76:365

(House of Care, Danville PA)
--all photos by Elaine A. Russell--

(Geisinger Medical Center, Danville PA)


It was an interesting night at the House of Care. The place is very, very nice... but I was sharing a room with my mom... and it just felt strange. Coupled with some alarming news from home... I just couldn't sleep. We got up early, and got to the hospital just in time to see my dad getting loaded and transferred via ambulance to go back to PA.

(Treats at Mom's Dutch Kitchen)

We then went to Mom's Dutch Kitchen for breakfast. This is a local (in Danville) restaurant with an attached gift shop that features alot of Amish related gifts. The food was a typical small town diner type experience... I had steak and eggs, hash browns and coffee. It was awesome. We then went back to the House of Care to do some of mom's laundry, and to wait for my aunt and uncle to arrive. They got there around 2pm, and then they all left for Philadelphia to attend my Uncle Ed's funeral.

I stayed around Danville briefly and took some photos... Danville seems very Colonial in style. They have some beautiful stone houses and churches.... and the flowers were starting to bloom a bit.


(Hellebore plants around the Presbyterian Church in Danville, PA)


(Historic "Montgomery House" in Danville, built in 1792 ... it was the home of William Montogomery [the founder of Danville PA]... now the Historical Museum)



I then headed out with all the stuff to drive back to Coudersport. The drive back was very scenic. The weather was nice... and I was able to get a few photos along the way. Just outside of Wellsboro, I stopped at an alpaca farm. The alpacas were very adorable ... and very friendly.


(the cutest little alpaca in the world)


I stopped at various area "landmarks".... Nine Mile Inn ( fabulous pond, creek, and cabins), the marshlands at Wolf Run (Canadian Geese hangout), Galeton (scenic downtown), Wellsboro Diner (converted train car/ now diner), Denton Hill Ski Resort, the old red schoolhouse (now an antique place), etc.


(Nine Mile Inn near Galeton, PA)



Once I got back to Coudersport, I went up to Charles Cole Memorial Hospital and visited with my dad in his new room. He is not horribly happy, as he is having to stay on the extended care ward... but he will be OK.

It was very late when I got to sleep... but I had a warm cup of fresh brewed coffee with my daughter, and a snuggle with Sabrina... so all is well ♥

75:365

Woke up initially at 6am... just in time to see the sun rising over the woods near CARP park on the north end of Coudersport, PA. (see photo above)
Took Sabrina for a short walk, and went back to bed. It is amazing how much rest a person can need... and yet, still feel tired.

Did some household chores, and called my mom. My dad is tentatively being transferred from Geisinger Hospital back to the hospital in Coudersport tomorrow.. so he can have a few weeks of rehab before coming home. He still needs surgery to completely repair his should socket, and to remove the large tumor on his clavicle... as well as biopsy his lymph nodes... but that will happen down the road a bit. He has done well with his hip surgery... just had a bugger with complications afterwards. Being almost 77 yrs old... I think he is doing really well.

So... here is the plan. I am going to drive to Geisinger this afternoon; stay overnight.... and come back to Coudersport the next day with all the stuff that my parents have had at the hospital (clothing, etc). Dad is going to be transferred via ambulance. My aunt and uncle are going to be driving from Bradford, PA to Geisinger on Wednesday morning, and will pick up my mom and take her with them to Philadelphia.... where they will be going to my uncle's funeral on Thursday.... and then they will bring her back to Coudersport on Friday.

The Wellsboro Diner.............

UPDATE:
I got to Geisinger just fine. I only made one slightly wrong turn; but figured it out right away and was able to turn around. The highways in PA are actually quite nice... some of the best I have seen in the US.

It took me about 3 hours to get to Geisinger. I stopped in Wellsboro PA to have a cup of coffee and some cream of potato soup (and to take some Tylenol for a pounding headache and fever) at the Wellsboro Diner. It is an old train car, that was converted into a diner, and has been in business since 1939. It is right on Route6... and has a distinctly 1950's feel. There is an attached gift shop as well.

On highway 15 ............

From there... I traveled through several small towns. PA is like that. You get little town after little town... with lots of farm land in between. Rarely... will be a town/city of substantial size..... at least, not in the areas I am traveling in. I saw ice and snow on some rock cliffs, several rivers, a swamp area with tons of Canadian geese....and a few Amish carriages driven by horse.

I was able to visit with my dad, and then my mother and I stayed at the "House of Care" .... a guest house for patients and their families... right next to the hospital. The House of Care is a fabulous place. Really affordable rooms ($15 a night).. kitchens... bathrooms.. laundry area... living areas with a library, fireplace and big TV... all snuggled in a little part of the Geisinger campus surrounded by some nice woods. We had a room in the back... and had an excellent view of trees and grass.

Amish carriage near Muncy PA......

Sunset near Danville, PA

(**all photos by Elaine A. Russell)

Links to Wellsboro, PA: here and here
Link to Geisinger House of Care: here
Link to Geisinger Medical Center: here

roadtrip !

photos by Elaine A. Russell... taken at the Lancaster Farmer's Market

webshot of Shamoken dam

First, I apologize for not posting yesterday. I got up early (6am) and had breakfast with the family. After visiting for awhile, my niece and my brother in law's new wife and I went to the Lancaster Farmer's Market. This is a huge thing that happens every Tuesday. On one side of the grounds, it is all antiques, flea market type stuff and more. You wouldn't believe all the cool stuff I saw ( and even bought a couple things !). On the other side of the grounds are all kinds of fresh vegetables, fruit, crafts and even a music group or two. In spite of it being unbearably hot and humid.. it was awesome.
Then I was on the road again. Having gotten some fresh fruit and food, I was ready to travel.. but was having a bad allergy problem still. Between my eye swelling shut, sneezing my fool head off.. and sweltering in the heat... the drive became a nightmare. Couple with tons of rain, mist, fog and even hail.... the road became hazardous as well.
The road was unfamiliar to me too. I was mostly on I-76.. which is a toll interstate throughout the bottom of PA. It was a great road.. but expensive ($13 toll fees). I was a bit confused as well... traveling in parts of PA, and in parts of Virginia all in the same day. As it turns out, I was on the right roads... it just felt awkward at times.
A bonus... was that I got to go thru a series of tunnels. They were huge.. and went thru various peaks of the Appalachian Mountains. Incredible. I also went all around Shamoken Dam (huge)... lots of pretty Amish countryside.. and lots of fertile farm land.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamokin_Dam,_Pennsylvania
I stopped early for the night at a Super 8 in Cambridge Ohio. The management (Ms. Fry) and crew were very nice, the room was really nice, and in spite of not having internet (it was down due to the storms)... was great. I got dinner from a nearby KFC, and enjoyed a relaxing night in the room.

you can't get there from here

photo by Elaine A. Russell

Funny-- I can travel cross country and not get lost.. but just try to get out of PA.
I left around noon today from Potter County, heading towards Landisville Pa where my niece lives. It is real close to Harrisburg, and I have never been there. I got my directions off of Mapquest.com, and for once.. they did me wrong. You'd think that being a native of Pa, this would not be a problem. However, this was a problem because most of the places in PA.. I have not been to.

When I as a kid, my parents rarely traveled. We would go shopping once a year around Christmastime in Olean.. just over the PA border into NY... but that was about it.
So -- I was pretty much clueless today when traveling all over the back country roads. I managed to turn what should have been a 4hr trip... to a 6hr trip.
On the plus side.. I saw lots of pretty countryside, some Amish farms, some pretty quilts hanging on the line, cows, hills, and scenic views.
I finally made it to my niece's house in time to take a shower before supper. .. which was shrimp scampi and broccoli. It was delicious.
Now I am settled in for the night, and watching vintage "Wild Wild West" shows on dvd with the family.
More to come...