Hughesville and Beaver Lake

One of the actual signs that was stolen ... thanks to my awesome
brother Jason Hughes for putting it on Facebook

A sign I made up on the computer... Can't find a SINGLE picture of any of the
Hughesville/Beaver Lake signs we went home with.  Well, actually - Mike, Jason, and Tom
got signs.  We never did get a sign for me... I stopped being a Hughes and had just become an Olley






 



I was sitting here, with John,  and we had started  to look at the tons of pictures we have on our computer.  As we strolled down memory lane, we came across a lot of pictures that had us laughing so hard, we almost peed our pants...
The ones though that brought on the most laughter however were the ones taken back in June of 2000.  John and I were only married for six short months. 

Worlds End State Park is our backdrop for this amazing family photo

Michael, on a chair with puppy Hawthorne...

These pictures were taken in Sullivan County, PA.  Our family used to own a cabin up there and at one time, before the place was sold, all of my brothers and John and I spent an incredible weekend up there. 
And boy, did we have fun -
You know why?
Because
Boy, did we get drunk as you-know-what. 
I never thought that a game of 500 Rummy and a few bottles of liquor and beer would lead us to break laws.
But, we ended up getting so drunk that we all thought it'd be a swell idea to go stealing all the "Hughesville" signs we had passed on the way to the cabin.  We even had a plan cooked up as to what we would say and do if a passer-by had asked what we were doing in the middle of night with our cars running and lights on...
sigh...
My memory of this awesome weekend with my new husband and brothers is a bit cloudy.  Not only was it so long ago - pre Olivia - but, we did so much drinking and recovering, it's hard to keep precious memories alive under those circumstances...

But, I'm trying.

I'm pretty sure we had two cars and were going to leave the hoods up so we can act like one of us had broken down and the other one was giving a hand.  If memory serves correctly, we never had to use our fibbed tale.  But, we did have trouble reaching said "Hughesville" signs and thought John and my brother Mike would be good people to perch upon...

Picture it

Pitch black.  Probably at 2 or so in the a.m.   Secluded woods on an even more secluded stretch of road.  Six drunk and giggling people who weren't from any where around there.  Some drunker than others, but all pretty sloshed.  Two cars parked on the side of the street with both hoods up.
We probably should've stayed back at the cabin.  But, you know that every idea that comes to the mind when you're three sheets to the wind is a great idea, so there was really no stopping us.

Tom, my oldest brother I think propped on Mike - Tom had some tool in his hand.  Don't know where the tool had come from.... But, Tom and Mike were giggling so much, I thought that they were going to go down, heads first into the pavement below their feet....
And they weren't the only ones laughing so hard... All of us were laughing and giggling.  You'd think we all just won the lottery.  We were having so much fun!
If we had bothered to stop and think about the consequences of stealing road signs, I don't know if we would've even done it...
http://www.ehow.com/about_5200064_penalty-stealing-stop-signs.html

I don't know... it doesn't seem as a big deal as I though it would've been.  Back then, way back in 2000, the economy hadn't crashed yet and not one of us had too much going on - bill wise.  So, even if we did stop to think about it, it probably wouldn't have mattered much. 

After these two or three signs were taken, we headed back, still giggling and laughing, still way too drunk to be out on the roads. 
The next morning, or maybe it was closer to afternoon, I awoke to the sound of John vomiting.  He had been so hung over that he ended up outside the bedroom window, puking in the bushes... He later recalls one of the cabin's neighbors staring at him as he wiped off his lip and looked up. 

sigh...

The light of a new day brought on a responsibility to clean up the cabin and get ready to depart.  We had 5 or 6 trash bags full of litter and others filled with beer bottles.   We ended up mowing the lawn and vacuuming the floors.  All dishes were put away.  We cleaned so good, the place looked better than it did when we arrived. 

That was the last time any one of us would again venture to our cabin in the woods. 
There was a rumor going around the family that we trashed the place and left it in a disarray and then the place was sold. 

There are so many memories there.  Too many to count.  Just loads of good times, lots of laughter.  The visions of my grandparents, sitting at the table and drinking their coffee or eating some graham cracker pie.  The radio always tuned into a country station.  The 50's or 60's style ugly blue room.  The uglier still pink room.  The big furnace in the living room.  The covered porch with extra beds and cots.  The bathroom with the water heater in it and stand only shower stall.  The smell of back woods and fresh air. 
So many memories.  So many good times.
I am a little saddened about never being able to go up there again.  Especially because my daughter will never know the awesomeness that was Sullivan County, PA.  But, the memories live on forever in the hearts of those that did go up there to relax and do nothing for weekend stretches of time.