October's mega-road trip, part 1: York, PA

   Clark (Whose comments are in fall orange) had all of October off of work thanks to his paternity leave.  In addition to Clark changing a lot of diapers, we took advantage of his free schedule to do a lot of traveling.  Our first step on this particular road trip was to York, Pennsylvania to visit our good friends, the Weekes.  It ended up taking us about 8 hours to get there due to D.C. traffic; but Emmett was a trooper, and we all arrived in one piece. I was a trooper too.  I got all the way to Pennsylvania while only making one stop for soda and treats at the gas station.

   Pennsylvania is full of rolling hills and farmland.  It was really picturesque--especially with all the fall colors.  Jared and Janae have a beautiful house outside the city.  This is the view from one of the windows.  So lovely!
   Jared is a nurse anesthetist, and Clark was able to spend some time shadowing him, while Janae and I explored a local farmer's market, Roots.

 

   We wandered through aisles of yummy baked goods and both fresh and interesting produce.  My wonderful wife also bought me one of my favorite treats at the market: beef jerky.

   All of the veggies looked so tasty.  I was especially amazed by the stunningly red radishes.  Seriously, beautiful!

   We enjoyed spending quality time with Jared, Janae and their super cute kiddos.  Brighton and Addison are as sweet and fun as they are beautiful!  Everyone was so sweet with Emmett, and Janae's cooking was outstanding.  I'm still craving it... It really was good cooking.  Janae would be able to give Amy a run for her money on the best meals, but I wouldn't ever put them up to it.  Amy is too competitive and they should really just stay friends.

   Here are the boys sharing new music.  Jared is one of my best friends for talking about and sharing new music.  He gave me something like 2 days worth during this trip.  My favorites so far are Future of Forestry, the acoustic Radiohead album I had never heard and Metric.

   Don't let this picture fool you.  Addison loved Emmett despite the despondent look she is wearing.  :)
On our last day together we went on a little driving tour through Lancaster and saw some very old covered bridges.  We were also hoping to spot a horse and buggy, but I think the weather wasn't working in our favor.

   An impressive timer shot!  I had to run a good distance to get in the picture in time.
   Afterwards we headed to Lititz for lunch.  I can't wait to go back and spend a whole afternoon exploring that darling little town and main street.  We ate at a yummy little place called Tomato Pie Café.

   Brighton was beyond thrilled with his rainbow bread sandwich.  It was so fun to watch!  Clark, on the other hand, was less impressed with the Coke he ordered that showed up in this miniature 8 oz bottle.  Look, if I see a diet coke on the menu for $1.49, I assume that it will be a nice regular diet coke that I can refill and enjoy lots of.  Is that gluttonous of me?  Sure, but it's also just plain American.  When they brought me this can, I was super impressed by the chic model and futuristic look.  But after a couple swigs, I was done.  And there were obviously no free refills. 

  Brighton was Emmett's binky buddy in the car, which meant he got to keep sticking in Emmett's pacifier every time he popped it out.  After doing this a few times Brighton exclaimed slightly exasperated, "Babies are a lot of work!"  It was pretty darn cute.
   We sure miss having the Weekes here in Durham.  We had so much fun seeing them again, and we're looking forward to another trip in the hopefully near future!