The sign of a good vacation is when you can barely remember how it started. I just wrapped up a mighty fine one and all it required was a bit of time travel, leaving me a bit confused about what day it was. I always appreciate it when a vacation is more than a week long because it allows me to fully separate from my normal routines and, I find, even begin to dream differently; yet this vacation took me even deeper.
This holiday season took us back to the Poconos, to a charming community called Buck Hill Falls, a place where we have shared many good times. The community was built by Philadelphia Quakers in 1901 as a retreat from the steamy city. We used it as a refuge from New York when we lived there, and we still own a small cottage. We were and are attracted to its traditions, natural beauty, and friendliness.
Now that we live over 2,000 miles from Buck Hill, our visits are seldom but always special, which brings me to the subject of time travel, because the moment I cross under the bridge leading into Buck Hill, I feel like I’m back in my old life. Has that happened to other Senior Rippers?
(photo courtesy of Brian Fowler)
The idea of time travel has always fascinated me. As a child, one of my favorite books, Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright, was about a girl and her cousin who discovered a Victorian lake resort hidden on the edge of a lake, quite similar actually to Buck Hill. In my 20’s I discovered Jack Finney’s beloved novel, Time and Again, which taught me a great deal about New York City, when I was a new resident there in the 1980s. In 2011, Stephen King’s 11/22/63 kept me spellbound for weeks as I traveled with the protagonist back and forth in time from Lisbon Falls, Maine to Dallas to attempt to prevent the assassination of JFK. Always a holiday favorite, Dicken’s, A Christmas Carol, taught me about what is important in life by traveling to the past and seeing the future. And who wouldn’t want a chance to travel with Dr. Emmett Brown, the eccentric inventor in the Back to the Future movies?
But how can you do this in real life? My time in Buck Hill was like putting on a pair of comfortable old slippers.
Familiar faces greeted me and favorite paths led me to places that I adore.
Sure enough, the passage of time was evident. There was news of weddings, new babies, retirements, and departed loved ones. But for me, that is what life is all about. What better way to start a new year than embracing the past as well as the future? Where are your special places? Please share.
What a delightful post! Sounds like fun. My special place? I’m almost afraid to say but I will in the hopes that the weather will keep people away. The Big Lake. Superior. Gitchi-Gami, north and east of Duluth, especially after the leaves fall.
You are a great man, Larry Rose!!
Cub Reporter Gail,
You bring back such wonderful memories particularly about Buck Hill. Buck Hill is like cuddling up on a couch with an warm, comfy blanket right before sunset. It is about a fire in a large stone fireplace that crackles and burns effortlessly. It is a about quiet. It is reading a great book or struggling with a 1000 piece crossword puzzle. It is about taking a walk with your best friend and catching up on all the news.
Cub Reporter Gail, you write so well. I wish you would write about your adventures.
Ed
We haven’t been back to BHF since we sold our house in 2015. Always talk about renting with the family, we’ll see. Funny you should mention Time & Again, Chip is teadingbit now!
*Reading it now.