Day 3
We woke to find a nice...slow...steady rain and misty mountain tops. My folks wanted to go back to Bowmanstown Diner for breakfast and scrapple! As my
Mom and I waited for my dad to get in the car, it seemed like a good idea to snap a picture of the front of the Inn at Jim Thorpe. I sure did enjoy sitting on one of the many green wicker rocking chairs and surveying my kingdom.
We made it to the diner without Siri and yes indeed... SCRAPPLE! I had just a single slice of scrapple served with syrup.
My dad had two eggs over easy and he had his scrapple with ketchup.
My mom had scrambled eggs, real farm style bacon, and scrapple (with syrup).
The kids and Shawn stayed at the hotel while we feasted on scrapple. Then, they went out on their own and had breakfast...with scrapple!!
We lounged around the hotel for a bit. I got a yummy variety pack of jerky from a nearby shop. (Elk, kangaroo, buffalo, boar...). I worked on my blog sitting on the upstairs balcony. My dad and Nicholas went to the old jail. My mom and Summer went to the store to buy a thank you card for the family dinner last night. Shawn got a haircut. And we just all just "vegetated".
Summer thought that she had just invented a new word but was a little sad to find out that "vegetated" was already a word.
In fact, we have invented two new words this summertime: "roamerous" and "pesterizing". Nicholas was talking about how Katie, our dog, was taking advantage of her electric fence not working. "Katie is very roamerous lately." It means that she has learned that her fence isn't working so she is feeling brave and roaming outside of what her usual space is. Hence: roamerous.
And then there is "pesterizing". It is best used in a whiney voice as: "Mommy, Nicholas is pesterizing me!" Summer gets the credit on this one. In a way I am thankful for the invention of this word because it means that I get to ease up on my use of "bickering". I must say, "Quit bickering!" 20 times a day. With the term "pesterizing" the kids KNOW and are AWARE of the fact that they pester one another. It's a good thing they're cute!
My mom has always wanted to tour the mansion and since I'm here and (somewhat) in charge of the kids, we went. No photos were allowed inside so I just took a few pics while we were waiting for our guide.
I was unaware that "Asa" was a man. I thought this must be the home of some tycoon widow. But, no. Asa Packer was a railroad magnate and the founder of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. This mansion was completed in 1861 with no evidence of any effects of the Civil War...LAVISH isn't even the right word to describe the subtle but huge expenses that were freely spent. From what I can remember: gold leafing of the walls in the dining room, gold threads in the French drapes, red trimmed stained glass (made by adding gold to the molten glass), a two story ice house that essentially worked as air conditioning (in 1861!!!), one of the many gasoliers in the house was the model for the Gone with the Wind... and on and on! (The term gasolier is a real word. Not one of the Wolf inventions. It means that the chandelier was powered by gas rather than candles.) The gasoliers in this house were all centrally plumbed and could be operated by a simple set of ivory and ebony buttons set into the ornately carved panelling in the front hall.
There was a handsome yellowjacket hanging around but by the time I tried to take a picture he was gone. This lovely bee will have to suffice.
Photos were not allowed inside but this is a picture from the internet showing the French drapes - an anniversary gift from Asa Packer to his wife for their 50th.
Another internet picture: The 1500 lbs music box that the daughter of Asa Packer, Mary Packer Cummings, bought for herself. We learned that she loved this machine so much that she would have it dismantled, hauled up/down the stairs, and, brought with her on vacation.
Mary Packer Cummings willed the house and the entire contents to the town of Mauch Chunk.
Next door to the Asa Packer mansion was her brother's mansion which Walt Disney used as a model for the Haunted Mansion!
After the mansion tour my mom had to leave us. She and my dad had plans to meet one of his high school friends for dinner. So, the kids and I found our way down to the river. Nicholas was having a hard time holding in all of his impulsive 12 year old boyness and an unapologetic and uncensored rock throwing adventure was a much needed experience.
Needless to say, there was much pesterizing.
And also needless to say, he fell in...much to Summer's great delight!
After a change of shoes and socks, we were on our own to have dinner at Molly Maguire's.
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