Pennsylvania Farm Wedding

This summer open and closed with my sister’s two weddings. Yes, that’s right: one sister, one husband, two weddings. The first was their dream, a destination wedding in Belize over Memorial Day Weekend. The second wedding fulfilled their wish of having all family and friends involved and was held in Pennsylvania over Labor Day Weekend. The Pennsylvania wedding also gave Lizzie and Kevin the chance to get married in a Catholic church, something that was too difficult a process in Belize.

Bags were packed, flights boarded, and road trips started to bring family and friends together for the wedding this past weekend in Somerset, Pennsylvania. I landed in Pittsburgh Thursday evening, met up with my father, and continued on to our hotel, The Georgian Inn.

The best part about Lizzie and Kevin having two weddings was that it brought us all together twice in a matter of months. With all of us stretched out across the country, we don’t get to see one another as much as we like. We all welcomed the opportunity to meet again so soon.

The reception was held at Kevin’s family farm, a property that has belonged to them for generations. It offered the best setting—the bright red barn, sparkling pond topped with geese and the lush green fields filled with chickens, turkeys, a miniature donkey, and sheep were absolutely picturesque.

 

 

 

Hydrangea-filled mason jars, burlap runners over white linens, hay bale seating areas, wine barrel cocktail tables, and more came together to create the perfect farm wedding reception. And, oh. Did I mention the bluegrass band? They were the icing on the cake.

 

 

 

Although I got much enjoyment from stomping my feet to the bluegrass band, hugging Ava the mini donkey, stealing extra cookies from the dessert table, and playing an ongoing game of horse shoes, nothing came close to the pure, simple joy of being with family. 

It was so wonderful to reconnect with my Uncle Aidan’s family from Ireland, whom I haven’t seen in about six years (and! Hearing the music that they performed at Lizzie and Kevin’s wedding ceremony was my favorite part of the whole day). I enjoyed getting to spend time with Garrett’s parents, brother, and my soon-to-be sister-in-law—it’d been too long since seeing the latter. It was nice to chat with the uncles and aunts that are spread out all over the country but came to be together for this special occasion. I loved spending time with my Michigan and New York cousins, laughing and gasping over stories, some remembered and some forgotten. I liked getting to meet Kevin’s extended family, to see the roots that he has sprouted from.  It was great to have my parents around, to again feel the comfort of being someone’s child after living life in the adult world. I loved being able to squeeze my nieces and nephew whenever the whim hit me.  I delighted in giggling with my sisters all day long. 

In the words of Maya Angelou, “I sustain myself with the love of family.” And so, Lizzie and Kevin, since you’ve proved to be so good in bringing family and friends together, I ask you this: 

When is wedding number three?

Yellowstone National Park: Northeast Entrance to Bridge Bay

Despite a night of poor sleep, Garrett and I woke up early Friday morning to continue on to Yellowstone National Park. The town of Cooke City was quiet as we started moving about. We decided to grab breakfast at The Bistro, a small restaurant facing our motel. The food and service were pleasant enough and prepared us well for the day ahead.

After filling our bellies, gas tank and backpacks, Garrett and I said goodbye to Cooke City. We drove a couple of minutes to the Northeast Entrance, also known as the Silver Gate Entrance, of Yellowstone. At 8:00 in the morning, we were the only car driving through (the park employee at the gate said that this was the quietest entrance of the park--the line of cars never gets beyond 10).

I had reserved a campsite at Bridge Bay Campground about a month before. I chose Bridge Bay primarily because of its location, which is the dead center of the park. It is also facing Yellowstone Lake, and as the unfortunate desert rats we are, Garrett and I always jump at the chance to be near water. The drive from the NE entrance to Bridge Bay took us about 2 - 2 1/2 hours.

Two hours may seem like a lot, especially because there were closer campsites, but it really wasn't. The drive was awesome. To get from the entrance to Bridge Bay, we first drove to Tower-Roosevelt (29 miles), then on to Canyon Village (19 miles), to Fishing Bridge (16 miles), to Bridge Bay (about another 5 miles). The change of landscape along the drive and the amount of wildlife that we saw was, in a word, insane.

I often feel as though I am conditioned to be disappointed when it comes to seeing wildlife--I rarely, if ever, see something cool. So when we saw a bison just minutes within entering the park, I literally did not believe my eyes. I saw it in the distance, thought it looked like a bison, and then decided it had to be a rock. I only realized that it was in fact a bison and not a rock when we drove by.

"Wait a second," I said in disbelief to Garrett, "that was a bison! Ah! I hope we see more!"

Little did I know, we would see hundreds (if not thousands) of bison in our short time in Yellowstone.

We saw bison: grazing in the distance, nursing their young, lying by a pond, standing in the river (such a beautiful sight), crossing the street, causing traffic jams, running up hills, hanging out near the hot springs...you name it, we saw it. It was incredible.

What I couldn't believe, though, was how ignorant people were in terms of getting close to the bison. There are two things that I think need to be followed regarding wild animals: the first is safety, and the second is respect. It was amazing how easily people threw those two rules away just so they could snap a great picture. (Our close-up shots only came from the bison running by our car as they crossed the street and caused traffic jams.)

Other than spotting a gazillion bison on our drive into the park (and everywhere else for that matter), our drive was amazing for all of the different terrain it took us through. We entered the park in a forested area, drove through some prairie lands and through some mountains on the way to Tower-Roosevelt.

 

The area between Tower-Roosevelt and Canyon Village is undergoing road works, so this was the part of our drive that took the longest (you had to wait for a head car to guide you through the pass). A lot of the drive between the two points was along a dirt road nestled up to cliffs.

Between Canyon Village and Fishing Bridge, the landscape changes a ton. You drive through woods, along cliff sides, through a prairie, next to the river, and (my favorite) through sulfur-infused hot springs. The Yellowstone River snakes its way in and out of sight through this pass, too. It baffled me how much the terrain changed, and how drastically, in so little time.

It was awe-inspiring, then, to have Yellowstone Lake come into view as we approached Bridge Bay Campground. The lake is huge, flanked by both flatlands and mountains, and was sitting like a table of glass below a layer of smoke when we drove up on it.

If you're up for a scenic drive heading to the park and through the park, I recommend taking Beartooth Pass (in the daylight!) to Cooke City and the Northeast Entrance, and from there go on to Bridge Bay. The entire park is amazing, I'm sure, but what we saw on our way in will stick with me as some of the most breathtaking sights I've ever seen for the rest of my life.