Many Thanks to So Many People

 The tour has officially been on for three weeks, and yet it seems like a lifetime to me.  I've met so many wonderful people and had so many unique experiences and I thank each and every one of you for the graciousness, hospitality, caring and affection that you have shown to me along the way.
So where did I leave off?  Oh yes....Cleona, PA on Wednesday night.  I finally got to meet Darrel Moyer, a young college student I have been corresponding with for a long time through planetchristmas.com and Facebook.  I was wondering what Darrel would be like in person because his emails are always so detailed and enthusiastic and he seemed like such a wonderful guy, and I was not disappointed.  He is so full of good spirit that he practically shines.  He took me on a tour of his display which is practically all blow molds (plastic figures) and I felt like a little kid.  Darrel is quite a collector and he knew the company that made each one and  sometimes even the year that it was made.  He even took me to another neighborhood to see a display where there were so many blow molds that it was impossible to count. I had a terrific evening with Darrel and his family, just as I had the night before with Jason and his family.  These two guys live only about 90 minutes from each other and they should definitely be friends.   They are both in their early 20's, have a passion for Christmas decorating and trains and are nice Christian men.  If there are any nice single young women out there who would like to make contact, let me know!

I left Darrel's and drove down to Fredericksburg the same night.  It was only two hours but felt like longer because the tiredness hit about halfway there.  I had cookies that Jason's mom had baked and I ate about 20 of them to help me stay awake.  I definitely have not lost any weight on this tour because I do eat a lot to stay awake.  Oh well, I have the big red coat to cover all the flaws!

Friday in Fredericksburg was jam packed full of activity. First of all, it was snowing.  Of course!  The snow has followed me wherever I've gone!   I started the day with my hosts, the Shanks, picking me up and bringing me to WGRQ radio where I did a fun segment with morning host Dave Adler. We had goodies from Paul's Bakery and we did "Candy" live and he did a great job on the "oh yeahs".  School was canceled everywhere so that was a bad sign of things to come, but I still had a great time.

After the interview I went back to the hotel and tried to catch up on the 100+ emails in my mailbox, then it was on to Paul's Bakery and the Young at Heart Gift Shop for a three hour appearance.  I met a gaggle of super people at Paul's, including owners Paul and Sandy and their family and friends.  Even Santa was there for the afternoon!  I felt bad because the weather was keeping people indoors, but I was mystified too......I mean, there was less than an inch of snow on the ground!  In New Hampshire there has to be at least a foot before they cancel school!  But businesses were closing and as the afternoon went on more and more people were staying in, so there weren't a lot of people who came to the shop.  Still, I very much enjoyed looking at all the nice things that Sandy sells in the shop, especially in the Christmas room, and of course the delicious treats from the Bakery and the candy counter.  I've just given up on the figure til after Christmas.

Unfortunately the Shanks had to cancel the performance due to the weather, so that made two shows so far that had to be put on ice, so to speak, because of Mother Nature.  I did enjoy watching thei rfantastic light show and the "photo ops" outside of the house,and then I went back to the bakery and Paul took me over to his house to see his display.  It was unique in that Paul made nearly every single lighted wire frame figure in his yard, and they all had gingerbread children doing things like jumping rope, playing on a teeter-totter, bowling and even taking off in a rocket ship.  He animated the lights to make it appear that his figures were doing all these things.  Paul even created a little train to take children around the display on.  He uses gingerbread people to carry on the theme of his bakery.  It was so charming and fun, and just amazing that one man had created all of this stuff.  I especially enjoyed the bowling gingerbread man, whose bowling ball went all down the lawn and then knocked over a pile of snowmen.  I wish I had a video to show you!
All of us ended up meeting at the Golden Corral, one of my favorite restaurants and we had a wonderful dinner..  It was very hard to leave them all after such a nice day.
Everywhere I've gone I've made new friends and then had to leave them.  But I will never, ever forget them or this amazing experience.
Okay, Friday deserves an update all it's own...so that's coming next.