Whirlwind Weekend!

Well, we made it back safe and sound from Pennsylvania. We started out early on Friday making the 8 1/2 hour drive. With 2 guys driving as if we were winning the Indianapolis 500, we definitely made good time.
Our first stop was to Belleville PA, where Jonathan's grandparents live. I absolutely love the drive every time. We have to first drive through the mountains before we reach Big Valley. You can tell immediately when you have gotten to Big Valley. You go from heavily wooded to a great valley opening. Big Valley is a 32 mile long valley that sits between the Kishacoquillas mountains. There is one main road in and out that goes through each town in the valley. If you head off the main road, you are likely to be on a dirt or gravel road. Each town is small and heavily populated with Amish people. And there are non-Amish who who live there that love the Valley just as much. We arrive to Jonathan's grandparents and were treated to a homemade pizza dinner by his grandmother. The guys had to help chop wood first. With 3 of them working, it really didn't take long.
In case you didn't already know, Jonathan's dad was raised Amish as a young boy. His family later left the Amish church but stayed in Big Valley. As adults Jonathan's dad and his 2 Uncles later moved out of the valley. After our hearty meal, and a bit of visiting we had to move on.
It was now raining and dark and we were on our way to Smoketown on Friday night. We got lost for about 20 minutes, but eventually figured out where we were supposed to be. We arrived to Uncle Titus and Aunt Charlotte's house about 9:15pm. We were exhausted and ready for bed.
The next morning, while Jonathan's family headed off to a family gathering, Jonathan and I went to have a day out with Thomas the Train. He was located at the Strasburg Railroad just about 3 miles down the road. Thomas was in town for only a short time so we and the rest of the worlds 2-5 year olds were there. I knew there would be lots of kids, but I hadn't expected the huge crowd that was there. With all of those kids, I have never seen so many runny noses and temper tantrums. Oh well, I guess this was all a part of the Thomas the Train experience. We took Thomas the Train on a half hour ride through Amish Country and then came back to Wait for another train. We ended up on the every hour train at 11 am on a 1 hour trip. We chose to ride in the open car, which was refreshingly chilly. Our final destination was to Paradise. Yep, that's right. I said Paradise Pennsylvania. We stopped there and headed back while riding through Amish country. I have never seen corn so tall as it was there. We also saw lots of Tobacco plants, Pumpkin Patches and lots of wild berries. In some parts of the ride, we were actually riding above the corn. We also got to see some of the Amish harvesting corn, which was quite interesting. We saw the Tobacco that was hung in great big barns with flaps open all around the barn. After we got our fill of the Thomas crowd, we decided to go to the Choo Choo Barn. It had a really large indoor train display. A whole town under one small roof. Everything was absolutely clever. Unfortunately we forgot our camera to take pictures of this little town.
We later met back up with the family and headed off to Jonathan's cousin Glenda's house. She and her husband recently got a great deal on a really big house. Perfect for there family with 4 children. We cooked out and visited with the family.
Next, we headed off to some family friends of Jonathan's mother. Fannie and Rhoda. They just happened to be a few towns over from everyone else that we had visited.
Whew! what a busy day.
On Sunday, we packed up and were treated to some of Aunt Charlotte's Baked Oatmeal. WOW! how awesome is baked oatmeal? How come no one told me about this stuff before?? I liked it so much that I came home and made it myself. I think Jonathan and I are addicted to it. If you have never had it, I will give you the recipe.
Anyway, we were on the road once again heading back home. With Mario and Dario at the wheel, we made good time once again.