Cars, Cars, Everywhere

What constitutes "country living"?

For some, it's wide open spaces. For some, it's the length or miles of the car ride to get a gallon of milk. And for others, it's a lack of Starbucks or other "adequate" shopping. And depending on where you live in the Pocono Mountains, the township or borough will have one of those characteristics.

Something else that may come to mind when you hear the word "country" is a lack of traffic. If the area is remote, there aren't a lot of cars on the road. Right?

Not true!

The Pocono Mountains may not be a metropolis, but it is a tourist destination. A destination they reach by car. And during the summer months, the highway can double as a car dealership.

Some weekends have heavier traffic than others. Holiday weekends, festivals, and NASCAR races guarantee traffic almost equal to the parking otherwise known as the Long Island Expressway. NASCAR weekends in particular are difficult to navigate. Inevitably a car pulling a pop-up, a motorhome, or RV will run out of gas on the portion of Rt. 80 knows as "The S-Bends." There are only two lanes and no shoulder. So the vehicle blocks one lane of traffic and everyone else is left to twiddle their thumbs while sitting on the highway while someone from the stalled vehicle walks the 5 miles or so to a gas station, and then another 5 miles or so back to fill 'er up.

Sounds lovely, no?

So as you can see, timing is everything. Coming up on a Friday? Be sure to travel late. (So you don't sit in the traffic described above.) Running low on gas? Go ahead and get it at Exit 4 in NJ. It's cheaper, and you won't have to pump it yourself. (And then you're not the cause of the traffic described above.) Live in the Poconos and need to run errands on a Saturday? Head out early and be sure to be home no later than 10 AM.

Why?

Well, if you're not, you could end up sitting in this.

Welcome to the Poconos, and have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

Autumn Is Upon Us

It's no secret: Autumn is my favorite season.

The day after Labor Day I pack away all my summer decorations and pull out the pumpkins and scarecrows. I burn the apple and pumpkin candles, and start thumbing through my favorite cookbooks, adding my favorite fall dishes to my weekly menus.

The weather starts to change here, too. The days can still be hot, but they lose the humidity of July and early August. The nights become significantly cooler, dropping down to the upper 50s. If you're not careful and forget to close the windows -- like I have a few times -- you'll find yourself wearing sweats and drinking coffee to warm up.

And that's fine. It doesn't bother me one bit.

But when Mother Nature is ahead of me? Well, sometimes I have to admit, I'm not quite as ready for autumn as I thought I was.

And yesterday was one of those days.

It started with my son. He looked out his bedroom window, pointed out the leaves that had already fallen in our front yard, and exclaimed "Mommy! That means winter is coming!" And while rationally, I know Ash trees are the first to lose their leaves and colder temperatures are still a month or two away, I still feel a little pang in my heart as I watch those leaves flutter to the ground.

I took a walk around my property yesterday morning, observing the changes. More ash tree leaves on the ground. The doesn't shine directly into the backyard. And the leaves on the rhododendron are starting to turn a brilliant shade of red.

Yes, like it or not, autumn is upon us.

Let the leave-raking, chimney sweeping, and baking begin!

You Know You're in the Country...

You know you're in the country when ...

The local paper has a live twitter feed of the grand opening of a new supermarket.