Sullivan County and World's End State Park -- Chapter Eight of Pat and Ron's Excellent Adventure

Friday, October 2: Well, I bet you think we packed up and went home the next day. You lose. By morning, I had gotten a good night's sleep thanks to the Tussinex, was no longer delirious, my temp was almost down to normal and my arm was swollen but not red. The weather reports said no rain today, Saturday and Sunday were going to be beautiful and there were two festivals we had been looking forward to. After weighing all our options, we decided to see how I got through Friday. I did have to get my prescriptions filled, and we drove about 45 minutes to the Sam's Club in Muncy. Of course, they were out of one of the scripts, so they sent us two exits down the highway to a Walmart in Montoursville. Since we were running out of clean clothes, and I had sweated through all my warm ones the night before, we found a Laundromat and did a couple loads of wash while we waited. I kind of enjoyed the Laundromat, it brought back a lot of memories of when my daughter was little and I spent my Saturday mornings there. And when you're on Tussinex, that spinning dryer is kind of fascinating. I spent the rest of the day in bed, while Ron chopped wood, played Solitaire and burned the covered bridge and waterfall folders.

Saturday, October 3: I felt much better today, the meds had my bronchitis and swelling under control and my fever was gone. And it was so gorgeous out it hurt! The sun was shining, the temp was mild and the Forksville Fall Foliage Festival and Pennsylvania Apple and Cheese Festival in Canton were on. I picked up a couple hand-painted Christmas balls and our Halloween pumpkin and gourds at the Foliage Fest. I met local author Eric Armstrong, peddling his children's book, "Skyler C. Gull, A Feather-Brained Tale," and bought an autographed copy of it and the accompanying CD for my grandchildren. Of course, I told him I was also a starving writer and gave him my Associated Content address.

Then it was off to Canton for apples and cheese. This Festival was huge. Vendors galore and, of course, food everywhere. Apple dumplings, apple butter, apple pie, apple tarts, apple cider, myriad varieties of cheese, cotton candy, salsa and, something I live for when I go upstate, homemade Whoopie Pies. There were loomers, broom-makers and all kinds of crafters. We were treated to the soothing strains of "Prince Charles and the Royalettes," which I called live elevator music, but Ron enjoyed the horns. The guy selling salsa was involved in a political discussion which, of course, I eavesdropped on. "I'm not a republican, I'm a conservative. Republicans are too liberal for me." I turned to Ron and said, "Quick, pay for this salsa and run, he's a terrorist." Finally, there was a demonstration section with an antique apple cider mill, a blacksmith, a wood carver and a one-room schoolhouse tour.

We ended up taking the long way home because the traffic directors nodded their heads when we asked ..."Is 154 this way...?" After about 15 minutes on a farm road, we realized we just might be on another excellent adventure. A couple of farmers finally set us straight. Today was our 28th Wedding Anniversary, and we had planned to go back to the cabin, change and go to Guiseppe's Pasta House (review here) for an anniversary dinner. By the time we reached Dushore, however, it was already after 4:00, so we just went as we were, and good thing we did. Saturday is evidently a big night there and they were all booked up from 5:00 on. After a lovely Italian dinner, we took a ride on scenic Boomerang Road outside of Dushore. We passed an old decrepit house with boarded up windows, sagging porches and in desperate need of a paint job. There was a guy cooking on a grill, while two others were up in the yard picking through what looked like auto and farm machine parts. We weren't sure if they were homeless squatters or this is what happened after Ma died. Back at the cabin, we broke open our bottle of sparkling cider, exchanged anniversary cards, and reminisced about our wedding day.

"Do you believe my mom asked me to run the vacuum -- on my freakin' wedding day?!"
"How about when you cursed out the florist when your flowers fell apart on the altar."
"Oh, and who could forget your mother saying you and I were no spring chickens and I better get started on a bambino!"
"Remember your brothers arguing at the reception, and Billy telling Georgie, "Why don't you and me and my suit you borrowed step outside?"
"Okay, pop quiz. What was our "first dance" song?"
"Endless Love," I oughta remember, it's the only decision I got to make and you argued with me about it."
"Yeah, well, everybody used that song that year. But, you were right. B.H. told me that dance was the most sensual thing she'd ever seen and that's why nobody joined us on the dance floor. They all wanted to watch!"
"I hated that brown tux!"
"You know, I only married you because you could..." (well, you people don't need to know that).

See Ch. 1; Ch. 2; Ch. 3; Ch. 4; Ch. 5; Ch. 6, Ch. 7, Ch. 9 (conclusion); Slideshows: Boomerang Road: Covered Bridges; Festivals