Our visit to the Phoenixville area is winding down. We’re back at the campground after a full day of sightseeing in the area. We’ll leave tomorrow morning bright and early headed southwest into Kentucky expecting to get to Jim’s place in Springfield, Missouri sometime late Thursday afternoon.

We arrived here at the campground about 5:30 p.m. yesterday, set up camp, and then drove into Phoenixville to meet Daryl and go to dinner. He picked a place very close to his apartment and the food was well prepared. We had a very nice visit and arranged to meet him this morning after we picked up a battery charger for Nina’s digital camera battery in Exton, PA. (Daryl had called around to find a place that had the charger). The weather was very nice for sightseeing. Our first stop was Valley Forge where we took the driving tour and spent some time in the Welcome Center. Then we headed northeast to the New Jersey border to the Crayola Crayon Factory and Store. We picked up a number of items in the store but were too late to get on the last factory tour of the day. That’ll have to wait to another visit. After that we stopped at the Pez Museum in Easton (within 100 feet of the Crayon store). There Melissa gave us a lovely tour of the museum and answered several questions about Pez dispensers (did you know they got their start as a “stop smoking” aid?). Then it was back to Phoenixville for Daryl to get his car and lead us to TGI Fridays in Exton for dinner. There we had a very pleasant surprise as Daryl’s friend Laura joined us for dinner. We had a great conversation and Laura is a very pretty, very pleasant, delightful young lady. We’re now ready to call it a night and get up early tomorrow for the very long day of driving. I should be able to post some pictures tomorow.

We have just driven out of Chambersburg, Pennylvania where today the main road is all torn up and under construction but, more interestingly, where a Confederate General held the town hostage for $100,000 ransom. As an indication he meant business, they fired a cannonball through the city hall (spot is well marked). When the ransom was not paid, the downtown district was burned to the ground except for the city hall and the Masonic Lodge (saved by Confedrate Masons?). We had lunch at a Wendy’s Restaurant on the east side of town. We’re now headed towards Gettysburg which is about a half-hour away. The day is very pleasant. Mostly cloudy but no threat of rain. Light winds and cool temperatures round out the weather. The drive is beautiful. Everything is lush and green (it should be, considering all the rain of the past ten days) with trees and flowers in abundance. We’ll be at the campground in the area of 5 p.m.

The names of things around here are also interesting. We have the Moon Handbook for Pennsylvania which covers all the really important things in the state but misses all the little curiosities. For instance, where did Cash Town get it’s name? We can kind of get an idea about Brick Church but then Shrimpstown?? The highway is sometimes four lanes divided highway, other times two lanes with a turning lane, sometimes two lanes only, and at other times built like a freeway. There isn’t a lot of traffic except in some of the towns. Most of the drive is through rural countryside and we can almost always drive around 55 or 60. We have passed a lot of cemeteries, which raises in my mind the question, “Has this cemetery been documented on the internet?” Most have not. I’ve had a reasonable SprintPCS data connection for much of the drive today, so I’ve been able to stay pretty connected (Nina just got a phone call from Dawnmarie!). The desk works GREAT and I’ve been making very good use of it. I like being able to sit in the front seat and see everything going one and be able to be on the computer. We’re coming into Gettysburg after a pleasant drive from New Wilmington. The predicted pleasant drive is going very well. Route 30 has my vote for a nice drive.

Olivia Arlene Lunnen was given a name and a blessing this afternoon. It was definitely a special occasion and Kirk gave her a lovely blessing. She has a wonderful disposition. Later this afternoon I was able to hold her for a while and we both fell asleep. Very nice!

After the blessing ordinance was finished, we took several family pictures. Kate wasn’t very happy at the prospect having to be on the floor rather than standing on the couch behind mom and dad. She pulled a very special face! I had to take a few closeups of that pout. She wasn’t able to hold the pout very long, however.

It has finally stopped raining for a while. We had a very nice Saturday (see a previous post). Then I woke up to the sound of rain on the motorhome rooftop. We got up to rain this morning and it continued to rain throughout the morning. When we got out of Stake Conference, the sun was out and the rain was finished. It has been quite windy today, blowing the clouds away as a warm front came through. We should have very nice driving weather tomorrow.

We have had a very nice visit here despite the weather. It is a pretty time of the year to be in this part of the country. We’ve enjoyed spending time with Dawnmarie, Kirk, and the grandkids. Hopefully we’ve also been a bit of a help to Dawnmarie as she recovers from delivering the baby. We’ll leave in the morning for Philadelphia. We hope to arrive around five or six in the evening. The current plan is to not drive on the freeway / toll roads. We’ll take route 422 to Altoona, then drop south to US 30 and drive through Gettysburg and Lancaster on our way to Phoenixville. A nice, leisurely drive eastward. This will be the only driving day where we won’t have to press hard to get the miles behind us. I’m enjoying this small vacation.

The phone here at Dawnmarie’s house has literally rung off the hook this past week. On Monday while Dawnmarie was in the hospital to have the baby the phone ringing started and has continued through the rest of the week. Their circle of friends and acquaintences seems to be quite large here and everyone is calling to offer their congratulations. This was equally apparent when we went up to the college for Kate’s pre-school nursery class Closing Program. The room was crowded with three and four year old children in the class as well as their parents, grandparents, and other family members. In all of that, Dawnmarie and Olivia were the center of attention. It possibly helped that Olivia slept through the entire episode and never made a peep….

I’ve posted a few more pictures in the picture album from the past couple of days. It’s still raining — but now the rain is coming in showers rather than being non-stop. Monday is forecast to be beautiful — which is when we’ll leave here and head eastward towards Philadelphia. We’ll take a leisurely drive that direction and spend some time on Monday evening and Tuesday with Daryl. Then we’ll start the trek westward. It has been a fun, relaxing week here in New Wilmington. I’ve enjoyed the visit.

We have had a lovely visit at Dawnmarie and Kirk’s. Their baby girl, named Olivia Arlene Lunnen, arrived on Monday early evening in fine style. She is a typical beautiful baby and I’m so pleased that all has gone well. Dawnmarie and Olivia came home from the hospital this morning. Of course, Olivia is the center of attention and everyone wants to hold her, touch her, feed her, and kiss her. Olivia should enjoy it while she can as that attention will soon wane. Nina has a great picture of Olivia on her blog. I’ve also posted a few pictures in my picture album.

The weather word has been rain. This afternoon we saw a brief period of sunshine, but the rain soon returned. The forecast suggests that maybe Monday will be a partly sunny day. Of course, that’s when we’ll be leaving! Today it warmed all the way up to 60 degrees while the weather bug is telling me in Pocatello at 8:30 in the evening it is 86 degrees. We’ve spent most of our time inside. Tomorrow Kirk will help me put together a small desk for the passenger side of the motorhome so I’ve got a place to put my computer, or open up a map, or read from a guidebook. We picked up the lumber for it this afternoon and have done the first rough cut. Tomorrow we’ll do the finishing touches and may even make a quick trip to Harbor Freight. Kirk has never been there….!!

The long drive came to an end yesterday evening a little after 5 p.m. EDT when we arrived at Dawnmarie’s home in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. The motorhome is now parked in their driveway and — it’s still raining. The news reports talk about flooding in New England and I believe it is being under-reported. It has been raining incessantly and with great vigor since we arrived. Everywhere there is standing water, water running, water washing away roads, streams and creeks over their banks, and then more water. I think we drove through more water yesterday than Idaho gets in a year….

Dawnmarie is at the doctor’s office for a final checkup. If all is OK, the doctor will break Dawnmarie’s water and a little girl will be born sometime today or this evening. I’m doing bus-driver duty today. I’ll pick Kate up from nursery school at 11:40 (about an hour from now), and then pick the other three kids up from school at 3:15 this afternoon (in the rain, of course). The birds outside don’t seem to mind the rain — they’re all over the yard because, I think, the rain is driving the worms to the surface and the birds are being well fed. I wonder if cows like munching wet grass better that dry grass?? I’m off to ponder more of life’s great mysteries….

“Every major city should have a route around the city,” Nina told me as we were making our way on I-270 around the west side of Columbus, Ohio. It has been raining most of the morning and the temperatures are very cool. The heat in the cab feels good and being outside in a short-sleeved shirt is uncomfortable. There has been a lot of construction on I-70 between the Indiana border and Columbus. We’ve just made the turn north on I-71 towards Cleveland are, once again, in a construction zone. Construction in thse northern states can only really be done in the late spring through early fall, when the traffic volume is also the highest. I’m sure that highway planners would like some other option but so far no one has thought of it.

We have a little less than four hours to go before arriving in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. It will be good to get there and park the motorhome for a week or so. It will be good to not be bouncing around in the vehicle as we maneuver through construction zones!

This is Mother’s Day in the United States. I expect that in thousands of Mormon wards throughout the U.S., the closing song in Sacrament meeting was “There Is Beauty All Around, When There’s Love At Home“. Instead, we listened to a Tabernacle Choir CD this morning. We did Mothers Day a week early last week in Soda Springs, but we also called this morning to wish my mother a Happy Mother’s Day. I’m happy that she’s my mother. We have really enjoyed the past couple of years getting to know both mother and dad once again when we could be much more involved in their lives. Nina and mother talk at least once a day and sometimes more often. When I’m back from Manila in mid-June we’ll start going to the temple once a month with them. I’m looking forward to that time as well. So, Happy Mother’s Day, mother!

There sure is a lot of traffic on the roads today — particularly big truck traffic. With fuel prices as high as they are, most of the trucks are driving about 60 mph to save on fuel. That often makes for long lines of trucks to be passed. We’ve been driving about 65 where the speed limit allows that speed or higher. It does make a difference in the gas mileage. The highest price we’ve paid was the last gas stop where 87 octane was $2.899 a gallon. Previously the highest price was in Limon, Colorado at a price of $2.799 for 85 octane. So, we’re still moving towards New Wilmington. We’ll continue up I-71 to I-76 to Akron and Youngstown, which will merge with I-80 in Pennsylvania. We’ll take Route 60 south to New Wilmington right after we cross into Pennsylvania and the trip will come to an end.