Did I mention that I had a great cheese steak sandwich?
After spending some time looking at issues around the site for our project, it was time to eat. We asked the local guy with us, if he had any recommendations - "Yeah, the Outback down the street is really good. There is also a Carraba's."
We then took a two hour drive to the state capitol in Harrisburg. The landscape was hilly with lots of trees like the Ozarks, but the green seemed darker and the turnpike was not curvy. Some portions of the drive are through a wall of trees on each side. As pretty as that can be, I felt a little clausterphobic without the ability to see what's on the horizon at 180 degrees.
The farms had and old and different vernacular than the Kansas farms. The farmer still held onto the romantic idea that barns should be red and farmhouses should be white.
I see the Amish "horse and buggy" signs on the road, but unfortunately didn't pass any. We are driving through the Dutch Amish country. The whole Amish thing facinates me. Could I live like that?
I see signs that point the direction to Lancaster and I say a prayer and thank God for the music of The Innocence Mission. They are a husband/wife folk-pop group that write some of the most beautiful songs about innocence, sadness, hope, Christ, love, loss, joy, weather, family, and kids with a good dose of Catholic imagery. I can't say enough about how much I love this band. I listened to two of their albums (Glow and Befriended) on this trip to soak up the landscape and the imagery that I hear in their music. If I was by myself, I would have taken a detour into Lancaster and if I should happen upon their house, I might find myself knocking. They feel like old friends.
Tomorrow On The Runway by the innocence mission
www.theinnocencemission.com
Old days, don't come to find me,
the sun is just about to climb up over there.
'While my heart is sinking I do not want my voice
to go out into the air'.
Did you leave the darkness without me?
You're always miles ahead.
And you're standing in tomorrow on the runway.
Oh be the music in my head,
the air around my bed, oh be my rest.
Replace the small disgraces of
the times and places that I never really left.
Did you leave the darkness without me?
You're always miles ahead.
And you're standing in tomorrow on the runway.
Oh I want to fly, fly forward into the light,
be alive, to come alive,
on the leaf-bright Friday drive,
sudden horses at the red light,
turn around, see clearer ways to go now.
(Sidenote: I did the same thing when I was in Ohio. I listened to the music of Over the Rhine from Cinncinati on my ipod to pay homage to the state that produce another wonderful husband/wife folk-sy/pop/rock band.) www.overtherhine.com
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2 comments:
There aren't too many differences between the foothills of the Appalachians and the Ozarks. Toward the center of the state, though, even the Turnpike starts to wind around a bit.
I need a job like yours that sends me to the East on occasion instead of West. I'd rather go to Philly than Vegas.
I love getting out and going for drives like that. Especially when you have the right music to go with it. I usually like to crank up a local country station and sing a long to the music, often improvising with my own words just for fun and because I rarely learn the words to songs.
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