As we were planning to leave, I realized that my parent, who are usually excited to take in their grand-dog Lucy, just so happened to be travelling this weekend as well and were unable to accommodate the dogs while we were out of town. Lucky for Lucy Dog, my BFF, Amy and her husband, Drew, were happy to give her a home for the weekend (this is Lucy's other favorite place to stay because she gets to hang out with her best bud, Yuki). We decided to take Joe with us for several reasons, but mainly because our Veterinarian encourages us to introduce Joe to one new thing a week while he's still a youngun. Travelling...that's definitely a new thing for the little guy!
Joe did amazing all weekend - especially in the car (he is conveniently travel-sized). Somerset, PA landscape is about 2 weeks behind Michigan Fall Foliage. Which meant that this was the perfect weekend to visit and drive through the hills. The leaves were at their peak colors and haven't quite shed themselves yet. We stayed in the hills (mountains?) in a beautiful private chalet with a scenic backdrop - I'd love to show you the pictures, but I stink at snapping photos. Which would explain why Justin and I have less than a dozen pictures together. We did manage to get one this weekend.
With Saturday being the only full day that we had to enjoy together it was jam packed with events. Our first visit was to the United Airlines Flight 93 memorial in Shanksville, PA, just 20 miles east of where we stayed. On the chilly Saturday morning we visited the memorial as it stands today (there are future plans to expand). If you haven't visited, I would highly recommend it. It was a beautiful way to remember such a brave group of strangers. It wasn't until after we left the grounds that Justin told me I missed the large "No Dogs Past This Point" sign on the memorial walk. I'm lucky that Joe was on his best behavior.
There were plenty of dog-friendly places that we visited - like the Seven Springs Autumnfest. Autumnfest is a festival held every weekend of October at Seven Springs Mountain Resort. It was packed full of kid-friendly, and family-friendly events. Harmeni is a bit too young yet to enjoy a hay maze, but she looked like she was having fun regardless. And Joe had a great time at the Autumnfest too - the pup made a ton of new friends! Here is the only picture we took all weekend.
On the way back to our chalet, we stopped at Glades Pike Winery for some tasty wine sampling. Justin's parents bought us a bottle to add to our little wine collection - they really do spoil the heck out of us! We had one final stop Saturday night - a haunted house and hayride! Justin, his dad, brother-in-law and myself took the adventure through the 1-hour long haunted experience while Justin's mom and sister kept warm with Joe and Harmeni around the bonfire. It was a blast - and I wasn't scared at all. that's a lie.
The weekend flew by, but Justin and his dad found some time to get a round of golf in before we left. I heard there was a clear winner, but I can't say who. ;) It was a great weekend getaway, and I always enjoy spending time with Justin's family. I may have even been spoiled with an early birthday gift from Justin's parents!!
Before we knew it, we were back in the car and on our trek back home. Joe slept the whole way home, and we picked up a very tired Lucy. I forgot to mention that Lucy loves to stay with Amy & Drew because "the forbidden" table food is often shared by two little ones. Two little girls who usually wear Lucy out! I receive daily updates on Lucy's adventures, and they're usually of the forbidden-food-enjoying kind, like below.
Mary
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