Jersey Shore, PA

Am and I headed for the Keystone State for a roadtrip this weekend to visit friends and family.  We left Friday morning and headed 6 hours north to Jersey Shore, PA to visit the Ulmer clan.  Rebecca Ulmer was Am's roommate at New Tribes Bible Institute, is my grandmother's sister's granddaughter, was one of Am's bridesmaids in our wedding, and, most importantly, is responsible for Am and I ending up together.  Needless to say, I am one of Becca's biggest fans.  She has been down to visit us multiple times in the past few months and we felt it was time to return the favor.

The Ulmers live on an amazing farm in central PA.  The Ulmer family has been on this land since the mid-1800s and I could quickly see why they didn't want to leave.  It was absolutely beautiful and brought back many fond memories of my years living in that area of PA.  I actually lived with Becca's grandmother (my Great Aunt Jo) on her farm 5 minutes away when I was in the 5th grade.  I learned to love the smell of cow manure and there was plenty of that on the Ulmer farm so I was in heaven.

We had a great visit Friday evening and then headed to my Great Aunt Jo's for Pudgie's Pizza.  Am had been building up how great Pudgie's was so I was looking forward it!  We picked up our huge sheet of pizza on the way and I was definitely not disappointed.  While I would still argue that Pizza Express in Richmond is the best pizza on earth, Pudgie's was definitely good!  We talked until late and then hit the sack.

Saturday morning we headed to visit my sister, Gina, and her family who live just 30 minutes from Jersey Shore in Muncy.  Am and I had the chance to meet Liam, my nephew Bill's baby for the first time!  That was a pure delight.  Liam was adorable and we had a blast playing with him.  We also had a great time catching up with Gina, Gaby, & Tessa.  They moved back to their hometown of Muncy from Richmond a few months back and we really miss them!  Here is Gina, Gaby, & Tessa with Liam sitting on their front porch and a picture of Am with Liam:

We stayed through noon and then headed back to Jersey Shore.  We hooked up with Rebecca and went out to drive around and enjoy the fall foliage throughout the countryside.  Unfortunately the sun that the weatherman promised never showed but the leaves were still magnificent.  We stopped to get a picture of a neat old firetruck that Am loved.  Right as Am and Becca hopped up on the truck for a picture, we heard a tractor coming down the dirt road.  Sure enough, it was the farmer coming to see what we were doing on his land!  What are the chances?  Luckily he was very nice and let us take all the pictures we wanted.  Here is a pic of Am and Rebecca on the truck:

Once we finally gave up on the sun, we picked up some groceries and headed back to the house.  We spent the evening visiting some more and eating some absolutely delicious shrimp alfredo that Becca's mom, Susan, made.  It was awesome!

We slept at Aunt Jo's again Saturday night and had a chance Sunday morning to talk to my Uncle Ron who just returned from a missions trip to Russia.  We headed back to the Ulmer farm and ate the most amazing cinnamon rolls that I have ever had.  Yep, Becca's cinnamon rolls are way better than Cinnabon's or Cinna Monster's!  I have now eaten four of them!  Before the Ulmer's headed for church, we captured a family picture.  Here we are with the Ulmers on the Ulmer Homestead:

We spent our last two hours at the Ulmer's up on "The Hill" above their farm.  The Ulmer farm consists of 130 acres on a hillside.  From the top of that hill, you can see miles and miles of countryside.  This is obviously a favorite spot for the Ulmer's and for Am.  It quickly became one for me too.  We finally had some sun show up and it started to burn off the fog.  Here are some pictures from "The Hill".

Our time had finally come and we had to hit the road to head back for Richmond.  We made one more pit stop just outside of Harrisburg, PA to have lunch with my brother and sister-in-law, Dave & Shelley, at Applebees.  We chatted for an hour and half, snapped a picture, and hit the road again for the final leg back to Richmond.  This was definitely a fantastic roadtrip!  Here we are with Dave and Shelley: