It is Our One Week Anniversary of Being on the Road

For those of you who have been anxious about all the bad weather around the nation, let me put your minds at ease that all the major thunder and lightning storms in this area occurred while we were safely tucked in for the night last night. We are back to blue sky with big white fluffy clouds!!

Betsy left for her hiatus this morning, and we miss her already. Andy has taken the pilot position, and Mom is now navigating. I must say that our departure from Exton this morning was flawless. We became subsumed by corn fields, farmland and cow pastures. I will save the detailing for Mom and Andy, who are preparing their portions as I type. In fact, we are in such a remote area, we had to travel half an hour to get to the grocery store from our campsite (yes, we're back in the camper again, but i can assure you it will be a gourmet meal tonight). i don;t think we even have a phone signal back at camp. So right now we are sitting in a Mac's parking lot, logged in to Mac's wi fi (after having paid of course!!) and doing our diligence to get our blog post done before we go back to camp and dig in for the night. Tomorrow we are off to Gettysburg, to another camp sight. So bye from me for now as i beat the clock and my battery to get this done and post come pics. More tomorrow, love to all. BTW!!! as we came back to do edits, i almost forget, as we approached Airville to get to the campground, on a winding road through farms i turned the corner, and headed up hill and from behind me, a HUGE!!!!! red tailed hawk swooped up next to be and soared along my right shoulder before in landed on a power line tower (just like the one in Amherst the other night) TRUE TESTAMENT to the fact that DALE IS HERE!!!!!

Andy says: As we left Exton toward Lancaster the rigid lines of urban artifact gave way to the organic shapes of farmland. A lake of beautiful deep blue sky with billowed cumulus islands followed us along the hilly fields of corn. Amish country. Beautiful for its complex patchwork of crop land, and its simplicity of purpose. Simple, pure and as joyous to traverse, as our mission itself. The dark winding ribbon of two- lane delivered us to stunning views over the Susquehanna and to our camping destination at Airville.
To be reunited with my sister, who is by any measure a force of nature toward the good, and my mother, a giant in every significant way, brings me back to the times of my early childhood when the three of us constituted my entire world. It feels so good.
A special thanks to my wife, Kathie, for all of her support and making this trip possible. I love and miss you already.

Mom says: A grandma's delight,( when her own grandchildren are not accompanying her) to see a well manicured family of seven children, each one a smaller carbon copy of the other, like the nesting Russian dolls. Seven sweet, freckled, smiling faces helping us with our fresh corn and homemade marmalade - all of this set against the rolling hills of Lancaster County, where corn and cattle blanket the landscape and bring calm to the frazzled. A way of life that flourishes even today, in its peaceful corner of PA. We all three of us, are so thankful to be witness to this beautiful bounty.

p.s. we would have taken pictures of the Amish children described by Mom, but they requested not to have their pictures taken.