Farm Weekend

Ah, weekend in the hills of PA, idyllic place to relax and visit my son and his spouse, Ryan. I was treated to a celebratory dinner of champagne, a vegetable curry dish, salad and homemade apple crisp - dee-lishus! Ryan brought an animated film entitled Persepolis, very good. Our conversation was filled with excitement. We shared stories of their adventures in traveling in Europe, the UK and Ireland. We talked about what we would do when they come to visit me in England and how much fun I will have. My son shared advice about coping with jetlag. Ryan talked about the advantages of adopting the language and pronunciation of English English (having to explain yourself when misunderstood is avoided). We meandered around the countryside in search of combustibles and lunch. The Wegman's cafe in Binghamton is the ONLY great place to eat on a Sunday. If you are looking for non-chain restaurants there on Sunday, forget it. Everything is closed. And that includes Endicott and Johnson City. Wegman's has an extensive buffet which includes Indian food, Chinese food, American fare, soup, salad, fruit and nuts. Buffalo, take note!
I made a plate of Indian and Chinese choices. Very good.
The Guys gave a gift of an iTune gift card and lonely planet's England guidebook. It's a fun read. I plan to read through most of it before I fly over. I have several thank notes to write...I brought them a rocking chair as a contribution to the farmhouse furniture from my house. I gave Justin a Christmas music box from Vidler's that we had ever since he was a little child.
I had a lovely time with the guys. I spent some memorable time in conversation with them both.
The drive home was a real pleasure. I stopped along the way by a very old countryside cemetary. It had no name and many of the of headstones were shattered and broken. Most that were readable were from the 1800s. The trees shading the gravesites were very very old. The view from the cemetary was breathtaking, overlooking the hills and a town nestled among maple trees in the valley below.
I am surprised by how much I want memorize all the sights of home to take with me.