Milford Trip, Part 2...

Staying at the Herrington House Bed and Breakfast (formerly known as the Hattree B&B) was a pretty good way to visit the borough. It was an old Victorian-style house which the current owner has refinished and put more of a contemporary look to. I'm not much into decorating and that sort of thing, so I would categorize it as "de-foo-fooing" it. There's probably a real, more sophisticated term for it, but I have to admit the place looks a whole lot better now than it did in the pictures when it was the Hattree.

The minute we walked in the house, the house dog took a liking to us and lay at our feet the whole time we were there. If you've read any of this blog over the year, you know Pam and I are real dog lovers, so this was a nice treat. There were cats there too, but they stayed pretty much in the owners area. I thought this old proverb might suite the place as a motto: "Make happy those who are near, and those who are far will come." We sure had a great time while we were there.

As you would expect, breakfasts were pretty good. Adriane (the new owner) said breakfasts were her specialty. Also, as you might expect, there were good, warm fireplaces in the house. Adriane got them back in working order and they really came in handy as the evenings got a bit nippy a couple of the nights we were there. We also got to meet other guests when we all gathered around the breakfast table. It is amazing how people you think are complete strangers end up having things in common with you when you get to talking with them. Three of her guests were Forest Service employees who came to Milford from across the country for a conference. Believe it or not, I once wanted to be a forest ranger. In fact, I was real serious about it in high school -- it kind of reflected my outdoors nature at that time.

As a new B&B owner, Adriane was not sure that she wanted to let us book a room for Doug and Danika and Quinn. She wasn't sure she wanted to have kids in the house. Well, she said she would try it this time since Quinn was only a few months old. I can see their point with all the antiques and breakables in one of these places. Anyhow, Quinn was the BEST little boy. He only cried one time for a couple of minutes and that was only his way of saying he was hungry. Otherwise, you wouldn't have known he was there except for his laughter and giggling. Pam and I really enjoyed him. He is taking on a personality and really responds to us.

I don't think he was paving the way for future baby guests, but I think he was a hit and I don't think Adriane had any regrets letting them come over to visit us.

“When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses”
(Dr. Joyce Brothers)

Hooah

Milford Trip, Part 1...

For years now, Pam and I have wanted to do a road trip up through New England states in the fall to see the turning of the leaves. We didn't know if this would be a vacation trip while both of us were still working, or a road trip when we were retired. Well, neither of those has happened yet, but our trip a couple of weeks ago to Milford Pennsylvania was about as good as it can get. The leaves and trees along I-80 were just about perfect.

It can be a bit of a culture shock going from the flatlands of Ohio to the hills of PA (I thought they were mountains but a local told me they consider them hills there). However you look at them, it was a very nice trip over and back. The weather guessers called for rain and overcast skies for the whole weekend. We sure were glad they were wrong.

The drive was shortened somewhat with the completion of US Route 30. We made 2 fuel stops and a lunch stop which totaled about 1/2 hour, so the trip took about 9.5 hours to complete. We didn't have any traffic problems -- I-80 is kinda deserted most of the time except around Wilkes-Barre and Scranton.

Milford is a very small borough (1,200+/- citizens) which lies on the banks of the Delaware River at the head of the Delaware Water Gap region. Most of the houses in the area are very old with some dating back to the 1860s. We looked at quite a few houses in the area, both newer ones in the private developments outside town and ones in the borough itself. The homes in the developments meant home owner associations and dues, and usually had a lake/pond of some sort, an association clubhouse, tennis courts and playgrounds associated with them. The dues were generally around $1,100 per year. Unfortunately, these neighborhoods were really isolated and with the terrain being very hilly and curvy, we felt like walking and bike riding would be out of the question for these two "soon-to-be 60" transplants.

We are leaning very much toward living in the borough if we can find the right house. In terms of that right place, Pam has her opinions and I have mine but I'm sure we'll work it out when the right one comes on the market. We saw some houses listed by realtors and some for sale by owners. The borough has nice wide streets and a lot of the places have extensive gardens in place of grassy yards. As I said earlier, the town is pretty old but really full of charm and very well-maintained.

I have done some homework on the cost of living there compared to Ohio, and for us being retired it seems to be pretty favorable for an east coast area. I have also done some checking with the ham radio guys/clubs in the area and it appears that the mountains (hills?) don't impede the transmission/reception of radio signals much at all.

Well, so much for a general run down on the area. As I said, we'll keep looking for the right place to live.

Patience is the ability to let your light shine after your fuse has blown.

Hooah

Trying something new...

I am trying something new with some of the pictures from our trip last week to Milford, PA. To the right, I have put a new link to a web album (Grandma & Grandpa's trip to Milford, PA) which will give you about 30 pictures. There are also two film clips. They are not too good, but are my first attempts at something like this. We only had a little over a day with them, but there were times when we were having so much fun that we forgot to take pictures.

This was Quinn's first overnight road trip, his first stay at a Bed & Breakfast, and his first time at a restaurant (and he got to sit at the big peoples' table). He turned 3 months old today.

Check 'em out.

Hooah

Just a thought...

I know I have written in other postings how much I liked this or that particular season of the year. And I have to admit that each of them has a unique characteristic about it that makes it stand out.

Spring brings hope that my golf game and fishing will be better than the year before. It brings hope that the Reds will be better and that they will get the pitching they need to make it past July. I think I'm getting a better appreciation of what the Cubs' fans have lived with 'lo these many years.

Summer is fun because it brings Friday evening boat rides with Pam at the lake. By this time, my golf game is what it is and fishing is still fun -- especially when I catch something! I also get a boost in the ham radio hobby as there seems to be better signal propagation then. So far, I have made contacts in 18 states. That's not that many, but I don't spend much time on it when I can be outdoors.

But now, we're into Fall and this is probably my most special season. Wm. Cullen Bryant described it this way: "Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile.” I sit out by the fire ring in the evenings thinking back to things I/we did in the spring and summer. I hear the dryers going in the farmers' silos and think of harvests and preparation for winter. I recall some of Robert Frost's poetry that talks about old age and winter. As I close in on 60, I also think about family. Even though I have generally carved out my own path in life, I, like Frost, still have miles to go before I sleep.

With that, Pam and I are planning another road trip -- one to the town of Milford, PA to look at the possibilities of moving there to be closer to Doug and Danika and baby Quinn. We have been to this beautiful corner of the Poconos a couple of times and it is only about 75 miles as the crow flies from their place in Brooklyn. Of course, the crow and our truck don't necessarily go the same way. There are lots of pros and cons to doing this, but just to be closer to them trumps most of the cons -- except maybe for the cold, snowy winters. We're still young enough to handle that, though!!

In the next few days, I will recount the highlights of our trip. We have a couple of days of house hunting planned and we'll see what happens.

“Do not lose hold of your dreams or aspirations. For if you do, you may still exist but you have ceased to live.” (Thoreau)

Hooah