I have to admit, I am sometimes a bit too hard on my home state, Pennsylvania. I often don't give it enough credit. And maybe that was a build-up from my parents' perspective too, as both were not originally from the state (or the east coast for that matter). So when I started my college search in high school, I immediately looked out-of-state and found myself in New York.
And in those drives to and from Western PA to the NY border, I found another underappreciated part of my home state. The Pocono Mountain Region.
Our route often took us through the Delaware Water Gap, but it never meant much to me at the time. If it wasn't for my Environmental Science class in high school (shout out to Mr. Whipkey), I probably wouldn't even know what a water gap is.
Now, in my last few moments of senior year in college, I wanted to take in everything I could about Pennsylvania in case I decided to move after graduation. Enter Spring Break.
Since we're all a little broke inside and wanted a legit break from school, my boyfriend, best friend from home and I decided on spending our time hiking, sitting by fires, and absolutely relaxing.
What better way to do that than rent a cute little Chalet in the Poconos on Airbnb!
We only stayed for the weekend (Friday through Sunday), though I think I could have easily stayed a few days longer if it were under better circumstances.
Of course, during the time we went, Covid-19 cases were beginning to boom throughout the U.S, especially in NY. Nothing was considered "too serious" yet, so of course, we decided to continue our short trip into the wild. I'd like to think that we were completely carefree and having a great time, but we were certainly consistently anxious from looking at news updates each morning.
But despite what was happening in the outside world, we still tried to make the most of things before the inevitable shutdowns happened.
It was quite ironic, though, that there was a sign in the chalet that said "The Last Resort". It quickly became a little joke that if worst comes to worst, this little chalet will become our hideout from the world.
Since we arrived late into Friday afternoon, we spent the majority of our time by the fire preparing delicious foods. Adam was in charge of roasting the yummy kielbasa and baking potatoes in the fire. Alexa and I made some asparagus in the oven since we weren't too confident about our over-the-fire cooking abilities. Although, after the way our potatoes turned out, maybe Adam should have reconsidered his as well (lol - just kidding, they were only slightly burnt on the outside and raw on the inside.)
The next morning, before our grand hike, we made some crepes with all the works. Nutella. Maple Syrup. And a side of strawberries and blackberries.
The pans in the Airbnb were probably not the most crepe-friendly and certainly gave some of them a very crunchy, rustic kind of taste but it was no match for Master Crepe Chef Adam because they still turned out great! (Definitely better than the potatoes the night before)
For the small Spring Break trip that it was, and during the craziness of the world, I'm thankful for this amazing weekend. Because even though I am sitting in my home for the last week as I am writing this, the memories will always be there and continue to get me through these times.
