Well, good morning to you from the Lancaster, PA area where we (finally) arrived last night.
We started the day getting checked out of our hotel where I caught this mirrored picture of my hubby, contemplating the day.
Just so you are aware–we only stay in hotels that feature beautifully manicured lawns and exquisite landscaping.
I mean, look at the beautifully manicured light post!
Staying in a hotel is always a challenge for me since I don’t travel very often these days. I will say to myself, “I think I will dry my hair.”
Easy enough at home. But in a hotel? Not so much.
Once I make the pronouncement to myself about what I am going to do, I stand in the middle of the room for five minutes and survey my surroundings with considerable deliberation. Where is the hair dryer? Is it in a logical place or a non-logical place? What suitcase is it currently residing in? Where are my brushes? Where is my hair gel? Where is my flat iron? What city am I in? What is my name?
I am pitiful.
Yesterday I did eventually get my hair dried, and we did eventually leave behind the glorious beauty of the parking lot view.
On our trip to Staunton (pronounced Stanton–who knew?), we had to go over a mountain which was suddenly overtaken by fog.
When we met up with Steve’s friend in Staunton and told him about it, he said that there was once an 80-car pile-up on that road because of fog. Yikes. (By the way, Steve and his friend had a great time seeing each other for the first time since 1967.)
We finally made it to Lancaster at about 7 pm last night after way too many freeway miles.
I found a relatively inexpensive place on Airbnb. For the same price as a Holiday Inn room, we get all this–a two-bedroom apartment.
It’s actually an old carriage house that used to house horses. And now it houses us! Our apartment is on the second floor.
Today we are going to see Noah at Sight and Sound and do some exploring. And I’m sure there will be some back-road driving in my future.
Tomorrow we will experience cultural whiplash as we board a train for a day in New York City. I am so excited for my first train ride!
Talk to you soon.
What about you?
Are you a good traveler or a confused traveler, like me?
Do you have any packing/travel tips?
Do you like traveling by train?
Have a great time in the BIG APPLE! So much to see and do! Hope you have your walking shoes on! 🙂 I have never traveled by train.
Magnolia Bakery!!!! 🙂 everything is delicious!
Eswim,
Well, even though we didn’t make it to Magnolia Bakery, I love the name. Hopefully, next time around.
And yes, walking shoes were the most important thing about our visit. I saw women teetering along in heels and I thought, “Oh no. Comfort before beauty when there are a billion blocks to be walked.”
My husband & I sometimes take a quick overnight getaway together and when we do that, we usually just pack a large duffle since we don’t need to take much. Not long ago we did that, I got up the next morning and realized that while I packed my dry shampoo & straightener, I had completely forgot to pack a comb or brush. So it was a finger comb kind of day.
I can’t wait to hear about your train ride – it sounds like so much fun!
SueEllen,
Yes, a day with no hairbrush would be a bit of a challenge!
You’re doing well to get by with just a duffle bag; Steve and I aspire to be like you. 🙂
We do like to travel and trying to get in as much in before our bods say no more and husband doesn’t want to drive any more. We have seen Noah at Sight and Sound in Branson – the moment you walked into the theater you knew there were going to be live animals (not overwhelming though). We are going to see David this week and looking forward to this one too.
Love to ride the train and have made a few travels on it – to Florida and to Oregon. We use the Roomette mostly (very small – bunk upstairs (depending on train it can be very tight – only turn over – cannot sit up) or there can be room to sit up and also there is a window) and the 2 seats down make into a bed. The bedrooms and Roomettes have the meals are included – if you ride coach and want to eat – breakfast and lunch are $25.00, believe dinner is $45.00. If you use the roomette – smaller suitcases/backpacks are best – although when you board, there is a place to put larger luggage. So far, neither of us are confused travelers – although some mornings can wonder what day it is.
Sharyn,
Wow. A train trip to Oregon would be quite the journey. And how fun to get to sleep on the train and then make your beds into chairs! I would love having that privacy and little bit of space to myself.
From your past comments, it sounds like you two get a lot of good trips in.
I would love to see David! His story is one of my favorites in the Bible.
I love to travel! I pack as little as possible and use the hotel hair dryer. I hate driving in the fog and on the interstates so you have my sympathies there. Ugh. Glad you made your destination safe and sound! The friend reunion sounds so like much fun!
I love to travel by train. When I was young, my mom, brother and I would go every summer by train from Colorado to my grandma’s in Nebraska. It was so exciting! I’d love to take another trip somewhere now that we have the time to do it. It seems like train schedules can go haywire sometimes.
Thanks for sharing your vacation with us!
LeeAnne,
I love that you were able to make train memories as a child. You definitely neeed to be make some more as an adult!
What a lovely Airbnb! It is so nice to feel like you are in a home instead of a hotel. I am so excited for your adventures over the next few days! I travel quite a bit for work, mostly internationally to South Asia and Africa, so I have gotten better at traveling. A few random tips:
Doggie poo bags make great shoe-bags when you don’t want your dirty shoes getting your clothes dirty in your suitcase.
I’m a big fan of bags within bags. My suitcase usually has a toiletries bag, a bag of snacks, a bag of all chargers/electronics, a cube-shaped bag with everything else that is not clothes, and a bag with socks and undergarments, leaving just my clothing loose in the suitcase. That works well for me to stay organized.
I try to embrace the adventure and trust that no matter what happens, there is joy and learning to be had. Plane is delayed 6 hours? Embark on a scavenger hunt to find the coziest spot to nap in the airport! Every food establishment is closed by the time you arrive? Know that “vending machine dinner” probably only happens once in life! Taxi gets a flat tire in the middle of nowhere in India? You get to see how Indians respond to things not going as planned. Of course this is all easier said than done, but I am definitely getting better at going with the flow.
Can’t wait to hear about the rest of your trip!
Robin,
Love getting packing tips from a traveling pro–thank you!
And even better, I love reading about the way you have learned to go with the flow. Instead of stomping your feet and complaining (which is most peoples’ default mode), you turn a bad experience into an “interesting” one. It sure makes like more pleasant when you learn that skill.
Thanks for sharing a few of your traveling stories!
I feel your pain as I also have trouble finding things that at home are readily at hand. It’s always a “I know I packed it” moment. We are heading into Niagara Falls for tonight, so this morning it was a hunt for our passports.
My packing help is a list on my computer that I print out of all I need to pack. Originally it came on a ticket holder from a travel agent and I adapted over the years. I rarely forget something now.
I do like train travel but do it rarely. Enjoy NYC it is awesome.
Patti,
A list is definitely important when packing; I try to keep one going but don’t always succeed.
I hope you are having a wonderful time in Niagara Falls; such a beautiful place!
Thanks for taking us on your vacation, Becky! I grew up and now live near Lancaster, but the one in Ohio, not Pennsylvania. I have visited Lancaster, PA numerous times, though. What I notice about towns in the east, near the coast, is how OLD they are! Here in the midwest, we don’t have the abundance of big, fancy buildings like you are exploring on your trip, or even smaller places, like your carriage house spot. I lived in Baltimore, MD for 10 years, before moving back to Ohio. It was interesting to experience the OLD there, although it’s nothing like the OLD of Europe. We are babies in this country! There’s a train museum in Baltimore, and it was fun to learn about the history of the railroad, which started there. Speaking of trains, enjoy your ride! When we lived in Baltimore, we would hop on Amtrak to go to NYC. It was so easy and efficient! I loved not having to deal with traffic, parking,….
I’m glad Steve got to meet up with his friend. I bet it was fun to see the “boys” reconnect!! Now that I live back near my hometown, I’ve linked up with a friend I had in kindergarten! There’s such a depth to those types of relationships, sort of like cousins. We just KNOW each other!
Hang in there! From Noah to NYC! Wow! I’d certainly be confused!
Ann,
We drove in NYC one time and wil never do it again. You’re right–a train is easy and efficiet and no traffic or parking. Hooray!
I have noticed and loved the same thing you mention about older buildings in this area. Our carriage house has beautiful, old, creaky wooden floors and I just love them. The towns around here have such interesting, antiuqe-y looking buildings which are fascinating to me. But as you said, we are babies compared to old Europe, another place I’d love to go.
How fun to link back up with a friend from kindergarten. A treasure of a friendship.
Ok. Off to NYC we go!