Maybe God wishes to teach me a thousand new things, move me from being in a thousand different directions to just ONE, and show me a thousand reasons to BLESS his name. Maybe that is why He moved me 1,000 miles away.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Quirks of living in the Lehigh Valley



1. If you plan on getting your car washed after filling it up with gas, think again. No car washes at gas stations.

2. When merging onto a highway from an enterance ramp, be prepared to stop at a stop sign.

3. Kids swim in creeks, not lakes.

4. A very bad day is NOT horrible....it's "Haarable". The word is commonly used and never pronounced correctly.


5. Weekends are spent at the "shore" rather than the beach.


6. I have yet to find a grocery store where you bag your own groceries.


7. There is ONE target for a population of near 800,000.


8. Drivers will stop in the middle of a road (no stop sign present) to let you enter the road from a parking lot.


9. People eat hotdogs from a place called "yocco's".


10. Names of towns nearby: Trexlertown, Shnecksville, Catasaucua, Kutztown


11. Popular last names in the Lehigh Valley: Schaffer, Schermerhorn, Shoohooven, any name beginning with Van


12. A visit to the zoo means you wind up a mountain to get there and ford a creek to exit.


13. PA natives believe all bad drivers must be from Jersey. All Jersey implants think the bad drivers are the PA natives.


14. Houses put candles in all the windows. It's quite quaint and welcoming.


15. Many houses have a large metal star hanging on the front.


16. I think every town has a local "Diner", and most all restaurants are family owned, rather than a franchise.

17. No one ever takes off their shoes when they enter a home.



More to come...




8 comments:

Skittles said...

thats funny! that shoes in the house thing would drive my family crazy. we wear shoes in the house for 2 minutes and my mom says, "do you have to wear shoes in the house?"

Anonymous said...

My mom says "You walked in the house with your shoes. Go get the vac. and do the whole house, I don't care if we just did it yesterday!"

Wow, your life must be STRANGE!
Mario

deb said...

Hey Mario~I like how your mom thinks! ;)

Kerri, is Yoccos the place that flat stephanie visited? Also, could you find out the significance of the metal stars on houses? I really need to know.

Facinating stuff!

Anonymous said...

What if YOU were one of us, I don't think you'd like how she thinks anymore, but I shall pass on your comment of aproval.
Mario

Pam said...

Stop first before getting on the highway. Now that makes sense.

I don't think I can pronounce any of those nearby towns. I think it is a sign that people in our area didn't make it past the 8th grade. We have plain one or two syllable names. Three syllable...now that is getting out of hand.

Yocco's eh? Is that what sound you make when you throw up a hot dog?

Yeah for non-chains! Maybe it won't become another Chicago.

I don't know what to make of people wearing shoes in the house. Maybe they figure there will be another Revolutionary War and will need to leave quick.

Kerri said...

Ah, I KNEW that the shoes comment would get the most gasps and horrors!
My Canadian friend here has acclimated herself to this phenomenon and became like the Romans as they say....I am trying to do the same, but I still cringe inside. I may hang a sign, it's undecided as of yet.

Kerri said...

Pw,
your comments made me laugh! You and Andy would have a great time eating food out here. Your adventurous pallets would be dancing. A trip to a diner, being called "hon" and "dear" more times than grammatically possible, can be intense on the stomach. However, we being still infected with the lifestyle of Maple Grove long for Chipotle, Noodles and Company and PF Changs. We do frequent the Red Robin in Allentown sometimes, however. I love their Whisky River Chicken Wrap.
Yoccos is just a strange place, and I can always tell when Roy and Jackson have eaten there because of the smell that stays with them the next couple days. Not good.

Anonymous said...

I don't think you should let them eat there, for their safty.

Definately hang a sign saying to take off your shoes, though you will be the talk of the town as the weird lady from MN, but that's something to be proud of. don't change your MN ways!

Mario