Our Cabin Thanksgiving

This year, our family did something very different for Thanksgiving. We each packed a weekender bag, piled on the flannels and ventured up to a cabin in the Pocono Mountains. It was a weekend surrounded by brown log-cabin walls, a cozy fire, coffee runs, and long, brisk nature walks. Usually, Thanksgiving is spent at home around our dining room table - Planes, Trains and Automobiles is on the TV - with lots of food and drink. This year, we didn't have the TV on at all, but the meal was just as extravagant. Here are a few photos from our relaxing retreat into the woods.

Our cabin was situated nearby the picturesque Lake Harmony, right along some ski resorts and fancy lake houses. During our stay, we tried to make the most of the cabin "feel." My favorite afternoon was spent hiking a trail to Boulder Field, a not-so-well known geological marvel that is exactly what it sounds like - a field of boulders. Nationally recognized as a natural and historic landmark, Boulder Field turned out to be a good 12 miles or so from the trail head we chose - not ideal for us beginners! It was a hilarious hike anyway, because my sister J's brand new hiking shoes literally fell apart (the soles came off the boots - both of them) and there was an alleged bear sighting. My favorite part of the hike was when we traversed a little babbling brook in the middle of the woods.

These are simpler things that I am appreciating more and more as I get older - even though I went to college near by from most of these places in the Poconos, I never fully appreciated them (or sought them out). We are becoming more into these simpler experiences as a family, and I am loving it. The hike was a favorite of everyone's, even S's!  I think the other thing I liked most about the trip was how long the days felt. On the morning after Thanksgiving, everyone woke up at 6:30am completely naturally. The boys went skiing, but we all had time for a long and leisurely cup of morning coffee in the living room around the fire. It was amazing.