Next on "The Travels of Liz"...

This weekend is my absolute favorite weekend of the year. This is the weekend of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. Nearly all the art on my walls is from vendors at the Fest. Nearly all the Penn State clothing I have is bought during this weekend, because the Arts Festival takes place on the main campus of Penn State.

The art at the Fest is top notch; it's one of the most competitive art festivals in the country. I get prints from the same guy every year, but every year there are a few surprises. Like the leather worker from last year. My mom saw that I had fallen deeply in love with this gorgeous leather bag that was perfect for work. They were so confident that I'd get a new job within the next year that they bought me the bag and gave it to me when I started here at YSN. Last year there was also this guy who made these beautiful collages with sheet music and other trinket things. I've got these great hippie prints of Beatles album covers. A shadow box collage. A Japanese style line drawing of a woman kneeling at the moon. A one of a kind original painting of a very brave fish. And four prints I got years ago from a woman who hasn't been back since. She took pictures of naked women with colored shadows cast on them. They're absolutely beautiful (and not dirty).

There's also live entertainment at the Fest-- bands, comedians, stuff for kids, etc. And then there's the food. Stands everywhere offering tons of different kinds of food. Gyros, Chinese, Thai, American (with fried chicken and hot dogs and such), and two stands devoted to dessert. Yes, I do know that. Two stands devoted to dessert. One serves more Nordic/Swedish type stuff, with strudel and homemade danish-tart things. And the other has fried dough (mmm), and both cheesecake and strawberries, on sticks, covered in chocolate. That's right. It's like the land of plenty. You can walk around with a chocolate covered strawberries on a stick.

Usually the five of us -- my parents, my sisters, and me -- meet up and share a really, really relaxing, laid back weekend. There are no plans, except where we should meet for dinner, and if Angie and I are going to go out with some of her friends. But this year, Katie is working at the theater and can't get time off, and Angie's schedule means that her day off is Friday. So it would mean that I was going to spend the weekend alone with my parents.

Now, I've been trying to get Amanda to the Arts Festival ever since I met her six years ago. I know she'd have a great time with the art and the food. And now this year, when I have a hotel room all to myself and no companions, she might actually make it! (Which is absolutely wonderful, because I don't really want to go to the bars alone. Miss you, Angie!)

So I'm all packed and ready to go. I have about two hours of work left before I head out on the open road. The weather is beautiful today, so it'll be a much nicer drive than it was for Angie's graduation (it was icky and cold and rainy).

And no, I most certainly have not brought my Penn State flask and a bottle of vodka! How dare you ask such a thing!!