Blessed in Pennsylvania

This post was written several months ago.  I am attempting to complete a chronicle of our trip, mostly for posterity's sake, but also so we have an online journal of our journey.  As we continue to process it all, I hope to share more of the stories that made this a year to remember.

After Emily and I returned from Azerbaijan, we headed north from South Carolina. 

We had an interesting few days.  God showers us with blessings when we least expect it, and when we need it the most.  We left South Carolina and headed towards an RV park in Colonial Beach, VA.  Most of the RV parks we stay at are very rural.  We drove down a harrowing narrow country road,  faithfully following our GPS, only to realize at the next turn that we could have taken a much better, wider road.  But, we made it, and the park was in a beautiful area near the Potomac.  We caught up on some school work and tried to recover from our jet lag.

From there we decided to try to drive Buster into Washington D.C.  I know, it was crazy.  We thought we'd like to spend just one more day in the city at the Smithsonian and maybe the new Spy Museum.  We had a few options for parking, but in the end, none of them worked out.  One option was now a construction site, and then we couldn't make the turns required to get to the other one!  So, we drove north toward Pennsylvania.

The Washington Monument from my bus window.

We weren't sure where we were going to stay once we got to PA, but our new friends, The Lawsons were already there at a park near Dover.  After debating about whether we should spend the money to stay at the RV park, or opt for a night at Walmart,  we called the RV park, and were told it would only be $3/day! God is so good to us.  I'm so glad I didn't spend another minute worrying about where we would stay.  Again it was SO GREAT to be with the Lawsons!!   They are expecting a baby this fall and were beginning to plan their trip home to Washington. 

I think this was the day I sat on a well used camp chair and it broke!  So embarrassing!  It was great for the kids to hang out with some friends, swap books, ride bikes, and watch YouTube videos.

April, Danielle, Kadie, Kyle...and us.

We toured the capital of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. 

The Lawson's 5th wheel was named "Out Of The Rut" after Kyle's grandpa who had recently passed away.  The sentiment was wholly appropriate for our lives at this moment.  We were both families that were trying to get "out of the rut" and into what God was calling us to do.  Living on the road will get you there pretty quick!

And another blessing in Pennsylvania...
The next day we took our TV back to Costco.  It hadn't been working for a few weeks, and we thought we'd see if they would be able to help us out.  Sure enough, we were within the warranty period and they gave us a Cash Card with the value of the TV.  So, we were able to get a new TV AND some groceries.  Yay!

We spent a few days in Lancaster and Intercourse, Pennsylvania, also known as Amish country.  It was awkward to take pictures of people who were just going about their everyday lives.  As if THEY were the spectacles!  This was a shot I took from a distance...the countryside was about the most beautiful I have ever seen.  It made me want to live on a farm...just a little bit.