American Travels, week 3 part one
Day fifteen, Friday 10th of August
time to chillax
We wanted to go out on friday evening, so we just used the day to relax and take a rest from our heavy travelling. I updated the blog and then we watched some Doctor Who on dvd. At about seven we went to Billy's favorite bar Chumley's. Not only was there a free barbeque provided by Clem, but we were also treated to a live broadcast of the presidential candidates talking about GLBT (Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) issues, which provided quite a few topics for conversation. At about 11:45 Pm we moved on to the Brewery to meet up with Steve and see the band Mr. hand play.
Billy, Steve & me
Day sixteen, Saturday 11th of August
knoebels grove
On saturday we set out for Knoebels Grove, an old-fashioned family park about two hours from State College. The main reason we were there was the 13th annual GLBT picnic that we were invited to. It's a yearly event at Knoebels Grove hosted by Mike & Mike. We got some nice salads from the Wegmans salad bar as our contribution to the picnic. After we finally found a place to park (it seemed this was the busiest day of the year at the park) we found the pavillion that was brightly decorated with flags and windsocks and got ourselves signed in. There was already a huge amount of food donated for the picnic but there was still some room for our salads. After meeting up with Mike & Mike and buying our raffle tickets, we ventured into the park to go ride some rides. We started on the giant wheel and then proceeded to mr.twister, a wooden rollercoaster.
Giant wheel & GLBT picnic
lunch and thrills
At about three the pavillion was filling up with guests and after a few introductory words from Mike, it was time for the food! Two lines were formed on either side of the buffet and it was literally full of amazing hot dishes, ranging from meatballs to chicken and baked beans, a dazzling arrangement of salads, snacks and another table filled with desserts and cakes. It was really difficult to make a selection as everything looked so tasty.
The lunch was followed by the awarding of 'door prizes'1 to the guests, for instance the oldest man and oldest woman, the youngest guest,a nd best of all: the guest that traveled the farthest. There was a lively debate wether France or Holland was the farthest, (in fact the distance between there and Groningen is 3779.0 miles(6082.0 km)) but in the end it was pronounced a draw and we both ended up getting one of the door prizes, a scented candle from the Martha Stewart collection. Then I was interviewed by a local journalist who was doing a piece on the GLBT picnic and asked me about my views and experiences in the US. The rest of the afternoon was spent sampling the many delights of Knoebels grove, riding the high speed thrill coaster, the Cosmatron, the haunted house, the Phoenix (another classic wooden coaster) and the flume. By the time we were driving home it was already dark, but we could look back on a saturday well spent.
1) At a party or gathering, a door prize may be awarded to one or more of those attending via a raffle or drawing.
Day seventeen, Sunday 12th of August
death by chocolate
Our original plan for the sunday was to visit the Palmer Museum of Art, but after finding our way through the myriad construction sites and detours we found that it was actually closed. Instead we walked over to Billy's College and dorm building and then on to the Creamery. the creamery is an ice-cream and dairy shop owned and run by the university. There we sampled the fresh ice cream, death by chocolate for me and frozen yoghurt pina colada for Billy.
Great nipple of the north
family dinner
We had arranged to have dinner at Billy's parents at five, so about five thirty we drove into Rebersburg with our laundry where a delicious roast beef dinner was waiting for us. I had suggested a nice home cooked meal, and that was exactly what we got. Roast beef, mashed potatoes, red beets and vegetables, as well as some of Jeanne's home made bread. It was great. To top it all off we got a triple layered chocolate cake at Wegmans. Unfortunately our plan of watching the Perseids was thwarted by rainclouds, so instead we went for a drive (with me driving!) and a quick game of windblown badminton on the yard. When our laundry was done we left the oldies to their pursuits.
Day eighteen, Monday 13th of August
grand canyon
Billy's dad had suggested during dinner on sunday that we visit the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, so we decided to have a picnic and a hike. We packed our hamburgers, potato salad and utensils and drove the two hours to Colton point state park. The website says it's rugged and rustic and that's exactly what it was. On our 1,5 mile hike down the canyon we only encountered one other group of hikers, so it seemed we had the park all to ourselves. The hike was both exhilirating and dangerous but the views of waterfalls and rock formations made it all worth it.
Pennsylvania Grand Canyon
existenz
On our way back home we went by Mike's movies and music and picked up Existenz, as Billy had never seen it, as well as season one of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, one of Billy's favorite cartoon series.
time to chillax
We wanted to go out on friday evening, so we just used the day to relax and take a rest from our heavy travelling. I updated the blog and then we watched some Doctor Who on dvd. At about seven we went to Billy's favorite bar Chumley's. Not only was there a free barbeque provided by Clem, but we were also treated to a live broadcast of the presidential candidates talking about GLBT (Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) issues, which provided quite a few topics for conversation. At about 11:45 Pm we moved on to the Brewery to meet up with Steve and see the band Mr. hand play.
Billy, Steve & me
Day sixteen, Saturday 11th of August
knoebels grove
On saturday we set out for Knoebels Grove, an old-fashioned family park about two hours from State College. The main reason we were there was the 13th annual GLBT picnic that we were invited to. It's a yearly event at Knoebels Grove hosted by Mike & Mike. We got some nice salads from the Wegmans salad bar as our contribution to the picnic. After we finally found a place to park (it seemed this was the busiest day of the year at the park) we found the pavillion that was brightly decorated with flags and windsocks and got ourselves signed in. There was already a huge amount of food donated for the picnic but there was still some room for our salads. After meeting up with Mike & Mike and buying our raffle tickets, we ventured into the park to go ride some rides. We started on the giant wheel and then proceeded to mr.twister, a wooden rollercoaster.
Giant wheel & GLBT picnic
lunch and thrills
At about three the pavillion was filling up with guests and after a few introductory words from Mike, it was time for the food! Two lines were formed on either side of the buffet and it was literally full of amazing hot dishes, ranging from meatballs to chicken and baked beans, a dazzling arrangement of salads, snacks and another table filled with desserts and cakes. It was really difficult to make a selection as everything looked so tasty.
The lunch was followed by the awarding of 'door prizes'1 to the guests, for instance the oldest man and oldest woman, the youngest guest,a nd best of all: the guest that traveled the farthest. There was a lively debate wether France or Holland was the farthest, (in fact the distance between there and Groningen is 3779.0 miles(6082.0 km)) but in the end it was pronounced a draw and we both ended up getting one of the door prizes, a scented candle from the Martha Stewart collection. Then I was interviewed by a local journalist who was doing a piece on the GLBT picnic and asked me about my views and experiences in the US. The rest of the afternoon was spent sampling the many delights of Knoebels grove, riding the high speed thrill coaster, the Cosmatron, the haunted house, the Phoenix (another classic wooden coaster) and the flume. By the time we were driving home it was already dark, but we could look back on a saturday well spent.
1) At a party or gathering, a door prize may be awarded to one or more of those attending via a raffle or drawing.
Day seventeen, Sunday 12th of August
death by chocolate
Our original plan for the sunday was to visit the Palmer Museum of Art, but after finding our way through the myriad construction sites and detours we found that it was actually closed. Instead we walked over to Billy's College and dorm building and then on to the Creamery. the creamery is an ice-cream and dairy shop owned and run by the university. There we sampled the fresh ice cream, death by chocolate for me and frozen yoghurt pina colada for Billy.
Great nipple of the north
family dinner
We had arranged to have dinner at Billy's parents at five, so about five thirty we drove into Rebersburg with our laundry where a delicious roast beef dinner was waiting for us. I had suggested a nice home cooked meal, and that was exactly what we got. Roast beef, mashed potatoes, red beets and vegetables, as well as some of Jeanne's home made bread. It was great. To top it all off we got a triple layered chocolate cake at Wegmans. Unfortunately our plan of watching the Perseids was thwarted by rainclouds, so instead we went for a drive (with me driving!) and a quick game of windblown badminton on the yard. When our laundry was done we left the oldies to their pursuits.
Day eighteen, Monday 13th of August
grand canyon
Billy's dad had suggested during dinner on sunday that we visit the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, so we decided to have a picnic and a hike. We packed our hamburgers, potato salad and utensils and drove the two hours to Colton point state park. The website says it's rugged and rustic and that's exactly what it was. On our 1,5 mile hike down the canyon we only encountered one other group of hikers, so it seemed we had the park all to ourselves. The hike was both exhilirating and dangerous but the views of waterfalls and rock formations made it all worth it.
Pennsylvania Grand Canyon
existenz
On our way back home we went by Mike's movies and music and picked up Existenz, as Billy had never seen it, as well as season one of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, one of Billy's favorite cartoon series.
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