More from PA

It's about 7am and I can't sleep anymore. I'm too excited to see more of the area today and to find a place to live! We've pretty much settled on one spot (NOT the one we'd originally put a deposit down on.) I have an appointment to view the townhome at 10 this morning, so hopefully everything will work out! I will take some pictures once I know which unit we are going with. I walked around the community yesterday afternoon and saw lock boxes on two units, so I think those will be the two we have to pick from. One is an end unit that is all hardi-plank siding and that looks into a family's backyard. The other is a middle unit with a tree in the front yard, and I think it looks into dense foliage in the back yard. Anyways, this place felt like home when I pulled in, so I hope it all works out!!

Yesterday was a great tour day with Greg and Jackie. They are incredibly nice and were so willing to take me anywhere I wanted to go yesterday. I got to see a little bit of Millersville University's campus and even saw Greg's (my Greg's) office! He hasn't even seen his own office yet :-) We are both excited b/c he'll have a big window now and his own room. For the past 5-6 years of grad school, he's been cramped in an office of 3 people in a basement with no windows. I found out that they would offer me free tuition for undergrad classes at MU. I don't particularly need another undergrad degree, but it would be great to see if there are classes I'd like to take in a different academic area.

All my Houston derived driving skills will need to be greatly adjusted here. The speed limits are s l o w b/c of all the winding hilly roads and the potential for an Amish buggy to be in front of you around the hill. I'm talking 25 mph on many roads and 35 on the main ones. Eesh! I am also wondering how our little V-4 Honda CRV will do on these steep hills. It struggles to get onto the Hwy 6 on ramp these days.

I have had some incredible food here so far. Wednesday's lunch was an open faced beef tenderloin tips sandwich with peppers, mushrooms, and onions. Last night was at a Peruvian/Mexican place called El Serrano where I got a Peruvian dish called Tacu Tacu. It is rice, beens, scrambled eggs, and pico all held together mysteriously in a block that has been grilled on the outside. It was delicious but very very spicy! I will remember the next time I am at that restaurant to ask about spicyness before ordering something. The chips and salsa were excellent, too. :-)

We spent some time on the Amish side of town, where I saw Amish farms dotting the landscape on either side of the highway. I was told that you can tell a farm is Amish most easily by looking for clothing hanging on the line outside. Their farms also looks more run down than the others because they do not paint their fences and houses as often as traditional farmers do. We went into an Amish furniture store and I am sure my jaw dropped when I walked in. Their furniture truly is amazing, and it looked to be very reasonably priced. It makes me so glad that we haven't bought a bed frame set yet. There was an outdoor touristy shopping area (very different, though, from the two outlet malls here.) This one has a leather shop will all kinds of handbags, shoes, and jackets. It also has a fresh jam, pickles, and jelly store where they make the food fresh in a kitchen in the store where you can watch. I was told that this is a must see place at Christmastime because they light up all the trees and stores, and it is really enchanting.

I still have two more full days here, so I am sure I will have plenty more to see. I will try to remember to take pictures! Hopefully the rain will continue to stay away the rest of the week.