Highlights from my Birthday Week

Yes, I said birthday week. On May 1st I celebrated the 50th anniversary of my 22nd birthday! I have come to the opinion that at this point in my life I need to celebrate more than a day. So here are the high points.

On Wednesday, April 30 we drove 260 miles from outside Nashville to another Harvest Host at the Benton Family Farm in Walton, KY. Their farm is just south of the Ohio border and Cincinnati. We arrived early enough to park the trailer and set up before driving to Great American Ball Park. Located on the winding banks of the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati, Great American Ball Park serves as the home of the Cincinnati Reds, baseball's first professional franchise. We had great seats on the first base side just 20 rows up from field level for $30 each!

Unfortunately the home team Cincinnati Reds lost to the St. Louis Cardinals that evening 9 to 1. Karen and I however enjoyed the baseball game, the fans and the beautiful, balmy evening.

The ballpark and grounds surrounding it are stunning. River and city skyline views from the upper decks, clean facilities, plenty of food options and friendly staff throughout stadium made it a great night.

My actual birthday was spent exploring the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. This 75,000-square-foot facility allows families to experience earth history as God has revealed it in the Bible. Nearly 150 exhibits feature animatronic dinosaurs, talking heroes of the faith, and professional displays that honor God´s Word. The museum also boasts a fun-filled, 200-seat special effects theater, a state-of-the-art planetarium, zoo, nature trails, and lots more.

At the heart of the Creation Museum is a chronological retelling of biblical history in seven parts called the Seven C´s. Guests step back in time, beginning with Creation, and fast-forward to Christ´s return. Along the way, they see how God´s Word provides the big-picture answers for our most difficult questions, whether about science, the Bible, or our personal relationship with God.

For more information about this museum, go to this website: https://answersingenesis.org/worldview/

We ended that evening at the Texas Roadhouse Restaurant for an epic dinner with my sweetie. Had a 12 oz. Ribeye steak, 4 baby back ribs, dinner rolls, a Caesar salad and an Arnold Palmer.

My Birthday Feast at the Texas Roadhouse Restaurant...Yee-Haw!

Friday, May 2 was a traveling day as we headed northeast into Ohio. We drove around Cincinnati towards Columbus, Ohio on Interstate 75. We traveled for 3 hours to our eventual overnight stopping point at the Zanesville, Ohio Cracker Barrel Country Store parking lot.

 Cracker Barrels are great overnight locations at the end of a long travel day where we have plenty of parking space. We appreciate their hospitality!

 Great comfort food for breakfast before leaving the next morning and predictably clean restrooms.

Our journey continued the next morning as we traveled east on Interstate 70 across Ohio and across the northern panhandle of West Virginia. It is one of the two panhandles in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is a culturally and geographically distinct region of the state. It is the state's northernmost extension, bounded by Ohio and the Ohio River on the north and west and the state of Pennsylvania on the east.

The northern "panhandle" emerged from a boundary dispute between Virginia and Pennsylvania, while the state's overall shape is also influenced by the Appalachian Mountains and the Ohio River. It began to take shape in 1779 when Pennsylvania and Virginia agreed that their boundary would be the Mason-Dixon Line extending due west five degrees, and then straight north to the Ohio River.

Once we crossed the Ohio River into West Virginia it's a mere 10 miles to the Pennsylvania border. Our destination for the next two days was the Trax Farm, a Harvest Host in Finleyville, PA just 15 miles south of Pittsburgh. It is quite a way off the interstate when coming from the South with lots of small, curvy roads to navigate. The gravel parking lot is HUGE and was easy for us to turn around in with our truck and 35' fifth-wheel. The store is huge and has a wonderful selection of fresh produce, plants, deli foods, beer & wine, and other grocery items. The communication was excellent and they allow generator use as well as slide outs.

Our plan was to drive into Pittsburgh that evening to take in a ballgame at PNC Park, home of the Pirates, for another MLB stadium. But alas, the weather had not been cooperating for the last couple of days; due to the frequent rain showers we decided to past this time around. Instead, we made plans to visit some old friends from California who have relocated to just north of Pittsburgh.

From left to right; Mike and Sherry Cartwright, Lynn and Jeff Edens, Karen and John Teague.

On Sunday, May 4th we drove to Coraopolis, Pennsylvania to attend the 10:30AM church services at the Lost and Found Christian Fellowship pastored by Jeff Edens, whom Karen worked with at Total Concepts some years ago. Jeff and Lynn moved to Coraopolis to pastor this church and were joined by Lynn's sister Sherry and her husband Mike.

After the service we all got together for lunch at the local Panera Restaurant and spent some time catching up on life since we last got together. It was a blessing to re-connect with these brothers and sisters!