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Bedford Pennsylvania Trip Fall 2007

Rita and I took a weekend off a few weeks ago and traveled to the Laurel Mountains, south and east of Pittsburgh. We went about two hours to Bedford, Pennsylvania. This is a beautiful mountain valley town with much history from the Civil War and the Revolutionary period. The city is lined with Bed and Breakfast lodging, neat shops and restaurants and the historic village titled "Old Bedford Village". Bedford Village is a Colonial period where old buildings exist with villagers working as they did during the Colonial period. It was closed until Christmas when we were there but we spent most of our time visiting the restored Bedford Springs Hotel. This was a resort built during the 1800's for rest and relaxation, health spa etc. It was used by presidents and the wealthy from all over the world. The hotel fell in to disrepair during the late 70's and closed in the 80's. A group of developers from the Texas area put together an investment project to restore the hotel and restore it they did. The hotel opened this year and what a beautiful place it is. You can look it up on the Internet so I won't bore you with all the information about the project. We found the best of the Fall colors there during our trip and below are the pictures of the Hotel and Fall in the Laurel Mountains. I also enclosed a lot of pictures of my sweetheart....

Restored Bedford Springs Hotel,Bedford,Pennsylvania

Bedford Springs

Bedford Springs Hotel (Continued)

November Fall in Bedford,Pennsylvania

More Fall Color In Western Pennsylvania

Rita's Favorite Inspirational Song

Rita wanted to share her favorite praise song by Lynda Randle. Lynda sings this song most often traveling with the Bill Gaither Homecoming. We all have our favorite songs and hymns that inspire us and Rita loved this song from the beginning and plays and sings it often througout our home. It provided great support and hope during her recovery. We had the joy in attending two of Bill Gaither's Homecomings. One in Sacramento and here most recently this year in Pittsburgh. Hope you are inspired by the words. GOD BLESS


God On The Mountain

Life is easy when you're up on the mountain
And you've got peace of mind like you've never known.
But then things change and you're down in the valley.
Don't lose faith for you're never alone.

For the God on the mountain is still God in the valley.
When things go wrong, He'll make them right.
And the God of the good times
is still God in the bad times.
The God of the day is still God in the night.

You talk of faith when you're up on the mountain.
Oh but the talk comes easy when life's at its best.
But it's down in the valley of trials and temptation
That's when faith is really put to the test.

For the God on the mountain is still God in the valley.
When things go wrong, He'll make them right.
And the God of the good times
is still God in the bad times.
The God of the day is still God in the night.

For the God on the mountain is still God in the valley.
When things go wrong, He'll make them right.
And the God of the good times
is still God in the bad times.
The God of the day is still God in the night.
The God of the day is still God in the night.

Song by Lynda Randle

Words and Music by Tracy G. Dartt

Our Christmas Cactus

Rita is so proud of her Christmas cactus this year. It is new to our home. We bought it earlier this summer at a garage sale in the Mexican War District in Pittsburgh and she has been talking to it all year. The first buds are coming out and it looks like it will be all white. I tell you it is the healthiest plan we have had and if our luck holds out we won't "kill" it. We kept it out on our front porch this summer and it was covered and protected from direct sun, which is supposed to be best for this tropical plant. We moved it into our sun room now and the lighting is a bit more direct which is supposed to be good for the blooming time. Do you know it isn't really a cactus but tropical and needs a lot of water, especially from below? We kept it in a large dish and kept water in the dish and it sucked it right up. When we bought it the leaves were all hung down and sad looking but they perked right up with a little loving care. Hopefully it will bloom by Thanksgiving because we are going away for two weeks in December and would hate to miss the new full blooming period. Pray for our cactus that it stays healthy. Rita will share more about this cactus later when we have blooming pictures.