Carpe Diem!

In which we seize the day!

"Monday looks like it's supposed to be really nice. Do you have any commitments Monday? Do you think you might be able to take the day off?"

So asked my husband on Friday afternoon, when he called me at work. I checked my calendar, and I didn't have anything on it that I couldn't get out of. So I sent a quick e-mail to my supervisor, I marked it on my calendar and left a note on my office door, and we scheduled an impromptu vacation day for Monday.

And boy was I glad we did! We awoke Monday morning to - gasp! - bright sunshine! We decided to stop at Bonfatto's in Bellefonte and toss a pair of subs into our cooler to enjoy throughout the day: an original for my husband and a much-coveted tuna hoagie for me. Bellefonte isn't that far away, but I don't get there that often. So that was quite a treat, in and of itself.

From there, we headed over to Bald Eagle State Park, one of our favorite places to swim and hike in the summer. Bald Eagle Creek drains much of our valley. In the park, it is dammed to create a lake that is used for swimming and boating in summer, and ice fishing in winter.

We parked along Skyline Drive, hiked from the Skyline Trail down onto the Swamp Oak Trail, and explored the modern campground. From there we walked out the wooden walkway (shown in this photo) through the wetlands and back up the hill to our car. Then, in late afternoon, we drove to a second location in the park and did some more hiking.

It was a perfectly gorgeous day to be out! The sky was crisp and blue with puffy white clouds, just wonderful for pictures! As the day wore on, it warmed up and the weather became balmy, almost springlike. There was still ice on the lake, and snow on top of the ice, but it had started to melt in spots and so the surface was quite unsafe for walking on.

To take this photo, I walked through the wetlands and cat-o-nine-tails along the edge of the lake. The surface was uneven, with a mix of (in shade) hard ground and (in sun) slick mud, all of which was covered in ice and snow. The ice broke off in chunks under my feet. This made for some tricky walking conditions. The process went like this: Take a tentative step with one foot. Stomp down hard with that foot until the ice breaks and settles. Actually put your weight down on the foot and take a full step forward. Take a tentative step with the other foot, etc. It took much longer than you might expect and left me with sore muscles in both my outer and inner thighs. But I didn't fall, not once!

The snow and ice in this photo almost look like the white sand that you might see on a beach. In fact, if I didn't know better, I might be tempted to think that I took this shot at one of our favorite beaches along the Florida panhandle. St. George Island or St. Joseph Peninsula, perhaps. (Just for fun, do a google image search on St. George Island Florida, or St. Joseph Peninsula Florida - you'll quickly see what I mean.) But I haven't been to Florida in years. And I know that white stuff is ice and snow, not sand. Still, the eye is easily fooled into thinking that maybe we went somewhere exotic and far-away!

The day was one that our local weather guy might call "a hall-of-famer." It was outstandingly gorgeous and we were happy all day long, just walking around, exploring the park, enjoying the day and each other's company. When I think of us together, this is the kind of day I want to remember us by. Forever and ever under the sunshine and blue sky, with puffy white clouds and balmy, almost springlike warmth. *happy sigh*

The little red speck you can see on the left side of the boardwalk is my beloved husband. He was carrying a little fold-up chair in a red bag and he raised it over his head in triumph as I snapped the photo. This, my friends, is a picture of a man carpe-ing the heck out of this diem! And let it be known that I did too!!!!!

The soundtrack to this day is a song we were singing as we walked along this blue-sky place together and hiked back up the hill: What a Day for a Daydream. It's been covered by several groups but my mind always hears it sung by the voice of John Sebastian. Enjoy!

P.S. My husband wanted me to use this title for the photo: "The clouds were like chicken strips in the sky, lying on a bed of blue cheese dressing." He told me I'd get the attention of all the guys in the audience with that one. I told him I'd think about it. So here is his quote. Yes, I included it. No, I didn't use it as the photo title. Shh. Don't tell him. :-)