Category: Out of town

Have you ever had an unusual experience that left you unsettled and questioning reality? This weekend we had such an experience. We just came back from a lovely overnight visit with Bert’s sister and her husband in Greencastle, Pennsylvania. Greencastle is in southern Pennsylvania and spring is about two weeks ahead of central Pennsylvania. Trees and flowers were bursting out all over! My nose was running from all the pollen! We went out to dinner…Bert always looks forward to oysters…and came back to their home to have a nice visit.

Before settling down to visit we took our suitcases into the guest room. I reached down to turn on the small lamp right inside the door. It was more like a night light, but provided just enough light to see the room.

The lamp was about 12″ high with a base of brown glass with a small shade. The shade was not glass…more like parchment. The picture below shows what I think I remember about the lamp base…the one on the right. The glass had little bumps on it…sort of a squashed round globe. Of course, this picture is of old-fashioned Aladdin lamps that burned oil. The missing lamp was electric and the base glowed with a small lightbulb inside. Anyway, this is the only picture I could find that had the color base I remembered.

We then spent the evening exchanging stories of medical appointments, activities of extended family and future plans. We never seem to run out of things to talk about!

When we went to bed, I was checking email, while Bert took his turn in the bathroom. When he came back, he turned off the little light by the door. I finished and turned out the other light that was still on.

After hours of an unsettled stomach (probably from my big dinner) and a drippy nose (from pollen) I finally decided to take my antihistamine medicine…but of course it was buried in my suitcase. It was 4 a.m. I thought I’d just turn on that little lamp so I could see my suitcase. I reached the door in the dark and felt around for the tiny lamp. I wasn’t able to find the lamp…instead my hands felt a small woven basket…??? The lamp should be right there! So…I turned on the room ceiling light, thinking I’d locate the lamp and dowse the ceiling light.

Surprise!! That lamp was nowhere at all anywhere in the room!

Where did it go? I looked around the room at the two other lamps, but no evidence of that small lamp.

Did someone come in the night, unplug it and relocate it to another room? I’m sure I would have heard someone doing that!

I got my meds and turned out the ceiling light, wondering what had happened. I went to the bathroom and checked in the hall outside the room. Yes, there was a cute lamp on a small table, but not the one I was looking for.

So, I went back to bed trying to figure out what could have happened!

In the morning there was still no evidence of the mystery lamp. I asked Bert if he moved the lamp somewhere…he looked around the room and said, “No.” He remembered turning the lamp off. What could have happened?

We asked Joanne and Mark if they had moved the lamp…nope! They had never had a lamp with that description. If Bert had not touched the lamp himself, I’m sure this would all be chalked up to my imagination!

It’s really not important, but I could quickly see that the more we talked about it, the details were getting fuzzy. I found I wanted to expand my memory with more details when all I remember was the base and the location of the lamp. I figured I’d better write down what actually happened!

However, all the thinking and describing doesn’t solve the mystery…where did the lamp go? Or, where did it come from for those few hours? Lots of questions with no answers.

I think a good mystery writer could build a whole story around this experience, with parallel universes, or maybe the previous owner of the house had such and lamp and she had come for a visit…??

I will not dismiss the experience, but I really have no answers. Have you ever had an experience like this? Enjoy!

Once a month, our group of ladies from the State College High School class of 1964 get together for lunch. We usually rotate around to the local restaurants that can accommodate our group of 10 to 15 folks.

This month, we decided to travel down Rts. 26 and 64 to the Hublersburg Inn, in Hublersburg, Pennsylvania. We car pooled so we could visit along the way. The historic Inn is located at 449 Hublersburg Rd., Hublersburg, PA. We anticipated a 30-minute drive, but on a lovely Wednesday morning we made the trek in just 20 minutes! No…I did not drive too fast…there was just no delay for construction, garbage trucks, mail trucks, etc.

I’d say it’s a well-preserved historic Inn. According to the sign, it dates from 1827!

Inside is a delightful restaurant area that was just perfect for our group of nine. (We did make reservations!)

If you are in the area, check out this great place for lunch or dinner. They are on Facebook and are pleased to offer special dinners with Farm-to-Table menus that look delicious!

So, if you want to try a different dining experience, check out the Hublersburg Inn!

The lovely birthday party for my granddaughter went off without a hitch! Kathy made a delicious cake of a giant chocolate chip cookie and homemade icing. I tasted a tiny sliver, but I knew I’d better stop there…sugar rush! They even had banana split ice cream! Never heard of it, but it was enjoyed by the extended family who came!

Looked like “someone” had fun with the leftover icing and added a few extra touches!

The tiny bears I made were a hit. She can have a hug from us anytime…and they won’t take up too much space! The beanbag chair she’s sitting in will be part of her room makeover. At 11 years old…that’s not too far from the teen years!

After the party, we drove to Monroeville to a used book store called, “Half Price Books.” I was so overwhelmed I forgot to take pictures so I took a picture of the bag they had for sale…99 cents! I needed to buy 3 to lug all the books I bought.

I didn’t realize this was a chain…wish State College had one.

I went to buy a few books about herb gardening for my niece, and a few others jumped into my cart! HaHa! They had some new books, old books, gift items like coffee cups, notecards and puzzles. Amazing how much fun we had in 45 minutes!

The next day Kathy and I drove over to Karen’s house (her mother-in-law) and picked up some things she donated to the Fire Co. Auxiliary yard sale that will be held October 6 & 7. Things rattled all the way home, but nothing broke!

Bert had to help me figure out where to store all this stuff for the next month!

Now that Labor Day weekend is over, we’re back to cleaning up the garden and other chores. Tomorrow Bert starts his cataract surgery adventure. Such fun! At least he’s really good at doing the eye drops…something I never really got the hang of. Have a good day!

Last week was mixture of sad and happy events. A few weeks ago, my Aunt Janice passed away. She was 92 years old and was my father’s youngest sister. Her passing was the end of an era; her generation is now gone. My cousins and I are now the oldest generation. Her memorial service in St. Paul, Minnesota was the event that enticed all the cousins to arrange travel to the Midwest.

Ted was anxious to meet folks at this gathering too, so he arranged his travel plans to join us. I traveled with Kathy and Anna so I wouldn’t get lost. I haven’t flown for over 10 years (more like 15) and it was helpful to be with them.

So, last Tuesday I drove to Kathy’s house outside of Pittsburgh. On Wednesday morning we drove to a service near the airport where she left her car and we were shuttled to the airport.

At the airport, everyone was on their phones so it was pretty quiet in the boarding area. I had never flown Southwest, so their boarding procedures were different for me. I’m glad I had Kathy and Anna nearby. I did discover that I probably should get hearing aids if I really wanted to hear/understand the announcements!

All the instructions and procedures for an emergency sounded familiar, but of course, since it was the first time in many years I thought I should at least listen to them at least once. The guy to my right was reading the drink menu! Nobody else even looked up from their phones.

In contrast, on the way home I was just as bad as everybody else!

Thursday, August 3

Ted joined us Thursday and we traveled together to the Memorial Service.

The service was in Janice’s home church. It was a lovely, meaningful service with reflections from her kids and grandkids. Very touching.

After the service we had a brief reception where we got to know each other better. Marilyn, the spouse of one of my cousins, kind of adopted Anna and I watched while she showed Anna how to fold a dollar bill into a heart.

Of course, the required photo of the assembled cousins was taken. What a smiley bunch we are!

We ended the evening with all 25+ of us at an Italian Restaurant nearby. Always tough for me with Italian food and trying to avoid dairy products. I think I had a piece of chicken and some green beans. Anything else would have made me sick. Oh well, I came back to the hotel and had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

Friday, August 4

Friday was our day at the Mall of America! Kathy pulled out a list of all the stores in the Mall. She got us organized, first by going down the list and asking if we were interested in shopping there. By the time we left for the Mall, she had everything organized by floor and area, like North or West.

When we arrived at the Mall, Kathy checked the directions and we found the Guest Services counter. I was a proud driver of a scooter! It really helped me survive 8 hours of shopping with my two girls!

I actually didn’t hit anything. Luckily the Mall wasn’t crowded.

The Mall of America is four floors of stores! It is one mile around each floor, with an occasional repeat of stores, like the ones selling Minnesota t-shirts and coffee cups. It is an impressive collection of shopping venues.

Some stores were familiar, like North Face and Old Navy.

Most stores were new to me. Anna had scoped out the toy stores so they were on our list to visit!

Of course, this soft “grilled cheese sandwich” is going to come home with us!

Some store names were obvious:

This one was interesting:

Many kids stopped by this store…only to realize all these “confections” were SOAP or bath bubbles, etc. Very clever!

We had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. It certainly looked like a jungle with giant elephants and gorillas around the perimeter and jungle vines hanging down. Lots of screeching and chest pounding. Every 10 minutes we experienced thunder and lightning as a “storm” passed by. A bit over the top, but the food was actually very good!

At the end of the day, Anna had a chance to check out the amusement park in the middle of the mall. She loved the rides!

Saturday, August 5

We checked out and made our way to the airport. Luckily, we ran into one of the cousins and had a chance to really visit over lunch. That was nice. Of course, Kathy and Anna had one more picture they just needed to take at the airport!

Based on all this, if you are in the area of the Mall of America, check it out. You might find something you can’t live without!

Yesterday was a beautiful day to meet my brother and his wife for lunch. He lives in Wellsboro so we try to meet half way for both of us. This time we headed to a small local restaurant in Salladasburg, Pennsylvania…about 60 miles east of Boalsburg. The restaurant is named Waltz Creamery & Farm House Cafe.

Salladasburg is the smallest borough in Lycoming County. It had a population of 252 at the 2020 census. Salladasburg was laid out by Jacob P. Sallada in 1837. In the 1890 census it had a number of stores and shops, one hotel, a gristmill and a tannery. Today, the population is now set at just 238 residents. Obviously, many folks living here now commute to Williamsport and Lock Haven for work and shopping. The building housing the restaurant is in the former Cohick’s Trading Post.

Salladasburg is located at the intersection of PA Route 287 and PA Route 973. I managed to miss the tiny sign that said, Welcome to Salladasburg, but we went by the Church that was mentioned in the Wikipedia entry (see photo above).

The restaurant had great food, a varied menu and was busy on a Monday. Seemed like several local “groups” of folks were out to lunch also. We had a nice visit with my brother and his wife! It’s a great place to meet…about halfway for both of us!

By the way, we did have a few raindrops on the way home. Guess the clouds were telling the truth!

We headed south on Friday to visit Bert’s sister and her husband. They live in Greencastle, Pennsylvania…right near the PA/Maryland border. It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. A great day to celebrate my birthday (of course, anything past 39 doesn’t count!). We thought we might see beautiful fall color, however it seems this year the leaves sort of turned muted colors of yellow and gold and then turned brown and dropped.

The only really red splash of color was an occasional Burning Bush. It seemed unnatural with everything else so drab.

We had a good visit with Bert’s sister, Joanne, and her husband Mark.

Then we ventured out to have dinner at The Grille at the Runways, which is part of the Rider Jet Center at the Hagerstown Airport. This restaurant is part of the complex for private flights and offered quite a view of the runway used by these private planes.

Of course, any photos I tried to capture from their website would not come through, but here’s the description of the Center:

Rider Jet Center is Western Maryland’s newest and finest full service Fixed Base Operator (FBO). Based at Hagerstown Regional Airport (KHGR) in Hagerstown, MD, Rider Jet Center offers only the highest level of aviation service to all aircraft, pilots and passengers. Rider Jet Center is a perfect location to remotely base your Washington / Baltimore corporate flight department. With over 40,000 sq. ft. of heated hangar space and 10,000 sq. ft of office space, Rider Jet Center is capable of storing aircraft as large as a Gulfstream or a Global Express and accommodating the necessary staff to support them. We are conveniently located in the northwest corner of Hagerstown Regional Airport on the west apron. Our terminal and hangars are capable of servicing business and private travelers’ needs while visiting the Hagerstown area.

I wanted to share this description because during dinner we were captivated by the view out the huge windows in the restaurant. Here are some pictures of the planes and sunset we saw:

We sat at a table beside the pilots of the Civil Air Patrol plane you see above. Other than that, it seemed the rest of the patrons of the restaurant were ordinary local people from the surrounding community…like us!

Outside the restaurant was a gift shop and displays of airplane models. We were told this private airstrip welcomes celebrities like Jay Leno, and others. We did not see any famous people!

Here are some of the displays in the lobby:

So, we had a great visit, enjoyed a beautiful drive down and back, and had a great dinner. This was a pretty low-key celebration for my birthday, but after all these years it was just perfect!

Please comment or email me directly if you have questions at marykisner@comcast.net.

From competitive marching band practice to swimming lessons, I had a wonderful two days with the Grandkids near Pittsburgh. I went to attend the first public practice of the high school marching band. The stands were filled with enthusiastic parents, grandparents, siblings and friends. Food trucks outside the field were ready with their specialties and everyone was ready to have a good time. Ben, age 14, is a freshman. I was impressed with the organization of the whole experience. I had no idea what “competitive marching band” meant until I saw this practice session. Band back in my day meant we marched in a parade or two, and planned for a half time show at the weekly football games. Ben’s band is involved in that…and so much more! They also practice for competitions with other high school bands around the region, some in other states! Oh my! Ben has been having long, full day practice sessions since June and will continue when school starts with after school practice. The director has a great reputation and has built a cohesive group of students. Very impressive organization.

Volunteer parents are essential to making this band successful. To help parents and families feel part of the process, part of this public practice invited parents, grandparents and siblings to join their student band member on the field. They participated by marching along beside them and following the same directions. It was fun for Kathy and Anna to be with Ben on the field. Can you find them?

Then we got to watch the band practice some moves as a group. Looks pretty spiffy when it all comes together.

Before the end of the session, we watched clouds move in and lightening in the distance called a halt to the practice session. Luckily, it was another 30 minutes before the rain started so we had time to vacate the stadium.

What a great way to practice and include the whole community in the work of the band. Here are two pictures of my handsome grandson:

So, that was my Thursday evening. Friday, I took both kids to Barnes & Noble Bookstore. It’s a great way to see what they are “in to” by seeing what books and toys they choose. Of course, it wasn’t cheap, but it was fun. Ben had another band practice and a football game to prepare for in the afternoon, so Anna and I had time to play.

Anna’s birthday was coming up, and since I would not be there, I brought her an early birthday present. A purple remote-control jeep was just what she wanted! She had fun putting the stickers on and then drove it all over the house…and outside! It didn’t do well in the grass but the driveway and sidewalk were perfect.

Then, Grandma had personal instruction on how to dribble a basketball, with pretty good competition from my granddaughter!

Then, we took Anna to a swimming lesson and watched a mermaid come alive! I think she’s got the back stroke down and the body movement for a future butterfly!

Daisy and Steve greeted me Saturday morning to wish me safe travels home. I was glad to spend time with Ben and Anna (and Kathy, Steve and Daisy!). It brought back memories of how busy life was with kids at home.

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net. Enjoy!

Bert and I try to make an effort to meet my brother and his wife for lunch about once a month. They drive down from Wellsboro, PA and we drive northeast from Boalsburg and meet someplace in the middle. Because of so many restaurants being closed for the last year we haven’t been able to be very consistent. This week we were finally able to coordinate a day and we met them near Lock Haven to have lunch at the Restless Oaks Restaurant just off the McElhatten/Woolrich exit of Rt. 220. (Their address is 119 Pine Mountain Road, Lock Haven, PA 17748).

This quaint restaurant serves great diner food. The ambiance is homestyle and decorated with many old cooking and farming implements. They also have quite a collection of carved wooden statues…some impressively huge! Here are some pictures of the restaurant inside and out!

This handsome fellow greeted us near the entrance.

This lovely beast was right by the entrance door!

Here were the specials of the day!

Things like these decorated the walls and ceiling around the restaurant.

This huge carved eagle was suspended from the ceiling over our heads!

On the way out, we found wonderful porch swings for sale.

And quite a few smaller statues or lawn ornaments for sale also.

Of course, I had a chance to hug my big brother. It had been way too long! We’ll have to get back on a schedule!

I love hearing from you! You can leave comments or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net. Enjoy!

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