Liz and Mike loose in an RV: Pennsylvania, Ben Landsman, White Children Visit, Dulcie and trip to Des Moines

We headed from Lake Waramaug State Park in Connecticut to Bald Eagle State Park west of Lock Haven, Pa. Both parks have large cool lakes for swimming. Dulcie's X-husband Kevin White and spouse Marla White joined us for dinner one evening while children were with Dulcie. We played golf in the area before heading further west for 2 weeks in a timeshare, Silverwoods at Treasure Lake in DuBois, Pa. Silverwoods was spacious and adequate. The 8-mile drive up or down the mountain to our RV was tedious. It would have been simpler to stay in the RV. The recreation center and swimming pools were nice except that the pool near our complex was not in operation.

Toby, Hayden and McKenna joined us for one night in the timeshare and then their band teacher abruptly called them to practice and they left. I did not know if I caused their departure by my irritability by how much they put TV on to news about Trump.

We picked up my son Ben and his photo booth in Scranton, Pa. and brought him to the timeshare. Ben stayed with us for a week and then we took him and photo booth to Columbus, Ohio where he attended another music festival. A friend took him and photo booth trailer to Madison Heights, Michigan where he's stayed all winter.

Bilger's Pass

Bilger's Pass is described as "Paleozoic Era wonder was created by "frost wedging," a process that began when frozen water was trapped between cracks which caused the rocks over millions of years to separate from the main mountain."

Ben joined us in exploring this rock formation near Du Bois.

Liz Thelen and Ben Landsman Aug. 2017

1955 Chevy Nomad

After visiting the rocks we stopped at a small town car museum and snapped a few photos. We played a little golf too both times with food purveyors. We played golf in what once was a cow pasture with a pizzeria owner from Punxsutawney. Punxsutawney is where the Ground Hog predicts the extent of winter on Feb. 2 every year. Wintering in Arizona is not an option for him since national attention draws in thousands of customers. We also golfed with a young College Park burger joint owner who's struggling to get his wife pregnant. Infertility is a skyrocketing problem for young adults. He wondered aloud if it's food. I said just enjoy your golf game and said not a word about food except perhaps to suggest resources to check out later.

A helicopter fell on the foot of Dulcie's partner and helicopter mechanic Hos. So we returned to visit Dulcie and Hos, driving 90 miles south of DuBois to Cresson near Altoona.

Dulcie, Aura Lynn, Leighton and Mike

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Leighton and Superman

Wounded Warrior. Helicopter fell on his food. He recovered well.

Mama, remember that quilted blanket you gave me? Here it is.

Our Truck towing Ben's Photo Booth

Monument seen going to the Pirates Game. Greatest play of all time? I ask because Mike adores football.

The Immaculate Reception is one of the most famous plays in the history of American football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game of the National Football League (NFL), between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972. With the Steelers trailing in the last 30 seconds of the game, Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw threw a pass attempt to John Fuqua. The ball bounced off the hands of Raiders safety Jack Tatum and/or Fuqua and, as it fell toward the ground, Steelers fullback Franco Harris scooped it up and ran for a game-winning touchdown. The play has been a source of unresolved controversy and speculation ever since, as many people have contended that the ball touched only Fuqua or the ground before Harris caught it, either of which would have resulted in an incomplete pass by the rules at the time. Kevin Cook's The Last Headbangers cites the play as the beginning of a bitter rivalry between Pittsburgh and Oakland that fueled a historically brutal Raiders team during the NFL's most controversially physical era.^[1]

Ben and I attended a Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Game

Pittsburgh Skyline

Ben got a good vacation with lots of healthy food. He was able to express his feelings of disappointment and frustration over lost love in Panama City, Ashley Feller. He is not a fit for a family that likes Trump and neither am I.

View of Emlenton, Pa from I80 is Beautiful.

From Dubois, Pa. we headed to Des Moines boondocking along the way in a truck stop besides the I80 Trucking Museum. It is a surprise. It is free, air conditioned and a healthy walking break from a hard day's drive on I80.