Grand Times at the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon

Friends, food, fun and more natural beauty than you could shake a pine branch at... Such was this last weekend as I road-tripped to meet Pennsylvania blogging buds, Kim, Bryan, Lisa, and Kathy.

I headed eastward... Kathy, west... Lisa, an hour-and-a-half behind a tractor, the poor dear... and we all met in the middle for a three-day weekend adventure. And folks, let me tell you-- you were not forgotten! So this Treasure Box Wednesday, journey with me to a charming B&B, and all the spring spirit of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.

I'd never stayed at a B&B before, and it had all the vintage feel I could have hoped for...


The cute black and white toile room above was mine. And Denise, the lovely owner of the place, let me go ahead and explore. I'm afraid I didn't get a shot of Kathy's room, but this was another of the bedrooms...


There were a lot of antique and hand-tinted photos on the walls... This little vignette was in the upstairs stairway...


And this was a cheerful corner in one of the rooms. I love how the light is hitting that chair. Couldn't you just read there?


Because it was a B&B there was...B. Breakfast. Oh, was there B!

One morning breakfast entailed apple pancakes and fresh fruit. Another, this astounding scrambled egg, ham and crescent roll wrap that Kathy and I both spent more time lingering over and laughing how we were trying to savor every single bite.

B, I might add, also stands for "bad." Because we were both calorically bad and accepted a slice of this strawberry cake when we were offered.


It looks a bit nibbled on because, well, it was. Would you have said 'no'? I mean, really! But between this and Kim's terrific homemade pasta, soup and bread, I probably should have jogged the five hours home.

Anyway, Wellsboro, location of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, has a lot of shops with primitive decor, handcrafted jewelry, candies, books and other goodies. This was just one shop we investigated...


And then we met Kim and Bryan, our kind host and hostess, and headed off to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. Step inside with me!...


This is one of my favorite views... No, don't worry, there was a railing there!...


It reminds me of a backdrop for a Lord of the Rings set, in some ways. Just so much green depth!...


I understand it's gorgeous in autumn, too, as the trees go kaleidoscopic. Here... Let's take a look far below with our bird's eye view...


Oh, and here we have Bryan!...


We don't have photos of Kathy here because she's in the Witness Protection Program and it would be at risk of her life for me to share them with you. (Or just doesn't like having her picture on the web and made me promise I wouldn't post them... hm, I can't remember quite which. :)

Well, it's time to make the journey back up...


Later, we took a tour of the Wellsboro library, which had some very nice architectural elements. Like this Tiffany-styled stained-glass window...

And this carved cherub frieze...


And this statue of a lady...


Oh, wait-- that's Kim! She's sitting in one of her favorite reading spots there in the library. And who could blame her? Great lighting, lilacs and peaceful benches can be found.

Speaking of peace... I had to include a shot of Bryan and Kim's cat, Seamus, since he'd posed so nicely...


He became my buddy over the weekend. And Kathy's. And anyone who was new and interesting. I got smooched up a bit by him... Lovely fellow. (He's so friendly, he may think he's a dog.)

Well, folks, that winds up the weekend. And here, I must leave you as I wended my way home...

• If you missed Sunday's post on Popping Up at Rossi's Pop-up Flea Market, click here.

And I hope you all have a clear road ahead of you this week, too!

Treasure Box Wednesday: The Land of Snow and Fog

Sometimes Mother Nature tosses you a curveball. And boy, does she have one wicked arm!

I mean, let's just take a look at last Friday, shall we? Last Friday, I left my home in the morning to a thick gray mist...


A very thick mist...


I mean a very, very thick mist... Like, where'd the downtown skyscrapers of Pittsburgh go? They were there yesterday, weren't they? I was so sure of it.


The whole ride, it was like Hollywood fog. A horror movie fog. The kind of fog Adrienne Barbeau would be packing her bags because of. And that some other director would be trying to recreate for a mediocre remake.

This fog was not creeping in on any little cat feet, either, no sir! It had big honkin' boots on and it planned to stay a while...


For instance, you should be able to see a river or three off there.

But as morning passed, the fog gave way to sun. And a lovely sunny day. And spring temperatures. And a warm weekend that was perfect for errands. And the wind was balmy... and deceptive.

Deceptive enough to trick the azaleas to pop their buds. And the cherry trees to get all dressed up in pink or white.

Or white...

And so this was this morning. April. Snow on the car, snow on the daffodils. Snow on the azaleas...


Can't you just hear them weeping a bit? The poor dears!

Here, the snow drifts into the backyard. You can see the flurries glinting in the light, captured... frozen in time before it froze my plants...


But then, it was gone. It snowed steadily today, and yet... the moment passed. But the azaleas are still asking for a light sweater.


And the cherry tree has decided to pretend that nothing odd ever happened...

Such is Spring!

• If you missed Sunday's post, "Looking at the Sunny Side of Life" with a vintage promotional booklet, click here.

Otherwise, bundle up! (Or wear shorts. We'll see what happens next.)