Like a Deer in the Headlights

Tell us about a bullet you’re glad you dodged — when something awful almost happened, but didn’t.

Living in Western Pennsylvania during fall and winter can be breathtakingly beautiful.  Driving Western Pennsylvania road during fall and winter can be an altogether different experience.  Because of the heavy tree coverage and abundance of county roads and state routes (as opposed to major highways) in our neck of the woods, one must always be on the lookout for deer along the roadside.  These critters stand there, waiting to jump in front of your car.  In a 20 mile drive of State Route 28, it is not at all uncommon to see at least 5 deer carcasses littering the side of the road.  I am telling you, we live in deer alley.  Just ask Hubby, in 10 years, he has hit 5 deer.  As a result, we tend to be extra cautious when driving during the height of deer season, particularly when driving at night.  The deer can basically appear from nowhere.

Toward the end of October, I was driving home from an adventure.  I had already been driving for hours that day, and all I wanted was to get home and go to sleep.  It was about midnight, I was on State Route 28 just north of Pittsburgh, not even to the portions that were super wooded.  I was just past an exit that lead to a pretty densely populated neighborhood when a deer appeared out of nowhere.  Even though I was not going that fast, it seemed inevitable that I was going to hit this huge deer.  I used my brakes, closed my eyes, and braced for the impact, praying it would be minor.

Imagine my shock when the impact never came.  I do not know how in the world I did not hit this deer.  It was literally so close to my car, I could have rolled down the window and touched it.  The only thing I can think is that it successfully jumped over my hood.  I never so much as tapped a hoof or rustled its fur.  I was so certain that I was going to hit that deer, it made no sense that I came out unscathed.

I quickly realized how lucky I was.  I continued to maintain an extra slow speed and use extreme caution for the remainder of my drive.  When I pulled up to my house, I said a prayer of thanks that I had been spared from the ordeal of hitting that deer.  I imagine the deer did as well.

Tiffany's Tuesday Tunes: Baby You Can Drive My Car

Today's post will be short.  Why?  Because I have to drive Hubby to work.  You see, he hit a deer a couple of weeks ago, so this week his car is in the shop for body work.  Normally, this would be no big deal; he can just drive my car to work.

Not my car, but still pretty cool

Except this morning I have an important meeting.  Which means I have to drive him to work.  An hour away.  At 6 am.  And turn around and drive right back to go straight to my meeting.  Then go back and get him in a few hours.  Needless to say, it will be a long day.  And we get to do it again on Thursday for the same reason, I have a meeting.  I foresee lots of coffee in my future.

To help get me through a logistically challenging week, I made a playlist that is fitting for our situation.  Enjoy.

Out of Town: Niles, Ohio

Last month, we took a weekend road trip to Mansfield, Ohio.  The driving distance was scheduled to take about 3 hours to cover.  However, I am always too excited and impatient for departure, so we decided to leave early and take our time.  Which was good, since we could not check into our motel until about 3 p.m.  So, we struck off, onto the open highway.  We grabbed some breakfast, and motored our way to the Ohio State Line.

Once we were in the Buckeye state, I decided we should take a little side trip to see a couple of sites and look for a geocache or two.  When I saw a sign for the William McKinley Memorial and Library, in Niles, I knew we had found the perfect sidetrack.

Growing up in Ohio, part of the public school curriculum was a course in Ohio History, during which we learned about some of the presidents who had hailed from our great state.  So I was really kind of excited to see the McKinley Memorial.  I never expected it to be as large, or as beautiful, as it was.  We both spent some time exploring the grounds of the memorial.  We also got to stop nearby at McKinley's birthplace.

We did not have too much more time to spend in Niles, nor did we really have anything else specific we wanted to see.  However, we did take a chance to commemorate our little jaunt with locating a couple of geocaches, one near a giant iron man statue.

As far as nerdy, odd sidetrack trips go, this one was pretty awesome!

See all the photos from our foray into Nile, Ohio, here.

Out of Town: Shawshank Trail

Loyal readers of this blog will know that I kind of have a thing for visiting movie locations.  Since I live in a town that has been used for numerous movie scenes, and since Pittsburgh has become an increasingly popular place to film movies, often I do not have to go far to visit a cool filming location.  But sometimes, we are willing to travel a bit for something extra cool.

Which is exactly why, a few weeks ago, we traveled to Mansfield, Ohio.  Why there, you ask?  Well, Mansfield provided about 90% of the filming locations for the movie "Shawshank Redemption".  And that happens to be one of my favorite movies.  It is within a few hours' drive for us, so off we set for a weekend adventure.

We got to see several different things throughout the area that were used for shots and scenery.  The "road to Buxton".

The tree where Andy buried the money for Red.

The 'halfway house" where Brooks and Red lived.

But the most exciting part was touring the prison.  So many cool things to see, and facts to learn.  Not everything we saw there was movie related, but we did see quite a few places they filmed, like the Warden's Office, the parole hearing room, and the props used for Andy's escape tunnel.

One of the coolest parts was the room they used (in the prison) as the filming location for the interior of Brooks' and Red's room at the halfway house.

Brooks was here.  So was Red.  And so was I.

View all the photos of our tour of the Shawshank Trail here.

Thankful for... traveling home

Even though we only live about 2 hours from my family, it is not always easy to make the trip home to visit.  Because Hubby has such a long commute for work, the last thing I want to ask of him to to get into a car and drive 4 hours round trip in a day.  When we travel, we take the dogs, so that means collapsing their crates and loading them into the car.  Only one of the dogs is a good traveler, and it can really fray the nerves traveling with a whiny pooch.  My parents have active lives and busy schedules, as does my sister's family.  So, traveling home tends to be limited to holidays or other special celebrations.

I am blessed in that Hubby does not work on Thanksgiving day, so we are able to travel to spend the day with my family.  Sometimes we get to go the night before, but alas that was not possible this year.  That meant hitting the road at 7 a.m. this morning, and driving 2 hours.  Hubby, as always, was more than willing to make this trip, and never even grumbled about the early morning wake up call.  By getting there early, I am actually able to help prepare a part of the meal, which of course I love doing.  It also gives me some time to visit with my family before the meal preparations start.

We get to spend time catching up on the news in life, and of course planning for Christmas.  We talk about gift ideas, and potential Black Friday bargains.  Before you know it, the pie has been eaten, the sale fliers have been perused, the leftovers have been divided, and it is time to make the long trek back.

The drive back always seems so much longer.

Tonight, I am thankful that once again, we were able to travel home and spend time with my family.  I am thankful for safe roads, minimal traffic, and the ability to recline my car seat and nap during the drive.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and many things for which to be thankful.

Thankful for... the open roads

Today, I got the itch to take some photos.  I did not know what I wanted to photograph, or where, so I decided to strike out and see where the road carried me.  I ended up mostly driving, and shooting very few pictures, yet it was still a good trip, because it was a lovely day for a drive.  Given the large number of motorcycles I saw on the roads, I think a lot of other people thought so as well.

I was a late driver, not getting my license until I was 19.  I was more than a little afraid to drive, and that fear gave me a lot of respect for the roads I drove, and all that our road system entails.  Now, I am, by no means, indicating our road system is perfect.  But, where would we be without those roads?

So much goes in to creating and maintaining our roads, as well as keeping them safe.  None of us like road construction, which seems to be never ending in the Pittsburgh area.  With a city that is a giant bottleneck on a good day, the least little bit of road construction can, and often does, bring the city to its knees.  But think of where we would be without the state DOT to create, repair, and maintain the roads.  If there were no construction, then our roads would end up destroyed, impassable.

Winter is simultaneously my most and least favorite time to be on the roads.  It is my most favorite time, because I love seeing the rural hills and valleys turned into a winter wonderland, and I often strike out to take pictures.  But, it is also my least favorite because the roads can be so treacherous.  Luckily, living in town, we have a road crew devoted to clearing the streets and making them safe.  It is tempting to complain about the roads not being cleared quickly enough, but these crews often work all night long to prepare for storms, or deal with the effects of a large snowfall.

No one likes getting a traffic ticket, myself included, so it is easy to dislike the various law enforcement agencies patrolling city streets and state highways.  But they really are there to help maintain order and safety.  When we get caught transgressing, it is easier to blame the officer than to accept blame ourselves.

In short, every day, men and women risk their lives to create, maintain, and patrol our roads.  Whether the roads are in small towns, or in big cities, thousands and thousands of people work hard to make our roads safe.  The work they do is long, hard, and most often thankless, so today, I give them my thanks.

 

Out of Town: Flight 93 Memorial and Quecreek Mine, Somerset, Pennsylvania

Last weekend, we took another day trip to a part of Pennsylvania.  This time, we opted for Somerset County.  My original intention was to just go for an hour or so, but we ended up being there for nearly 5 hours.

The main thing that drew us there was the Flight 93 Memorial, in Shanksville.  The Memorial is at the actual site of the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001.  As most people know, this flight was part of the terrorist attacks on America, and terrorists originally intended to crash this flight into the capital.  When the passengers realized this plot, they decided to try take the plane over from the terrorists, and during the struggle, the terrorists crashed the plane into a field in Somerset county, killing all those on board.  These incredibly brave men and women sacrificed their lives, while saving the lives of so many others.

The memorial site is still quite young, and in the process of being developed into a beautiful park.  Many parts of the park are undergoing tree plantings and landscaping.  Their will be 40 memorial groves, with a walking path, the creation of a visitor center, and reforestation and landscaping of the grounds.  I expect that, when finished, it will be quite lovely.  As it is, the portion that is now open is incredibly moving and touching.  There are large informational panels explaining the events that day,

a large marble memorial wall with the names of all those who died,

and a small center where people can leave their thoughts as a lasting tribute.

Along the walkway, there are benches, and places where people have left a variety of items in memorium.

It was odd knowing that, as we were there on that gorgeous day, in this beautiful park, we were at a place where such tragedy occurred.  We have visited battlegrounds and memorials in the past, but this was so different, because this was something we had lived through.  I am sure many of the young children there has a much different experience, seeing this as mere history, but for us, this was our life.  It was humbling and emotional.

When we left there, we stopped at the Flight 93 Memorial Chapel, a few minutes away.  The chapel was closed by the time we got there, but even the grounds themselves were lovely and heartbreaking.

Just a few short months after the nation was rocked with the 9/11 tragedy, Somerset was once again in the national spotlight, as 9 miners were trapped in the Quecreek Mine.  Over five days in July 2002, efforts were made to rescue the miners, until, miraculously, all 9 miners were rescued.  It was an incredibly inspirational story of faith and mankind helping each other, at a time when we so desperately needed it.  The site has been transformed into a monument to celebrate and remember the story of the rescue.

As someone who has a coal miner in our family, this was an incredibly chilling site to visit.  The bravery of these miners, and the determination of the rescuers is hard to comprehend.

As you can imagine, we were pretty emotionally drained, and we spent the two hour drive home talking about what we saw, what we remember from these events, and simply trying to process the gravity of both situations.  I plan on returning to both sites again someday, to see the progress that has been made and to spend more time reflecting on what happened, and the mercy of the God that saw us through that time.

I took a lot of really amazing and touching pictures that day, so feel free to view the rest of the set here.

Out of Town: Gravity Hill in Bedford Pennsylvania

It is not unusual for us to wake up one weekend morning and decide to go on a day trip, usually bringing the dogs along.  So, when I suggested to Hubby that we travel to Bedford PA to visit Gravity Hill a few weeks ago, this request was not that unusual.  Now, Gravity Hill is just a spot, on a county road, where, for a few minutes, you can defy gravity, and your car will roll uphill with no assistance from any person, just gravity doing a crazy trick.

Since this was a pretty far trip to take, just for that one spot, we decided to visit Gravity Hill in conjunction with a driving tour of several covered bridges in the area.  We picked a beautiful day for our outing, had we thought ahead a little more we probably would have done some geocaching in the area.  Luckily there are two other driving tours in that county, so I bet I can talk Hubby into going back with promises of geocaches to be found in historical places!

The tour took about 90 minutes give or take (we had a slight set back due to a road being blocked with a traffic accident).  We got to see some really pretty bridges, and enjoy the beautiful day.

  Most of the bridges were well maintained, but one of the last onse was covered in grafitti, which I personally found pretty interesting.

And who can forget the whole motivation for our visit, Gravity Hill. Well, it literally is just a spot marked on a road, where, when you put your car in neutral and take your foot off of the brake, your car rolls uphill. Pretty interesting, and just another example of the strange things you can sometimes find in Pennsylvania.

View the rest of the photoset here.

Fall Foliage

Each year, the local Tourist Bureau sponsors fall foliage tours.  This year, the weather did not cooperate for a couple of the tours, but there was one really fun day of touring through the county, with the final destination being the Renshaw Family Farm Pumpkin Fest.

The morning was a little gray and drizzly, but we still got to see some gorgeous fall colors, and lovely sites on some scenic county roads.

I personally loved seeing a lot of the rural areas and animals along the way.

The final stop was Pumpkin Fest.  I just love the Renshaw Farm.

They always decorate it so nicely, and the scenery is beautiful.  For Pumpkin Fest, they have crafts and decorations for sale, and tons of activities kids.  New this year was an animal park.  It was probably my favorite part of the entire day.

By the end of the day, my boots were covered in mud, my hair was windblown, and I was exhausted.  I would say, that indicates it was a good day indeed.

Out of Town: Fredonia

A few weeks ago, when the leaves were just starting to turn, I began my annual lament that our area does not get the vibrant color changes like some areas do.  It is my dream to drive to the Adirondaks or Catskills to see the leaves change color, and some year we will.  But since both locations are about a 7 hour drive for us, we will have to plan and schedule in advance to get the vacation days.  In the mean time, this year we opted for a one day trip to a part of New York a little closer to home: Fredonia.

There is no specific reason we chose to visit Fredonia.  We just woke up one morning, and I said, "let's go to New York".  Hubby agreed, and we found a pet friendly inn that was within a 4 hour drive for us.  We called, and got their last room, packed some clothes and the dogs, and off we headed.

 The drive on highways would have been less than 3 hours, but we like to avoid major highways on leisure trips, particularly with the dogs, so we got to see gorgeous sights along the way.

Finally, we got to the inn and it was adorable!

 Our room was so charming!

Hubby and I settled in, fed the dogs, and went exploring.  We only had a couple of hours of daylight left, so we drove along Lake Erie,

went to Lake Erie State Park,

then watched the sunset in Dunkirk.  Finally, we headed to dinner.

After we ate dinner, we headed back to the inn.  We had dessert in the inn's restaurant, and I said to Hubby, "this feels like we are on a date", to which he replied "who says we aren't?".  It was the perfect ending to a wonderful day.

The next day we got up and headed out.  Our trip to New York was a short one, but enough to satisfy me for another year of leaf peeping.

More pics from our trip and the drive home can be seen here.

Explorations: The Barns of Butler County

Even though I am an Armstrong County girl, sometimes my explorations make me cross county lines.  Armstrong, Butler, and Indiana counties all have similar rural settings, but each has their own unique things to offer to visitors and residents.

Last weekend, Hubby and I took in some of the amazing Butler County countryside.  One of the things Butler has to offer is an amazing Barn Trail.  Actually, there are 3 separate trails.  We chose trail 3, and due to it's location in relation to where we live, we actually did it backwards.

The first barn we saw was the Love barn.  Built in 1865, this barn is now a popular site for weddings and other events in the area.  I love the bright red roof, it is just so cheerful!

Then we moved on the 3 different barns that are homes to alpacas, Cotachachi, Sunset Hills, and Four Points.  Hubby thought the alpacas were odd looking, but I thought they were so adorable.  I want one, but alas, we are not allowed to have livestock in town. Someday in the future, I want to arrange to visit one of these farms.

Next we saw what was my favorite barn of the trip, the Fairfield barn.  It like something you would see in a movie, it was that lovely.

We finished up with the Maharg barn, located within the Succop Conservancy.

All in all, we really enjoyed the drive, and seeing the countryside, including some barns not part of the trail.  I am looking forward to doing the other 2 trails over the summer.

View a few more photos from this exploration here.