Friday, September 6, 2013

Vacation 2013

I intended to name this post 
Potter County 2013....
however, some of our fun happened outside 
of Potter County so I decided to just go with 
boring
Vacation 2013 instead.

We, (Becky, Warren, Jonathan, Pastor Mike and two dogs), 
took off after church on Sunday, as usual,
and headed up the road.
With visions of quiet days sitting streamside
and evenings of campfires dancing in our heads.

They were nice visions....
but they were not necessarily to be our reality this year.

For an hour or so after we arrived it seemed as if things might 
be normal.
My brother, Allan and sister in law, Bev, waited for 
us with a crackling campfire holding most of 
our evening meal.
They had brought amazing fresh veggies which were 
roasting on the fire.
I quickly cranked up the propane grill and 
heated up some summer sausage.
It was all very delicious!!

Then Jonathan stepped outside and the 
happy bubble of night time campfires popped!
There, directly in front of him, passed a bear which 
the guys estimated to be about 500 pounds as they 
watched it visit the neighboring cabin.

As it walked within five yards of Jonathan 
it looked right at him and then dismissed him
and continued on its way.

Overnight, Jonathan was wakened by this, 
or another bear at the window.
He heard the thud of large paws on the cabin wall
and then the snuff and scrape of a nose
across the screen.
Thinking quickly, 
Jonathan jumped up 
and slammed the window
closed.
He stood guard the rest of the night
protecting the rest of us who slept unaware.
Ahhh....good to have a security guard in the family.

Monday was a delightful day
spent with Allan and Bev.
They took Jonathan over to a stocked fishing pond
where they had the best time catching and releasing trout.
They returned for lunch and some rocket times before Allan and Bev
had to head home.  We were sad to see them go.
A storm was blowing in so I warned Bev that if our power went
out we would show up at their house.
She sweetly said we would be welcome...
and then I assured her that we wouldn't do that.

As they had just begun to pull out of the drive
Jonathan said, 
"The lights are out in the cabin!"

Sure enough....we had lost power!
It was to remain out for the next 12 hours.
It added a new dimension to our stay.
Candles, made by me and left in prior visits came in very handy!
Thankful, once again, for the propane grill we made
hot dogs and baked beans for dinner.

After quite some time we found propane lanterns
and an oil lantern to add to the lighting situation.
It was sometime as Warren was setting up 
our new lighting that I caught sight of a bat.
IN THE CABIN.
Swooping, very near our heads.
Especially mine.
I kept feeling the whoosh of air displaced by 
those webbed wings.
Arrgghhh.

I don't like bats.... up that close!

So, I took my Kindle and a candle and 
locked myself in the bathroom.
LOL

Then I listened as the guys worked to get the bat 
to leave the cabin.
That was funny.
Even as Pastor Mike kept insisting that the bat 
was coming under the bathroom door.
He thought he was so funny.
O.k. so maybe a little.

Jonathan was the hero once again as he 
captured the bat in a bedroom 
and set him free outside.

We went to bed kind of early since 
without power there would be no movie watching 
as we had planned.

Tuesday's excitement came in the evening when Mike 
announced that the bear was back.
Turns out this was a smaller one.
Warren got a picture or two but they are on his phone.
I'll have to see if I can get them.

No evening camp fires.
Not with such people accustomed bears.
You can't trust them to stay back.

Things settled down after all of this excitement and 
we did our annual pilgrimage to Caudersport, 
where we picked up some amazing
local Maple Syrup.

I used it on yummy french toast
with peaches on top the next two mornings.
You must try this sometime!

By Wednesday we knew we wanted to head over 
to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon 
near Wellsboro.

It was the perfect day!






We enjoyed this for as long as there was time
before heading into Wellsboro to use McDonalds wifi
to Facetime with Chelsea.

It was great to share our vacation with her.
Kids growing up and missing family vacations
kind of stinks.....
Mikey had to stay home to work, as well, 
but it was great to make contact from a half a world away.

I'll close this post for now.
It is so lengthy...
but we are grateful for some days of relaxation 
after a summer of unexpected events.

Blessings!!


8 comments:

Amy said...

What a wonderful vacation. Lots of animal fun! The photos are beautiful. Blessings!

PJ @ Planned in Pencil said...

oh my goodness! so many bears so little time! you better not come to our house, the woods next to it is full of bats, but I don't mind them at all because at night when they fly all they do is eat bugs. However, one has never come in the house!

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

Wow! Wonder what's making the bears come so close to the cabin this year?

Glad no one was hurt.

It sounds as if your trip was still fun and relaxing!

Deanna

Unknown said...

We had bears come up to our cabin in Treasure Lake, DuBois, PA when we've been there. Unnerving for sure. Glad, tho, despite the adventure ... all was enjoyed & ended well. <3

TTFN ~
Hugs,
Marydon

Vee said...

Sounds like an exciting vacation! Maybe a little too exciting! One of my recurring nightmares is of watching my little sister thrashing with a bat caught in her hair. Yes, it really happened and, obviously, it was a strong imprint on my young mind. Hope Jonathan is sleeping well after such close encounters with the bears! What beautiful scenery you have shared today!

Karen said...

Oh my word! This year, it really would have worked to tie a marshmallow to Julianne's wrist and put the string out the window. Yikes!

We were just discussing at dinner the other night that we weren't with you right then. Kinda sad dinner conversation. :-(

So nice to hear about your trip. I can picture it all and I'm sorry we weren't around to share your fun. Well, except for the power outage and the bears. I didn't really miss those. ;-)

Linda G. said...

I enjoy visiting Wellsboro and the PA Grand Canyon. We've been talking about taking a trip over there this year, but haven't made it yet .. perhaps in October, when the leaves have changed color.

Theresa said...

Oh my... bears and bats? YIKES! BUT, it sounds like you guys had a wonderful trip anyway! Have a blessed week dear friend, HUGS!