Roadside America!

If you haven't ever been to Roadside America in Berks County, I hope you'll soon make the trip.
It is a step back in time and a bit kitschy, but I love it just the same.
I made a visit this past weekend with my daughter because I hadn't been there in decades.
And the recent news that the incredible attraction is for sale caused alarm.
The owners hope someone will buy the spot and keep it open, but the same was hoped for the National Christmas Center in Lancaster County -- and that didn't work out. We visited that spot in 2016, but that cool center did not sell and is now closed. Here are two photos from our visit there:

But getting back to Roadside America:

Roadside America is touted as the "world's greatest indoor miniature village." When you visit, you'll see tiny depictions of America, from pioneer days to the mid 20th century. Villages, a circus, a country club with fox hunt, pioneer towns, skaters, trains, a zoo, waterfalls, fountains -- the list goes on.

It was created by Laurence Gieringer, who died in 1963. It started out in his home in 1935 and then in the 1940s he  bought land and built a warehouse to showcase his collection.

You can push buttons that activate trolleys,  trains, animals and people. Every half hour the house lights go down to mimic nighttime, tiny village lights glow and a special "show" features  "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "God Bless America."

According to the site's brochure, some of the materials used in constructing the huge display include  10,000 handmade trees, 4,000 pounds of stone, 18,000 pounds of plaster, 21,500 feet of electrical wiring, 200 railroad cars and engines, 300 mini buildings, and 4,000 figures.

And that's just a small sampling.

Now it's for sale for $2.3 million. Anyone have that amount of spare change?
Here are some photos to give you just a taste of what you'll see: 

I hope you'll head out to this unique spot this summer, just in case things don't work out for the sale and the present owners decide to close. There's a gift shop next door, a cool antique store very close by and a convenient restaurant.
If you're smart, don't head out Route 78 for your visit. Take the scenic route through Berks County.
It's a pretty drive to this cool attraction.

Godspeed, sweet Wotsit

We had to say goodbye to our dear Wotsit yesterday, making the difficult decision to let her cross the Rainbow Bridge. It was a shock, because the mystery illness/internal problems appeared so suddenly. But with no other options, we had to let her go.
Years ago she had shown up, pregnant, with another feral cat we dubbed Gary, who seemed to be taking care of her. She had those three kittens in our yard, with one apparently lost to a hawk.
We took in her daughter, Marmi, and a friend adopted her son, Harry.
Unfortunately we were not able to trap Wotsit before she was pregnant again, but this time she did not stray. Gary had disappeared, and perhaps she thought it was best to stay put. 

With the help of Stray Cat  Blues, we trapped Wotsit and her kittens were quickly adopted out by the cat rescue.
We brought Wotsit back after her spay, setting up an outside shelter and figuring she would be our outside cat if she decided to stay.
She had other ideas. She would sit on a chair on our deck and cry and cry. So we decided to try to bring her inside. It took a few days, but she settled in. She was now an indoor-only cat. She never totally lost that "flight" instinct from her feral days, but she also would sit on our laps and loved to be petted. And she got along with our other cats so well.
It was very easy to love her.
I have a few other senior cats -- we guessed that Wotsit was probably around 10 years old by now -- with health problems that are being monitored, but Wotsit always was healthy. So losing her was very tough.

Here are a few photos of this wonderful kitty:

 Daughter Marmi and Wotsit under the Christmas tree.

 Taking it easy...

Sweet girl...

 Although Wotsit's actual daughter Marmi lives here, several years ago Wotsit become the adoptive mom to Shel, after Shel's mom Beatrice died of cancer. Shel generally was close by Wotsit, choosing to follow her around and snuggle with her. Wotsit was just fine with that. And they didn't care that Shel -- who turns 14 this summer -- actually is older than Wotsit.

In a pile of cats -- sleeping on Domino, with Shel next to her.

 Wotsit gets groomed by daughter Marmi, with adopted daughter Shel close by.

Sleeping with Marmi and Shel...

Chilling with Marmi and Domino.

At the hospital, before the heart-wrenching goodbye...

Goodbye, sweet Wotsit. We are so glad you decided we could be your family. We'll never forget you. 

No April showers ... April snow...

This should have come yesterday on April 1 -- what better joke than snow for that day?
But we're being promised that it will all melt away today.
I feel sorry for all our flowers that were blooming, though.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to all who celebrate!

Just don't get fooled today!