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!!