So, we left Detroit Friday of last week. We had an enjoyable visit with Andrea's brother, Bryon, and his family. The kids were sorry to part from their cousins. From Michigan, we drove to see Andrea's Aunt Evie in Cochranton, Pennsylvania. That was a wonderful visit!
Andrea's Aunt Evie and her husband, Dave, are two of the coolest people we've met. They live out in the middle of nowhere, in a wood house that they've built themselves. In fact, they're still working on finishing it, putting cabinet doors on, etc. Evie and Dave made us all feel very welcome with a weinie and marshmallow roast around the campfire. Afterwards, all five of us took a walk around the lake with Dave and told ghost stories along the way. Because it was the middle of nowhere, there was no light, save for the moon and stars. We got plenty of good spooks in and had a grand old time.
The kids took off on their own in the daylight to explore the surrounding woods and found the tree cabin. Inside the tree cabin, they found the black snake that Dave and Evie have christened, "Samantha." With all the open space, there was plenty of room for the children's imaginations to roam and they had soon created an entire kingdom in the woods. Sadly, the fun came to an end all too soon, as we had arrived on Friday evening and everyone had alternate Saturday evening obligations.
On Saturday afternoon, we all drove down to the Franklin area to stay with Andrea's Uncle Bill and his Marsha. We attended a charity event for the Humane Society which Bill and his old bandmate, Tobey, played at. It was a fun evening. We headed back to Bill and Marsha's and had grilled hamburgers and hotdogs for dinner. On Sunday, Andrea and Marsha managed to round up nearly all of Andrea's aunts, uncles, great-aunts, and great-uncles for a little family reunion at Bill and Marsha's place. A great time was had by all. Bill and another of Andrea's uncles, Dave took the kids out into the yard to play a paddleball game, blow bubbles and then play a rousing game of Frisbee golf, which Andrea managed to win.
On Monday, we drove into downtown Franklin, did some laundry and explored Liberty (St, Rd, Ave?). We also drove by the duplex that Andrea's Aunt Peggy used to live in to see where in town it was located. We're discussing the possibility of asking Andrea's Uncle Tom (who manages the place) if we can rent it.
Yes, you read that right, we'd like to rent a place in Franklin, PA. After seeing the beauty of the area as a family, we've decided that we could use the slower pace of life. We would like to be surrounded by Andrea's loving extended family in an area where we can let the children out into the front yard to play without worrying about whether or not they will be the accidental victims of a drive-by shooting. The cost of living is very low in the Venango County area, which means our dimes will go further in supporting us. The average 3/2 duplex rents for around $300/month. That is much better than moving somewhere safer in Austin, where we can expect to pay $1100 or better for the same size place. Plus, with the whole global-warming thing going on, the southern U.S. is supposed to be crop useless and dangerous to live in in approximately 10 years.
Also, today we are in Massachusetts, practically in the Atlantic Ocean and we just left Franklin yesterday morning. Living up here, we can go most anywhere as a day trip. Andrea's sister-in-law tried to convince us to move to Michigan. We didn't like Michigan much, but in western Pennsylvania, we will be a 6-hour drive away from them. All-in-all, we think it's the best decision for our family.
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