HoJo's

 Whenever my parents and I took a trip across the state to visit relatives, our route was along the Pennsylvania Turnpike. At each of the service plazas was an easily recognizable restaurant, Howard Johnson’s. While we rarely stopped at any of these plazas, other than to use the bathrooms, we passed lots of HoJo’s in our travels.

    The restaurants along the turnpike were housed in attractive stone buildings but the Howard Johnson’s on other roads usually had that distinctive shape and orange colored roof. You knew what they were before you even saw the sign.

    The company started in the 1920’s, opening its first restaurant in Quincy, Massachusetts. In the mid-50’s they opened their first Motor Lodge. The company used to be huge, in 1965 its sales exceeded McDonalds, Burger King and KFC combined. Sadly, this wouldn’t last. Fast food claimed the prize eventually. Howard Johnson’s had over 1000 restaurants and 500 motor lodges before their success started to wither. 

    I can remember going there for my birthday. I think I looked forward to the fried clams more than their 28 flavors of ice cream!

    The chain was bought and over time the iconic buildings started to disappear or change purpose. As of 2018 there was only one restaurant with the Howard Johnson name on it, located in Lake George, New York.

    In Hampton Township there are the remains of what used to be a HoJo Motor Lodge. Once being visible from the turnpike exit it is now hidden from view by tall trees and weeds. When exactly it closed, I’m not sure but in 2012 it had been approved by the township to be rebuilt and reopened. That never came to be. 

    It sits beside a closed Max and Erma’s restaurant. The motel is covered with plywood to keep scavengers and vandals out. This hasn’t worked since some of the wood has been torn off and the sliding glass doors broken. The rooms and furniture are exposed to the weather and the openings provide easy access to the insides. I stayed outside since there are No Trespassing signs posted on the building. I did look inside though.

Vines and weeds covered the balconies.

Guests would have to search for their room numbers!

    The lodge provided top of the line technologies as the satellite dish shows. Looking at this site takes us back to another time, the days of traveling and pulling into a motel to get some rest, often without even calling for a reservation. Motels scattered alongside the roads, often owned by the families that cleaned them and lived in the house next door.

    Many were just 5-10 rooms with the bare essentials, a place to sit your bags, a bed and a bathroom. If you were lucky there would be a “color” TV! Hanging by the road would be a flashing Vacancy sign. Of course, the locals used these rooms also. There is no need to go into any details about that here, we’ve all heard the stories. (I’m not talking about the stories where you’d wake up in a bathtub full of ice and missing a kidney!)

    Chances are that this place is destined to be torn down and a new, multi storied, corporate hotel will take its place. For now, it is a reminder of what used to be and another thing that is slowly disappearing from our lives.

A Little Bit of History

 Doris Day…Can you believe it? It was Doris Day! She was looking out the window of the hotel along with a bunch of other patrons. They were watching a movie that was being filmed outside. I was there, beside the camera. Turning to look at the actors, I noticed that she was now standing beside me. There was no mistake, it was her!

    Together we went over to a red Karmann-Ghia convertible, with the top down of course, and drove away. It was right about then that I woke up. Just a few minutes before midnight, it was still Monday. I wanted to go back to that dream but it wasn’t to be. I tossed and turned.

    Finally the alarm went off, a soft gentle blues tune playing. I opened my eyes and discovered that I was holding a cup of coffee in my hand. I must’ve fallen asleep with it.  Feeling around, I realized nothing had spilt. There was still coffee in it, I could smell it. Probably pretty cold by now I thought.

    I swung my legs out of bed, without spilling anything and instinctively took a sip. It was hot and it tasted wonderful! Wow! I looked at the alarm and wondered why it was playing music, for that matter, the blues. Why hadn’t my phone alarm gone off? They were both set for the same time! It suddenly dawned on me and I exclaimed “Because, I’m dreaming!” and then started to laugh. That was when I woke up the second time, laughing no less!

    It was 4:00, the alarm was set for 4:30. No sense going back to bed. I’ll get up and jump into the shower and start the day. I was going to leave for Frank’s house at 5:30. I’d have time for breakfast and some coffee. We had some caches to find!

    Looking outside, I saw stars! Making the shower extremely quick, I grabbed my gear and drove to the near-by hilltop. The Moon was fairly high in the sky and off to the left was Mars and Jupiter. 

    Combined with the thin clouds and the brightness of the Moon, a group shot wasn’t possible. I took a few pictures and returned back home for a quick breakfast and made some coffee to sip on the way. I still made it to Frank’s house 10 minutes earlier than planned.

    We had 8 caches to find, 5 were in the Blairsville area. The first one, hidden in a tree alongside the road went well. It took us a few minutes, but we found it. The next one didn’t go quite as we had planned.

    Hidden near Dean’s Diner, it is a cache that I have looked for numerous times. We searched high and low without any luck. Some caches just aren’t meant to be found, this one is one of them! We went inside and got some coffee and something to eat and then looked some more. Nope, it wasn’t there.

    We did a few in the town but by far, the best one was across the river in what used to be Cokeville.

    A small town used to sit here but now it is mostly weeds. A long time ago, there were coke ovens on the hill here. (I don’t believe they are still there, that will be another adventure!) The houses and businesses were removed when the Canamaugh Dam was built.

     A set of cement stairs leads up to a flat spot where a house used to sit. You can see where a driveway used to be between them and the tree. Small trees grow where the houses used to sit. By looking carefully, we could see other remnants that were left behind, most of them, nearly hidden from view.

Blairsville and the bridge in 1908

    Bits of a roadway lead to the foundation of the old bridge. Who knows what else lies underneath the weeds? The Pennsylvania Canal crossed through this section of land, there might be evidence of it somewhere!

After the St. Patrick’s Day Flood in 1936, a new bridge was built. A lot of the houses in the town were destroyed by the high waters.

    It took some scrambling around with a little hill climbing through brambles and jagger bushes, before Frank found the cache. It was hidden in the notch of a tree.  We had found this cache in 2011, it isn't in the same place now. It was the toughest cache of the day but it was also the most satisfying one!

    We did a couple more in the area and then turned back towards home. Out of 9 caches, we found 7. Not bad for a quick morning hunt.

    Back on rt.22, we were surprised to see that it was only a little past 10. We usually end up returning in the early afternoon. We were home in time for lunch and afternoon chores. It was a great morning; I always enjoy looking for caches with Frank but finding a little bit of history made it even better! 

    As for the caches we missed…Que sera, sera!

The Heron

 I had taken a run to the library to pick up some books that I had ordered and on the way home, I drove past the section of Pine Creek that parallels Bryant Road.  Since I had some new books to read, I pulled over and opened one up. Out of the corner of my eye I saw two large birds take flight from the stream below me.  Turning I saw a couple beautiful herons flying away from me. Smiling, I returned to my book.

    After a chapter or two I decided to take a stroll on the path alongside the stream. I went in the direction that the herons had headed. I brought my camera with a telephoto lens attached, just in case!  It was a nice warm, sunny day, a perfect day for a walk. I followed the RR tracks for a while and then moved closer to the stream to see if I could locate them. As soon as I approached the bank, a heron took off, going further upstream. I slowly followed only to scare the second bird into flight.

     The first bird joined it and they headed back down towards where they had originally been. This time though, a third heron joined them. I don’t recall ever seeing three herons here before; they normally tend to hunt alone. I turned around and followed.

    I passed a fisherman on the way. A brief hello and I continued on, going from the bank to the path above the water line and back again. I figured the heron was either in the water or on a tree branch. Scanning both as I walked, I was careful not to slip in the mud or trip on any of the roots or branches which lay in my path.

    In a tree, directly overhead, he squawked and flew further downstream. I hadn’t seen him but he sure saw me. His call was loud and being right above my head, rather frightening. It sounded guttural; it didn’t match the beauty of the bird. I tried to see where he landed and tried to keep him in sight as I crept forward. 

    Moving beneath a low lying branch, I spotted him. A Great Blue Heron, what a spectacular looking bird! I’m pretty sure it was a male; they often have a bit of plumage on top of their head. When the breeze blew, I could see it ruffle along with the long, beautiful feathers on his chest. I know he saw me; herons are very smart birds and have very good eyesight. I figured he would fly away as I neared him so I continued to take pictures on the way. He chose to ignore me. I eventually moved into a clearing across the stream, he acted as if I wasn’t there. 

    Eventually, after getting more pictures than I needed, I turned to continue on the path and he gathered his wings and dropped off his perch and flew back upstream. I followed the path until it met up with the RR tracks and then returned back to the car.

    Surprise, surprise, the heron had flown to a spot in the stream directly below my car. Of course, he heard me long before I saw him. I caught him as he flew over to an old bridge abutment. Standing on it he posed for me.

    I kept taking pictures as I neared him and once again, he ignored me. I got to the bridge pier across the stream from him and other than looking at me once or twice; he acted as if I wasn’t there. 

    I’d taken enough shots of him so I just sat down on the cement and watched for a couple minutes. These birds can stand over 4 feet tall yet weigh only 5 or 6 pounds. He kept looking at the stream, often not moving for a minute or two. His chest was facing me, giving me a good look at the long flowing feathers there.

    Getting up, I said “I’m leaving now, thanks for the shots.” Almost as if he knew what I was saying he spread his wings and flew back towards where the car was parked. After a couple more shots of him in the grass beside the creek, I went to get into my car.

    Opening the door, I saw him fly across the field, heading further upstream. Our time together was over.

    Driving back home I was thinking about my experience. I have seen herons many times and almost every time I saw them, they flew away. I’ve gotten shots of them catching and eating fish, but they were taken from across a lake. They have a way of flying away right as I bring the camera up to shoot. I don’t know why this one put up with me but I was glad he did. Maybe he was keeping me away from the two other herons I saw, maybe they were just fledglings? Whatever the case may be, I treasure the experience. It’s things like this, these little bits of excitement, these little glimpses of how wildlife looks and acts, up close, that make me happy to be alive and sharing their world!

A Special Day

Today has always been special to me. I’ve always looked forward to it! This morning, it started out around 3:45 as my alarm rudely awakened me from a great dream. Looking out the window, I saw darkness. Opening the door and stepping outside, I was treated to a view of numerous stars in a cloud free sky.

    Oh Yes!!

    I could’ve set up the telescope but I thought watching the planets come up over the horizon might be a better, and easier, way to go. I opted for a short drive to the near-by hill top with the camera, tripod and my binoculars. The view there is always superior to my front yard.

    About 20 minutes later with a warm drink in hand I was parking the car. It was quiet and there were stars everywhere. My observing spot is fairly light free. I could see stars pretty low to the horizon and that’s tough here in Shaler!

    I set up the camera and took a couple test shots and then scanned the stars with my binoculars. The moon had set about an hour before I arrived so there were no problems with it hiding the stars.

    Jupiter had just risen above the horizon when I arrived and Venus would soon be breaking out so I concentrated on that section of the hillside. It was easy to see where it would be rising, the other three planets, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter made a straight line right to where it would be showing up.

    Venus showed up a couple minutes after its predicted time of arrival. Suddenly…there it was behind the trees and then it was shining free. It is amazing how quickly they rise when you have a reference point to compare them to! I snapped a few shots and then went back to exploring the sky with the binoculars

    As the sky brightened, the International Space Station passed off in the north. I had hoped it would be close enough to Venus to get a picture but by then the sky was too bright. Watching it in binoculars would just have to do.

    The birds were starting to wake up, soon joggers would be out and I was ready to refill my coffee cup. I made it home in time to see the sunrise.

    I said this day was special to me. It isn’t because of the stars or the planets. Not even the ISS made it special. It’s because on this day my daughter Chelsey was born!

    She just had a new son, Nico, who arrived a couple days before Mothers Day and her birthday. Yes, I’d have to say that our lives are truly blessed. It’s going to be a great day. This day always is!

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Independent Bookstore Day

     It was the last day of April. What made this day special was that it is Independent Bookstore Day. Ann Marie, Kelle, Frank and I were going to visit a couple of our favorite stores and hopefully we would be coming back with lots to read.

    Getting on the road early we had some time before the stores opened, so we did a geocache in a small local park. I had attempted this cache several times before, Frank found it almost immediately. It helps to have someone with a good set of eyes to help you search! Since it was found so quickly, we still had time before our bookstore adventures started. We took a short hike in Riverview Park to see the ruins of the zoo.

    When Riverview Park was first built, it had a small zoo with an elk paddock, a bear enclosure along with some other small cages. A merry-go-round was also set in the park. 

    All that remains today are the brick foundations of some of the cages, set along a large stone wall. They are situated on what used to be a road, now it is only a simple dirt trail going past what used to entertain the people of Pittsburgh.

    Our first bookstore was City Books located in the city’s Northside. Arlan, the owner was already busy handling customers when we arrived. (Masks were required at all the shops we visited.) I can’t remember seeing this many people in her shop in the past 2 years. It was great seeing all these people out and buying books. This is my favorite book store in the city! (As if you didn’t know!)

    We shot the breeze for a bit and browsed for awhile and then continued on, allowing other customers access to Arlan. We all left with books under our arms. The day was definitely off to a good start.

    Next on our itinerary was a quick stop at White Whale Books and Coffee in Bloomfield. After leaving, we went across the street to Paddy Cake Bakery for some Chocolate Chip Cookies to fuel us on as we headed into Oakland.

    People in the college section of town were happy to be outside, window shopping and eating at tables on the sidewalk. Students were laughing and talking with each other, families strolled hand in hand enjoying the warm temperatures and the fresh smelling air. These things all added to the beauty of the day. In the middle of the block we saw shelves of books sitting outside our next stop, the Caliban Book Shop.

    One of the things I’ve always enjoyed about this shop is the tight aisles. Books are stacked on the floor in places and the shelves are set in odd angles. Though I never have, I always have a sense of possibly getting lost in this store, and where would a better place to be lost than a book shop?

    I gravitated towards the Books on Books shelves. Squeezing past a couple patrons to get there, I scanned the racks looking for “that” book, the one that needed to come home with me. 

    There is a certain joy to wandering through a bookstore. There are always books I haven’t seen before and I’m always on the look-out for that “special” book, the one just sitting on its shelf, waiting for me to walk past. Sometimes it sits there for years until I happen to stroll by and it can grab my eye. Jumping out at me, it lets me know it needs to come home with me. I know this makes books sound alive…but you have to remember, they are! They have taken me along on adventures, taught me things which helped me through life, they have made me laugh, cry and love. I admit that I have a passion for new books, never certain as to where they will lead me. I am constantly looking for my next affair with these multi-paged lovers!

    We all made some purchases and then returned to the car. Frank and Kelle headed home and Ann Marie and I settled in and started leafing through our new books, happy and content.

    *Remember; always support your local bookstores. These stores are very important city resources. The people who run them will help you find the books that you didn’t realize that you needed!

 Be sure to thank them when you leave!