Monday, June 12th
Harrisburg, PA to State College, PA to Washington, DC

Last night one of my dear friends from B.I.E. (Back in Erie) put me up in Harrisburg. Harrisburg is a much underrated city. It is the capital of Pennsylvania. The downtown along the Susquehanna River was quite scenic. There were lots of restaurants and bars, two things that I love. We went out to dinner at a place that overlooks the river. It was quite nice. Had a good visit with Holly and made plans for her sister’s wedding in October.
When I got up this morning I went to the Harrisburg downtown YMCA. It was a super nice Y. It had old classic charm with all the modern amenities. It lacked that sketchy vibe of my downtown Memphis YMCA. The Harrisburg Y makes the 5th different Y that I have been to along this journey. They have been useful to help stave off the gluttonous northern indulgences.
Then I was on my way to State College, PA for my cousin Matt’s baseball game. State College is where Penn State’s main campus is. It is a typical college town. I can’t explain it but there is nothing like a college town. There is a certain sense of vitality when you walk around a college campus. Whether it is a school like Penn State with its 40,000 students or a small college of 1,500 you always sense a youthful hope in the future and the promise of things to come. I watched the US get killed by the Czech 3 to nil in World Cup action at a bar. The bar was packed which made for a great atmosphere despite the poor showing by the US squad.
Prep lost to Manheim Township 9 to 7. Although making it to the semi finals of the state in the largest division is quite an accomplishment it was still a disappointing loss. After giving up two runs in the top of the first, Prep responded by putting 6 runs in the bottom of the inning. Matt put the Ramblers up by a run when he rocketed a line drive to center scoring two runs. Alas, the six runs were the only runs scored until the bottom of the seventh (high school only plays 7 innings). Prep’s defense kicked the ball around the entire game and around half of Manheim’s runs were unearned. It will great to be able watch Matt play at CBU.
Then back in the car for our Nation’s capital. It wasn’t a bad ride, about 3 hours in all. It was great to get back to DC, I’m really looking forward to seeing friends and working the program.