Lancaster, Pennsylvania - A Little Bit About Where I'm From

     I would like to talk about my origins and place I call my home.  I am not from Utah, and not from any place associated with the western hemisphere of the United States.  Nope...in order to locate my hometown on a map, you would have to go the other side of the country to a small town in Pennsylvania.  The name is Lancaster and I love it more than words can describe.  The surroundings are so green that it seems as though Christmas is being celebrated year round.  The air is thick with humidity, which is almost polar opposite from the dry conditions we have here.  In the summer, a typical hot day feels like you are swimming from all of the humidity, and the winter seems heavier.  I also love, especially around this time, how snow can stay on the ground for weeks at a time.  While snow clears out of Provo rather fast, a productive snowfall back east can coat the lush ground for prolonged periods of time.  This makes sledding and snow activities much more prominent.  There is a perfect balance between the rural and urban feel.  I could drive twenty minutes and be in Lancaster City, or drive 10 minutes the other way and be on a back road in the countryside.  The Amish culture is so eminent that horse and buggies ride down the street close to where I live.  There is a weekly Amish market called "Roots" that offers a variety of Amish dishes and fresh, cheap produce.  Salt and vinegar on fries, funnel cakes made from scratch, whoopie pies (with chocolate, red velvet, and pumpkin assortments), shoofly pie, and a number of other dishes indigenous to PA and the Amish community.  The air is often filled with the stench of surrounding farms, which can be rather unpleasant...but I miss it nonetheless.  I am so excited to go home and return back to my roots.