going loco in pocono

A couple of weeks ago, The American and I headed across the pond to catch up with family and spot some sun. Our first stop was the wild Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, a green idyll two hours west of Philadelphia. We were meeting up with all of The American’s family, who were coming in from different directions, to spend a week all together before heading south to Maryland for the second week. Our house was situated in the heart of a forest, a ten minute walk away from Locust Lake (no locusts here, never fear!), perfect for sunny days spent kayaking and reading on the beach.

Whilst most of the weather was beautiful, we did have a few wet days with one warning of a tornado one night – something I do not wish to experience again, thanks to The American’s look of sheer terror when the warning message popped up on my phone. Turns out it wasn’t as scary as it could have been and we didn’t need to hide under the stairs as first suggested by the weather man!

Our days past by in a haze of sunshine; waking early to get to the lake with our kayaks for a morning paddle before returning to the house for lunch with everyone else. Our afternoons were spent jumping off the dock into the cool waters, reading in the sun and exploring the local wildlife (we spotted a bald-headed eagle, snakes, deer and The American even saw a huge bear!).

 The first week also marked the start of our ice cream diet, which saw us visiting various ice cream parlours in the local area. It’s safe to say I have not eaten so much ice cream in years – I highly recommend the cookies and cream ice cream from The Junction, should you ever find yourself in rural Pennsylvania!

On our one particularly wet day we drove a short distance to Jim Thorpe, a curiously named rail road town with an impressive collection of mansions, not to mention an incredible backdrop! The Asa Packer Mansion was a great find and allowed me to indulge in some #interiorinspo, even whilst on holiday. We stopped off for real American-portioned lunch (honestly, the chopped salad was enough for 3 people!) before posing in front of the river and having a nose around the railway station.

The Poconos is not an area I was familiar with but we loved the remoteness and the ability to go out onto the water with such ease. Turns out I am much better in a kayak than a canoe – canoeing is far too tiring on the arms! With Maryland beckoning us, we packed up the house and headed south into the searing heat, making a beeline for Old Westminster Winery….

L.