Hot sand toasted my feet, butterfly kite bobbed in the Atlantic Ocean breeze. I hadn't flown a kite in years, and never at the beach, but from now, a kite will be as essential as sunscreen and flip-flops when I go to the seashore. One of the best parts of living in Lancaster is being only a few hours away from the ocean. On Wednesday, my mother, sister Brenda, five teenaged nieces, one niece's friend, and I went to Cape May, New Jersey, just a one-day girls' trip to the beach. The day came … [Read more...] about A July Day at Cape May
Family
Happy New Year!
The pork simmers in the slow cooker, and we have sauerkraut in the fridge— tonight we will feast. Pork and sauerkraut are traditional Pennsylvania German dishes for January 1. On Saturday, I bought the pork loin, a great 9-lb slab, on sale at Oregon Dairy Supermarket. At the crowded meat counter, I saw another shopper's cart loaded with pork, sauerkraut, and hot dogs. Another folk tradition, one I learned about only recently, is burning bayberry candles on New Year's Day for good luck in … [Read more...] about Happy New Year!
Delivering the Papers
It was a hand-me-down paper route for eighteen years, starting with my oldest brother and ending with the youngest. My parents viewed the job as a safe way to learn responsibility. When I got my turn at age 11, I was just happy to earn money for books and art supplies. With a new bike I had gotten for my birthday, I was ready to go. Back then, Lancaster Newspaper published a morning and afternoon edition, the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal and Lancaster New Era, respectively. My older … [Read more...] about Delivering the Papers
From Glaciers to the Sea: An Alaskan Road Trip
Jackets zipped, hoods up, cameras clenched in cold fingers, we stared at the waters as our boat chugged into the cold July wind blowing over Resurrection Bay. The boat captain had announced a pod of humpback whales ahead, and we weren't going to miss this. Whale watching wasn't high on the list when my family members and I started talking in January about visiting my nephew in Alaska. Sean, age 22, has been spending every summer for the past five years in Healy, Alaska, volunteering his … [Read more...] about From Glaciers to the Sea: An Alaskan Road Trip
Return to the River
Crayfish, turtles, and snakes— they were as much a part of our camping weekend as the campfires, tents, and trains. For the second June in a row, our family camped on the banks of the Juanita river for a weekend. This year, because of the dry spring, the river was much lower than last year. My nieces and nephew spent hours wading and swimming in the shallow water. Cordell said, "Almost every big rock has a crayfish under it if you turn the rock over." Several of us were standing … [Read more...] about Return to the River