The conclusion to our Pennsylvania trip

The last 2 days of our trip, we spent in Honesdale Pennsylvania. It is a very small picturesque town in north eastern PA. It was one of Joel's favorite areas on his mission because it was so beautiful. We were a little hesitant at first to drive that far north after driving to the southern most part (almost to Maryland) the day before, but I'm glad we decided to make the drive. We checked out the place he and his missionary companion lived in during those 4 months in Honesdale. It looks like the room is available if he wanted to move back. :-0
We stopped and walked through the Honesdale cemetary that evening because it looked so pretty. This particular memorial was dedicated to all the children who have died because of abortion.
There were some gigantic mushrooms growing in the cemetary too. I just had to snap a shot.

That night, Joel and I stayed at the James Manning house Bed and Breakfast in Bethany, which is an even smaller town right outside of Honesdale. We've never done a B&B before and it was such a fun experience! Joel hadn't been too excited when he found out I had put a bed and breakfast in our itinerary. Being in someones "house" and having to make conversation with strangers sounded kind of strange and uncomfortable to him. I almost called and canceled, but hey, isn't it good to get out of your comfort zone sometimes?? :-) He ended up loving it! The home was built in 1819 and was beautiful and quaint. We both love old homes because they have so much character and this one was no exception. It was set on a 2 acre property- surrounded by woods, flowers, and gardens. The hosts were so much fun to talk to- the conversation ended up being a very enjoyable aspect of the stay! Now it feels like we've left behind new friends in PA. Oh, and the breakfast was SCRUMPTIOUS! I want to email and ask for the recipe of the egg bake we ate. I usually don't even like breakfast egg stuff very much so that shows how delicious the food was! Here's Joel reading on the bed- little did he know there was a TV hiding in the armoire.....it just wouldn't have been the same experience to have a TV blathering on and on about Michael Jackson in the background, when we could be listening to the birds chirping outside the 200 hundred year old windows.....
Saturday afternoon we rode on the Stourbridge Line- the first railroad line in the United States.
It passes by the Lackawacken river for most of the journey. Wonder how to pronounce that doozy of a name? Say this sentence: due to "lack of waxun'" my eyebrows are pretty bushy-- there, now you said it!
The railroad company did a little "outlaws/stickum up" type reenactment for us. I was wishing the kids could have been there to enjoy it because by this time, we were both getting pretty homesick to see the children. We flew out of Harrisburg the next day, with a connection in Chicago......and after MUCH airsickness again on my part, we landed safely in Boise. Yahoo!! Probably won't do a trip like that for another 10 years because I don't know how people can afford to travel very regularly...but we had a great time and lots of memories!