Amish Buggies and Lifetime Buddies

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We had not planned on taking a short, camping trip to Pennsylvania’s Amish Country. I am from that area, so we get there fairly often for various events with friends and family. As a result, it is not often an area that we seek out for an RVing adventure. However, my husband was made aware of a fraternity reunion that would be held near the convergence of Lancaster and Chester counties. These reunions began a few decades ago and became affectionately known as The-Mint-Gigs, as in “That was a mint gig, dude.” (Translation: awesome party with some alcohol involved.) As the years have passed, the time between ‘gigs’ has expanded. My husband had not seen some of his fraternity brothers or little sisters in over three decades. (He was actually decked out in a tee shirt from the 1986 Gig!) He decided that he was not going to miss this opportunity to spend some time with some valued folks from his college days. I am so glad that he made this choice, even if it meant rearranging some prior engagements. The day was superb. Autumn was in the air, the rural setting was picture-perfect, the company was congenial, and the conversation was uplifting. Is there anything more heartwarming than the laughter shared by old friends?

The hostess of this ‘gig’ is an avid horsewoman, and she very graciously introduced us to her draft horse, her show horse, and her itty-bitty horse. I hope to bump into her at Fair Hill International one day. It seems I know multiple people who are horse lovers, so the possibility certainly exists.

Amish Country is pristine, and wholesome. Fields are kept in neat rows, which are harvested by large draft animals. In autumn the colors are bright and vibrant. The sky is blue and speckled with migrating geese. The fields are golden and littered with bright orange pumpkins, and green and yellow gourds. The apple trees are brimming with delicious, red fruit. Amish buggies ramble the roads, hugging the shoulders, making clip-clop noises as they go about their daily routines.

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We stayed at Muddy Run Recreational Area, which, in my youth, had been one of my dad’s fishing holes. The weekend was filled with deja vu moments. Many parts of the park were unchanged, and vivid memories of happy times gone by kept flooding my senses. Muddy Run is scenic and the hiking is quite nice. My lifelong friend, Melissa stopped by for an evening of conversation around the campfire. All in all, it was an idyllic stay with the exception of an imperfect camp site. The sites are not level and there is no Verizon cell service.

No voyage is complete without an “issue”. As we were preparing to leave, it became apparent that the slide-out would not slide in. Uh-Oh…. Of course we could not call for assistance because we had no cell service. My dear husband, who is fed up with RV warranty problems, got into the tow vehicle, drove to a less remote area, and called the motorhome manufacturer.

It turns out that you have to drive off of the leveling blocks in order to retract the slide. Who knew? At least the solution was a simple one. This time.

And NOW the REAL voyage begins as we go through the process of selling our home. The angst is building.

Stay tuned.