Month: October 2014

I just spent one of the most relaxing and calm mornings in memory. The cats and I sat in the sun room and watched the birds flit merrily from tree to deck, back and forth. It looked like a game, or an organized dance of sorts. With the misty backdrop of an overcast October morning and the trees just starting to turn color, the quiet ticking of the clock on the wall was like a symphony.

Sorry, no photos. The act of just being there, quiet and relaxed and still was far better than worrying about where my camera was. Instead, here’s something completely different!

Hubby and I like to go on “Adventures”. We feel most everything is up for grabs as far as experiencing life is concerned. He’s a much braver soul than I, but he also knows that if left to deal with any insecurities, I eventually come around. Such a clever man.

Our most recent adventure was into Amish country in the Lancaster portion of Pennsylvania. Not to see (read gawk) at the Amish folk, but to visit Strasburg Railroad.

Strasburg Railroad played host to an event called Steampunk unLimited. If you are scratching your head and wondering what Steampunk is, it’s basically a movement that blends Victorian dress with the creativity of the Jules Verne or HG Wells’ type of Sci Fi.  Steampunk unLimited was pretty much *cosplay for Steampunkers. (*costume play)

For those of you who know all this, forgive me, but I’m finding that in my world there are less that understand this than I’d expected. Proof was yesterday when I went to get my hair cut at my local salon by girls who are half my age – at least. When they’d asked what I had done over the weekend and I’d told them, they both stared at me with blank looks. When I gave them the explanation I just wrote here, they both had no clue who either of the authors mentioned were. So, I mentioned Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. They knew Edison, but that was it. They even blanked on JP Morgan and looked mildly like they felt they should recognize the name Westinghouse. DOH!!

The comment, “You’re smart!!” was repeated over and over again, and while I’m no dummy, I guess I looked like a genius to these two.  Sigh.

The event began on Friday night with a dance, which by the time I was feeling comfy and ready to dance, was over. There were a few vendors and some nibbles. We met friends and watched them dance and enjoyed just seeing and being seen. In fact, there’s a whole lot of that going on at a Steampunk event. The seeing and being seen is big. I guess when you put in so much time and creativity into your costumes, it feels good to finally strut around in them and enjoy the admiring glances and commentary.  Hubby and I didn’t put as much into our costumes as many others did, but we still enjoyed it all. After the dance we all gathered at a restaurant, had a toasting contest, enjoyed bevvies and nummies and left satiated and tired.

The next day we got up early and wandered around our motel. We weren’t staying in any old motel… we were staying in a caboose! The Red Caboose Motel is made up of about 25 or so train cabooses. They are all original and restored and sit in a semi-circle next to the World of Miniature Trains, about 1/4 mile from the Strasburg Railroad. VERY KID friendly, btw.

After breakfast in the dining car, which rumbled every now and again to give you the experience of riding the rails, we suited up to wander the event. We checked out the vendors, listened to some bands and rode the rails, then did a repeat at the same restaurant we’d visited last night for more bevvies and nummies and some educational history games.

Our final morning we packed up a bit early and decided to leave, having seen all we wanted to. We drove back through the countryside and marveled at the size of the produce on the carts along the side of the road. Honestly, if you can get away from a grocery store and find a roadside cart, you can get a gigantic pumpkin for about $3.00.