St. Elmo Chautauqua

Well, we headed off this morning headed towards Mentor, Ohio, and took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in Pennsylvania! Which is absolutely beautiful, I might add. All the leaves are changing colour and it's absolutely amazing; just like something you'd see on a calendar.

What started us on our lostedness was the fact we took an exit off the main Interstate in Ohio to go and check out Amish ...

We began the first day in town quite leisurely. We drove over to Erie, taking some back roads and passing by Raccoon Park, a small lakeside park my grandparents would take us to for weiner roasts.

The drive out along Presque Isle was pleasant. A thirteen-mile round trip path circles much of the perimeter, running along the quiet inner harbor area out towards Misery Bay and the Admiral Perry monument – affording ...

I somehow find my way out of Cleveland and drive on down through Pennsylvania. Somewhere in there, I called my dad to ask him to start driving, because I am terrified. I probably good have made it all the way, but I just was not trusting this motorcycle anymore. I took a bunch of backways and filled some gas up just outside of Erie, PA. I meet a nice man who works for the county fixing the guide rails along different highways in the area ...

Ohio gave us a final kiss good bye with perfect weather and acrossing tail wind for most of the day. Made a wrong turn early and added only 3 miles to the day but it was an easy day. I introduced Sean to his first "rootbeer float" at Ric******* Root Beer stand right on the Ohio PA state line. We were good for miles with the dose of ...

Jill and I found something we loked to do more than playing Scrabble....put puzzles together. Here are some pics of our late night puzzling. We would spend hours in the evening fitting the pieces together. We would work on opposite sides in complete silence, then switch sides when we stopped making progress in our respective areas. We were a great puzzle team!!

One of my reasons for this trip to PA was to spend some time with my father. He was traveling quite a bit for business, so we only got together a few times. This was our last visit. He picked up Alex & me in the Hummer and we went to eat at the French Creek Tavern. Then I got to drive the Hummer back. Very cool!! I just couldn't talk him into giving it to me as an early birthday present.

Today we were invited for dinner at my Aunt & Uncle's house. These are the ones that let us stay at the Peek House for 3 weeks. We had a really great time hanging out at their house, enjoying some great grilled food, and visiting with my beautiful cousins: Allie, McKenna, & Katie.

I was back to work this week, but took off a little early to get some beach time in while the sun was still out. Work started at 4 am for me this day, so I was ready for a break. Although the beach would not have been my first choice of fun things to do, there are certain sacrifices ...

Throughout northwestern Pennsylvania and southwester New York state, there are lots of corn fields. It seems to be the thing to grow. We thought we would give you our version of "Children of the Corn". This corn field was right outside our favorite place to eat in Clymer, NY...the French Creek Tavern. This place is highly recommended for anyone passing by. They have the best wings...and I consider myself a wings connoisseur.

... some. And like the Salt Lake Tab**nacle, they cram as many people into the benches as possible (and then some—it was standing room only plus at the evening p**formance!). The welcome and enthusiasm of the Chautauqua audiences have not waned in the int**vening years. When Choir director Craig Jessop invited the audience to join in the singing of the National Anthem, the filled-to-ov**flowing Amp sounded as one voice. For the nearly two hours, from “Praise to the Lord, the ...