Tags
Comfort Inn, hot dogs, Huntingdon County, Juniata College, quest, Raystown Lake, selfie hot dog quest, The Playhouse, Tops Diner
Welcome to the new followers. The adventure below is the latest in a series sharing my quest to explore Pennsylvania by visiting each of the sixty-seven county seats and eating a hot dog while in town.
Our next adventure took us west to Route 22 and a visit to memories. Huntingdon County was the first stop on our journey west on Route 22. The county was created on September 20, 1787, from part of Bedford County. We arrived in the county seat, Huntingdon, (home to Juniata College) and slipped into the Comfort Inn on a Friday evening. As we checked in My Jane and I pried information out of very helpful Tammy. She made several phone calls in an effort to find us a hot dog in Huntingdon before we were satisfied that we could eat one in a restaurant instead of at a convenience store (Sheetz was a block away from the motel). We found “Tops Diner” sitting where it has been for sixty-six years. Yes, the diner and I are the same age! However, the original wooden “Tops Diner” burned to the ground in 1959 so technically, I am ten years older then the current diner. I wonder why I’m not ten years younger too, since we both started at the same time? Now there is something worthy of pondering for thirty seconds or so!
Back to reality! Betty is the perfect person to be serving at the dinner. She begins to have fun as soon as she meets you. She loved our quest for a hot dog idea and made our stay at the diner most enjoyable. We continue to meet some fabulous folks on this quest. We paid Betty using the 10% off coupon Tammy gave to us for dinner. How cool is that? While I was enjoying my “picnic” of hot dog, baked Lima Beans and Potato Salad My Jane and I were treated to a Facetime call from our grandson, Joshua, during his evening bath. We can not show those photos on this PG web site! 🙂
The next morning I drove down to Raystown Lake. I remember watching the lake begin to fill up in my Grandparent’s back yard near Markelsburg when the dam was first completed (Remember, I’m older than “Tops Diner”). After the lake filled in we went swimming there several times. Between Raystown and Huntingdon is “The Playhouse” in McConnellstown on Route 26. My Jane and I attended several productions back in the eighties when GoWest Productions first started the theater and began production in the historical old church building. We attended the plays because we knew the “Go” part of “GoWest”, my uncle Ed. Something must be going good because “The Playhouse” is still flourishing twenty some years latter. How cool is that?
I remember The Abby church because my Father and Grandfather were ministers who had a hymn sing in this building when I was maybe in Junior High or in ‘diner years’ grade school. The memory is vivid because there is a photo of my Grandfather who was around five feet tall standing on a chair during the hymn sing so he would be taller than my six foot three inch tall Dad. Well, my Grandfather was the senior member of the team, after all! My guess is the event I am remembering was part of a week long revival series my Grandfather was preaching for. I am trying to find that photo to add to this blog but not having much luck. When I find it I’ll add it to some other adventure. I have been trying not to count the years between the events remembered in this blog and today but I suddenly feel very tired!!
See you next time.