Before the flood waters completely receded after Hurricane Sandy the Mennonite Disaster Service were on the ground in my hometown gutting houses and helping anyone in need. They’re back to work again and already on the ground in Texas aiding in Hurricane Harvey clean-up. If you are looking to support victims of Hurricane Harvey this is a great non-profit to support.
Positive thoughts & prayers to all the victims.
The camper may not be ready, but everything is working. Paul surprised me by making dinner in the camper. It was nice to finally be able to sit down and actually enjoy it instead if doing work.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Today marks the 14th anniversary of Murphy’s adoption. This dog has been with me since I was a freshman in high school! That’s a long time, I’ve gone through some craziness in the past 14 years.
I had to do a lot of convincing to get a dog. Murphy came into a house that already had 2 dogs, my mom tried persuading me into getting a fish or frog. I knew I wanted a dog, and the unconditional love they could give, not a frog or fish. After looking in a few different shelters I found Murphy (her jail name was Foxy).
Murphy has been through so much with me, shes been there through the teenage angst years and the crazy stressful college years. I had Murphy by my side after relationships ended and when new ones began. As a puppy she used to drive me crazy, climbing tress and getting stuck, and jumping the fence to wonder around the neighborhood, having to bail her out of dog jail several times. She’s been a faithful friend and is always down for an adventure. There is really nothing better than the unconditional love that you get from a dog.
Over the weekend New Jersey was being threatened by Hurricane Hermine. While the storm ended up being a dud, bringing only some choppy waters, Paul and I decided not to take any chances and make a run for it. On Sunday we all got in the car and drove.
Our first stop was Centralia, Pennsylvania. Centralia is an old mining town in the heart of Pennsylvania’s mining country. In the 60’s a fire started underground in one of the old mining shafts, and since then it has continued to burn. Over the years the town turned into a ghost town, with only about 10 residents left living in Centralia today. While the story behind the town is really interesting, there really isn’t too much to see. Most of buildings in Centralia have all been demolished, and the only large piece of the town left is an old abandoned stretch of Highway 61. The road was closed off after it began to crack due to the underground fires. If you visit Centralia in the fall or winter you are able to see smoke spilling out of the cracks in the road.
After our short visit in Centralia, we decided to continue driving. We drove through so many beautiful little towns, miles of farm land, got stuck behind a parade of tractors, and ended up watching the sunset from the Application Trail. As we continued through the winding roads of Pennsylvania we decided to pull off to watch the sunset, and after missing a few pull offs we finally pulled onto a small dirt road that to you back to a trailhead. The trail was the Application and as Paul and I jumped out of the car to take a quick look at it, Murphy was barking from the car to let her join in as well. We grabbed Murphy and were able to see a beautiful sunset over the Pennsylvania countryside.
We ended our night in Harrisburg, stumbling upon a street fair and fireworks. We had a beautiful adventure, sometimes a day off and a full tank of gas are all you need.
