Just a bunch of Pohicks.

We had to get up early this morning so we could finish of our time in Pennsylvania in grand style. We made the eight o'clock church service at the Hershey First United Methodist Church. I picked it because it is a beautiful stone church across the street from the Hershey Story Museum, which I saw when we visited the museum. The service was enjoyable, and the church had bright blue, very ornate stained glass all around the sanctuary. What we noticed about our visit to this church was that it was not very welcoming. Every other church we have visited on our stop has had members who will ask us who we are, where we are from, and how we found the church. This usually involves us then telling the story of our three-month trip across the country. In Hershey, however, I don't think anyone from the congregation even said hello to us, much less engage us in any discussion. The kids even noticed this and we talked about it as we drove away. It did make me question how friendly I am to people I don't recognize on Sunday mornings at Wellshire and I am certain to go out of my way to talk with visitors when I get home. I do not want anyone to leave Wellshire how we felt leaving church this morning.

After church we made it to the Hotel Hershey for breakfast. It is an old, grand hotel, and reminded me in certain respects of the Broadmoor or the Hotel Del Coronado. We enjoyed a big spread of a Sunday brunch in the Circular Dining Room. While not as great as the Sunday brunch at the Terrace Dining Room at the Broadmoor, we didn't quite make the full Sunday brunch. This was the hotel's normal breakfast buffet. The buffet shuts down at 10:30, so that the staff can pull out all of the stops for the Sunday brunch, which starts at noon. Given that we had to make the drive to DC today, we couldn't wait that long.

So we enjoyed our delicious, though modest, buffet and walked through the formal gardens. The children were taken by the koi ponds, which I learned were actually reservoirs for the growing town in the early 1900's and were actually 30 feet deep. As it started getting too warm to be comfortable, which we typically gauge by the sweat accumulating on Alastair's head, we returned to the RV park to pack up and leave for DC.

It was an uneventful trip, though the congestion through DC and Virginia was a little interesting at times in a 32' motorhome, towing a mini-van. Changing lanes takes patience. When that doesn't work, it takes the guts to just start changing lanes, knowing that the person next to you doesn't really want to get hit. I haven't had anyone not make room yet. After setting up at the Pohick Bay Campground, we headed to Springfield to meet my dad and step-mom at Kris's sister house.

My dad and Kris arrived today to help Becky pack up her house. We had dinner at Becky's house and the kids remained fully entertained with Nana and Papa's host of iPads, Nooks, Android phones and, for Maggie, a carved wooden bear that she decorated with Jll's sunglasses, a few strings of Mardi Gras beads, some random bits of cardboard, a yogurt container, a grocery store receipt, and whatever else she could find. My dad, Kris, and Becky came back to the campground to get a first hand look at the RV, and Addie gave them the grand tour before walking Nana and Papa through the journal she has been keeping. Papa put it together for her before we left and she has been diligently keeping up to date. When our guests left, we turned in relatively early knowing that there is a lot to see here over the next few days. It is going to be busy in DC, I hope the town is ready for us.

- Dave