Back to the Woods!

We just returned from our annual family trip to the wild woods of Pennsylvania. We spent the week in a one-room cabin with a stove, a refrigerator, a bunk bed, and a table...no water or bathroom. It was our experiment with a little bit more rustic type of trip and it was a great success. The boys loved waiting for the stars at night and roasting marshmallows, hiking and swimming during the day and doing lots and lots of lollygagging around.

They discovered a frog living under the cabin and would bend down talking to him, look for him in the morning and now talk about how much they miss him.
They threw lots of rocks in the nearby river....
enjoyed lots of books...
and are immensely proud of the one mile hike we did to get to a waterfall. (The 'real' hike is 11 treacherous miles with 20 waterfalls...not our style just yet).


Once again, we are impressed with PA state parks and their extensive network of cabins and have dreams of booking a whole state park's worth of cabins one year with a gaggle of family and friends. You in?

We drove back straight into Hurricane Irene. In fact, we drove alongside the Red Cross Disaster Response Team truck for a few miles. A bit harrowing...wondering if we were in fact driving the wrong directions and should just head back into PA and return after the Hurricane was done. But friends said it was OK and indeed it was. We got home in time to secure everything and slept through most of it. There was certainly lots of damage in our town...downed trees and drowned parks. But, we and everyone we know is ok, if not a little shook up. Given that both of my grandmothers are named Irene, I know the quiet strength an Irene already. Don't take them for granted, that's for sure!