The one purchase I've made this year, that has already payed for itself ten-fold, is my Tom-Tom, a GPS system that gets me to and from my destinations. After staying lost in MA last month, I vowed to Lloyd I wouldn't be leaving Texas again without a GPS, and I was true to my word. No more simultaneous navigating by way of iphone and Mapquest. If it's one thing that insured a rough trip, it was total lack of a sense of direction. As my friend Cathy says, "Terri, you should turn the opposite direction of which way you think you need to turn, because you ALWAYS turn the wrong way."
I picked a soft, calm, female voice programmed as "Samantha" in my GPS. The girl got us from the airport to our hotel and to the venue in a blink. With NO mess ups. I was thrilled. I did my nails, drank coffee, fiddled with my ipod, and she did all the work in getting us to the gig. Lloyd drove, but even he could relax a little. Life was good.
Jammin Java was fun. It's a premier listening room on the East Coast. After the show we headed towards the Amish country, located in the heart of the Pennsylvania countryside.
I know you are not supposed to take pictures of the Amish. And I had to sit on my hands to refrain from doing it. There's something about seeing an entire family in a horse drawn buggy that is so appealing you want to capture it to look back on it as proof that you indeed saw what you saw when you saw it. Their farms were perfectly manicured with clothes drying on lines high up in the air from one side of the house to the other. Their children looked like something out of a fairy tale with their rosy cheeks and wide smiles. You'd see the young boys playing baseball with the young girls who though in skirts, seemed to be winning the game. Most of the kids pushed themselves along the side streets on scooters with little baskets attached on the the front carrying odds and ends. The entire area smelled like fresh cut grass.
I know that this area in Pennsylvania is not only famous for the Amish, but for the quirky names of their towns. With names like "Intercourse," "Blue Ball," Virginville," and "Bird-In-Hand," well you can see why. I'm sorry, but I about doubled over with laughter when I saw the, ahem, "Intercourse Pretzel Factory."
I did a little shopping in the downtown area of Intercourse ... and lucked into a shop that made handcrafted wooden signs. I've been wanting a Wilory Records sign for years, and I finally had one made. I was excited and clapping my hands while it was being made. For a fact, I totally annoyed my sign maker. Look at his face (pictured). After I got my sign made I rolled in the grass and kissed the earth.
I headed back to the hotel early so I could catch up on the kids songs as I had a kids show to perform at the Spring Gulch festival the next day. I also had to change strings in preparation for our regular show as well. We had a good time as the festival. There were many musical highlights.
We headed home Sunday and I tried to catch up in the office, but I just could not. I had to sleep. Happy trails,
Terri
