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Easter Vacation – Day 5 of 5

On the last day of Easter vacation (April 21st), we awakened at 5:00 am. While on vacation, our morning began at 5:00 am most days. It is good that we retired for the night most evenings by 9:00 pm. I wouldn’t have been able to keep getting up that early otherwise. Our room was on the first floor of the Best Western Grove City Inn hotel, so we had to only walk down the hall for breakfast. I doubt we stay at this Best Western hotel again. The room was small, as was the bathroom. Breakfast was okay, but we have had better selections (e.g. bacon and sausage and make-your-own waffles) at other Best Western hotels. When we checked into the hotel, we were offered a complimentary upgrade to a king size room with whirlpool tub. We declined the offer because we didn’t anticipate making use of the whirlpool. The king room, though, would have been larger, and perhaps we would have provided a better review of the hotel.

We checked out of the hotel around 7:00 am. As I wrote in yesterday’s blog post, we made a return trip to McConnells Mill State Park for the purpose of taking some photographs in the early morning light. We drove home from McConnells Mill, making only one other stop. We stopped in Tionesta PA, where I took a few pictures of the Sherman Memorial Lighthouse.

Sherman Memorial Lighthouse

Lighthouse Facts

I followed the paved trail around the base of the lighthouse.

I found an inviting gazebo and a lovely view of the Allegheny River.

Sherman Memorial Lighthouse

The lighthouse is open for public viewing only a few days out of the year. Bob and I have not yet participated in a lighthouse tour. I would like to tour the lighthouse some day.

We arrived home around noon. This concludes our Easter vacation. I hope you enjoyed reading about and seeing the photographs from our vacation.

The Two T’s

Bob took off work Monday and Tuesday. I planned Monday’s activities; Bob was in charge of Tuesday’s activities. As one would expect, Monday was filled with photographic opportunities. I am sharing the fruit of those photographic opportunities with you throughout this week.

We departed home (Warren, PA) around 9:00 am. We didn’t return home until 9 hours later! We drove through several western Pennsylvania counties. Our first stop was in Clarion, PA. Our second stop was at Brady’s Bend Overlook and East Brady. Our third stop was in Parker. We made a few photo stops while on the road between Parker and Cranberry. We ate lunch at Bob Evans Restaurant, while in Cranberry. After lunch, we drove to the Kennerdell Scenic Overlook. From Kennerdell we drove to Oil City. After leaving Oil City, we made two more stops along the Allegheny River — at Tionesta and Tidoute — before returning home.

This was our route back home from Oil City.

Tionesta Boat Access Area

Allegheny River, as viewed from Trek and Rec Trail
Tidioute, PA

We departed Route 62 in Tidioute, choosing to return home via Route 337. We saw three deer and a few turkeys, while on this route.

Deer

Turkeys in a Field
You can see in the snow where the turkeys had been scratching.

This blog post concludes Monday’s activities.

Bob had Tuesday off work as well. Bob was in charge of planning Tuesday’s activities. On Tuesday morning Bob watched our granddaughters at their house for a short time, while Stacey ran to the store to pick up a few groceries. Throughout the afternoon and evening we watched a variety of shows on TV. Tuesday was mainly a lazy day. It is good to have one of those types of days every now and then!

Bikers Blessing 2009

Great springtime weather prompted more than 1,000 bikers (including Bob and me) to ride to Tionesta PA the afternoon of May 3, 2009 for its annual bikers blessing. It was an enjoyable ride from our home to the bikers blessing and back. Most of the way we ride alongside the Allegheny River. Views of the river and the towering hills beyond the river make for a picturesque ride.

As in years past, the bikers blessing was held at Word of Grace Church located a mile up German Hill Road. We arrived later than usual, so we were directed to the overflow parking lot — alongside a cornfield, in the back yard of a house across the street from the church.

Our motorcycle is the one holding two silver helmets.

The church lot was jammed pack full of motorcycles and people.

The 3:00 PM event started with a word of prayer, followed by the reading of a couple passages from the Bible. A moment of silence, followed by a song (“Amazing Grace”) and a prayer, was held for bikers who had died during the past riding season. All bikers were then asked to form a circle around the motorcycles for a common prayer. Bob and I joined the bikers in the overflow parking lot and encircled our motorcycles, while those who had parked at the church encircled their motorcycles.

Circling the motorcycles

After the common prayer we went to our individual bikes where folks from the Christian Motorcyclist Association met with individual riders and said a word of prayer with them. After our individual prayer we received a sticker proclaiming “I was blessed in ’09”.

We saw our friends, Dave and Susan, at the bikers blessing. We tried to hook up after the blessing, to ride home together, but it didn’t work out. On hindsight we should have made plans to meet off the hill. We relied, though, on receiving telephone calls while riding. I telephoned Susan after Bob and I had been blessed. Susan didn’t answer, so I left a message that we had received our blessing and would soon be leaving. I put my telephone in my chest pocket, thinking that I would feel it ring. We stopped briefly in Tidioute so that I could stretch my leg. My knee was hurting. Bob has been looking at floor boards to replace the foot pegs that I currently use. Bob thinks that I’ll ride more comfortably using the floor boards. During our stop in Tidioute, I learned that Susan had telephoned twice. I returned Susan’s call; she answered the telephone. Susan and Dave were still “on the hill” (referring to German Hill). They had gotten waylaid by friends (it happens all the time :-)). It’s all good, though. When we ride with Dave and Susan, we meet and get to know lots of nice people. Dave and Susan, we will have to get together another time for a ride!

Before returning home Bob and I stopped at Dairy Delight in Warren PA for ice cream.