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A favorite family vacation

We often went on trips to state parks for picnics. Getting there in the cars of those days was an adventure. It was not unusual to have at least one flat tire during the journey. One favorite destination was Hacklebarney State Park which was a particularly nice place with a mountain stream and lots of rocks to hop over.

It was one of our favorite places to visit. Later on we spent vacations at Stokes State Forest which had log cabins. We went there with Tottens and other families from our area. We would stay a week or 2. The cabins had bunk beds, a fireplace to supply the heat, a small kitchen with a wood stove. The toilet was a chemical one which was attached to the building but you had to go outside to get to it.

There was a nice lake for swimming and lots of woods to hike through. We could also drive or hike up to Sunrise Mountain which looked out over the country side.Sunrise Mountain wasn't very high really but it seemed pretty impressive then. About once a week we would drive to Branchville or Milford to see a movie and get ice cream as a special treat. We often had neighbors go to Stokes with us, and stay in adjacent cabins - the Tottens or the Blakesleys for instance. Other times we went to Blue Mountain cabin. Some people my dad knew had a big hunting cabin at Stokes. Occasionally we got permission to use it and we go up to stay there.

It was interesting because the cabin had usually been closed up for some time and we would have to sweep out all the cobwebs and get rid of the wasps before we could move in. It was along side a creek and was a great place to stay. It was where "Blue Mountain Cabbage" was invented. I don't remember the details but I think we were out one day when mother was cooking cabbage and somehow it got burnt. We tried it anyway and liked the taste so well that we decided it was a new dish and named it "Blue Mountain Cabbage".

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