Trip to PA with Pops

As soon as Gigi left, Pops came into town to see us!  The kids and I are so blessed that my mom and dad put in the effort and money to come as often as they do to see us.  The kids just adore both of them so much and look forward to these visits. While Pops was here, it so happened that the 1 year anniversary of Ninny passing away came around.  In order to pay our respects, we planned a little trip to PA to visit Ninny's gravesite, and explore Amish country a little. 

We arrived  in Columbia, PA early on Palm Sunday morning, April 13th, which was the day that marked one year from Ninny passing. Once arriving, we went to Holy Trinity church for Palm Sunday service. The service was very special to my dad because this was the church Ninny and my grandfather got married in, the church that my dad went to school at and was an alter boy, and now he was able to sit during Palm Sunday service with his daughter and 2 grand children. The service was long, as it was a Palm Sunday Catholic mass, something my kids are not used to, but they did great!  Dad and I were very proud of them overall. 

After mass, we went to the cemetery where we visited Ninny's and my grandfather's gravesite.  We walked around searching and luckily found my great-grandmother's and probably my great-grandfather's gravesite. I say probably because there is only one headstone and the engraving is not indicative that he is also there, but leads to the possibility. It has his name and year, but the headstone is dedicated to "Our Mother" for my great-grandmother. Another oddity about it, is that on the headstone her last name is her married name from her 2nd marriage (not Salzman) but that husband is not mentioned nor buried nearby..sort of strange.

After shedding a few tears and saying a couple prayers, we piled up back in the car and headed to the heart of the Amish Country. We stopped in Strasburg and rode the Strasburg Rail, and then an Amish buggy ride around the countryside. We stayed a quaint place called Hershey Farms, which is owned by Hershey, happened to be right up the road from the place my dad, Jason, Ninny and I stayed back in 1993 when we came on vacation.   It was a short stay in the beautiful Amish country, but we had a great time and I am hoping to get back again before we move away!