Just a Sunday drive

I spent my day on the country back roads.

Along the way I stopped at two places, one was a cute country board and batten shack that had Pumpkins, Gourds, colorful Corn, Hay bales, and free hay rides to the pumpkin patch. It was really packed with people doing their last minute pumpkin picking, and going through the corn mazes, and singing on the hey ride through the fields of pumpkins.

The second place I stopped at was Braces Orchard, I've been there before for fresh picked Cherries, but I really wanted to go there for their Apple Cider. I've seen it at local grocery stores, but I wanted to go there and buy it. They were packed as well, (I guess everyone wanted some Apples, and Apple Cider). I purchased a nice gallon of Apple Cider, all for myself. I could drink it all day, everyday! Hot or cold, cinnamon or ice.. mmm mmm good! They also had tasty Bosc Pears, that looked delicious, all kinds of Apples that were covered with candy, chocolate, nuts, then they had actual Apples, of all kinds, sweet to crisp. I didn't know they made old fashion candy as well as their own jams and relish. So much to choose from!

People were buying bushels of Apples.. I don't know what for, maybe they plan on making Pies? There was a whole truck load of older men that bought candy apples... I guess you can be any age for those? Then you had the people going crazy for Apple Doughnuts, literally waiting for them to be made! They, too, had a Hay ride through the Apple Orchards. Families were everywhere, taking pictures, eating Apples, and drinking fresh Apple Cider.

I just love days like these, it was the perfect way to end the weekend.

I must say Fall is definitely one of my favorite times of the year!

 

Adoptable Kitty's

I spent my afternoon playing with kitty's at Blue Chip Farms, a non-kill animal shelter in Dallas, Pennsylvania.

 I'm going to guess there were about 200 cats and kittens.

They also have dogs and puppies, (they actually just had a few puppies brought in from Puerto Rico today).

All looking for that special someone to come adopt them..

 

As I was sitting down in the cat cottage, I couldn't help but take pictures of all the different personalities.

You have the ones eating all the food, then you have the lap cat, then there's the one pawing me to play, of course you have the big boy that weighs a good 20lbs, you have the kittens, kitty's outside on the porch enjoying the fall air, the curious ones, and then you have the ones that are passed out in their boxes sleeping their days away.

They are all so sweet.

 I wish I could adopt them all..

Here are a few sweet kitty's looking for a home. 

 

Take me to the Pumpkin Patch!

 

I've been seeing all these pictures of people going to the Pumpkin Patch, having fun in the fall sun.. It made me want to go so bad, and over the weekend, that's what my boyfriend, Corey, and I did.

It's been almost 20 years since I've been to a Pumpkin Patch. I always remember going to one with my family, and for school field trips. Actual Indians owned it, and it was so much fun. Then for some reason they went out of business... so upsetting.

Since I moved to the farm life in Pennsylvania, I thought there had to be a Pumpkin Patch near by, and I was right. We ended up going to Whistle Pig Pumpkin Patch. It was about 40 minutes away, such a beautiful drive through the valley, and the mountains, with the windows rolled down, looking at the leaves fall off the trees.

When we got there, the first thing I did was go pet the Goats, what can I say, I love animals.. then we picked our pumpkins! Of course Corey had to pick the 60lb pumpkin.. the biggest out of them all! Mine was pretty big, too. I also found a few that were in the dollar bin, they were beautiful, I can't believe they were only a dollar each. (They turned out to be my favorite). After we picked our pumpkins, we went on a free hay ride around the farm. Then we went through the Corn Maze! I felt like we were kids again.

It was so much fun, the only thing missing was my family. Maybe next year, they'll come up, and we'll go again!

 

Sunday Funday

Over the weekend, my boyfriend, my dog, and I decided to get out and enjoy this amazing weather we've been having here in Pennsylvania. We got on the road and headed towards Ricketts Glen State Park. It's a gorgeous park with lots to do; you can hike, swim, fish, relax, bike ride, have a picnic, do whatever, it's just a really nice park. But it does get packed in the summer, so the best thing to do to avoid people is go on the long hike, I'm talking a 7.5 mile if not more, hike! This hike is beautiful, there are 22 waterfalls. There aren't many people on the hike just because it takes a lot of body and skill to complete the whole thing, one second your walking down slippery stone steps, the next your climbing up big rocks... let me just say, I busted my ass, along with the dog. It was nice, every few steps we'd stop and let Max play in the stream pools, I got my feet wet, but it was chilly! There were quite a few dogs on the hike, some were little dogs being carried by their owners that looked as if they were going to pass out... like I said, it's a long, hard, skilled hike, please don't attempt the whole thing if you are not in shape! It's a great hike, just make sure if your going on a hike longer then 2 and half hours, bring an Apple, or some Almonds to keep ya going, water is a must, too!

It always feels great to get out on the weekends!

 

Gettin' a little mud on the tires

 

It's about time we get a little mud on the tires. 

The boyfriend and I went trail riding with two other couples, my boyfriend drives a nice Ford F150 (which is behind us in the picture), the other guy drives a nice Chevy Silverado, then you have the redneck kid in his Overalls, in his older crappy looking, off-road Toyota which is what your supposed to have when you go on trails, and mudding, in case you mess it up, it's not a big deal.

When we got on the trail, we were only supposed to stay on the trail, my boyfriend kept saying, I haven't done anything with this truck, I don't want to screw it up, . . . . and then he saw the redneck go up a hill, and through the mud pit, and there my boyfriend went, following the redneck, and then the other guy with the Chevy went and drove over the hill and through the mud pit..

Guys will always be guys, and they will always be competitive with each other.

They all did it, and it was a lot of fun.

And then the redneck got stuck in his Toyota out near a lake, and my boyfriend had to pull him out, and that pretty much ended the night.

It was a lot of fun acting young, and reckless, just having a good ol' time in the mountains of Pennsylvania!

Spring Break in Panama Beach

Spring Break 2012

I went on my Spring Break a few weeks ago to Panama Beach, FL.

 Three friends of mine, and myself, went.

It wasn't like MTV, but it was a great time!

 We were there for three days, we spent our days out on the beach, with a cold drink in our hand. At the pool, relaxing. Meeting people, most people were from Michigan, Ohio, or Tennessee. Our hotel, Seahaven, was like a college dorm, It was fun while it lasted, but next time I'm staying at the Hilton. (I can't take loud music playing until 6 a.m.! Thankfully our AC was really, really loud to block out some noise). We ate at some tasty places, hello Buffalo Shrimp, and Tuna Dip with chips. We went to Happy Hour two times in one day, our bartenders were quite amusing, I miss them. One of my friends and myself hitch hiked to the liquor store, oh yeah, did I mention we got picked up by guys on Mopeds.. that was a fun ten minute ride, it sucked that we had to walk all the way back carrying liquor though. We went to free bars, who would spend a $25 cover charge? The local free bars are way more fun then ones you have to 'pay for just to get into'. I got to dance with a really old guy, but damn did he have some good ol' country swinging moves! I got to shop like a tourist, but the only thing I bought was postcards, that's a lie, I bought my new bag down there. We went down there with tons of alcohol, and even bought some more, but the day we were leaving there seemed to be lots of alcohol that hadn't been touched.. I guess that's how you know we are getting older, we only have a few drinks, instead of the whole bottle! I got to wake up early and walk the beach alone, I sat in the sand and watched the surfers, then along came a storm, a very big storm, it was such a great time to take pictures! We sat in the back of a truck and rode the strip, turns out the guys driving were as old as my little brother! (There were tons of under age kids). But the best part of Panama was riding on a free bus and not going to any bars, instead we just hung out with the driver, we loved you Jarrod, thank you so much for making our night!

Being down there was such a fun time!

 I'm so glad I got to go with my girls!

I usually spend Spring Break relaxing, or working, so I needed to experience this, especially Panama Beach!

Farewell Panama,

 next time I come,

 it was be in the fall,

 when you aren't invested with youngsters, drunks, and loud people!