Vacation Recap

The LaMotte family just returned from our annual summer trip to Western Pennsylvania to visit the, uh, LaMotte Family. The summer/fall months are, in my opinion, the best time to visit Western Pennsylvania because the weather can be fantastic, which is was during our time out there. So here is the recap.





Travel: This is a long trip. Andrea and I have made it in around seven hours, only stopping once for gas and the bathroom. Our worst trip took over 12 hours, no thanks to Thanksgiving weekend traffic. Now, with a 13 month child, this trip is even longer. But it wasn't bad. We made the trip in around 9 hours or so. This included a one hour meal each way so Abbie could stretch her legs and play. Our travel was uneventful, although we endured a dreadful children's video called Wonder Pets. If you are a parent, or will be a parent, avoid Wonder Pets at all cost. Watching Barney would have been better than Wonder Pets.

If you are in for some dreadfulness, here is a You Tube clip of the Wonder Pets.

Friends: We always try to see several friends during our trips home. We met Jason, Ron and Joni at the world famous Quaker Steak and Lube on Sunday afternoon for wings. The Lube is well known for having some of the best wings in the country. We are always sure to stop there when we are home. On Sunday night, we visited with Jessica and her son Louden. He is full of energy and going to be a future farmer. Monday, Andrea went to Ohio to see her friend Wendy while I headed north to see Ashley and Dustin.



On an awkward note, the Great Sheakleyville Fair was going on, and we went in one evening to grab dinner. I saw a few people I graduated with that I have not seen or spoken to since graduating from high school 12 years ago. It's not that I don't like them, life has just taken us different places. It's somewhat strange talking to someone who you used to hang out with everyday when you haven't seen them in 12 years.



Family: This visit home is always about family. It was great to see my parents, sister, brother-in-law, and neice. This was one of the more relaxed family gatherings I can remember in a while. The highlight was going to Pymatuning State Park where we went swimming on a Western PA Beach (the lake). We went to Cherry Run Campmeeting on night to see some relatives on my mom's side of the family. We visited my grandparents on another day.



In all, this was a great trip home. While I wished it could have been longer, it was really nice to get home and be in our own house. Now, I just have to catch up on a week's worth of work!