Getting to Know Tobyhanna

Each of us is adapting to live with the coronavirus in our own way.  When the full import of the pandemic dawned on us in March, we realized that we would not be able to fly back to Philly or D.C. for the holidays this winter.  We knew we would not want to winter over in our motorhome in order to stay close enough to share the holidays with family.  So, after some deep soul-searching, we decided to rent a cottage in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania -- about a 2 hour drive from Philly and a 4 hour drive from the Washington, D.C. area.  We finally found one that meets our needs -- including having room in its driveway for our motorhome.  It has some simple character and enough room for our family to visit if they want to:

On Tuesday, September 1, 2020, we drove up from our campground in Manassas, Virginia to check into our new winter home, pick up the keys, and survey it for work we need to do to make it homey for the 7 months we'll have it -- all the way until April 1, 2021.

When Katie heard about it, she asked if she and the puppies could join us for the inaugural visit.  We eagerly said yes!

We got a late start driving up to the Poconos, because we were hoping to bring our grandson William with us.  However, a Covid scare in his family caused everyone to rethink William's participation, and we finally got on the road, without him, about noon.  By the time we arrived at the house, Katie and the puppies had arrived and made it a very warm welcome for us.  You see, even Ruby kitten (the cats came with us) appreciated Katie's welcome:

The cats made the second story their home; the puppies made the ground floor theirs.  Never the twain did meet, except for one brief, blissful few minutes when our most timid cat, Flip, ventured bravely down the spiral staircase to make friends with Ruthie puppy!  We were startled that Flip was the brave one.  Baxter and Ruby, the adventurous cats, would not dare to come down the stairs and meet the puppies.  However, as you can see from the photo above, the staircase, which the puppies could not climb, beame a favorite cat perch and playground.

Tom J., the husband of Kathy's sister Eileen, offered to contributed a Chuckluck board he had made for his parents, who, sadly, have passed, and we thought it made a most excellent addition to the cabin ambience:

We spent Tuesday evening catching up with Katie and all had a good night's sleep.  On Wednesday, we took Ruthie and Maggie, the puppies, on a walk over in Tobyhanna State Park.  The day was misty and threatened rain, but all were game for a short hike:

After the hike, we spent the rest of the day Wednesday doing moving-in and clean-up chores, grocery shopping, etc.  That night, we relaxed with some rousing games of Chuckluck, and again got ourselves a good night's sleep.  To our happy surprise, Thursday dawned sunny with a rainless forecast, so, again, we took the puppies over to Tobyhanna State for a 5-mile hike around the lake:

The lake is gorgeous, and just the right size to paddle with our kayaks, which has us excited.  We checked with the boat rental guy, who informed us that the lake is stocked with trout twice in the Fall, which got us excited to get our Pennsylvania fishing license and our boat launch permits so that we can try our luck fishing from the kayaks later this Autumn:

There was nothing about that day of our hike that was less than perfect:

The trail winds around, along the lake's dam.  David walked across the dam and caught this photo of Kathy, Katie and the puppers as they followed the trail proper toward the footbridge across the outlet stream:

It was just a dam nice day:

Yet, already, there were signs of Autumn.  The air had some crispness and less humidity; the path was strewn with red and yellow leaves, and we even spotted some unusual Fall colors:

Katie spotted this little peeper, who, realizing we were staring at him, started hopping away, up the tree trunk.  We caught a photo of him nevertheless:

The are above the inlet stream on the far side of the lake is a beautiful wetland, and it, too, is already showing blushes of Fall color:

Just around the trail at the inlet stream itself, we stopped for lunch, and Katie paused to catch some photos of the puppies as they frolicked in the water.  Katie said that Ruthie probably considered this the best day of her life ever.  You could see how much fun she and Maggie had, splashing and running off-leash:

Meanwhile, back at the cabin, after the hike, we bought two cat towers.  Ruby, our little athlete, wasted no time claiming one of them as hers.  (The other tower has been installed in the living room downstairs, and, while the puppies are present, the cats will not be exploring it.)

Katie is on vacation and so decided to stay at the cottage a couple extra days, but we drove back down to Virginia on Friday, September 4.  We were relieved to learn that the family Covid scare was a false alarm and we're busy making plans with everyone for an October Birthday Weekend bash at the Poconos cottage once we've moved in a couple weeks hence.

We are really looking forward to hikes, paddles, snowshoes and other adventures in the Poconos this winter.  We're sure you'll hear more about all that in future blog entries.

In the meantime, enjoy your Labor Day holiday!