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Where I went this weekend

Yesterday, my husband and I loaded the kids into the car and headed two hours north to York, Pennsylvania, to visit some family. We stayed in a restored historical hotel in the downtown area, which was surprisingly inexpensive (less than the area Holiday Inn, in fact). After we checked in, the kids I spent an hour or so sitting in an outside eating area in front of the hotel (above) while my husband took a nap. I actually got a chance to read a few pages of Babylon Babies (the book from which the apparently critically panned Babylon A.D. was adapted--a 4% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes, ouch) while the kids munched on their popcorn shrimp and french fries. We even got a few nods and smiles from the grayhaired-ponytailed Harley bikers as they coasted by on their choppers. (Apparently, there's a Harley plant near by, heh.)

I really liked this hotel. It wasn't so restored that it didn't feel its age. I wondered if some of the furniture and even the lobby carpet weren't part of its earlier, more elegant days. But for me, that was a plus. It had a great personality, from the ancient mail chute that ran between the elevators on every floor to its faint scent that I thought was a little like cloves.

The town of York also had some interesting features. After chatting to a local girl who lives and works downtown, I discovered that like several other towns and cities I've lived in, it is in the process of revitalizing it downtown area. Apparently, the murals below are part of that process.


But amid the revitalized areas, a good portion of the downtown area bore evidence of being poverty-stricken and worn out (below).

We got back home tonight, and I must admit I enjoyed the trip more than I thought I would. Even though it was a mere 36 hour excursion, I remarked to my husband that this kind of change of pace is something I didn't know I needed. It makes me notice things more, and it gifts me with a more eager engagement with my ordinary, everyday life.

(Images: mine of York, Pa.)