...home...is where your heart is...
For the past week it has been in Pennsylvania with EVERYONE!
Perfectly amazingly smooth flights (both ways)
With little to no interference with TSA and can't say enough about the helpfulness of US Airways!
Arriving to meet Janine (from South Africa) whose incredible accent was matched only by her stories of growing up in SA during the days of Apartheid. She speaks multiple languages fluently including dialects of Zulu and Afrikaans.
Accents filled this Gathering with Dave (who crossed The Pond) for his first time...speaking not at all like James Bond...but rapidly and without the letter "H" (hence LuAnn being known from hereafter as the "Orny Ussy")...and Janine's lyrical accent, of course...Shirley and LuAnn down from Canada (without a proper "U" between them) "I don' know what yor talkin' aboot"...Vicki Y, Loren, Paula and Deanna from the deep South working hard to teach Dave to say "Cheers, y'all"...and "Kin I git another Beer"...Betty...Darleen and Jeff...Vicki H. and Myself and our midwestern TWANG...Diane...Sal and Lillian and their Chicago clip...and a mix of New York and New Jersey accents. Ann: (Kohffee anyone). Just waking up in the morning was an adventure.
" Owdy, Y'all"
And speaking of Coffee...
Have fell in LOVE with the Keurig system. Tiny pods of wonderfulness and a perfect fresh cup each time and requiring only minimal consciousness in the morning. Drop in a pod and push the button. No problem.
Came home and bookmarked this immediately for order!
And...then there was DAVE's coffee definition. Coffee in England having a naughty secondary connotation. Asking someone if they would like a cup of coffee is a bit of a euphemism for...well...sex. Imagine Carol's surprise as we learned this late in his stay.
"OMG...I've been asking him if he wanted Coffee every morning!!!!!!!!!!!!"
LMAO!
Envisioning him back at the Pub with his mates saying
"America is alright...but those women are a loose lot. One tried to talk me into coffee every morning!"
We arrived at Carol's in the early evening and how wonderful it is to walk into a home filled with love and hugs and kisses...oh and Diane handing me a Red Velvet Whoopi pie...the Queen doesn't get a better reception.
And yes...we pulled off the Welcome The Brit to the States thing effectively...amidst a flurry of gaudy lipstick...even Sal and Jeff joined in the fun.
We broke off in smaller groups for some of the adventures and toured Gettysburg...and the battlefields. Though there wasn't a civil war re-enactment that day...and Loran punching some Yank on the field would hardly be the same. We brunched at The Dobbin's Spring House in Gettysburg. The Renaissance Festival in Shippensberg...The Lancaster Amish Community and Shops...Covered Bridge Hunting...and more.
But the very best times were just spent hanging out with each other. Laughing...loving...sometimes crying...then laughing some more.
We passed The Travelling Hat to Lillian.
and Flat Stan is now securely in the clutched of our shelf elf...the bayou babe...Deanna.
We continued to share the "need for speed" with Christina who was the recipient of TWO of PA's "High Speed Driving Awards"
And Carol and I took the Chally out for an unforgettable 1/4 mile at 122 MPH. Sans the "High Speed Driving Awards"...I might add. We're THAT good.
Okay...so it was the Interstate instead of the track...picky picky...some of the truck-drivers we blew by will never be the same.
This baby can MOVE!
The same goes for the neighbors when we did Carol's pin-up shoot at 9 AM on a Sunday morning with her working it on the black and red Chally in a black dress and bright red lipstick...pumps...and earrings. The guy on the riding mower will NEVER recover, you know.
Long nights spent singing and listening to Loran play guitar for all of us...and Syd (the dachshund) howling along.
And copious amounts of beer, wine coolers and a new taste for me as a bottle was circulated of Tarantula Tequila...with everyone doing a shot.
OMG @@
(...it MAY actually be made of spiders...it couldn't have tasted any more vile....)
And tears on that last day...lots of tears...and more hugs...and kisses...and never goodbyes...just see you later...always...and cars...trains...flights to catch...and some wonderful new memories together.
Lillian, Sharon and Ralph already working on next year's Colorado Gathering...and Paula posting a mini-gathering in April in New Orleans!
To quote the Grateful Dead
"What a Long Strange Trip It's Been."
