So I've been doing this fun thing where I drive into a weird town in NY or PA and spend the day there. What will I do? Just depends on what I find. I’m bringing my camera when I do though.
I go alone and people watch. Try coffee and pizza. Find a hike or something weird. It’s nice and tranquil.
This is going to be a theme in a lot of my new work. I think a book may be in the future.
The town I visited not his day was Honesdale, PA. I decided to start my day with a hike since there was a chance of showers later on. This one was fairly easy and I was the only one there as you can tell by the last photo in this gallery. I did almost get lost a few times. Those trail blazes are tough to find sometimes.
I went into the actual town after this hike and found some parking. The downtown was small and a bit hilly. It felt like an old West Virginia mining town, but in PA. It was raining by this point, so very little people were milling about the streets.
There were trains everywhere. Turns out, this is where they popularized the commercial railroad. Who knew? You could take a scenic train ride for a fee if you wanted and learn more about that. I was on a budget today though.
I found a diner perfect for that budget. It was in an old trailer and cheap as heck. There was only a few locals in there and I sat at the counter by myself. Some random women’s college basketball game on the small TV from 2003. I got a grilled chicken gyro and I’ll tell you, it was so mid but unintentionally healthy with the lack of toppings. The French onion soup was the highlight. All for less that $20. Vibes were decent in there and they had a train car riding along the ceiling.
I did a bit more walking and driving after my meal. They had a large dam at the end of town that was built after some massive floods in the 40s. Crazy how just a big pile of rocks is what saves the town from future catastrophe. We really are just human beavers.
There was a lovely hilltop that you could hike. I elected to drive up there since I had already hiked a few miles earlier in the day. Looking down on the town, it felt like looking at one of those Christmas villages your grandma has. The view was short lived because it, ya know rained again.
I did some coffee shop hopping after this to edit. It’s nice to sit in a random cafe and ease drop about town drama that you have no idea about.
My stay in Honesdale was brief, about 4 to 5 hours. The town was nothing spectacular, but had just enough nature and charm to make it rememberable. The type of town where the local kids say there’s nothing to do, while probably taking for granted the nature around them.