A Rainy and Wet Day

As I sit here and look out the glass door I can't stop thinking of everything going on back home in California. I talk to my Mother almost every day and for what seems months now she's been telling me how hot it is. Last week she mentioned 112 degree heat!  

I kind of feel guilty sitting here and feeling a little cold. Even though my friend Carol had to have her friend Mark come out and fix her air conditioning unit because it froze up yesterday. 

He was able to find the problem and fixed it before it really started raining hard. BUT it's the heat that we need in the house today!

Yesterday Carole and Annemarie took me on a long drive to Amish country in Lancaster County. I've heard of how beautiful the area is and it really is. 

Farms dotting the rolling hills with different crops from tobacco to corn and soy or alfalfa are as far as your eyes can see. 

Young men working their mule teams out in the fields...

Woman working the home gardens....

Children playing simple games at school....

It's nice to see this because a few years back a gunman went into a school house, shot and killed I believe twelve of the children and then himself. It takes a lot for a community to forgive and begin to heal. 

We kept driving around the community and it seemed that Friday is laundry day. 

Clothes lines were full of everything from bedding.....

To some colorful men's underwear.....

Ladies undergarments....

On porches and entryways...

The Amish have always been known for their puppy mills and I did see a couple of places where they had small dogs in hutches...

That was hard to look at... They don't look like family members at all but rather another form of livestock for them...

You see the horses....

Mules....

Cows...

Sheep...

And chickens all around. 

We also saw many barns full of recently picked tobacco crops.

I learned something new about some of the barns having airflow slats on the sides which I had never seen. 

Carol stopped the car and gave me the chance to take some photos. 

The thing I love about barns is the individual characters each develops as they age. 

Sometimes I think to myself that as they age they are saying "please don't forget me!"

I really enjoyed the drive in the country side and seeing the beauty in it. 

We then headed home and drove through this town. I couldn't believe the name but I'm told it's real and I couldn't help laughing. 

We saw more Amish ladies going about their business....

A child wishing to be outdoors...

Others coming home from school....

It sure seems like a peaceful way of life but I'm sure they have their own challenges, they might not be the same as ours with all of the modern gadgets, but still challenges. 

The peaches are ready for picking.

The kayaks are almost ready to be put away for the season.

Outdoor sports will be changing.

And shirtless jogging will end for the season.

Even though it's still raining

I can't complain because my life these days is....

Wrightsville, PA

It was to be a long day for me driving from Kevin and Rustys home in Michigan to Carol and Aanemaries in Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. The map told me it would be about eight hours but I have learned by now that I have to add at least an hour to this if I'm towing MotelMiguel. 

I knew I needed to have cash available because of the toll roads, I had no idea how expensive it would be. It cost me as much for the tolls as it did for the gas I used. 

The only exciting thing that happened during the drive was when I looked out my passenger side rear view mirror and I saw a window flapping in the wind on MotelMiguel. I guess I had forgotten to lock the emergency exit latch on the window and the wind force pulled it out through the screen and it was just flopping in the wind. I pulled over on one of the emergency exits and I was able to lock it with no damage done to the window. 

When I arrived in Wrightsville Carol was ready for me, pearls and all!

I was exhausted from an almost ten hour drive so we left MotelMiguel parked out front and moved it in the morning. 

The next morning MotelMiguel was parked in its resting spot for the next month or so. 

Carol prepared me a nice salad for dinner but the dressings were unfamiliar to me!

She got me some protection!

My first morning moon with some other planet or star behind it. 

I'm ready for some birds to show up, camera and coffee is all I need. The temperature was hot but change is coming because some of the leaves are starting to change. 

Carol cooking me breakfast, pearls over the apron I made her!

A single hummingbird is still here. Will most likely start heading south soon. 

The male Goldfinches have started molting for the winter. 

A female Downy at the feeder. 

Some of the Titmouse still have young they are weaning. 

This years fawns are almost ready for winter. 

We took a drive around the area. I noticed a lot of the crops have already been harvested for the season. 

This big guy was out with a few others in a pasture. 

We crossed back across the Wrightsville-Columbia Bridge but it's officially the Veterans Memorial Bridge. 

It's really nice, quiet and peaceful here in the hills of Wrightsville. I think I'm going to enjoy my time here. 

Kevin's cooking!

The most important thing I've learned from Kevin is that you first eat a meal with your eyes and he's absolutely correct!  Have you ever eaten anything that you've never had in your life but it looked so good you just had to try it?

I told myself that I wouldn't limit myself on what I would eat throughout my travels because I did not want to miss out on something potentially delicious. Oh well, I do have my limit of n how hot, or spicy, something's might be. I'm a horrible Mexican in this area. Being the first male child after three older sisters does not help the situation because I must have been very spoiled. If I didn't like it they didn't make me eat it!

Kevin single handed has changed this. He has a beautiful garden where he grows most of his and Rustys food. This includes ordering and raising their poultry needs for the year including chickens, ducks, turkeys and pheasant. I even learned how to butcher ducks while I was here. He does this so that he knows what they are being fed and that they have the best free ranging life until it's time for the freezer. Most of society today have become so accustomed to clean pieces of meat in pretty packaging that they forget it was a live animal at one point and yes, they need to be butchered at some point and that's not a bad thing as many make it out to be. 

It's not easy work, it's bloody and dirty but at least they know where it came from and how it was taken care of until the end. 

Kevin always makes sure that your vision is fed before your mouth is!

Some of my friends I've stayed with previously must have really scared him because not a single meal was bad. He made sure no matter what that I was fed and there was always more than plenty. 

His gazpacho were always so beautiful and delicious.  The duck was amazingly delicious. I've had duck in the past but this one had Kevin's touch to it and I just can't compare it to any other. 

I had the opportunity to meet many of their friends but Wayne is one that had all the pleasure of meeting me!  He came over to pickle some green beans and I have to say he's unforgettable.  I'm just kidding, he is so much fun to be around and you never know what's going to come out of his mouth, much like mine!  HAHAHAHAHA 

BLTs were so delicious that you even wanted to have a side salad with them!

Corn never looked more delicious!

Morning eggs with refried beans. Recognize my coffee mug from Bear Mountain Lodge in New Mexico?  A cherished gift from my friends Hal, Ann and Linda, owner of the lodge in Silver City, NEw Mexico. I always have my coffee in this mug only!

I can't say enough of the pies,

Tarts,

Waffles,

And many other desserts he makes. They are sinfully good!

I even started posting pictures of some of my meals on my Instagram account with a teaser picture and have started getting a following for such pictures. I'm absolutely sure they are liked because of the food and not the pictures!

I have always been one that is not very adventurous with pasta or spaghetti. It's always done with some sort of red sauce but Kevin has changed that with the following....

It was so delicious that I'm going to continue trying something different as often as I can. 

That's eggplant and duck on this pizza, it was delicioso!

My pictures don't do any justice to Kevin's food. He's also a great photographer that makes you want to lick, bite and sample his food no matter what device you are looking at it on. If you want to follow him and see his creations you can do so on his Instagram account @kevmsharp 

Thank you for everything Kevin and Rusty. You guys have been incredible and I hope to be able to repay the hospitality some day.