So, we are finally back from PA. We drove about 850 miles through the course of the weekend. Getting down to PA at 3:30pm on Friday and returning home to MA at 5:30pm on Sunday.
The trip down was pretty uneventful, and while driving long distances that is a good thing. Allison and I made a couple of stops, first we stopped for Dunkin Donuts and some munchkins. Then we didn’t stop again till Danbury CT, to stop and get a pin at the Danbury Harley Davidson. I’ll be posting that pin with my pin collection photos next month because I only have a few more pictures I can post this month on Buzznet. (Thanks guys for signing up as friends so I could get a year enhanced membership, from Buzznet.) Our next stop was in PA, where we had lunch at Marvelous Muggs Restaurant. It was a pretty nice place and they had fried pickles. In spear form not chip form, and speaking of chips they had homemade old bay potato chips. That was a special treat. As we were leaving Marvelous Muggs, Allison got a call from Elise, just checking in to see where we were. We were about 100 miles from her place. And we made one more stop, in LickDale PA for gas and some Dairy Queen. Then we made it to Elise and Charles’ house.
Elise and Charles live in a great little neighborhood in PA. Outside Harrisburg. It was a great house and we really enjoyed staying there. We were only there for a little while before we had to head off to the rehearsal. Allison and Elise were both readers at the wedding. We went to the rehearsal, thanks for driving Charles, and met the rest of the wedding party. We also met Justin’s 4 year old daughter Jazzlin. And Allison and Elise took right to her. The three were inseparable the whole weekend. The maternal instinct went into high gear. 🙂
After the rehearsal we all went to the Beverly Hills Beach Club. What an interesting place. One side is a beach club and the other is like a rich warm and inviting pub. We were on the deck outside the pub. There we had many Lagers (Yuengling Lager for those who aren’t from PA) and wings and ziti and salad for dinner. The wings were great. We attacked the wings with much gusto. After dinner we made our way back to Elise and Charles’. Elise and Charles have a beautiful spunky little puppy named Jake. He was a bundle of energy and lots of fun to play with. He was also very very cute and would lick you to death if you let him. They also have a cat named Emilee who is very petite and also followed Allison and I around and tried to lick my arm to death.
On Saturday the four of us went to breakfast at Bob Evans. That is a good place for breakfast. They serve biscuits and gravy, (my PA indulgence) and thick bacon slices with their meals. They also make some really good homemade pies, but we didn’t have time for pie. Then we went back to the house to drop the girls off and Charles and I headed to the supermarket to run a few errands. They sell fireworks in the supermarkets in PA. I was fascinated by this. I also liked how the supermarket was set up, it was very well lit and the aisles were very wide. The produce aisle was also very well stocked. (We were getting fruit for fruit salad that Elise was making for Father’s day.) After the supermarket we headed to a beer distributor so that we could get a couple of cases of Yuengling for Allison and I to bring home, our supply was dwindling.
Then we all headed to the wedding, thanks again for driving Charles. And made one stop at the Iron Valley Harley Davidson, Look for Picture of the Pin next month. And when we got there Allison and Elise took charge of pinning the flowers on the groomsmen and watching Jazz. Charles and I took our usual roles as abandoned husbands/fiances who held the stuff, pocketbooks, programs and whatnot. The wedding ceremony was very nice. And after that was over we headed to Stoudts for the reception.
Stoudts is a German Beer Hall that is part of a German Village. It was open and well ventilated, we felt neither warm nor cold. The temp was perfect. Stoudts also produces their own beer so we all tried a few kinds and then settled on their golden Lager, which was very good. I also had a few Vodka Collinses and alternated between both drinks. On each table was a children’s book as a centerpiece. It was a donation to the local school district and each book was on the theme of Love. It was a very nice centerpiece and good conversation starter too.
There was a lot of dancing and good food, great cake and a lot of fun. We really enjoyed ourselves. Then we headed back to Elise and Charles’ and hung out by the pool.
On Sunday morning we all took our time getting going, we didn’t really want to leave, we had a great time and enjoyed the company of Elise and Charles very much. But we had to go so around 10:00 Allison and I headed back to MA. We made a few stops along the way for gas and food. But mostly we just kept on driving and got home not too late in the evening. Then we spent a little time relaxing and then headed downstairs to wish my Dad a Happy Father’s Day.