I'm back, I'm back.

Just got back from vacation. Coming back to work is a bummer, of course. I was in a small town in Pennsylvania the last few days, attending a bridal shower for my friend's niece. My friend's husband couldn't make the trip and she didn't want to make the drive alone, so she invited me. It was pretty relaxing and her family was very warm and welcoming. I could not live in a town that small, though. It only has about 3500 residents and the nearest Target is almost two hours away. That's about as close to Hell as I can imagine getting without actually being in Hell. On Monday, we went to this little village named Lily Dale. Here's a little information from Budget Travel Online, just so you can get the jist of this place:

At a strange little village an hour south of Buffalo, talking to the dead is a way of life. Founded by the Laona Free Thinkers Association in 1879, when spiritualism was an obsession of America's elite, Lily Dale attracted legends such as Susan B. Anthony, Mae West, and Harry Houdini. Today, "the Dale," pop. 500, unlocks its picket fences each summer to admit soul-searchers. (This year: June 25 to September 5; visitors pay $7 for every 24 hours they visit; 716/595-8721, http://www.lilydaleassembly.com/.)

More than 30 residents of this tree-shaded town are clairvoyants who purport to help people connect with departed family, friends, and spirit guides. On their gingerbread-trimmed homes, look for signs soliciting private sessions ($50 to $75 for 30 to 60 minutes).

Take the gravel path at the edge of the village into the Leolyn Woods, past the tilted, moss-covered gravestones of the pet cemetery, and into the towering old-growth forest where "message services" have been held since 1898.

At 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. each day, mediums "serve spirit" to believers sitting expectantly on benches. Also try the free 4 p.m. service at the tiny Forest Temple nearby. The pamphlet at the Healing Temple on East Street admonishes, "Spiritual healing is not a substitute for medical treatment." But daily at 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m., men and women in white stroke the invisible energy fields of ailing visitors.

Anyway, we went there for the afternoon and had some readings done, which I'll talk about tomorrow because I've got too much catching up to do right now, so until then.