Today, a few of my daughters: Laura, 16, Mary Helen, 11, and Grace,10, went with some other ladies/girls, and our pastor for a hike up Sideling Hill.
The road leading to this mountain is well-known because it was the original "toll highway" before there was such a thing as "The Pennsylvania Turnpike". It was the main highway back in the 1800's.
Several potential hikers chose to stay home this morning as the weather was BLUSTERY and bitingly cold.
I'm glad we decided to go. It was SO refreshing and wonderful! We dressed for the elements and had to stay quite bundled the whole way up and back.
When we reached the top, Father Jack (our beloved pastor) suggested climbing some rocks that were off to the side in the woods. We took him up on it and stayed for some time; taking in the glorious view of the vast expanses of fields and mountains that were before us.
A bright blue sky, dotted with fluffy white clouds and several spots of "warm pockets" where the sun was glimmering through made for a perfect spot to pray the rosary together.
Mary Helen and Grace were smart. They tucked a couple of oranges into their pockets when we left home and their fellow hikers were grateful for their generosity when they offered to share slices of it. The sweet nourishment gave everyone the incentive needed to forge ahead! Of course, we paused along the way to sip the water we were carrying, as well.
Oh, how thankful I am that the Lord has blessed us with such good friends, parish family, and priest. It delighted my soul to watch my girls running back down the path trying to keep Father Jack from "stealing" their hats off their heads. They developed an elaborate plan as to how they were going to get HIS hat...but, alas, they did not succeed for he was MUCH too alert and on-guard. LOL
After hiking for several hours, we were very happy to get back to our parish hall; where one of the husbands had spent the morning cooking some delicious, mouth-watering, tender, turkey for us to have on sandwiches.
(I gave up bread for Lent, so I just had mine on a plate...Mmmmmmm, good). Sipping hot coffee, and enjoying some lovely meditation music while we ate...again, my heart was filled with joy and thanksgiving!
We had fruit salad, slaw, and some veggies and dip...and...a HUGE treat, for me, was some cranberry/strawberry juice! (We don't get that at home very often!)
This evening, we are tired, and so content to be back in our little house in the woods.
What a wonderful day we spent and will cherish the memories we made.
Mary Helen was thinking of her brothers and sisters, at home, and collected treasures from nature in her tote bag all along the hike. They were so excited to receive their gifts!
Here are a few photos Mary and I took of our special day Atop the Mountain :)
The road leading to this mountain is well-known because it was the original "toll highway" before there was such a thing as "The Pennsylvania Turnpike". It was the main highway back in the 1800's.
Several potential hikers chose to stay home this morning as the weather was BLUSTERY and bitingly cold.
I'm glad we decided to go. It was SO refreshing and wonderful! We dressed for the elements and had to stay quite bundled the whole way up and back.
When we reached the top, Father Jack (our beloved pastor) suggested climbing some rocks that were off to the side in the woods. We took him up on it and stayed for some time; taking in the glorious view of the vast expanses of fields and mountains that were before us.
A bright blue sky, dotted with fluffy white clouds and several spots of "warm pockets" where the sun was glimmering through made for a perfect spot to pray the rosary together.
Mary Helen and Grace were smart. They tucked a couple of oranges into their pockets when we left home and their fellow hikers were grateful for their generosity when they offered to share slices of it. The sweet nourishment gave everyone the incentive needed to forge ahead! Of course, we paused along the way to sip the water we were carrying, as well.
Oh, how thankful I am that the Lord has blessed us with such good friends, parish family, and priest. It delighted my soul to watch my girls running back down the path trying to keep Father Jack from "stealing" their hats off their heads. They developed an elaborate plan as to how they were going to get HIS hat...but, alas, they did not succeed for he was MUCH too alert and on-guard. LOL
After hiking for several hours, we were very happy to get back to our parish hall; where one of the husbands had spent the morning cooking some delicious, mouth-watering, tender, turkey for us to have on sandwiches.
(I gave up bread for Lent, so I just had mine on a plate...Mmmmmmm, good). Sipping hot coffee, and enjoying some lovely meditation music while we ate...again, my heart was filled with joy and thanksgiving!
We had fruit salad, slaw, and some veggies and dip...and...a HUGE treat, for me, was some cranberry/strawberry juice! (We don't get that at home very often!)
This evening, we are tired, and so content to be back in our little house in the woods.
What a wonderful day we spent and will cherish the memories we made.
Mary Helen was thinking of her brothers and sisters, at home, and collected treasures from nature in her tote bag all along the hike. They were so excited to receive their gifts!
Here are a few photos Mary and I took of our special day Atop the Mountain :)
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| Victory! Made it to the top! |
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| A perfect perch for a woodland critter! |
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| Very interesting...some "papery" growth on the side of the rock. We couldn't figure out if it was a fungus, or if tree bark bits had blown so hard in the wind that they stuck to the side of the rock! |
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| Reverend John J. Lombardi: AWESOME priest! (Who didn't shave today; which the girls thought was so funny!) |
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| Laura, chilly, but happy! |
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| Peek-a-boo, Grace! |
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| Contemplative moment |
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| This was a LONG way down! |
2 comments:
What a wonderful day! Oh Judy, thank you for sharing your pictures! I, too gave up bread for Lent....actually ALL CARBS!
Much love and blessings to you and your family!
Wow...all carbs! That's a biggie Nancy! I will keep you in my Lenten prayers, for sure! Glad you enjoyed the pics!
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