better late than never....

July 7, 2009

Things are happening swift and furiously folks. Home vacations have geared up tremendously in the past few days, so much so I have had little time to sit and write about our events! But now that I’ve gotten settled in at our campsite at Ricketts Glen in Pennsylvania and the intermittent rain has finally stopped and I’m blessed with the blue skies promised by the weather reports, I can finally write some and share our escapades for the past number of days.

But first, a word of caution before I begin; I am writing on a laptop and there are no electrified logs here. The only outlet is at the shower facilities. There is no phone service here either and sadly there isn’t a wifi café anywhere at all near here. I am writing as much as I can for as long as I can and will post this at the first sign of civilization that doesn’t involve some kid rolling down the macadam on a scooter. (I'm actually back at Janet's house and finally I am able to post this very tardy entry....)

Ricketts Glen is in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania; roughly 90 miles from Janet’s town. We arrived today, Tuesday, and leave on Friday. Janet has been talking about coming here for years now and finally with home vacations making this a real possibility, indeed necessity; this is a great place to visit. She says the Falls Trail that we are to hike tomorrow is spectacular. Featuring 21 different waterfalls, with one cataract cascading 94 feet, it will be a steep, arduous hike, but evidently worth the effort. A fellow who works at my gym has also spoke glowingly of this Pennsylvanian State Park and comes here often to photograph the scenery. Overall Ricketts Glen has 26 miles of hikes.

Though Janet has been here, she has never camped at Ricketts Glen. She has camped often in the past and has regaled me with tales of roughing it in Alaska and backpacking through the Colorado Rockies. I have camped and backpacked too, as well as several overnight canoeing trips down the Delaware, but nothing as exotic in location as Janet can boast. This is the first camping experience for us as a couple. This isn’t really roughing it though. I have a spacious 4 man tent. Janet provided an air mattress, pillows, sheets and comforter. This is car camping after all…and at $19 per night during the week for a Pennsylvania resident, this is well within our home vacation requirement of not spending money. But, everyone else has the same idea. The allure of a cheap vacation means we are not alone. We are in campsite 114. There are people all around us, like we’re living in a townhome, but the lakefront is serene and we are both very happy to be here. I think one of the days here we are going to rent a canoe and paddle about. That is if the rain holds out. I noticed that the weather changes rapidly here. We are roughly 2400 feet above sea level and the clouds roil in and out, alternately dousing us and then bathing us in brilliant sunlight. As I write, I have one eye constantly on the sky above.

Last week there was no vacationing at all. She and I spent the week apart tending to home and family matters and were logistically homebound. I helped my struggling son look for a summer job and I felt I did some very good writing in my new novel, while Janet held the hand of one daughter through the breakup with a boyfriend and then picked up the other from the airport. SHE was in England for 3 weeks….there’s something wrong with this picture huh? I mean a kid is in England for three weeks while her mom and her vacuous boyfriend camp. (At least we snuck good Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA’s into the park to drink…though that’s against park rules….) On the other hand I shouldn’t bitch about such things, because all four of our kids are working, and we are gainfully unemployed!

Speaking of novels, I’m still trying to find a publisher for my second book. I finished it a couple of years ago and I haphazardly send it out to potential publishers and agents. I actually love to write, but I certainly hate the business part of my craft. Anyway, if you have any leads, or if you’d like to read a manuscript version of my book, write to me. Greg.dunaj@yahoo.com . You can also read the first chapter of my first novel at: xlibris.com/hihowareyou.html.

On Saturday, the fourth of July, we celebrated the holiday with what has become a fine tradition for us; we listened to the Riverside Symphonia while fireworks are set off at Tinicum Park in Pennsylvania. The Symphonia is headquartered in Lambertville and throughout the year they play several shows in the area. By far, the event we attended last weekend is the highlight of their calendar year. Held on the polo grounds at the park (another cheap home vacation at $5.00 per car each Saturday afternoon during the summer), the celebration draws in the neighborhood of 5,000 people and it is a festive affair. This year we invited Janet’s mother and her elderly aunt to attend. We dragged in a folding table and had wine and cheese to begin, Aunt Betty’s famous potato salad and chicken, cookies and German chocolate cupcakes made by Janet’s mother. Throughout the show tunes, classical music, Sinatra and Cole Porter homage’s as well as the required patriotic music played by the symphonia, we ate and drank and then ooed and aahed at the fireworks. Janet was very happy we were able to share such a good time with her mother and her aunt. Because I don't have any of my family members alive it was doubly wonderful for me to share these experiences with Mame and Aunt Betty!

Sunday was the makeup baseball game at Waterfront Park in Trenton. Though the Thunder eventually lost 5-0 to the New Britain Rock Cats our seats were so close to home it did not matter who played. As a fan of the game, it was exciting to be there. The thud of the baseball into the catcher’s mitt has so loud that it had us wincing each time. We saw the grimace of a called third strike on the batter’s face. The crack of the bat was like the report of a rifle. We were so close to the action we could tell if the umpire missed the call!

The Trenton Thunder lost, but because they are the AA affiliate of the Yankees we got to see a major leaguer get in some rehab playing time. Jose Molina, a backup catcher, was behind the plate for the first 5 innings and we could tell by his level of play was of major league quality, especially compared to some of the freshmen on the team. Sadly though, Molina struck out feebly three times before being removed.

We were seated in row section 13, row AA seats 7 & 8. We were right at the net. It was good to be there. The sun was brillant and no clouds hovered overhead. Throughout the game we drank either Heferweizen or Spatan Octoberfest beer. Afterwards I drove Janet down to that central Jersey iconic diner, Mastoris. We each had grilled cheese and ham sandwiches that were obscenely huge; Janet couldn’t believe she allowed us to order two. At the counter we each ate one half of our sandwich and took the other home, the car listing noticeably from the extra weight of the leftovers. The beers at the ballpark were just $5.75 each. The sandwich was $9.50.

Monday we prepped for our travels. We had aired out my tent over the weekend and we cobbled together other items at my house. We then drove to Janet’s house in our separate cars and went food shopping for our trip. We plan on making just one dinner and finding places to eat out here in the wild lands of the commonwealth. Tonight Janet is preparing Beef stroganoff Hamburger Helper. While she cooks I surreptitiously swill a Dogfish 60 IPA.

Earlier today we walked the trail to the beach at the lake here and watched Amish boys and girls play volley ball. Not one of their number went into the water. I held out as long as I could to see if the girls would strip down to bikinis, but Janet soon tired of this and pulled me by the ear back to the campsite.

Tomorrow we hike the popular Falls Trail at Ricketts Glen.

Because we just got back to Janet's house after traveling over 100 miles from Ricketts Glen this will be the only post. I will describe our Falls Trail hike as well as the 12 mile jaunt through the woods as soon as possible. Included in this future edition of my blog will be dirt roads through state game lands to reach the Jamison Hotel; great bar with very cheap food; and an adventurous trip to Lovelton and the Tombstone Sportsman's Lounge. Please keep in touch!!!!!