Some time ago, my mother and I decided to take our elderly cousin, Marie, on a road trip to Central Pennsylvania to the town of Mount Carmel, PA. She and my late grandmother both grew up in Mount Carmel, but both ultimately left, finding careers in the Philadelphia area. I'd never visited there, and it had been about forty years since my mom had made it out there. So, ultimately, we three went the last weekend of October, 2005.
First, I drove us to the Philly-area suburb where Marie lives. We spent the night with her; then headed on out. We stayed in Mount Carmel itself, and visited some distant relatives that I'd never met before.
Another neat thing was passing through the (former) town of Centralia, PA, where a coal mine fire has been burning for forty years under the town, and will likely continue to burn for 200 years hence. (Read up on Centralia's sad story here.)
It was a very worthwhile trip. I'm glad I went with someone who remembers growing up there, though a little sad I never went with Grandma. (Well, that's the way it goes.)
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