Summer Fun: Beach Scene, Bald Eagle State Park

We're in another hot and muggy spell, and I am one who is not a fan of the heat. So when we have places we want to go and things we want to do, we try to do them in the morning, before it gets too hot.

So it was that Tuesday morning found us heading to Bald Eagle State Park for a swim. The last time we tried to go there, they were paving one of the routes we use, and it was a grand mess, so we skipped it and went to Black Moshannon instead.

But this time, we came and went to the park through Bellefonte, which would give us (we thought) an opportunity to nab a really excellent hoagie on the way home. I wondered if Jim's would be open - they typically go on vacation during Arts Festival week and the week after - but we thought if they were closed, we'd stop at Bonfatto's instead. Plan A and Plan B!

So we went to the park, and we had our swim, and it was pleasant there, and relaxing. The water is about the temperature of bath water these days, and it's not quite as clean as it once was. I do recommend a shower after, in one of the outdoor showers.

There were families and individuals and small groups of all kinds having a nice day at the park. I heard a lady along the edge herding her charges into the floaties she had brought along, as she posed them for photos: "I want to show your mom and dad how much fun you are having!" she said, snapping away. It was actually comfortable, especially in the shade, with soft breezes.

We did not dally long after we showered and changed. For we were starving by then, and on a search for hoagies! We stopped at Jim's, and it was closed. But we were not daunted. "When we stop at Bonfatto's, I'll take some pictures around Talleyrand Park," I said. But that was not to be either. Bonfatto's had a notice on their door: they are closed this July 4th week for employee appreciation.

Now, who knew that this hoagie search would turn into such a quest!? And then my husband observed that this was not just our second, but our THIRD "access denied" in a row. For the last time he had his car to the mechanic, he had tried to stop at get hoagies at Hall's in Julian; they were out of hoagies, and closed.

So, empty-handed, we went home and turned the air conditioning on high. And he switched cars and drove to Port Matilda, to Lykens Market, and got us two nice hoagies for $9, plus milk, which we were nearly out of. Finally, we got our hoagies!

*Insert happy ending here.*

The soundtrack song is to accompany our hoagie quest: Glass Tiger, with I'm Still Searching.