Hank – Today we just hung out with Matt and Loretta. Loretta grew up here and Matt grew up in Union City and they showed us around their “neighborhood”. Matt has a dulcimer made by Terry Pattison of Union City, PA. I got to check it out and it was pretty cool. It took my a while to tune it because the strings are wires. The slightest turn of the tuning peg results in a change of a couple of notes. After a painstaking effort to tune the instrument and learning to play a simple song, I was wondering what the extra piece was for. I tried using it as a slide when it finally dawned on me that it’s a wrench. It’s just right for doing the slight adjustments needed for tuning. Doh!

We spent some time in Spartanburg and bought some delicious small pies from an Amish roadside stands. The pies didn’t make it very far. In the evening, Loretta was to babysit her grandson, Archer, so we got to see her son Kyle and his wife Angie. We last saw Kyle 13 years ago when his brother Andy married Michelle. He was in high school at the  time. Now he’s married with a child. Archer is as cute as the dickens.

While Loretta stayed with Archer, Matt took us out to Peninsula State Park. It juts out into Lake Erie from Erie, PA. There are a lot of beaches and it’s a huge tourist draw. We watched a beautiful sunset over the lake.

Kathy – Today was a fabulous day just hanging out with our friends Matt and Loretta.  These two are just great people.  They are amazing hosts as well.  It is hard for us to help with anything because they insist on us resting.  We had lots of great conversations, wonderful meals together, and they took us about to see the many beautiful areas around here.  We also got to see Kyle (their son), meet his wife Angie, and lucky me I got to hold and snuggle with their little three month old boy, Archer.  What a cutie!  We capped off our evening with a trip to see the sunset on Lake Erie.  It was beautiful.  I must say we are truly grateful for this time with Matt and Loretta, and we are very thankful for all their hospitality.  We will miss them as we move forward on our journey.