Day 10: All the way East

Yesterday we enjoyed a beautiful drive through Ohio and Pennsylvania to New Jersey. Here are a few highlights.

It was hard for me to say goodbye to Katie, Bryan and Olivia. I'm smiling in this photo, but I had a kleenex handy. It helps to know that they are in a lovely home, and that Bryan will have wonderful education opportunities in Ohio. But oh, how I miss my family when they are far away! Especially when I don't know how long it will be before we can see them again.

Before we left Columbus, we looked up the address we found for my great-grandfather Tarbox. The street now has a freeway cutting through it, and it's mostly an industrial area.

This older home was just down the street from the actual address. We talked to a couple of the local business owners (too bad...one of them was in a bakery...of course we had to be good customers!), and they told us that the whole street used to be homes that looked a lot like this one. (So much about the architecture of this house is reminiscent of my own house's architecture, like the little "eyebrows" at the edges of the roof line.)

We drove through rolling farmland and miles of trees as we traveled east to west through southern Ohio and Pennsylvania. We were on the turnpike. (Toll road! Would we have enough cash to get off?? Oh, we westerners are spoiled with our "free"ways.) So, we didn't stop to see interesting sights along the way, even though we were so tempted. We drove past exits to the Shenandoah Valley and Valley Forge, and we wished we had an extra day to just explore.

It was a beautiful day of driving. Such gorgeous scenery. The hours passed more quickly with another read-aloud book. Now we're reading Peter and the Starcatchers by Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry. (Yes, that's the Dave Barry who writes humor columns for the Miami Herald. I think I can tell which chapters he wrote...) Thanks for the recommendation, Dorothy!

We did pull off in Somerset, PA for gas, and saw this amazing old courthouse.

The real reason for our hurry through the day? We were anxious to see Maddy! We arrived at the Koponick home in New Jersey about 7:00 pm. Mike hadn't told her that we were coming, but when she opened the door, she knew us right away. She gave a big grin, and immediately wanted us to hold her. Oh, it is good to see her again!

 Puzzle fun with Grandpa.

Stay tuned for more photos of our happy visit with Maddy and the family in New Jersey.