LEWISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA

Rain began to fall today as we sprinted to the Box for a ride up the river to Lewisburg to see our longtime friends Gary and Allie Owens. We hadn't seen them for more than a year, so it was time to catch up on family news and enjoy some time together.




I really enjoy the ride up U.S. 11/15 as it follows the Susquehanna River northward. We start out on U.S. 22/322 toward Dauphin, passing the famous Rockville Bridge. On the eastern shore, you can see where the train tracks curve as they head toward the world's longest stone arch railroad bridge. (The picture you see is not mine.) Once we cross the river at Clarks Ferry, a few miles to the north, the river remains on our right. I enjoy seeing the water and islands as we pass by. I also am interested in the mostly-abandoned old buildings that time has passed by as the two-lane road grew and grew to four or five lanes. No longer needed, they stand and await inevitable decline and collapse, which is also visible along the road.

By the time we arrived at Selinsgrove, the rain had stopped, and no more was seen today. After Selinsgrove, the highway changes from restricted access to highway commercial, so we had to wend our way through several miles of strip malls, covered malls, fast food joints, and lodging. Soon the road turns back to a nice straight shot to Lewisburg, and we arrived only a few minutes late.

Gary and Allie have a delightful townhome in a beautifully kept neighborhood. Whenever we visit, we spend the first few minutes ogling the beautiful furnishings and decorations that Allie has put together with great flair and style. She obviously likes the early American style! She has managed to decorate each room with lovely things without going overboard. Of course, everything was spotless, without a speck of dust in sight.

We took a gander at a cool pergola erected on the back patio. It has canvas cloths that can be pulled across to provide privacy and light control. The happy couple put it together themselves, in spite of the directions calling for "three or four persons." And they're still married! It was too chilly to sit outside, so we moved back inside for some chat.

Next we headed out in Gary's van to take a tour and do some shopping. We passed the new public playground -- every kid's dream -- named as one of the best in the country. We saw Gary's late parents' house, where he grew up. Next stop were the charming "twin churches," one Lutheran and one U.C.C., built in 1877 and 1879. Gary interned at the Lutheran church while he was in seminary.

We stopped at a Pennsylvania House outlet where a nifty little bistro was set up. We had soup and sandwiches. I had the Rachel, of course, which I always try when I see it on the menu. It was delicious. I should have taken a picture of it! I must be slipping.

We crossed the Susquehanna and drive north to Milton, where we visited the American Heritage Crafters. It's an old shoe factory packed with Americana, furniture, china, lighting, and so forth. I could have sworn I heard an announcement over the loud-speaker as we entered the building. "Attention, staff! Allie Owens has entered the building. It's our chance to unload some merchandise and make some money. She is only ten feet inside the door, and her husband's arms are full of stuff. Keep smiling and point out the really expensive stuff -- and don't give her more than 75% off, no matter what she says!"

We had much to see there but exhibited strong sales resistance and bought nothing. We are pledged not to buy stuff until we have emptied out the basement and the garage this summer.

Gary drove us past "The Fence," a drive-in restaurant that is as popular now as it was when Gary was a kid. It is right on the river's edge and has lots of outdoor tables for those not wanting to sit in their cars.

Crossing the river again, we drove through the streets of Lewisburg, a lovely 19th century college town, home to Bucknell University. There is a lovely vista of the town and its church steeples as you cross the bridge. Many of the streets are lined with historic homes and shops. The main street boasts shops, restaurants, and art galleries.

We headed back to the Owens' house, where we enjoyed coffee and lemon sponge pie (yum), some delicious wine jelly made by a friend, and two kinds of cheese. I could snack like that every day! We sat and talked until it was time to leave. After farewells, we drove back to Harrisburg, where I had a meeting at the church.

All in all, a delightful day with some of our oldest friends. We look forward to their visit to Harrisburg later this year. (We have to come up with some really fabulous decorating in the meantime. Any ideas??)

Photos:

1. The Box pulls up to the Owens' house.

2. A train heads onto the foggy Rockville Bridge.

3. Allie's flair for decorating is evident on the kitchen counter.

4. Loads of Americana in the Heritage Crafters store.

5. Gary (shopping bag in hand), Allie, and Susanne after shopping.

6. One of many beautiful streets in Lewisburg.
7. Gary and Allie wave good-bye from their driveway.

The fabulous decorator in her breakfast room

The living room 

The porringer table and settee

A lovely old ironstone coffee pot

A collection of pots and jugs in the kitchen

A vignette over the sink

The breakfast room seen from the counter

The other of the "twin churches"

 The showroom of the American Heritage Crafters

HARRISBURG AND PENBROOK, PENNSYLVANIA

The Box was up bright and early today on the way to Market Square Church to join others in decorating the church for Easter Sunday. It's hard to believe the amount of work that goes into that project. First, the flowers have to be unloaded from the truck and wrapped with green foil.

A huge system of shelving is constructed to hold the many plants that were donated. That, of course, has to be brought up from the catacombs under the church, as far away as possible. The palms needed to be watered, too.

The Easter banner had to be brought up and installed on the front wall of the church, and the smaller banners at one of the entrances, too. We also removed some parts of the anniversary display so that people could more easily move out into the columbarium and front of the church to see the new peace pole and planters there.

In the meantime Eric the Organist and Tom the Sexton were busy making their preparations for the big day.

All of that took three hours, and I was bushed! I headed home, but not before stopping at the Broad Street Market to buy some fudge for my brother-in-law Jack. I'm going to Jack and Rachel's for dinner tomorrow. Alas, there was no chocolate fudge in the whole place! I do enjoy stopping there to see the great variety of people meeting and greeting each other.

On the way out of town, I made a stop at the historic Harrisburg Cemetery, where some of Harrisburg's most distinguished citizens are at rest, including members of our own family. The old flowering trees and the varied grave markers make it an interesting place to visit. I recommend a day like today if you go.

As I drove out State Street, I got the idea of getting some fudge at Zimmerman's candy and nut shop in Penbrook. You know, I can never find anything in that little town. The streets are all at angles and criss-cross everywhere. I finally spied the nearby church and headed toward that to find the shop. Guess what -- about a ton of chocolate there, but none in the form of fudge. Sorry, Jack!

A quick stop at Karns for some milk and cereal, and then home to put my feet up. I got a phone call from WHTM TV27 responding to my invitation to get some footage at Market Square Church tomorrow morning, since this is the congregation's 150th Easter in the current building. Jim Brown, the pastor, agreed to speak with the camera crew at 10:30 a.m.

Oh, I also sent out our Easter greeting to friends and family through email. It has a picture of the Resurrection Window at Market Square and a verse from a hymn by Martin Luther.

Now I am watching Moses' mother get squished under a huge stone for the one millionth time in The Ten Commandments.

The plants have arrived, and construction

of the platform begins.

The tiers are covered with white cloths.

The plants are carefully placed.

A beautiful Easter display emerges.

The Broad Street Market dates from 1860.

A Mennonite family runs this meat stand.

The Box stops by the weeping cherry trees.

Another scenic view in the cemetery.

Finally found -- Zimmerman's in Penbrook.

The blog always shows food! Here's an

Easter basket at Karns',  made out of cupcakes.

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

Our daughter-in-law, Marylee, invited us to accompany her and our grandson Ian to the National Aquarium in Baltimore yesterday. They had bought a family membership and got two free tickets to use for guests. And she thought of us! Matt, meanwhile, was driving to North Carolina to meet with a client there.

We met Marylee and Ian at a Loyola University parking lot near I-83 and rode with them through the cold rain to Inner Harbor. Marylee was kind enough to drop me off near the door since my dogs were barking, as they say, from a lot of standing and walking the day before as I volunteered at the church. The rest of the group continued down the street to a parking garage as I waited inside, marveling at the "Maryland waterfall" re-created in the lobby, complete with stone walls, trees, plants, and fish.

When they arrived, we checked the stroller and began our visit. Ian was fascinated first by the floor-to-ceiling "bubble tubes" that periodically emitted a burst of air through the water, creating tall plumes of bubbles. Then we moved up through the core of the building on a series of escalators and ramps, until we reached the top, where a re-created rain forest housed beautiful (and noisy) birds. On the way we saw plenty of interesting sea creatures.

A major feature of the aquarium is a huge pool with stingrays and other fish in constant motion. In the pool also were divers, inspecting the fish and feeding them. In another area, ramps carry you past a 360 degree channel live with all sorts of fish (divers, too) whizzing by as if they were on their way to a fire.

We stopped at the museum store, and Ian went home with a big blue shark. With the rain having stopped, we hot-footed it to the Panera café across the street and had some soul-warming hot soup and sandwiches. Interestingly, we were seated next to four French dudes who were speaking their native tongue. I was able to detect a word here and there, but I learned no state secrets by listening in.

Susanne and I waited on the corner while Marylee and Ian went to get the car. We whizzed back to pick up the Box and headed to Matt and Marylee's house in Perry Hall, where most of us fell asleep! Only Marylee stayed awake, conducting business on the phone and doing some laundry.

Around five, Matt showed up, having driven fourteen hours or so in the last 24 hours. He regaled us with stories of his trip, including a list of fast foods and energy drinks that he had consumed while traveling at warp speed. He impressed his clients in North Carolina by correctly identifying the Lester Breininger pieces in the client's redware collection. Lesterware is everywhere!

Once Ian turned in for the night, we ordered from a local tavern and enjoyed a late dinner, staying up late to talk about home improvement, real estate, and investing. When learning that we are secretly rich, Matt tried to get power of attorney, but we're way too smart to fall for that.

This morning, the Box took me down the road to Dunkin' Donuts for bagels and muffins for everyone. When I got back, Matt made coffee, and we enjoyed breakfast. Soon enough, we headed to a nearby church to watch Ian participate in a tots' play group, where he ran, jumped, climbed, bounced, slid, threw, caught, rolled, and broke -- bubbles, that is. It's fun to see him in action.He was still going strong when we took our leave and headed home with a stop at Ikea. We picked up some plants, place mats, a lamp shade, and other highly-necessary items. We skipped the lingonberries.

Our last stop was at Hunt Valley, Maryland, where we sought a bite to eat. Every car in Maryland must have been there! We searched and searched for a parking space and finally found one about a half-mile away from yet another Panera. Susanne has a panini sandwich and black bean soup. I (always looking for something new) had the same tomato soup and chicken salad sandwich I had the day before.

Our appetites satisfied, we climbed back into our little silver friend, Susanne at the wheel, and made the rest of the journey home to Harrisburg.

The "Maryland waterfall" greets visitors at the door.

Ian and a new friend check out the bubbles.

Ian watches the stingrays swimming.

Beautiful scenes of underwater life abound in the aquarium.

Divers observe and feed the fish.

Selecting the perfect souvenir.

On the way to the car, we pass the vessels

docked at the harbor.

We were able to resist these goodies

at the Panera café.

Ikea offered this cool shelving unit -- it might look

good in our basement family room some day.

SWATARA TOWNSHIP, PENNSYLVANIA

Last evening we had dinner and did some window shopping. Not the kind where you dressed up and then strolled up and down Market Street looking at the beautifully decorated showcase windows. Do they even have windows like that anymore?

Ours was a more mundane experience. It started off with a meal at Hoss', where the salad bar is pretty good, especially if you dispense soft ice cream over everything.

Talk about a small world. I have not seen fellow middle school teacher Tom Stohler for over a decade. When I went to the Susquehanna Twp. municipal building the other day to place an ad for LEC, the French student homestay program I work for, there was Tom in the recreation office, where he has worked for 10 years since his retirement. He organizes bus trips and activities for township residents. We had a nice chat and showed pictures of our grandchildren.

Fast forward to last night. When we were seated at Hoss', who was at the next table? Tom and his wife! This is getting ridiculous. I can't go anywhere without Tom Stohler! Just kidding.

After dinner, we headed down Rt. 322 to Conestoga Tile Company, to look at samples of their products, which might be used as a backsplash in our kitchen. It's located in a sort of no-man's land, off 322, near the interstate interchange with some other businesses and a residence hotel. It's hard to find, and we rarely have a reason to go there.

Anyway, there were hundreds of beautiful tiles to choose from, and a few duds, too. We looked at many of them and tried to imagine them in place. Susanne finally picked one she was most fond of, and we got the stock number so an installer could order it. It must be a huge expense for the company to maintain that facility, but here it was, a Tuesday night around 7:00 p.m., and there were a dozen homeowners in there looking at the tiles.

On the way to the store, we noticed that a new furniture store had opened down the way -- in the building where another furniture store had gone bust just last year. Go figure. There were two browsers when we arrived, swelling the ranks to four, and one visible salesperson. The furniture was nice, not cheap and not over the top like some stores. We looked at some things with an eye to a future family room in our some-day-to-be-finished basement. If we wait long enough, we can come back to the going out of business sale.

Susanne liked this small subway tile.

Quite a colorful selection of glass tiles.

I thought this glazed tile was nice.

This would be cool in the floor.

At the furniture store, I liked these bowls--

just the right size for tapioca!

I had no idea there was special furniture

just for ladies of the evening!

This photo is in no way related to

the previous one!

I thought this small table -- in another color --

might make a nice bedside table.