"Yer not frum 'round here, are ya?"

Sorry to both my blog fans out there for my absence. I just returned from a 3 day business trip, and can now recap our holiday weekend.

Cendy and I decided to take a mini road trip for Memorial Day weekend. We wanted to stay within a 3 hour drive, so after some Internet research on the Visit PA website, we settled on a trip to northeast Pennsylvania's Endless Mountains. The trip was designated a "Shunpiker" tour...so what the heck is a "Shunpiker"? Basically, it's a traveler who prefers the off-the-beaten path.

Not that we like travelling to the boonies, but with the busy beach weekend, we decided to avoid the traffic. The trip started with a 3 hour drive to the bustling town of Wyalusing (pop. 700). We drove the length of the Northeast Extension (Rt 476) and exited onto Route 6. As we travelled west, we gradually left society and entered Smalltown, USA - where every town has an ice cream shop and everybody knows everybody.



We arrived at the Wyalusing Hotel, where we planned to stay the night. The only problem was that the front door was locked. The nearby friendly biker noted that we needed to use the side entrance...to the bar. So we head into the bar, and the lovely bartender checked us into our hotel room. We dropped off our bags, and checked out the room - OK, not bad. We then ventured out to the town to grab a bite to eat. Then we realized that the only place to eat was the Hotel's restaurant.

After a late lunch, we ventured out to Towanda, the next town over (about 20 minutes away). On the way, we snapped this picture at a scenic overlook. Little did we know that we would be kayaking on the river below the next day.


The Shunpiker guide recommended a stop at Towanda's Red Rose diner. After a couple laps down Main St, we found it and settled in for a piece of pie and coffee. It's a nicely restored diner, and the owner gave some history of the establishment. The early diners only catered to men, so back in the day, this diner actually welcomed women (hence the sign above the door). If you look closely, you can see Cendy waving in the Rubicon.


We then headed back to rest up before venturing to the hotel bar for the evening. I wish there were some good stories to come from the night at the bar, but it mainly included some low-key pool games, exclaiming "Good song!" at all my jukebox selections and lots of "Yer not frum 'round here, are ya?" looks from the locals.


The next morning we decided to try the kayak rental place across the river. We avoided renting a double kayak where we both paddle the same boat (also known as a "divorce boat") by renting our own single kayaks. The river was calm, the bugs minimal, and sunshine abundant. I only had to abandon ship once (think Austin Powers attempted three point turn with the cart in the hallway), so it was a successful expedition at sea, er river.

During the 7 mile paddle down the Susquehanna River, we stumbled upon a gentleman who had a unique way of fishing - with a bow & arrow. Right after this picture was taken, my question to myself, "how does he get the arrows back" was answered. Think of the arrow as a harpoon, with a line attached to the end. He didn't catch anything, but it wasn't for lack of trying. We made sure to keep our distance.


After a fun afternoon on the water, we headed home. Noting that there was an ice cream shop in every town, we made a point of stopping on the way back - but not before we stopped at the Grovedale winery and then to a restaurant to get a bite to eat. The girl at the winery recommended Twigs in Tunkhannock, PA. After a 20 minute drive, we arrived at Twigs - a nice little restaurant in the middle of Main St, Tunkhannock. It was a nicely decorated establishment that you makes you feel bad you were dressed in a t-shirt and shorts (like me). Regardless, we were both starved and looking forward to eating.

I couldn't believe it, but the Gourmet Cheeseburger was the best burger I have ever tasted. It was a burger topped with boursin cheese and garlic mayo - but that's not what made it special - I think it was the Hawaiian-like bun and ground beef seasoning that made this burger so awesome. I am now regretting Cendy's offer to take my picture with the burger, so that I could cherish the memory even more. It was that good.

On the way back, we planned to stop at one of the seemingly 1,000 ice cream joints that we saw on the way there. After another 15 minutes of driving, a little panic set in. Will we ever find an ice cream cone before the Turnpike? Finally, we found Amy's Dairy Bar near Scranton, PA on Rt 6. I greeted Amy with a few excited honks of the horn as we pulled into the parking lot. Not only did Amy have ice cream, but she has a brand new 18 hole mini-golf course, 2 huge greenhouses full of flowers, a petting zoo and a playground structure. Amy is clearly a visionary businesswoman.