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A couple of weeks ago, I traveled to western Pa to attend the funeral for Denny and then a memorial service for him and his beloved wife Joy. The loss of both of these dear friends was overwhelming. But the weight of the loss was a little easier to handle thanks to the graciousness of Lynn the owner of The Cedar Farm Inn in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.

Joy is the one who found the Inn for us three years ago. We fell in love with it, the location—in the middle of Amish Farms, and with Lynn, who is a wonderful hostess. We’ll go back again and . . . again.

If you are looking for the perfect place to step away and enjoy the Pennsylvania country side this is a great place to start. Here’s the link to her website: The Cedar Farms Inn.

And then there was Snickers. He came to see us each morning and he seemed to know that we needed a little understanding and kitty love. Yes, we feed him Meow Mix that we bought from the only store near the Inn.

“Snickers we paid a fortune for the cat food and you were worth every dime! You drank coffee with us, watched us eat delicious banana bread and other goodies. You waited for our return at night and you were at the door bright and early each morning. I would have stolen you away back to Georgia, if I could.”

The Inn was beautiful in the evening light. It has a special place in my heart. Anne, Pat and I went to Penn to be with Joy and Denny for July 4 in 2017. I had been tested for cancer and my numbers were high. My doctor encouraged me to go. She told me, “Go on your trip because you won’t be traveling for a while.” She was right. I left western Pa on July 5 and was on the operating table at Northside Hospital in Atlanta less than 4 days later. It would be three years before I would return.

Here we are with Lynn, three years ago. L to R —Lynn, me (before cancer) Pat, and Anne

The Cedar Farm Inn has three cozy bedrooms, each is decorated to represent the state where Lynn’s family members attended college. All of the rooms have a full bathroom and are located on the second floor. I loved to wake up in the mornings and look out the windows while drinking a cup of coffee . . . before moving out to the deck and Snickers.

Lynn told us that her walking trail through the wooded area is a half mile long. I have yet to walk it. Seems like each time I am there, I have lots to keep me busy. We saw Snickers for the first time at the end of the fence line. I asked Pat, “Is that a cat out there?” Before she could answer, he was up on the porch with us!

Covid-19 has changed us a lot. The Inn was closed for months and it reopened just in time for us to visit and to mark my 3rd year of being cancer free (NED).

There are a couple of places that I probably will always enjoy visiting: Balsam, North Carolina and of course, Waynesville and here—The Cedar Farm Inn. It is so close in my heart to Joy and Denny. The night we arrived, they immediately came over and brought pizza because they knew we would be hungry. And we were!

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