WP&P
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Corporation 		WP&P RSD-15 #346

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The Layout

Lancaster, PA

(Mary Ellen's Wedding)

 We Provide Pride!
The Sim
The Birds
The Rest


October 26 to 29, 2007. 

I flew out to Harrisburg to meet up with Nancy's mom, then drove on in to Lancaster to join the throng gathered for Mary Ellen and David's wedding.  Nancy and I had taken enough time off work to see some of the sights in the area, which included the Strasburg Railroad and the neighboring Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. We did not spot any new birds, unfortunately.  Enjoy the following pictures! Click the thumbnail for a larger version.

DAY ONE
Nancy and Jim at piano I arrived amidst the cacophony of bridesmaids trying valiantly to get everything done and ready for the wedding, which would be on the next morning.  I had arisen at 5 AM in order to get to the airport on time, but even at that I was a bit later than I intended; I discovered that at 6:30 AM, the airport, and especially long-term parking, is pretty much a ghost town. I helped out however I could, all day long, and only got to bed at 1 AM that night!

This photo shows Nancy and Jim as they were rehearsing Friday night.
David and Nancy Nancy posed with David, the groom-to-be, for a quick snapshot.
The Singers More of Nancy and Jim rehearsing on Friday.  Jim was one of the four that went to the Grand Canyon in November, 2005; the others were Nancy, and the bride and groom!
DAY TWO
Here comes the bride "Great is thy Faithfulness, O God my Father..." sing Nancy and Jim, as the service gets under way.
The Ceremony Shem, the officiating pastor, leads the service.  He wears a tie that was borrowed from your truly, as he neglected to bring this particular item!  I, of course, had 5 to choose from...
Presenting Mr and Mrs They kissed, they had rings, the whole deal! Another one bites the dust, as they say.  Presenting Mr. and Mrs. David DeMarco.
The Smiths As we waited outside for the newlyweds to emerge, I took a few photos.  Here are Jim and Dede Smith; Dede was one of the bridesmaids.
The Chapel This is the little chapel where the wedding took place. It is part of the full Willow Valley resort campus, and the reception will be just a few hundred feet away, to the right.  I don't know where the limo took them, but it did take them!
The Mulders Nancy and Marilyn Mulder, in front of the chapel. Marilyn was a good sport about being my frequent chauffeur, as I chose not to rent a car of my own.
Nancy and Helen Mary Ellen was greatly pleased that her mother could be there for the ceremony, as it was unknown whether she would be able to. Her brother Jim gave her away, since her father passed away back in 1997. This is Nancy with Helen Knapka.
First Dance At the reception, David and Mary Ellen enjoy the first dance. The song is Steven Curtis Chapman's "I Will Be Here", which was provided by yours truly, after I borrowed a CD from a co-worker!
bridal party While the bride and groom dance, the wedding party looks on. Jim and Dede in the foreground, a bunch of good people I don't really know in the back (Nancy is gonna scold me for saying that!)
Cut the cake When it came time to cut the cake, they did us all a favor and held a cake-cutting pose for a while.  They were well-behaved, so no cake-face shot, sorry.
The Palm Court This is the Palm Court, where the reception was held.  It is surrounded by hotel suites, one of which was theirs, and guests spent their time looking on from the balconies.
Decapod No 90 The reception was over about 4 PM, which freed us up to go see the sights. For me, that meant going to Strasburg and riding the steam-powered scenic train! Nancy and her mom joined me for this. I was hoping to find the ex-N&W 4-8-0 "Mastodon" pulling our train, but instead it was Number 90, a 2-10-0 decapod. It is a very similar-sized engine.
All Aboard! We got to the station with just a few minutes to spare, and we took what photos we could before boarding.
High Five! Who is more excited about this train trip? Maybe it is just that I told Marilyn that I would buy her a Dodge Avenger, the car she rented and fell in love with (I'll have to get one for myself, while I am at it). This was our running joke, always accompanied by a high-five.
Most Beautiful Thing on the Rails There is a steam engine in the background, about to make its runaround move since we've reached the end of the line. But I can't focus on that, when The Most Beautiful Thing on the Rails is right here, staring at me, with such love in her eyes.
Our Engine Of course, I'll still take a photo or two when Number 90 comes trundling by!
Marilyn at the window Marilyn enjoys the view as we head back to the station, steaming into the brilliant sunset.
Sunset Silhouette We see the rolling Amish countryside in silhouette as we roll along.
Nancy on the Parlor Car As we leave, we see that those who paid for the Dinner Train are still on board, enjoying their meal. Nancy adopts her famous wide-arms posture (we have several train shots like this).
The Diner Nancy really wanted for us to finish the evening by finding a quaint "Amish" restaurant, but we settled for this little diner. It had jukboxes at each booth, and they made selections, then went crazy singing along with the 50's and 60's tunes. The ladies that sat down in the adjacent booth got into it, too, singing along and encouraging Nancy's zaniness. The only bad thing was an annoying Halloween decoration which was placed right behind Nancy's head; it had a creepy thunderstorm sound effect which could be triggered, and there was some guy who couldn't get enough of it! We tried to flip a switch on the back, but this was not a power switch...
DAY THREE
EMD F-7 On Sunday, Nancy and I went back into Strasburg to visit the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. This is a very well-done museum, and I could have spent a lot more time there. Naturally, most of the equipment is PRR heritage, but they have a very wide assortment, and I was able to teach Nancy quite a lot about railroading, all of which she has fully retained.
Amish buggy from afar The Amish were all around us, but I refrained from photographing them up close. I was surprised at how fast these buggies can move!
Jim and Mike at Strasburg Jim came to pick us up when the museum closed (promptly!) and we walked back across the street to the Strasburg Railroad, to take this photo. I took quite a few more shots while in the Museum, but those would mainly be of interest to railroaders like me.
DAY FOUR
We went to Hershey for a few hours, but my flight required me to be at the Harrisburg airport by about 2:30 PM, so Nancy and I just had enough time to tour the gardens, while Jim, Dede, and Marilyn went to Chocolate World.  Marilyn was thrilled to be made into an official Hershey's employee for a day, tasked with inspecting and packaging chocolates. When the tour was done, she gladly purchased the gearbox full of candy that she had produced, and she wore her hat and ID badge all afternoon!

So, that was the trip in a quick nutshell.  I'm so glad I finally got to ride the Strasburg Railroad! I had been there with my family back when I was a teenager, but we did not have the time then to ride it, and it has bugged me ever since that I WENT TO STRASBURG BUT DID NOT RIDE THE TRAIN. I'm so glad I got to share that experience with Nancy.

created by Michael R. Rountree