Home to Pennsylvania

There is something very special about returning home after a long trip. There is a comfort in the familiar sights, sounds, and tastes. And so we returned to Pennsylvania, and our home in Richlandtown.

But it is a profound thing for me, traveling “home” from WV to PA. Because WV is where I was born and raised, it is where my life began and my feelings of home are rooted. My sisters are there and many dear friends. I saw a quote recently that summed up these feelings: “You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.” And so it is with me – my birth home and my current home. I realized many years ago that I cannot live in my birth home; that belongs to a version of me that no longer exists. I must live where I now belong – here in Pennsylvania with my husband, my children, grandchildren, church home and many friends. A part of my heart is always in WV, but my home is here in Pennsylvania.

After being in so many states, 24 of them in all, one begins to get a sense of the differences between states and different areas of this big beautiful country. And so we looked at Pennsylvania with the same discerning eye – what would we notice if we were visiting here for the first time? What is special about Pennsylvania that distinguishes it from other states in this area?

Pennsylvania is a very large state, very wide, and the topography changes as you proceed from West to East. Western Pennsylvania has the lush green hills and mountains like West Virginia, but the valleys between them are larger and that is where you see the beautiful Pennsylvania farmland. It looks like a painting from days gone by. But they are still present – the beautiful red barns and lush green fields. Years ago, I met a couple from the Midwest who were visiting Pennsylvania and they remarked that they had never seen such beautiful farms. I now see what they mean; the farms elsewhere in the country are very nice but they don’t look like the farms in Pennsylvania. Traveling on across the state, there are beautiful rivers and streams everywhere, and the lush green countryside that results. We drove through several tunnels, bored into the mountains, and then eventually to the hustle of the Lehigh Valley and our little town.

This has been an epic journey. We have seen so much of our country, with its grand diversity, majesty and beauty. We’ve been South, West, North, and East and have sampled the local cultures. Each is unique and each is so special. I hope the predictions are wrong, I hope we never lose the local flavors. I hope there is always sweet tea sipped in a Southern breeze, grand canyons and mountains with Native American art, Western shows and bbq, quaint Americana towns that still remember the past that created them, and friendly folks all over the country who love their hometown.

I want to say a special thank you to all of the “local tour guides” who made our trip so special – Gregg and Jackie Stenson, Dave and Nancy Buxton, Trace Hearn and Artis McCully, Steve and Debbie Rittiper, Elaine Harris and Dave Nelson, Don and Bev Landis, and Janie and Steve Pierce. Thank you for your hospitality and for sharing your area with us.

We traveled 8046 miles over 32 days and visited 24 states in 4 different time zones. We transcended elevations from 20 feet below sea level to 9666 feet above sea level. We experienced temperatures ranging from 37 degrees to 106. And through it all, one thing is very apparent. God created a magnificent country when he created the United States, full of mountains, rivers, deserts, lakes, and oceans; beautiful sunrises, sunsets, and wildflowers. And He gave us the capacity to enjoy it. Indeed, He has done great things.