Erie, PA

We got into Erie today in the late afternoon. Overall it was a pleasant drive except for the torrential downpour for about 15 minutes. Visibility was nil. I thought we were going to have to start rounding up animals in twos. When we did get we headed for the Bestwicks’ house. I have written about them before but in short they are some of my parents’ dearest and longtime friends. Our families have shared many an adventure. One that just come to mind is the time that when both families were on vacation in Cape Cod. I will spare the specific details but I ended up in woods after being “over served” and was the butt of jokes for the rest of the vacation.

We hung out with them for a while then headed to my aunt and uncles house. My uncle Ron and Aunt Kitty have a beautiful home and with their three boys scattered across the country they have plenty of room and are hospitable enough to let our crew stay there. In fact they are so gracious that they are also hosting my family’s exchange student from Finland and her husband and youngest son.

Paivi stayed with our family nearly thirty years ago and has essentially become another daughter to my parents and an older sister to me. She married a great guy, Timo and they have three kids, Nora, Niko, and Temu. Well we have visited them and they have visited us over twenty times since Paivi lived with us. Paivi’s brother Tommi even stayed with us for a summer and I visited them in Helsinki when I was studying and teaching in Poland. They have visited my parents in every place they have lived since Erie, which is no small task considering that includes six homes, three states, and three countries.

When the arrived we ate some pizza and watched the last game of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Unfortunately the Pittsburgh Penguins did not win but a good time was had by all.

Here are two views of the bay off of Lake Erie near my aunt and uncles house.