Like a prodigal, I fled the southern cities for the small town of New Milford, Pennsylvania.
The town was so far away from urban civilisation that it was a three hour drive from the airport, just to make it home.
“Home” was an old colonial house that had been split up into different apartments and rented at what I would say was an inflated price. The front door to the building didn’t close. The stairs on the narrow staircase creaked noisily when we climbed them. And the hallway smelled like urine, twenty cats, bird filth, and sickness.
There were stories about the old house – stories of it being haunted, on account of orphan children that had died in a fire there. They had allegedly burned to death in one of the back rooms in the late 1800s or early 1900s. Well I kept an eye out, but I saw and heard no pitter-patter of ghostly feet across the hardwood floors, while I was there.
It took a day of cleaning, but soon I was able to turn a filthy apartment into a place worth staying in.
I then settled down to a morning of breakfast, music, and colouring.
Once the apartment was ready for our cohabitation, I spent the next few days outdoors and exploring. Though you had some pretty old, raggedy houses, shacks, broken down barns, and trailers, there were also some pretty swanky houses.
Along the way, I also ran into my first snake in the wild, after Justin swore to every god that ever roamed the Earth that I would never run into a snake while there. I will never trust another word this boy says!
Thankfully, I didn’t run into any of those suckers while hiking the dangerous but AMAZING trails at Salt Spring State Park. Thus far, in the youth of my prodigal adventures in the wild, I’ve never seen a more beautiful trail – 100 foot drop offs to the side, included.
I even tried my hand at rock balancing…
The creek was fun too, though if I had known that water snakes were prowling about, I might not have gone in. I suppose ignorance is bliss, sometimes.
It was a great day for taking pictures.
I mean…. have you ever seen a more photogenic frog?
Well… while, it was interesting to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city for a week, I missed the modern conveniences of urban living a great deal – things like Wi-Fi and proper phone signal!
Most of all, I missed being able to work on my blog. There were so many things happening, so many pictures taken, and no way to share them.
It was like living in a tiny bubble, and I was very quickly running out of air.
I don’t believe I’ll be going back to New Milford any time soon, but it was quite an experience, all the same. I met new people, made new friends, had new experiences, and learned a few lessons. It will take some time to share them all, but now that I have my modern conveniences back, I’ll get there slowly but surely!
Have a great week, guys! Make it interesting.
glad you enjoyed it
Thank you. Do you go hiking often, as well?
Country walks are great,mostly as its peaceful and there’s no one else around 🙂
That’s true, though in the city the trails always seem to be deserted. I actually saw more people in this trail than I do on city trails.