Boilers and Burners and Barns, Oh My!

First impressions count, right?  I sorta hope not actually!  The first leg of our trip brought us to Hard Work Homestead where Jane and The Ice Man met us out front with puppy dogs and hugs.  I always appreciate a good hug.  Not the spaghetti-arm-hold-a-person-away-from-you type.  I hate those.  Why bother?  Hug it like you mean it!  Jane and I did that the right way! 

And then I promptly spilled coffee down her back.  MmmHmm.  That be me.  But what farm girl doesn't have stains on her clothes from hard work or in this case, good friends?  Ah yes, I made a great first impression!  Not.  Hey, I was excited and caffeinated!  :o)

First order on the agenda was a tour.  Pig Pen was in love immediately!  With so much ground to cover, so many cool things to see from off-grid systems to boilers, and burners, and barns, oh my!  What should have been a relatively quick peek and then breakfast of french croissant toast out on the town; quickly became the grand tour instead! 

But that was ok, it's not like Jane didn't have plenty to show me either!  Yes friends, her boot collection really does line the front entry...so pretty (sigh)! 

They took us for a countryside tour as well.  We were able to meet her Mom (wonderful woman!), go to the local Flea Market for good deals, visit the Strip District in Pittsburgh to see where Jane goes for local fare, see the Ice Mans "shop" which was most impressive to Pig Pen since he really appreciated all the fabrication and ingenuity. 

Now let me tell you, the Ice Man is pretty darned smart.  Granted, I don't "get" all that mumbo-jumbo man talk, but these two magpies did.  Two guys and gears...It was non-stop talk.  Which was a huge relief actually!  I knew Jane and I would have zero issue, but with guys, one never knows.  So us girls were simply able to leave them behind...which we did.  Often.  Well, that and Jane walks pretty fast ;)

Of course we went into the mountains for ya know -boots and belts! 

Where else in the country can you travel (literally) an hour into the mountains for boots and belts???  And see these right out the back door? 

Seriously!?  I would get lost hunting all these places down!  But Jane knows her stuff and where to find it!  Here at home, we have malls.  (blech!)  Out there, they have...longhorns???

We also went to her local dairy where I finally got to sample non-homogenized milk with the cream top!  We had homemade brick oven pizzas made by Jane herself!!!  That was a real treat......if only I had a brick oven!  I did pick up some of the pizza dough flour she uses just in case an outdoor brick oven should mysteriously arrive at my house someday.  Even Pig Pen agreed they were darn good, so maybe!

And....I got to try her Elderflower wine!!  I think I finally nailed the comparison for you:  have you ever had Squirt?  The pop, that is.  Ok, soda?  It is somewhat like that but smooth.  Not watery like soda pop though.  Smooth and sweet.  Oh it was really good!!

Of course we went to the Mother Earth News Fair also.  The weather barely held out for this one!  With all the rains the East has been getting, we were lucky to have dry days.  The nights, when we were driving-  whole other story!!! 

The Fair was at a ski resort...in the mountains.  Can you tell we come from flat lands?  Every time we'd hit a teeny-tiny hill, Pig Pen would say despairingly, "I think we are out of the mountains."  I kept assuring him we weren't.

With so much ground covered in such a relatively short amount of time, it's a wonder we had any giddy-up left for the next stretch of the trip.  But remember...I was highly caffeinated the entire time.  Pretty sure I'd have to be if I lived at The Hardwork Homestead. 

I now know firsthand the Homestead is appropriately named.  Jane and The Ice Man are very hardworking, humble and good.  Their hospitality far exceeded anything we expected.  It was an honor just to have met them let alone come home with a goodie basket the size of a truck bed!  We both agree that someday we will be back.  That's what friends do.  They come back.  And they say, "Thank You!"

Thank you, Jane and Ice Man...we had an awesome time!

I know you are all waiting for this one - here she is!!!

Hey, us girls gotta stick together!  ;-P 

The road out...

Eek!  The fog encountered onwards, in the rain, in the mountains!

Upon leaving the great state of PA, it was on to NC...where we visited my Aunt and Uncle and what I dubbed:  The most beautiful piece of property I have ever had the privelege of seeing.  Gorgeous!!!

Ok, more of your posts to catch up with!  You guys need more bon-bons!