Summer Adventure 2013-Day 5

Today we left our hotel in New Columbia, PA and drove back into Williamsport.  We went to Susquehanna health, the local hospital where I will be applying for a residency position to meet with their coordinator.  We had a fantastic time and wound up taking a hospital tour, meeting some of the faculty, and learning a lot about the area!  We loved what we learned about the program and we were glad they were willing to accommodate us so well.  After we left the hospital, we went to a local downtown coffee house called Julie's Coffee, then headed over to talk to a real-estate agent about the housing market in the area.  Next, we struck out toward Philadelphia for my test on Wednesday.  We took a minute to stop at an antique place outside Williamsport called Olde Barn Antiques.  They had lots of typical antique store fare, but also a lot of farmhouse style furniture and related items.  We had lunch at a local Subway and took off for the big city.  We wound up having to get on a toll road for the first time on this trip (boo), but eventually we arrived at our hotel near the Philadelphia airport.  We were a little stressed from the city traffic, so we decided to order in Chinese for the evening.  Looking forward to getting my test over with tomorrow!

Summer Adventure 2013- Day 3

After sleeping in this morning, Dean and I set off to find breakfast in the area around Altoona. We found an absolutely delightful cafe in downtown Hollidaysburg (known as the Diamond). Allegheny Creamery and Crepes was the highlight of the day. The cafe seats about 20 and looks over the entrance to the Evangelical Luthern Church in town. I had the crunchy French toast with maple syrup and Dean had the mushroom and swiss omelet. Both meals were fantastic! The service was top notch and the wait staff asked us about our visit to the area and helped us find a local newspaper. We were super impressed and Tucker had to get a picture with their signage.
After a great breakfast, we looked around Hollidaysburg at the real estate options. This seems like a place where we definitely could live! Housing is pretty affordable and the neighborhoods seem really nice. Nearby by is Duncansville which is an antique shoppers paradise. We went to the Antique Depot which was an antique mall, flea market, and giant yard sale all in one building! We walked around for almost an hour and were very impressed with the variety and quality of the booths there. Dean added to his elements collection with a can of "Ovelmo" which is primarily composed of mercury chloride with bismuth also listed on the label. He did some research and found that this particular can was produced and marketed pre 1932 as it is said to treat eczema (which the FTC made them stop claiming in 1932).
When we had exhausted ourselves from walking around the antique mall, we decided to explore some more of the area by visiting a local state park, Canoe Creek. It was quite beautiful and was definitely a local destination for weekend recreation. After a short walk to the visitor's center, we visited Williamsburg, a very small town in the rural countryside where a small family clinic connected with the residency program is located.
Finally we returned to our hotel for some rest and reflection on all we have seen so far.
Dinner was at the local Japanese Steak House which I must say was quite fantastic! Dean and I have enjoyed our time in the Altoona area but are also looking forward to new adventures tomorrow a little father north.
--Katy

Summer 2013 Adventure - Day 2

This morning we woke up in Lexington, KY and started our day with (what else) Starbucks.  We struck out on the road toward West Virginia and travelled for quite a way before we stopped.  We decided to stop at the West Virginia welcome center, and there we found a brochure for an antique mall in Milton, WV called the Old Timey Antique Shop.  We went a few miles down the road and checked out this shop, and it was very cool!  I bought a lump of WV coal for my elements collection, and Katy really fell in love with an antique giant mail sorter.  It was waaaay too big for us to carry in the car, not to mention we couldn't afford it either, but it gave Katy an idea of what she would like to have in a yarn shop someday to store yarn.  We ate lunch at cracker barrel in Cross Lanes, WV, drove by Fairmont, WV (the childhood home of Mary Lou Retton and Nick Saban, and then headed on toward Pennsylvania.  When we arrived in Altoona, PA, we checked into our hotel and went driving around city.  We drove around the area near the hospital, through the downtown area, and saved the rest for tomorrow.  We thought that the downtown area was a little more like Little Rock instead of Conway, which was what we expected before we got here.  We ate at Subway for supper and are looking forward to a day of driving around Altoona and the surrounding area tomorrow and not having to drive a long distance!

Totals for day 2
488.5 Miles (1083.9)
31 state license plates and 1 Canadian province (4 new ones for 35 total)

--Dean