David
I know these are supposed to take place in Philadelphia, and I am Philly’s number one fan, but sometimes you need a weekend away! So - my partner Michala and I took a week out for vacation to travel to NEPA to visit the Bloomsburg Fair, camp at Ricketts Glen State Park, and travel through the mountains of Pennsylvania. The date I was selected to do this project happened to land on our planned vacation week. Last year was Michala’s first time camping and it RAINED THE ENTIRE WEEKEND! So we had high hopes.
Image: Michala on the single dry day of this trip last year, while we were hiking the “waterfalls trail”
Before I start - here is a pic of me and my sister the day before today when we DEVOURED a blooming onion at the Bloomsburg Fair. If you have never been - it is Pennsylvania’s premier town fair. It’s absolutely massive - idk a number on vendors or anything, but please believe me it’s an amazing time.
Image: My sister Annalouise and I with our blooming onion
6:30 AM: I’m on vacation, but can’t stop myself from waking up on time for work. On a Sunday. Drank a liter of coffee to start my day of staring at trees.
7:30 AM: The coffee didn’t work, so I went back to bed. Gn.
8:30 AM: One of my favorite things to do in my hometown is biking around my familiar spots in the morning, before anyone is around. Biked a few miles around town, through old cross country practice routes. My bike right now is a 1976 Puegot PX-10 that I got repaired after a car hit me last fall. Just Philly things.
10:00 AM: Michala woke up. No hate - you should be allowed to sleep as late as you want on vacation. I wish everyone’s parents understood this…
11:00 AM: Ate breakfast at Morris’ Family Restaurant, which is a breakfast spot only a couple blocks from my family home. I got sausage gravy & biscuits, Michala got a classic breakfast platter. Only $20 with coffee for both of us?!?
11:40 AM: Drove to Bloomsburg (the only “town” in PA) to visit my sister's new apartment. I am the 7th of 8 kids, and Annalouise is the 8th. As the youngest child of such a large family, her first apartment was a big deal! Michala and I brought some housewarming gifts for her, a cast iron pan and some Halloween themed towels.
Image: Michala and I during our drive
12 PM: Over the past year, Michala and I have developed a dangerous Magic the Gathering hobby that has bled over into our friends and family. Michala, Annalouise and I played a quick game before we head out into the woods for the week, Michala won.
2:30 PM: Packed up the car with camping gear and supplies before setting off towards Ricketts Glen State Park for our outdoor adventure. Since my dad has retired from camping, we have inherited a bunch of camping gear, so we were fairly prepped for the outdoors. We accidentally left the camp stove though...
3:00 pm: Driving to some Frou Frou. Drinking an iced coffee.
4:00 PM: Arrived at Ricketts Glen and checked in at the campsite registration office. Turns out that the office is only open for check in’s from 3-4 pm, so we had to put money in an “honor system envelope” and leave it in a box at the office. We had to find the PERFECT campsite. Lot #50 had the potential for a great setup (spoiler alert, we were right in picking it).
Image: Michala and I with our campsite slip
4:30 PM: after we set up our tent, we drove to get firewood from a local store. They sell it by the barrel, and Michala always makes me stack them vertical. I feel like this is kinda cheap, but we always have enough firewood.
5:00 PM: For the past 3 years I have missed out on corn mazes during fall season; I would not miss out this year! We looked up directions to Retherford’s family farm and took on their maze. Incredible work from the staff, but honestly - light work.
06:30 PM: As soon as we got back, we started on the fire so we didn’t have to do it in the dark. It’s been a wet week, so it was a tough go… went for a lean-to style so we could dry some of the tinder on top as we began. While I worked on the fire, Michala started up dinner. For tonight, we went with tin foil packets of chicken, peppers, and onions with baked potatoes. Last year, we only had enough fire for some eggs, bacon, and Maruchen Ramen because of the rain, and the ramen was full of rainwater.
07:05 PM: Enjoyed a delicious meal under the starry sky.
8:00 PM: Relaxed by the campfire, roasting marshmallows and recounting the day's adventures while basking in the warmth of the crackling flames. Michala, after 7 years together, taught me some new tech for roasting marshmallows: toast the outside, then you can pull off the outside and roast the next layer. Gamechanging
9:00 PM: At this point in the night, we had seen our furry raccoon friend (we named him Oscar) 3 times. In addition to that, from the warning from the park rangers about leaving trash in your camp, we were very concerned about bears. So - we brought the trash we had down the .5 mile road in the pitch black darkness to the dumpsters. Halfway back, one of the flashlights died. Was… scary.
10:00 PM: Settled in for the night inside our cozy tent, the tranquil sounds of the forest lulling us to sleep as we drifted off under the watchful gaze of the stars above. Infinitely better than last years monsoon. Oscar was definitely around as well. Here’s a pic of the lake from the next morning:
