Beaver Falls, PA to Rye, NY

Right now I'm sitting at a Panera in the Boston area eating lunch. I was excited to see a Panera...when I need Wi-Fi, I'd much rather stop here than at McDonalds. The time since I've last blogged has definitely been the busiest part of my trip thus far. I've been stretched for time and have been pretty anxious about making it from one place to the next at a decent hour. I've gone from DC to Beaver Falls(5 hours) and from Beaver Falls to Rye(7 hours) and from Rye I am heading to Portland, Maine, which is also a 5 hour drive. Keep in mind that at each of these places, I also want to be able to socialize some. And I want to blog! ...and sleep. So, it's a tough balance.

Below is Kathryn's house in Beaver Falls. Beaver Falls is a very culturally interesting town in very Western Pennsylvania, with a mix of old mining heritage and the influence of Geneva College, a very old Christian school much like Covenant. Kathryn took me on a walk around town; we saw Geneva, the best pizza place in town, which I dubbed 'unpretentious' (and that was putting it gently), and her old high school. We went out to ice cream and it was so good. I'm beginning to consider myself an ice cream connoisseur, and this was good ice cream. I got to go to her church in the morning, and then headed on to New York, my longest drive so far.

I started listening to 'The Last American Man', a book on CD I have about Eustace Conway, who lives off the wilderness and entreats others to do the same. It's kind of cool...pleasant listening, but I can't help thinking about how self-centered the guy is. I might give up on it eventually, but as for now, it helps me pass the time.

I've had a lot of questions about what it's like to travel by myself. Well, in short, I really enjoy it. It's not like I'm alone all the time. I spend a few hours alone, and then get to someone's house where I have no alone time. Rather than the shorter oscillations of normal life, where we spend an hour or two alone and an hour or two around others, this just bunches it together. For me, it works out great. I listen to local radio stations or my books on CD or music CDs most of the time, but other times I just drive and think. I make jokes with myself about funny signs I see--it's kind of strange how much smiling and laughing goes on with just me in the car. I have felt safe the whole time, and I love the adventure!

Oh, I should also talk about my time with Uncle Habib and his wife Hanan in Rye. I didn't pull in until late(I got lost for the first time) but they fed me a great dinner and then Habib showed me their beachside town. He knows the history of everything: his town, our family, various countries. I loved listening to him tell stories and explain the importance of our family in Lebanon.