The Last Sloppy Joe

This posting continues my long-standing tradition of providing the foodie tour of central Pennsylvania. . . .

My husband and I decided to make use of the good weather to take a trip over to Couch's of McAlevy's Fort for a nice, hot lunch, and then go for a swim at Whipple Dam, which is only a few miles away. It was to be a pleasant day, one of several nice ones in a row, before the overwhelming heat starts to crank it back up again later on in this holiday week.

Before leaving the house, I'd checked Couch's Facebook page, and been quite unhappy to learn that they'd offered the sloppy joe special - a sloppy joe, fries, and a fountain drink for $7.29 - the day BEFORE. It's so hard to find a decent sloppy joe, and they seldom have this. And I'd missed it. Darn, oh hecky-darn!

But when we got to Couch's, my husband ordered his fish dinner, and then he had the presence of mind to ask if they had any more of the sloppy joe special from the day before. She said she did not think so but she'd check with the kitchen; then came back to inform him that THEY HAD JUST ONE LEFT!!! Against all odds, I was going to have what I wanted!

So here is a picture of my sloppy joe and curly fries. For the record, this sloppy joe could take the Pepsi challenge with anybody else's sloppy joe in the world. It was easily the size of TWO sloppy joes. My beverage, not shown, was a refillable fountain drink.

Behind to the left, you may see some gravy for dipping those crispy curly fries in. Behind that gravy is some of the world's best cole slaw, which I love; my husband ordered it as part of his fish dinner, just for me. I put it in a container and took it home to enjoy its creamy goodness later.

We left Couch's with full bellies and about four new books we'd picked up at the book swap by the front counter. Take a book, leave a book. Given the location (not far from the Big Valley, famous for its Amish inhabitants), the collection trends heavily toward Amish romances. But you'd be surprised how many books I've picked up here.

Then it was off to Whipple for a pleasant swim. We parked the car part-way in and walked the rest of the way. It was breezy and nice by the lake, but much more buggy and sticky in the woodsy areas. It wasn't too populated, but there were some people, including a nice older lady who befriended us.

We sat and took turns talking with her. She is a widow in her late 80s who still enjoys an active lifestyle. We had lots to chat about, and we found her to be both an interesting talker and an active and engaged listener. She was absolutely lovely.

By the end of the afternoon, she was feeding us pieces of cut watermelon, followed by orange slices. She walked carefully into the water under my husband's watchful eyes; he and the local children helped her find them when she went into the water to swim and lost her sunglasses there.

At one point, I had already swum and was sitting on the stone wall drying off in the sun. The lady walked up the beach and her eyes lit up when she saw me. She came over and sat, again, and we talked about ice cream. 

I told her about my parents dying last fall; her husband had passed three years ago, and she had some things to say about that. As we both stood up a while later, she grabbed my hand in hers and patted it: "Don't leave without saying goodbye," she said, which was such a simple and delightful thing to say.

The afternoon ended with us exchanging contact information, which is a thing I have NEVER done with anyone I've ever met, anywhere. Well, except my HUSBAND, that time he met me in the laundromat in August 1986. And we all know how THAT ONE turned out. . . .

So this was my day: a wonderful lunch for the girl who was fortunate enough to get the last sloppy joe, thanks to my husband, of course; a very pleasant summer swim in one of my favorite swimming holes; and a chance encounter that yielded a new friend. Yes, I felt like the lucky girl to get a day like that!

My soundtrack song is Loverboy, with Lucky Ones.