Day 2 - Columbia Crossroads, PA

Helen had some prior commitments with her rental property etc. so she stayed in Sayre the night before. She would be finished by late morning, so plans were to pick her up around noon and stop in town for lunch before we headed back to the house.  One of the highlights planned for Friday was the visit from my brother Dave.  I called Thursday evening and left him a message that we had arrived, and asked if he could plan to arrive at Dieter's around 2:00.   We would all spend the afternoon/evening together and have dinner together.

That morning I took the time to get some pictures of their home.  I can't remember how many acres encompasses their property, but the location is beautiful.   Below is the front of their country home with a shot of the North porch (bottom left) and the East Porch (bottom right).  

The inside is just as lovely and reminds me so much of the time we lived in upstate NY.  Inside these northern country homes you always feel welcome and warm!  The darker colors, that contrast so much with our Florida homes, and the larger furniture are typical of this area. 

u can see in the pictures above that their home is surrounded by the beauty of the forest and the hills in the back.  The picture below provides a couple of views from the porches.  In the top left you can see just how far their home sits back from the road.  The top right and the bottom left are views from the east porch (side yard) where we saw the deer the night before, and from the north porch (front yard).  In the bottom right, Rich snapped a shot of Helen and I walking back from getting the mail from the mail box later that day. 

About 11:30 we took off for Sayre, PA to pick up Helen and then we stopped at Reese's Restaurant for lunch.    Typical of these country restaurants is the decor - generally the wildlife and the local scenery.  And as the sign indicates - the food was excellent.  Dieter had the liver and onions, Rich, the Country Fried Steak and Helen and I had a sandwich.  My fish sandwich was excellent.  

We headed back to the house, making a few out of the way turns to check out the town of Sayre, other old country homes, including the one Helen was born in, and the town park.   But the picture in the top left is my favorite.  I took this from the North porch of their house.  It is located just across the road from them, and the picture in the bottom left can also be seen in the distance from their porch. 

I was anxious to get back to the house.  Brother Dave should be arriving soon.   It was a beautiful spring day........so we sat on the north porch.  On the east porch is the sugared water left out for the Hummers (humming birds).  I took my camera, sat quietly in the chair and waited and watched.  I got a few pretty good shots.  

Several hours later, when my brother had not arrived, I check for messages from him and unfortunately he had sent me a message that he would not be able to make it.  I was sooooooooo  disappointed.  

We waited until about 5:00 and ordered pizza from Dandy ( gas station, store, pizza parlor etc. ).  Dieter ordered  a garlic pizza, 1/2 with sausage, 1/2 with pepperoni.  Neither of us had ever had a garlic pizza, and not sure if we would order one again.  We both love garlic, but this pizza was quite greasy, a little heavy and very filling.  Later, Deiter and Helen  had a "surprise" desert.  My birthday was the day before - but they waited until Friday........wish Dave had been there to celebrate with me.     I do NOT like chocolate cake, but this was absolutely delicious.  And Dieter opened a bottle of Leonard Kreusch German wine/ Zeller Schwarez Katz - semi dry white wine.  

After dinner we all went back to the north porch for a while.  When you're in the country, there is no need to site see......especially when this place is like home to us.  Mother Nature always entertains.    Like this robin who found a perfect place under the north porch roof to nest and care for her new born. 

Or these butterflies that Rich and I saw on our walk up the road...............

It was early evening when we started watching this deer back in the trees.  He started to walk straight away from us so I figured we would not see any up close tonight.  It was just a few minutes later when Rich said " Stay Still - there are two deer just the other side of the road"   He continued to tell me not to move, but eventually he was able to grab my camera and I was able to turn around very slowly......... Again..........this is when I really wish I had a better camera.   I am definitely going to get one.   

  

I am realizing more and more how much I really miss being up north. Maybe we should consider again, a small summer place/cabin on the lake up here again.

This visit with Deiter and Helen was very relaxing, and very  very enjoyable.  We can't thank them enough for making us feel like family and sharing their home with us.