Penn Wood Airstream Park

  After a complicated stay in Eastern Pennsylvania, we quickly moved on to Penn Wood Airstream Park. It is my favorite Airstream village so far and I think Ranman would agree.  Penn Wood's location is in a beautiful wooded glen in Limestone, PA. A small creek runs nearby and a roughly maintained trail follows it for a short distance to an artesian well.
  The largest city nearby is Clarion, a small college town that doesn't have much else going on.  R and I walked around downtown today to run errands and it took about an hour to see that the shops and businesses didn't have a lot to offer. No matter, a decent grocery and a laundromat is the minimum requirement for our TZD tours. Our recreation is usually hiking, biking or paddle boarding so a nearby state park often provides an area to do those types of activities. 
  Yesterday, we did a couple of hikes at Cook Forest State Park. Cook Forest is known for its very old trees and the forest cathedral is spectacular. Several trees in the forest are 300-400 years old.  When we first arrived, we watched a local fellow catching brook trout with minnows and now I have an itching to go fishing!  Since we are not local residents, the fishing licenses for us in public water are pretty expensive.  I think we will just hold out for a stocked private pond :-).
  The first day at this campground did not start off well. After driving all day to get here from waaaay on the other side of Pennsylvannia, the task of finding a suitable campsite and parking the TZD still had to be completed.
  Our usual parking routine involves the use of walkie talkies and a lot of hand gesturing.  The sites that were available to us as visitors were not that desirable and are pretty closely spaced.  After a few minutes of discussion about where to place the trailer in relation to the hook ups, we started to park.  After a few backup attempts by Randy, we finally had the trailer going in a direction that looked right. Just about the time, we thought everything was in place, a neighbor across the street comes out of his trailer and starts telling Randy that he is not parked correctly.  Well, being the hothead that I am sometimes about being "bossed around," I was not a happy camper! Where was he when we needed some input about how we were expected to park? Then, after Randy parked the way the first guy told him to, another one comes around and says that the first guy didn't know what he was talking about and suggested another position.  Aargh!
  Other than that, the "village" was looking promising because of its beautiful location in a secluded glen.  A creek runs through the property and there are numerous sites in the trees that had great views of the pond.  The park has a nice meeting hall with a full commercial kitchen, library, laundry facilities, modern bathrooms with showers, a playground, and an outdoor patio with plenty of seating.
  The second night there, Ranman and I were invited to happy hour and we got to meet some of our other neighbors. It turned out that everyone was very friendly.  One of the couples was especially interesting because they were retired teachers that were accomplished musicians. The wife was an Opera singer and an artist.  Her husband was quite chatty and made us feel very welcome.  There were a few people that enjoyed cooking and I was given a sourdough starter after I mentioned that mine died last year.  Poor Lyle, may he rest in peace.

Supervising Norm and Rusty while they plant some spruces behind the visitor  sites.

This was my first cake made on the road and with a few modifications, (mainly using less sugar in the frosting), I highly recommend it.


Sourdough Carrot Cake (King Arthur Flour Recipe)

1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1 cup sourdough starter, right from the fridge, unfed
3 eggs
1 cup (8 oz.) crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
Cream Cheese Frosting

Combine oil and sugar, and stir in sourdough starter. Mix in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Fold in pineapple, carrots, walnuts, coconut and vanilla. 

In a separate bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, stirring just to combine. 

Spoon batter into greased and floured 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 45 minutes, or until cake tests done. Remove cake from oven and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting. 
Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 to 1/2 cup (1/2 to 1 stick) butter, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups (1 pound) confectioners' sugar
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup minced candied ginger, or 1 teaspoon ground ginger (optional) 
milk

Combine butter, cream cheese and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating well. Stir in nuts and/or ginger (if desired). Add milk, a little at a time, until frosting is a spreadable consistency.