Summer Adventure / Mermaid Tales

Monday and Tuesday of this week were just two peachy days. With sunshine, no rain at all, low humidity, nice breezes, and highs in the low to mid 70s, it was just about perfect summer weather, like you might remember from childhood. 

My husband and I had talked about it, decided we were going to try to make it up to the swimming pool at Hyner Run, a place we have not been in five or six years. But before we went, because we hadn't been there in a while, and because it's more than an hour's drive to get there, my husband said he'd call first to make sure the swimming pool was open.

Well, when he called, the message on the park office's answering machine stated that their office was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. So we had no way to learn the status of the swimming pool. That seemed too long a drive to take such a risk, so we decided to try for Bald Eagle State Park instead.

When he called the office at Bald Eagle to make sure the beach was open, he also asked about road construction. The last time we'd been there, maybe five weeks ago, they were just getting ready to start tarring and chipping the road that goes past the main park entrance. 

It was a project that would surely be finished by now, right? Well, guess what: they'd just started paving the road THE DAY BEFORE. The office lady said it was a total mess, the road was yucky, and there were significant travel delays. So we crossed that off our list.

"I'm tired of calling state parks," my husband said. And so we punted, and we decided to go to a pond we know of up in the woods. There was nobody to call to check the status of anything. I'd packed and repacked my swim bag twice already; now we needed to add swim fins and floaties!

In short order, we were packed up and on the road. We nabbed hoagies on the way, tucked them into the cooler. And then we were at the pond, where we enjoyed a quick picnic lunch of half a hoagie each, along with potato chips and drinks. I got my floatie out, which already was mostly full of air; added a bit more, put my swim fins on, and hopped into the water. Voila! The last Pennsylvania mermaid is back in business!

You may see two scenes from our day. Above is a picture of me in my blue swimsuit on my new green floatie. In the extras is a shot of my view of the pond through my swim fins, with my husband taking his turn on my floatie on the pond.

At one point, I was floating around, and my husband came up and grabbed onto the other end of my floatie. Me on one end, him on the other. I can't remember what he was saying, but I was thinking about kissing him. Then I looked into his eyes and saw my reflection - on my green floatie - on each of his sunglass lenses. "I can see me in each of your eyes!" I remember saying; "What a shot this would make; I wish I had my camera!"

And what did he say back? "Stop kicking my belly!" he said. I looked at him, surprised: "My feet are BEHIND me," I replied. And I kicked, just for good measure, to show him my feet way back there. Suddenly, my husband was off like a shot! "Something is biting my belly!" he exclaimed.

Well, there were tiny fish in the pond. And who knows, maybe some bigger fish too. And turtles, which we've occasionally seen. "Are you sure it wasn't a snapping turtle?" I asked helpfully. But he thought it was just a little fish, nibbling on his belly fuzz. 

We traded places. He got on the floatie and I swam around for a while. You can go fast and far with swim fins on! And then as I was floating around, I felt . . . nibbling. The Nibblers again! I went to the edge of the pond, stood up at the edge, and saw three or four little fish heading toward me, ready for a taste. "Stop it!" I told them, shooing them away with my hand.

Then it was my turn back on the floatie, and my husband got out and dried off and took some pictures of me, including the one above. Suddenly, I noticed that I was being bitten. Ow! Not by the Nibblers. Oh no. 

It was biting flies, and they were biting me right at the edge of my swimsuit, on my butt cheeks. They got really itchy, really quickly. I started splashing water on myself, trying to scare them away. Eventually, I gave up, and took my floatie to shore, where I got out, dried myself off, and changed into my shorts and t-shirt. 

I showed my husband my bites, about eight of them, which had gotten swelled up and nasty, and he sprayed me down with Gold Bond first aid quick spray, which did the trick. In short order, the big welts were gone!

We packed up our stuff and headed for the other side of the pond, to a shady spot, where we ate the rest of our hoagies and spent a very pleasant time together, listening to music on the tunes box. 

My husband got to our spot before me, and by the time I arrived, loaded down like a pack horse, he was playing an album just for me: Stevie Nicks, Bella Donna, from 1981, probably still my favorite. (I mean, come on: Stevie Nicks, Tom Petty, and Don Henley? What's not to like?) Followed by the Moody Blues, and more good stuff. The Moose and Tiger and Anteater all nearly swooned, it was such a pleasant day.

We stayed longer than we intended to, and when we were finally getting ready to leave, I walked down along the creek. The water was crystal clear, and pure, and beautiful, and I took many photos, and even a few short videos. 

We grabbed some burgers on the way back, admired some pretty flowers along the roadside, and arrived home tired but refreshed. What a glorious summer day's adventure for the last Pennsylvania mermaid and her best beloved! You may enjoy a few more photos from this amazing day on Instagram.

I've got two pictures so here are two songs from the soundtrack of our day. First is Stevie Nicks and Don Henley, with Leather and Lace, from Bella Donna. Second is the Moody Blues, with Tuesday Afternoon. 

I will end with just one piece of advice: Seize the day!!!!