Afloat on Turquoise Seas / Hot Eats, Cool Treats

It was to be a warm summer's day, so my husband and I decided it was time to go swimming. We grabbed a pair of Big Macs for our lunch and headed to Bald Eagle State Park.

It was a sunny summer Sunday afternoon, hot in the sun but reasonably comfortable in the shade. So we put our chairs in the shade of a huge tree and people-watched for a while before we went in for what was a pretty nice swim.

The water seemed unusually blue, visually speaking, and it reminded me of the turquoise seas that you see in the Caribbean. I think it was the blue sky reflecting, but it seemed special somehow. It was a very deep and pretty and relaxing shade, if I must say so myself.

I'd been thinking of getting some Berkey Creamery ice cream at the little snack shop there after our swim, but my husband had an even cooler idea: why didn't we stop at the Twin Kiss that is not far from the park?

So when we finished our swim, we showered outdoors (cold water! ice cream headache!), then changed clothes and hopped into the car to go cruising for hot eats and cool treats. Yes, as far as I know, this was our first time there!

You may see our snack in the extras: an Italian hoagie with a little bag of Middleswarth chips, and a caramel milkshake. In driving by, we had not noticed it, but there was plenty of outdoor seating, and we enjoyed our treats at a picnic table in the shade of a big tree. Bliss!

As we were driving home, my husband and I finished the milkshake. Now, the food was pretty good, but the milkshake was almost extraordinary! And in fact, I learned later on the Twin Kiss Facebook page that they'd been awarded Best Ice Cream in Centre County in a 2022 poll. Cool.

Well, the bottom line is this: we had a great time at the park, we had gorgeous turquoise seas to swim in and look at, and we were happy. At one point, we were driving in the car, with my husband at the wheel, and me slurping on my milkshake, and I felt time slip, and slip, and slip . . . .

And it was the late 1980s again, and there was this gorgeous guy I'd just met, and we were always doing outdoor things together. We were always heading for the woods or the waters. We didn't need anybody else to be happy; only each other. Well, plus the occasional SNACK, LOL!

And we'd go swimming and camping in the summer, and sometimes just driving around, spending time together. "I feel like me from the 1980s," I told my husband. "I'm glad," he said with a big smile; "I tried to make sure you were happy today."

And I was.
Oh yes, I was.

Now, I've got two pictures for this day, so I'm going to give you two songs. First, for the image above, of the girl floating on her floatie on the turquoise seas . . . it reminded me of Rachel Platten's Fight Song (just a small boat . . . on the ocean). This song has given me strength on so many occasions, and I have loved every version I've ever heard of it, so here are a few:
Rachel Platten, Fight Song, New Year's Rockin' Eve,
Rachel Platten, Fight Song, trailer for Supergirl* (yes, the original trailer used this song!),
Fight Song, performed by Rachel Platten and Taylor Swift (forgive the jumpy camera but stay and enjoy the pure ENERGY!).

And for my second image, of the hot eats and cool treats that we enjoyed at the Twin Kiss . . . after we left the restaurant, and finished our milkshake, I suddenly realized something: "You didn't kiss me twice at the Twin Kiss!" I said to my husband. "Next time we go there, we'll have to fix that!" And we've got a song for that one too. Well, kiss me once . . . kiss me twice . . . It's gotta be Lita Ford, with Kiss Me Deadly!!!  ;-)

*I've come back to add this quote, which I found on the Supergirl video, because it explains some of what I loved best about the song Fight Song, and about the show Supergirl: "The symbol of the House of El means hope. Embodied within that hope is the fundamental belief in the potential of every person to be a force for good."