Double checking the calendar in Grove City, Pa.

The Allegheny Grille in Foxburg, Pa.

After our time in Pittsburgh we headed about 60 miles north to Grove City.  This borough of around 8,500 is where Ben recently moved, and will be working as Business Development and Recreation Director for Jellystone Park at Kozy Rest.  The area is a combination of small townships, boroughs and farmland in a really nice rolling hills setting.
Jellystone Park at Kozy Rest
We had a chance to visit the park where Ben will be working and meet the amazing family that owns and operates it.  He's going to have a great opportunity to continue to learn and grow in a fun, family environment.  We're excited for him!
We enjoyed exploring the area and since he's house hunting, we really got to explore it a lot!  He hasn't found what he's looking for yet, but he will soon.  One thing we found interesting, unlike where we lived in Texas and Florida, this area has been around a long time. It was initially settled in the late 1700's and Grove City was incorporated in 1883.  The original construction on many of the homes we looked at was from the late 1800's or early 1900's.  There is a lot of history in the homes and the community.
There are two colleges located in the area.  Grove City College is private with  around 2,500 students.  I'm sure there are many notable former students of Grove City College, but none more notable than our cousin the great Richard White.
Just down the road about 8 miles from Grove City is the borough of Slippery Rock and Slippery Rock University.  The university has around 9,000 students and one of the coolest names of any university on the planet. Way back in the dark ages when I was at the University of Florida there was somewhat of an interest in Slippery Rock University  For some strange reason we always wanted to know the score of the Slippery Rock football game.  I'm not really sure why, but I'm sure it was all about the name.  I'm pretty sure that we had no clue where the university was located.  I did learn from several Slippery Rock alumni that Ben works with that their fanbase is very wide.  At Michigan State football games there is a tradition to announce the score of the Slippery Rock during halftime.  I guess the notoriety helps with logo merchandise sales.  I'm now a proud owner of a Slippery Rock t-shirt!
Grove City College
Slippery Rock University

"The Rock"

Someone we were talking with described the weather at this time of year in western Pennsylvania as being similar to a woman going through menopause, a constant change between hot and cold.  The description was spot on.  During our three day stay we had temperatures in the 70's on Sunday, followed by about five hours of snow flurries on Monday.  I did a quick check of the calendar just to confirm it really was April 15.  I guess winter is reluctant to give up it's grip a little bit more up in this neck of the woods.
If you find yourself in that part of the world, I hope you have some time to explore Grove City, Slippery Rock and Foxburg which is a small, really nice community located on the Allegheny River.
Foxburg

Foxberg

If you need a place to stay, check out Jellystone Park at Kozy Rest.  No camper, no problem, they have really nice cottages and a couple of yurts as well! Be sure to say hello to their Business Development and Activities Director, he's a pretty good guy!