It was a Friday family adventure. We took the scenic route to a state park I hadn't visited since I was a teenager. The girls had never been there.
I do love a good vista!
We picnicked on the banks of the lake after frightening a bald eagle from his perch nearby.
Fishing with children has its ups and down. Rather, it has its good casts, its tangles and getting caught on mysterious underwater objects...
It's for this reason that this was the first year that I actually got my fishing license. I grew up fishing, with one of my earliest memories being boating on the Great Lakes and catching fish with my Grandma, Grandpa, uncles and cousins. As a mama though, I've always just wrangled our youngest children. Or, I spend my fishing outings untangling lines and baiting hooks.
This time, I got to fish some. The girls fished and relished the peace of the lake. When we tired of that location, we drove around the park, trying other fishing holes and creeks.
The above picture could very well be captioned,
"What do you think? Are there fish here? Should we try it?"
It was like fishing hole jumping and state park exploration all rolled into one.
We eventually ended up at a neighboring state park, fishing in a much larger and very picturesque creek.
The Rugged Mountain Man was thrilled that the trout were ecstatic to see his lures in this location.
The girls and I didn't do quite as well here as we did in the lake and the other creeks. Also, it was rainy off and on all day and Blossom4 managed to fall in. She started to get a bit chilly so her patience for fishing finally waned.
We did see an American Redstart there though, a small warbler that we'd never even heard of!
Nevertheless, It brought me so much happiness to see the Rugged Mountain Man having epic fishing moments.
Back to the truck we went and decided that before we left, we should pop over and see the iconic Railroad Tunnel. It's what good Pennsylvanians do!
We always brought visiting relatives to see our Railroad Tunnel, tucked in the dense woods, beside a robust creek.
By now, Blossom3 has donned the Rugged Mountain Man's wool flannel and shared her mostly dry sweatshirt with Blossom4. We were just doing what it took to prolong our adventurous day.
We ventured toward home, taking the most scenic, indirect route. We weren't lost, per my Dad's definition, because we still had a full tank of gas! Seeing backwoods Pennsylvania for miles upon miles was good for the soul.
It was a memory for the ages!
Dominique
