foggy outside. We got dressed and went and scrapped the windows. OOPS the scrapper just broke and so it is harder to scrape the windows. However, I did turn the defroster on for the back window and that made scrapping a lot easier. After that we moved the car in front of the restaurant and went in for breakfast. We had a couple eggs, hash browns and toast for breakfast, and I also had an orange juice. So after breakfast we headed back out onto I-71 south and headed toward Louisville, KY. We ran into patches of fog for a couple hours of driving and then it cleared up until we got closer to Louisville, then it got quite foggy again. I think that being in the valley that they were was probably one of the factors as to why the fog was hanging on so long. We made it through Louisville and then headed toward Nashville, Tennessee on I-65 south.

We were sure glad to see Nashville as we knew that it was about another 6 to 8 hours and we would be home. We finally got to where we were on two-lane traffic and then we pulled over for lunch. We chose a McDonalds restaurant and had a couple burgers and a soda. So when we finished eating I asked Jim if he had keys to my car and did they still work in the ignition switch. He didn't understand what I was telling him at first, but then realized that I was finally letting him drive.

So we got the seat adjusted, the mirrors, and seat belts fastened. We were on our way once more on I-40 west. Not much to see on the interstate except all the traffic. One of the most aggravating things about driving is having to put up with the semi-trucks trying to pass another one going up hill. Duh! Don't they know that the drivers of the cars are getting upset because they just whip out in our lanes and slow the traffic down? I can remember when driving was a lot better than it is now. There used to be that the other drivers were courteous to each other on the highway. Now it is a dog eat dog when trying to drive cross-country. I realize that the truckers have schedules to keep and all that and that they are just trying to make a living, but hey give us a break and let us all by then you can crawl along trying to pass the other truck. Had so much of that on the trip, more so when we were coming home.

We made it through Memphis, then West Memphis, Arkansas. Jim was still driving and I was being a very quiet wife sitting in my seat not saying much at all. Guess you could say that I was speechless. But I can say that we were getting closer to home each minute that passed. We did discuss that we would probably be missing a little bit of the Lawrence Welk show that comes on at 7 p.m. Central Time. We went past Little Rock, and a bunch of other towns finally we got to Alma and new that we only had about 45 minutes more before we would be home.

At 6:50 p.m. we finally pulled into our driveway and got the TV plugged in and turned on and we unloaded the car. I fixed some cup of soups for supper and then we unpacked the suitcases and prepared to relax. I plugged in our computers and turned mine on. What is this I see 50 emails. Surely my eyes must be deceiving me as I sent out a message letting everyone know that I was going on vacation and to hold all emails. Well that does it next year I am going to send a message and tell everyone to fill up my email box while I am gone, maybe I have to use reverse psychology. (ha! ha!)

So now it is time to end this story about our great adventures. I hope that you have enjoyed the little journal that I have created so that we can have something to read when our memory starts to fade. Next year we are heading out to Reno, Nevada…see you then.