The Johnston Invasion

An invasion.  I'm sorry, but there really isn't any other way to describe what happened to my world 2 Thursdays ago.  Back in January, while K was beginning to dream up summer plans, J had queried that perhaps they could come stay on the property where I live with an RV.  I talked with my people and they offered their vacant home for 2 weeks in June.  Well, jumping on an offer like that is the only way to do it.  So, the Johnstons came up for 10 days in June.  And it was quite a trip.

On Friday, we went to Baltimore.  Saw Babe Ruth's house, some ate soft-shelled crab sandwiches (should have taken a photo), drove through town and experienced many cultural interchanges.  From shouting, "fried CHICKEN" around town, to being vindicated on poor landmark visitations, we made it home.  And none too early, for Saturday held a big day in DC.  My last post is about that experience -- it was a good day.

Sunday led the Johnstons back to DC as I had to work.  Then came Monday.  We went to Philadelphia to see the historical sites.  We had a Philly Cheesesteak -- yum.  We saw Betsy Ross' house, the Liberty Bell, Edgar Allen Poe's residence and every one way street in the historical area.  Can I just tell you that finding parking there is a pain in the ___ .  Yeah, I said it!

Heading home late, we got ready for the big trip to NYC!  We arrived in Hoboken, NJ around 12p, headed into town on the PATH train.  Please note, I am now a Subway expert!  You want an elevator in the station?  I'll find it!  We were lazy!  We saw Ground Zero, Wall Street, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and more Starbucks than I think ever have existed.  I know they say that sometimes NYC smells bad (because of New Jersey!!!).  I really think that might be why they brought in so many Starbucks.  Because now it just smells like coffee.

We dropped our bags at our residence for the evening, and headed back out to Times Square and Broadway.  We saw Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman!) singing at the Lincoln Center Barnes and Noble.  We had dinner at a restaurant with singing waiters/waitresses.  Let me just note, that they were fantastic performers.  They probably were the stars in High School and perhaps college.  They probably had every single lead in the plays.  They came to NYC to make it big and now they are singing at Ellen's Stardust Diner.  All in hopes that one day they might hit an audition and get out of there.  Amazing dedication.

I digress.  We ventured to Time Square where they have set up lawn chairs in the street to just let people hang out!  Not kidding!  It was so cool.  And because we hadn't eaten enough, we went for dessert at Juniors.  It was good.  But what was awesome is that the host was a theatre guru who gave us all the scoop on what to see.  And that next door, Angela Lansbury was performing in Blithe Spirit.  Guess who we saw once she came out afterwards!?!?  That's right!!  Angela Lansbury!  Cool!

Next AM, we tried to get on the Today Show -- didn't happen.  Found another elevator though! We did see Matt, Al, Erin & Natalie under the umbrellas on that drizzly morning.  Some of us head over to get tickets for Shrek.  We got them!  And saw the show!  It was such fun.  What a hoot and full of great performances.  We went to Central Station, Tiffany & Co, Anthropologie, Trump Towers, Central Park, and Levain Bakery (2 blocks from where we stayed).  It was recommended by a college friend and it was awesome!!!

Headed home and crashed on the floor all day Thursday.  Man, were we beat!  Friday, as I worked, they headed back to DC.  Then came Saturday.  We headed north to Lancaster County.  Or as we called, Amish-ville.  The Amish are interesting people.  They love to quilt - got some great fabrics.  They plow, irrigate, harvest things with their team of 3-4 mules.  They love their Shoefly pie.  And they have the oddest town names ever.  For example:  Bird-in-Hand.  Not too bad.  But just to the east is Intercourse.  To the west - Fertility.  Close by: Virginville.  And then Paradise.  Let's not get started on what jokes may or may not have been mentioned while traipsing through Amish-ville!

We made it over to Hersey, PA and hit Chocolate World.  Might be a close second to my favorite world: OUTDOOR WORLD! (Please read that in a very booming voice!)  Oh, and I don't really like Hersey Chocolate anymore.  It's true, I'm a food snob!  

My dear friends headed home Sunday PM.  It was super fun, full of adventure and many laughs.  And the Mid-Atlantic states are still intact, as far as we know.  If they can handle the Johnstons +1, they can handle anything!