Many, many months ago – long before I was in the midst of this crazy health adventure, my dear friend, Raina, reached out to me to see if I would be able to to not only join a group of our Colorado friends for a girl’s trip in the fall, but if I would show them around my old stomping grounds in Amish country. I was so excited, and I figured out a way to join them without missing too much work, bought my plane ticket and even arranged for my sub for work. Then cancer happened and all my plans went out the window.

Well, from before chemo began, I asked my doctor if they thought it was a possibility for me to still get to take this trip. And although things still depended on my body’s reaction to the treatment, they were optimistic and even planned my chemo schedule around the trip. (I also had to appease my husband, having wheelchair service to get me to all the gates and things, and a few other things to ease his worries.) And on Monday, we saw that my levels and blood work were good, and so I was given the greenlight to travel. What a miracle!

Early Wednesday morning, I flew to Pittsburg, where Raina picked me up. We had lunch, had the best time talking, and then I took a nap while she headed back to the airport to get the rest of the ladies. Oh, and it was a surprise to them that I was able to come, which made it extra fun. Wow, I love these amazing friends of mine!! It had been almost ten years, but it was like no time had passed. What a blessing!

(Tracie, Beth, Kelly, Bonnie, Melanie, Judi, Raina, and I)

Thursday morning began our adventure, as we had to drive practically across the whole state of Pennsylvania. Raina and I thought it would be awesome to stop at the Flight 93 Memorial where the plane meant for the White House went down in a field, and I am so glad we went there.

It was off the beaten path, but so worth the time, and with the anniversary of 9-11 just happening, it was especially moving. The most poignant part was listening to the voice messages left on answering machines by a few of the passengers as they knew they were about to sacrifice their lives. Wow. So powerful.

After that, we found a fun little local place to get some lunch that just happened to be open (as we were in the middle of nowhere), and then hit the road again. We had some of the funniest conversations about why the roads and towns were set up with no rhyme or reason – especially when one of the ladies asked, “Who was the city planner here?!” We laughed and reminded them that these were all just colonists who established their farm, and the road we were on started as a path to their barn 😉. Good times!

By late afternoon, we got to my old neighborhood in Seven Valleys, where I had arranged to meet up with some of my wonderful neighbors who were part of our Pennsylvania family (Ashley, Sheila, Bakhtavar, and Lindsey). Oh, it was so fantastic to see them in person and hug them and talk. I wish we had had more time, but my friend Ashley had to take us off to meet some other friends for dinner, so we had to say goodbye.

(Meanwhile, my Colorado ladies managed to find Handels to get some yummy ice cream, which made me happy. I have so many memories ordering at that window with Kevin and the kids.)

We were a touch late, but Ashley and I met up with some of my dear friends from Book Club, and oh, it felt like home to sit and talk and laugh with Satoko, Jamie, Alisha, Teri and Sue. What a blessing!! It had been over 4 years since I had seen most of them. (And I wish we had gotten the photo before Teri had to leave.). Even if my trip to PA was only for this one day, it was the most amazing gift to get to see and spend time with so many amazing friends. My heart was overflowing.

After dinner, Alisha took me to Lancaster so I could meet up with my Colorado ladies, but we were running late and she had to get to an appointment. Since I knew that Costco was close to the Airbnb, and would give Alisha enough time to get to her game on time, I had her drop me there. Plus, it meant that Raina and Tracie got to see the “Horse and Buggy Parking” at Costco, which is a Lancaster right of passage. There was even an adorable family loading up their buggy when they arrived, so they could see the cute little kids.

We got back to the house and then talked and laughed for hours, until we finally realized that we all had better get to bed so we could be ready for a fun and full day playing and shopping in Amish Country. All in all, it was such a fabulous day, and although I was tired, I was counting every blessing that I could be there and felt reasonably ok.