A Beautiful Day in May!

It was a day that was all you could wish for. The torrential rains finished moving through on Friday, and what followed was a cooler system, with a mix of sun and clouds. My sisters and I had agreed that this summer, we would like to do one of our favorite summer treats, a trip to Knoebels Amusement Resort, earlier in the summer than we usually do. Most summers, August finds us trying to schedule a quick day trip to the park amid sweltering heat and humidity. We started talking about it during January and February, when it was still snowing: Didn't we think it might be nicer to try to go earlier, before it gets so hot? The answer was an enthusiastic Yes!

My husband and I discussed it, and he asked me to drop him off at Hairy John's picnic area on my way, where he would spend the day hiking while I met three of my sisters and their families at the park. And so that is what we did. We left our house by about 8:15, traveled route 45 out the big valley, and parked the car at the picnic area, where I ran down to the little pond and did a quick trip around it in the morning, snapping some photos, while my husband put on his boots, grabbed a few items out of the cooler, and got his daysack packed for the day's adventures. By 9:30, I was back on the road again, heading for Sunbury, and from there to Elysburg, the home of Knoebels ("America's largest free-admission park," per their Web site).

Those jokers at mapquest indicated that it was 50 minutes from our house to Hairy John's, when in fact it turned out (with construction on route 45) to be more like an hour. And they lied outright in telling me that it was a mere 50 minutes from Hairy John's to Knoebels, when in fact, it turned out to be more like an hour and 20 minutes. I might have made it in time, except that I got behind a slow van driver on Snydertown Road, and encountered complete gridlock in Elysburg itself, due to the yard sales that stretched from one end of town to the other. So I was late getting there (sorry, sisters!). At this time of year, the park is only open on weekends, and officially, the rides and stands are open from noon to 8 pm. This changes around Memorial Day, when the park begins to be open every day from about 10:30 am until darkness and even beyond.

As soon as we got there, we went trolling for food, and ended up having some very tasty pizza at Cesari's, where I worked as a "pizza girl" in the summer of 1984 while I was in college, staying with my one older sister and her family. It was a delightful job, and best of all, working at the pizza place was like being adopted into a huge, fun, Italian family. They treated me well, and in some ways, it might have been the best job of my life. The pay wasn't stunning, but it was certainly NOT a job whose worries you'd carry home with you, to wake you up in a panic in the middle of the night.

The kids - the twin sons of my nephew and his wife, and the daughter of my little sister and her husband - got hand stamps, which meant they paid a single price that would allow them to ride as many rides as they wanted; so they rode ride after ride. We also managed to fit in some of the things that delight me: an excursion into the Carousel Museum, a shopping trip in the Mining Museum gift shop, fresh hot french fries dripping with ketchup, and photos galore.

Meanwhile, the sun came and went, the clouds came and went, and around mid-afternoon, we had the occasional tiny drizzle, each of which lasted no more than a minute or two. I rode a few rides with my sisters, but not many - the sky ride, the big wheel - and I even ran into the Nittany Lion mascot at the park. (I guess I didn't get the memo that it was Penn State day there, but I felt right at home!)

A month or two ago, I had borrowed a pair of Disney Princess dolls from my little sister's daughter Kaylee, and you've seen them several times in Blip postings (here, here, and here). They've had many, many more adventures than you've seen, believe me! But on this day, they were to be returned to their rightful owner. And I did that. But not until the end of the day, after the gals had enjoyed a ride on the big wheel, and pizza and fries along with the rest of us.

While we were riding the big wheel, the Princesses sat in the center of our group, bravely looking out over the park, even when the ride reached scary heights! And one of the silliest and funnest moments of my day was singing - along with my little eight-year-old neice - Let It Go, from Disney's Frozen, as we rode that ride. It was hard saying good-bye to the Princesses, but as a consolation to myself, I bought a wonderful, colorful dinosaur in one of the gift shops. And I photographed the Princesses with the dinosaur before returning them to their rightful owner. Such adventures they'll have to tell!

All good things must come to an end, though, and so shortly after 3 pm, two of my sisters and I left the park - me, to go back to Hairy John's to spend a little time with my husband there before returning home. I made very good time, even had time to stop for five minutes to check out the swollen Susquehanna River in Sunbury, and still arrived a little earlier than I had told my husband I'd be back. I found him by the pond, relaxing after a day of hiking, and boy, did he have a story to tell me!

"You'll never guess what I saw!" he told me excitedly. "Boy, will you wish you'd been there!" And then he went on to tell me about his perfect sighting of a four-foot timber rattler on a rocky outcrop along the trail. He didn't just SEE it, he got to spend about an hour of quality time with it; carefully, of course, sitting nearby and viewing it from a safe distance. And of course I was envious; it's been years since I've seen a timber rattler. And what I'd give for just a few minutes - let alone an hour! - with one, with my camera in hand.

The clouds turned darker, and I noted it, and pointed out that when it had done that at Knoebels, it had drizzled shortly after, but only for a minute or two. And then I headed down to the other end of the pond and began taking pictures of the trees backlit by late-day light . . . just as a gentle rain drops began to dance upon the pond, sparkling like diamonds. I kept taking pictures, and heard a sound . . . someone singing! It was my husband, walking toward me through the pines, singing, "Have you ever seen the rain . . . coming down on a sunny day?!"

We even had enough time to make a short stop at a place we've been driving past for years, but have never had time to stop before: Muddy Paws Wetland, in Spring Mills, which is featured in this photo. It's only about a half-hour's drive from our home, but somehow we've never been there. We walked out on the boardwalk onto the marsh, and then along several lovely, green paths. And how very civilized: along the way, there were stacks of comfy Adirondack chairs, just waiting to be put to use!

We found it to be beautiful, delightful, an absolute paradise for birds! I liked it so much that I instantly wanted to move in and stay there! At one point, I saw what looked like a travel-sized heron, shorter and rounder than the regular kind; a friend has suggested that it might be a black-crowned night heron (or perhaps a green heron). I have read up on them since then. While they are supposedly quite common, I don't recollect photographing one before. What a charming, but just a bit grumpy-looking little fellow! (In more recent days, I also have found some resemblance in those photos to a green heron.)

And then, finally, we came home, exhausted but happy! What a wonderful, wonderful day! An amusement park adventure, family time, tasty snacks, a huge rattlesnake, sun through the rain, and the discovery of a new and amazing place to explore near where we live! The song to accompany this photo, which is but one beautiful thing I saw on a day FILLED with beautiful things, reflects the mood I was in by day's end. I just couldn't believe my good fortune; I was so happy. And so the song to accompany this image is R.E.M., Shiny Happy People.