Life on the Road: A Buggy, A Brownie, and a Basket

My younger grandson started back to school today.  The older grandson went back to school last week.  It's the back-to-school season.  Normally I look forward to this time of year, even though I no longer have children living at home, because it's a season of getting back into regular routines.  And, as I have mentioned often before, I'm a person who likes her routines.

Even on the road, we have settled into a routine.  On class days, we operate on a certain schedule.  On travel days, we have a different schedule.  Even on the in between days, we have settled into a regular routine.

Yesterday that schedule was altered.  Al stayed here at the hotel, doing paperwork and getting set up for today's classes, while I went on an adventure with his cousin Pat and Pat's wife Claudia.  We spent the day exploring some of Ohio's Amish country.  One of my favorite things about the day was a visit to Yoder's Amish Home near Millersburg, where we had a buggy ride and a tour, learning some of the customs and history of the Amish.

It was a delightful day.  We toured a typical Amish school room, as well as the barn and two houses on the property.  In one of the houses, the kitchen was filled with tantalizing smells, as they had been canning vegetable soup and were also doing some baking.

I didn't get a picture of the buggy we rode in, but I did purchase a freshly baked brownie in the kitchen and managed to get a picture before I ate it!

That was a delicious brownie!

We had a delightful lunch at a little restaurant in town where I had a tasty salad  of lettuce, fresh peaches, fresh blueberries, feta cheese, and bacon bits.  Yum!

There was buggy parking outside, where this impatient horse stood stamping his feet as he waited.  I assume he was impatient; perhaps he was just bored!

As we made our way back toward Columbus, we drove through Newark and saw this no longer used office building, once occupied by part of the Longaberger basket company.

It was a beautiful day and a grand adventure.  Time with family.  Good food.  Good times.

And now today, the journey continues.  I'm back to my routines.  Classes resume, and I'm taking pictures and taking attendance and doing all the other things that are part of my regular routine here on the road.

Later today, I'll repack the suitcases, and tomorrow after the morning class, we'll begin our journey toward Massachusetts.  It's all part of life on the road.

As we have made this journey around the country, it has been such a privilege to see so many places and people and things.  Majestic mountains.  Gentle rolling hills.  Rivers and streams.  Blue skies and gray.  Sunshine and rain.

And along the way it has been a real blessing to see many family and friends.  We have traveled near to where many other friends are, but time or schedules didn't permit a visit. Even so, as we have driven down a highway or passed through a state where those special people live, they have been near in thought.

I have said before, and will continue to say, that this is a grand adventure.  Yes, we are tired.  No, we haven't been home since July.  And if you were to ask me today if I would want to do it again, my answer likely would be no.  At least, not any time soon.  But I remain so very grateful for this opportunity.  So thankful to have experienced so much of what this beautiful country has to offer.  To have had time with family and friends that I would not have had otherwise.  To have seen so much.  Learned so much.

It has truly been a great blessing.

Yes, I am tired.  And a little homesick.

But grateful.  So very grateful for this adventure.

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name." 
(Psalm 103:1 NASB)