Plummer's Hollow: Into the Green Woods

My husband and I had plans to meet my mother-in-law for lunch at the Red Lobster in Altoona to help celebrate her 80th birthday. And so we did that, and I had a really awesome meal - a shrimp trio, one of the current specials.

Seafood lovers may view a photo of the marvelous lunch in the extras. I was delighted to see what a pretty plate it made, and in fact, exclaimed out loud upon its arrival: "I'm so happy, I don't know what to do!"

Mine featured spring-roll-crusted shrimp, crab-topped shrimp skewer (crab topping arrived a few minutes later, not shown in photo), and shrimp linguini alfredo. Also, a baked potato with butter and sour cream, a lovely salad with ranch, and as many cheesy parmesan rolls as we wanted. It was quite honestly one of the best meals I've had anywhere anytime lately, which was well worth celebrating.

After our meal, my husband and I wanted to stop somewhere for a little hike. We decided to stop at a spot we know along the Little Juniata not far from Tyrone. There is a trail that leads up the hill into a private 648-acre nature reserve called Plummer's Hollow, as well as railroad tracks and some pretty views along the river.

The big news of all is that everything is turning green everywhere. Not just green, but LOTS of shades of green! The main photo above is a view straight up the hill into the green woods of Plummer's Hollow. I'll include a link to the website that the people who own this property maintain. I invite you to click on the link on the first page to "join Dave for a bone-rattling sled run down Plummer's Hollow." I clicked, and it was quite a fun ride!

Last year, I took two mini vacations during the summer and visited my sister in Harrisburg. For our June trip, we had an awesome time in Atlantic City. On our August trip, we went on a bus trip to do a lighthouse tour of Annapolis, which turned into a real soaker; in fact, it was pretty much of a washout.

For both trips, I boarded the train at a whistle stop in Tyrone, and rode the rails to Harrisburg; then returned by rail two days later. I couldn't resist including a photo of the pretty green trees along the railroad tracks that both adventures began on; you may see that shot in the extras.

The only song that I can think of to accompany these photos that show so much of our pretty spring greens is this one: Johnny Cash, with Forty Shades of Green.