Guest Post by Mariah F
One of my favorite memories growing up is the time I spent in Linn Run State Park. I come from a large family but one thing we could all agree on was how special our breakfasts in the mountain were. We'd all pick a weekend and by 6 in the morning, my Grandpa was up at "our spot" (in the Grove Run area) where we would spend the next few hours. He'd have the percolator going with fresh brewed coffee, a fire cracking, and soon after we all arrived you could smell the bacon cooking. We'd unpack our bag chairs and cover the dewy picnic tables with newspaper to sit on. While waiting to eat, all of us kids would take our red solo cups down to the stream to catch crayfish and salamanders - yelling when we'd find them and squealing to see who's catch was the largest. Inevitably something would be forgotten at home and depending on how important the item was, we'd either make do without or someone would make the drive home to get it (eggs were pretty important.. all of the cutlery was not!)
We'd eat our breakfasts of cinnamon rolls, eggs, bacon, sausage and sometimes (burnt) toast contentedly around picnic tables, watching the smoke and light mix through the trees.
There was never a rush to these mornings. My parents and aunts and uncles would relax reading newspapers or books. The kids would run wild in the stream. The outside world never felt so pressing and we were allowed to take our time. Talk to each other. Enjoy sitting in the sun and connecting. There was food and family, a stream to play in and trails to hike, and really what more do you need?
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