Pennsylvania Dutch People

Monday we drove to Pennsylvania, Allentown and surrounding areas to be exact.  The entire drive all I kept thinking of was the song, Allentown by Billy Joel.  I asked Bop if he knew the song, he didn't, so we drove into Allentown sans the anthem!  Have you ever driven with a 95 year old man who plays by his own rules, plans with AAA mapbooks, has GPS, but gives you completely different directions, and pays little attention to speed limits?  I'm not saying Bop is a bad driver, I'm just saying my knuckles were white and the "Oh Sh**" handle was my security blanket! I drove most of the way, however Bop did drive for about 2 hours (probably close to 150 miles) and I don't have a scratch on me, neither does the car.  So once I got over my initial discomfort of letting Bop be in control, it was a smooth ride.  I took the wheel back the rest of the day, so I couldn't get many pictures of the places he showed me.  But, I did get to see his grandparents' home, and several others that he lived in as  young child as well as one he helped build.  Then we were off to meet "the cousins".  Have you ever met true PA Dutch  people?  It is quite an experience.  I thought Italians were "fussy" at their loved ones, but the Dutch take a close second.  The average age in the sun porch was probably 70, and I was just grateful my parents raised me with good manners, and the gift of gab.  I know I don't have trouble talking to children, and it's now confirmed I can hold my own in a room full of senior citizens, and I mean that in the nicest way.  The funniest thing I can share about these people is that there are 10 siblings in this family, all but 3 of them still live in Catasaqwa ( not sure how to spell it, let alone pronounce it), and they think that a 30 minute drive is like traveling FAR AWAY!  I just giggled to myself when they asked why we were driving 30 minutes to stay at a hotel.  And of course, they think Bop is crazy for all the driving around he does.  All in all, they were very sweet.  It made me think of what the Brady Bunch might be like today!