Doe, A Deer, A Female Deer

Yesterday afternoon I should have been walking the streets of New York City, but instead I found myself riding in a pick-up truck down a bumpy gravel road in the middle of Pennsylvania hill country. How did I get here? I'll tell you how:

Sunday afternoon: The Baker Family minus Ben hit the road from State College, PA, where we were staying with Alex Sell, a friend from Asheville now attending Penn State. Our plan was to meet up with Ben and his Dad, Chip, in Hazleton, PA, for Ben to join us back on the road for the rest of the tour. Then we would only be a few hours away from our destination, NYC. I'm driving, going about 65mph on Highway 80. I hear the words, "Deer" "Liz" and then silence. A deer jumps right in front of the car. I immediately know I am about to hit this deer straight on. My instincts kick in: apply brakes, hold the car steady. BAM. The deer goes flying into the other lane, another car hits it, swerves, almost flips. I pull over, hands shaking, hyperventilating. THE SECOND TIME WE ALMOST DIED.

The suburban and trailer had to be towed to the nearest town, Danville, PA (Population: 4,897), where we would be stuck until the car was repaired. After staying the night at the Quality Inn, we got up early to meet the guys at the Chevy dealership right when they opened, not knowing if this would take a few hours, or a week to fix. A couple parts were ordered, and Thank the Lord! it would be fixed by the next morning. Thankfully, Chip Dehart is a friendly guy, and he hit it off with one of the guys who worked there, Doug. Doug was a really nice guy, and he offered his cabin next to his house for us to rent for the night. So there I was, riding in Doug's pick-up truck down a bumpy gravel road in the middle of Pennsylvania hill country. We pulled up to the cabin just outside Danville in Mayberry, PA. Oh my Stars, what a place! Green hills all around us and a beautiful trout stream running right outside the screen porch. This turned out to be our best day
off. We relaxed, played music out by the water, ate spaghetti on the porch, and sat in a field nearby where I saw 2 red foxes with bushy tails scamper away in the distance.

Back on the Road,

Liz Baker