ex(PR)essed

Well, it’s back to work for me after spending a relaxing week on vacation. Believe it or not, once you’ve been away from your childhood home for awhile, there’s something wonderfully refreshing about spending a few days among all that was once so familiar to you.

One spot that I never get tired of visiting is the spillway at Pymatuning Lake. Imagine dumping about 500 carp into your bathtub. Next, imagine dozens of geese and ducks in the tub, and a few seagulls circling overhead. Finally, imagine scads of people throwing loaves of bread into the fish-infested water. The fish literally throw their scaly bodies out of the water in order to fend off fowl and each other to gobble up the bread. The sound? Unbelievable! When Jeff and I visited this infamous tourist attraction last week, I actually got wet from the fish splashing around so much in their desperate attempts to get their share of the bread being tossed in by giggling children and plenty of giddy adults. All the while, the ducks and geese are tramping around the lake fighting over their fair share of the treats. And yes, there are literally so many fish that the ducks can walk on them!

Feeding the fish was just one of my many vacation highlights. Jeff and I played several games of miniature golf and got bitten by troops of angry mosquitos at a backyard campfire. We had a lovely brunch at Peak-n-Peak ski resort with my cute mom before wandering the beautiful grounds of Chautauqua in the rain. We went to the Erie Zoo and Campbell’s Pottery and Presque Isle. We ate Eddie’s famous footlong hot dogs. We had cheese and crackers on my parents’ huge, new deck. It was fabulous!

Then, on Wednesday morning, mom and I departed on a mother-daugther road trip to Indianapolis to visit our dear friend Mary Lou. We had such fun shopping and navigating our way around together. I love spending time with my mom, and this time was no exception!

So, now it’s back to work, and the start of a new academic year at Messiah is just over a week away. Where has summer gone?! While many of us are wrapping up our vacation travels, my crazy friend Rachel is embarking on a grand adventure today — driving across the country! Keep her in your prayers and monitor her travels on ram*bling.