Knox, PA

One of our very dearest friends, Anne Hickman Swartfager (aka Golden), has lived in Knox, PA for the last 4 years or so. And shame on us, this was the first time we’d ever been there to visit her!

When we left the Ringwood’s beach house we headed straight for small town USA-Knox, PA! As we pulled into the beautiful driveway we were greeted by Oscar the chocolate lab, lovely farmland, and hugs from Anne, Bryce, and baby Owen! While we were having our reunion in the parking lot, out popped the biggest surprise of all, LT!! Anne and LT had gotten together and organized the best reunion ever-THE COTTAGE GIRLS (and NairBare).  

Right away Anne and her family made us feel right at home! Their  house is so incredibly gorgeous! It is filled with many beautiful pictures of all their family adventures, including a map with pins of all the places that each member of the family has been-each person gets their own color! We decided we never wanted to leave! In fact, we were originally only going to be there for two days, but we happily opted to extend our stay for a third. On our first night there, Bryce showed us how he jumps on the trampoline and drives his mini John Deere tractor, all while wearing nothing but Spider Man underwear. I had forgotten how difficult and terrifying jumping on a trampoline was. I couldn't even bring myself to do a seat drop- too scared. I guess as you get older, you realize death becomes a real possibility, so seat drops are off limits.

That night Anne made us a delicious meal and let us snuggle with the baby and play with Bryce. Next, we took a full- 7 person- family  buggy ride across the street and up on the hill to watch the most gorgeous sunset. Bryce was sure to point out all the backhoes, cows, tractors, and trucks along the way. We ended the night with some much needed catch up conversation time, just like the good ol’ days.

The next morning, Dustin was up and at ‘em making breakfast! Thanks, Dusty!  We enjoyed one of our very favorite past times-coffee time on the porch with our Anne! Next, in true super-mom, Golden fashion, we loaded up and went to hike a mountain with two youngin’s! First, we made a stop at the fire tower in the “Allegheny Mountains,” according to Bryce. Tyler, LT, and Anne-with one baby strapped to her, the other toddler right in front of her- scaled the 90,000 foot tower like it was an everyday casual activity. I am very afraid of heights, so it wasn’t a walk in the park for me, but I made it most of the way up then quickly turned around and went back to the precious ground. I guess it’s the death thing at play again. The rest of those fools stayed up there and took some pictures. I’m just fine without that. Bryce wasn’t scared in the least-it must run in the family. Next, we went to a beautiful river overlook of the “Allegheny River,” says Bryce. Oh and those are “ferns” and “rhododendron bushes.” The boy is a genius!  Later we took the badass mommy mobile down to the water and had a picnic lunch of sandwiches, trail mix, chips, beer, and vodka. Owen had some booby milk. Lucky. Now we were recharged, but the storm was rolling in, so we didn’t want to go too far away from the car. We took a little hike out to another creek, Tyler carrying Bryce in this awesome backpack thing. (Can that be the one bag we take overseas, Anne?) Of course we had to stop and throw a million rocks into the creek and see who could thrown the farthest or hit the target. Tyler took Bryce over to the waterfall for some boy time and the next thing we know, Bryce was in the water and Tyler was trying to fish him out. This is why we don’t have children. Don’t worry, he was ok; and so was Bryce. The babies were getting sleepy and so were we, so we headed back to the house, but not without stopping for ice cream first. LT and I just passed baby Owen back and forth and got in all the baby snuggles while we could! On our way home, Bryce overheard me saying something about where babies come from, so naturally he asked, “Mom, where do babies come from?” Anne told me I could handle this one. HAHA! I will let her tell you my response. That night we had more delicious dinner, drinks, and conversation. When Dustin came home, we played a few games of gin rummy, caught up about his day at a memorial-long-distance-shooting-fundraiser, and headed to bed.

The next day started out perfectly with another Dustin, specialty breakfast including ‘tater cakes!!! Bryce is such a good little eater, always choosing mangos, blueberries, bananas, and avocados! He’s the best! We didn’t know it yet, but on this day, we were in for the best adventure ever! We started out with a visit to Dustin’s welding shop and got the all inclusive, double exclusive tour from the main man himself! It was really impressive and I have no idea how Dustin remembers all that stuff and manages one billion employees! Cudos! Next on the agenda was Anne and Dustin’s sporting goods store-Sportsmen Outfitters! This store was also very impressive and the one stop shop for all your hunting needs! Including pink, camo spandex! Next it was time for an all day buggy extravaganza!

All seven of us piled in the buggy again and off we went down every back road in the county! We made a stop at the beautiful Freedom Falls, majestic Loretta Lookout, then down a very remote road that must only be traveled by Anne and Dustin every once in awhile. We landed at Anne’s family cottage right along the river! It was unbelievably gorgeous, filled with homemade Hickman wood and equipped with a shooting range in the backyard. There was a group of young dads and their first born children who had rented out the cottage on AirBNB. We happened to walk in to their party right in the middle of a rocket launching session! Bryce and all the other kids were very excited about that! So was I! YAY Science!

Next on the agenda was a walk down the scariest tunnel this side of the Mississippi! LT kept trying to freak me out-death thing again. Last stop on the buggy ride was Anne’s mom and dad’s house for a much needed cool down swim and some yummy pizza! We had fun taking pictures with the bear rug that Anne’s dad actually killed (I think) and playing with Jake’s adorable son! After a few hours the rain started setting in, so we knew we needed to get the babies home. By the time we got loaded up in the buggy again, it was really coming down! Good thing Dustin is a professional driver because he got us home safely where we all cuddled up on the biggest bean bag bed in the world! Another fun evening of conversation, photo sharing, and baby cuddles. I even changed a poopy diaper and Tyler read Bryce a dinosaur bed story. Bryce had to correct Tyler’s  dinosaur pronunciation a few times!

The next morning we had some more porch coffee time, then we re-packed the truck and off to Pittsburgh we went! Thank you so much to Anne, Dustin, Bryce, and Owen for a very wonderful time in Knox! Special thanks to LT and Anne for surprising us with a super special visit too! LT came with us to Pittsburgh for a little while-stay tuned for that story next!

Love! Whomp Whomp! 

-Leah Hot Pocket Wilson  

Sunset in Knox, PA