From Trail Angel to Emptynest

For those who are newer to my blog and lifestyle - one crazy thing I do (although not so much now) is that I am a trail angel along the Appalachian Trail in PA. It's something I truly enjoy; Gene has also come to enjoy it as well. We are both social people, and the trail gets hundreds of hikers each year, so we meet lots and lots of people, make connections, and mostly stay in touch with them.

What is a trail angel? A person or group of people who randomly help out hikers - for free. We give what we can, when we can. There is no rhyme or reason to when or what we give. There's also no rhyme or reason to who gets the magic of us being trail angels. The help can be anything from a ride to or from the trail, taking their trash, providing snacks & drinks, charging devices, offering a place to shower & do laundry, and more. It truly is up to each trail angel what they do, how often and when.

Pre-Covid, we used to have a large trail magic event—never published anywhere. We just set up a tent, all the chairs possible, and provided cold drinks, snacks, hot dogs, and hamburgers. What do we get in exchange? Great company from stinky hikers—they tell us stories, give us hugs, and tell us how we made their day/week/month/hike or made them not want to quit! As we did that, we met hikers and stayed in touch over the years. Our door is always open to them anytime.

The last few years we've had three hikers staying with us. First up, Chops - we met him more than five years ago on his thru-hike. He happened upon our trail magic and had an injured knee that he desperately needed to rest for a few days. So he stayed with us, two times as he finished the trail. The second time he re-injured his knee and took a train from NY back to PA with a promise from me - I'll take you to where you got off the trail so I can hike a piece of the trail in another state! He finished and went back to his home state, WI. Wanderlust hit him a few years later, right about the time we got married - and he surprised us with a visit and has been here since.

He's been a huge help around the house - from cleaning, to yard work, to raising the last batch of kittens. Chops left last week to hit the trail again. He's currently hiking the PCT and anticipates that he should be back around August. I'm not sure who misses him more - us or the cats. The cats have been spoiled by him with his attention and extra feeding times. He's only been gone a few weeks, and the kittens are growing like weeds - they will be huge by the time he gets back.

Second and third up - Wally and Scatter. Wally was the first of these two; I met him about 7 years ago. I answered a post about his needing something and delivered! Since then, we have stayed in touch. He's a multi-year AT thru-hiker, so we see him every year. He was reluctant at first to come to our house, but I finally broke him down and had him visit. I told him it was Gene's birthday and I was having a big party for him. Gene would love to have some hikers at his party.

Wally has brought many hikers (with our okay) to our little hiker haven. We love each of them; they leave well-fed, feeling all the love of humans and cats. Somehow, our unofficial trail angel status is talked about on the trail. The hikers never know if they will get to experience this little slice of heaven, which is the magic of trail angels. You take what comes your way and don't expect anything!

Wally's thru-hike two years ago was with a group, including Scatter, one of the ladies strong enough to hike the trail. When they got off the trail, they stayed with us for a bit. Scatter got a job and stayed instead of going back on the trail for the next hiking season. Wally, on the other hand, was getting restless and ready to hike. So he headed out for the trail and did some hiking—not a full thru-hike but enough to satisfy the need to hike and move. They spent the winter with us, saving up for their next hiking adventure. They are now on the trail, hiking the AT parts that Scatter missed, doing some side trails along the way, and doing trail magic. They have their car, so they are able to help other hikers.

With the 3 "kids" out of the house - its quiet, mostly... The grocery bill has gone down, meals are smaller. The cats are all wandering around looking for the extra hands for pets. Roughy became very attached to Scatter and Wally - and still walks around yelling for them. He absolutely misses nap time, tv time and bed time with them. Roughy learned how to manipulate humans to the max. He loved watching Naked & Afraid, Elf, and some other shows.

I find myself missing the full house of people most of the time. One of my many traits is taking care of people, so it came naturally to take care of a full house of people. Now it's back to me, Gene, and the 21 cats. A much different pace all around. The cats are doing their best to make as much noise, mess, and chaos as they possibly can while our "kids" are out doing their hiking adventures.

Trail Magic season will be here soon - only time will tell if we do some trail magic this year.

Til our tails cross again,

Melanie

Speed limit optional

When I reflect on my life, I realize I've grown and changed in so many ways (all good - mostly...). During my high school days, I always said I don't want to drive, I don't need to drive. That was kind of crazy as I grew up in an area where you HAD to drive to get anywhere, do anything, or get to work. My theory was that I would move to the city and public transit would be all I needed to get around.

That was how I entered my 20s, but that quickly changed. There was no reason for the change. Gene (boyfriend then, husband now) had his license but no car. Eventually, he got a car, followed shortly by me getting my permit. In typical fashion, we did things backwards and not the normal way. We purchased a brand new SUV before I actually passed my driver's test. Nervous about taking the test and passing the parallel parking, I opted to use the car I learned to drive in. Fancy new car sitting at home—go with what you know to guarantee a pass! I can parallel park, even though we no longer live in the city. I am much better at parallel parking on the right side versus the left, which is mind-boggling.

Gene - God love him, taught me to drive. I am hard-headed and resist learning new things sometimes. He has the patience of a saint, so somehow we both survived the teaching/learning part of me driving. (Now, he critiques my driving and it's always a fight...) Gene is what I call the Grandpa driver, although he says that's just when his most prized possession is in the car (that would be me). I, on the other hand, fall right into the speed demon category. Speed limits are meant to be broken & are just a recommendation, right!?

In all the years I've been driving, I can count on multiple hands the number of times I've been pulled over. As for tickets for speeding or other driving violations - they can still be counted on one hand... but it's getting close to needing two hands. I jokingly say that it's my pretty face that gets me out of the tickets. Truth be told - I have no idea how I get out of them. When they ask, "Do you know why I pulled you over?" I don't even attempt to lie. "I was most likely speeding," is what I say. Let's face it - I know I was speeding, they caught me, why fight it? I've gotten off with a verbal warning when my license should have been revoked. I've been told, "Alright - slow down, be careful, watch the speed trap next town over. You have people with you, slow down so you all make it where you're going."

I got pulled over in October or November 2025. For, you guessed it - speeding. No surprise there. The surprise is I never saw the cop and still can't figure out exactly where he was sitting. While I was absolutely in the wrong, the guy that pulled me over I pegged as young, new to the force with something to prove, and a bit of a dick. He had an attitude, which is whatever, but don't take your attitude out on me because I was speeding and you had to do your job. If it's that much of an inconvenience, don't pull me over. At any rate, I admitted I was speeding, he "played" nice and wrote me a ticket for lower than the speed he said I was going. No biggie here... read on for the biggie....

I didn't want to tell Gene about this speeding ticket; he covers all of my expenses, and I didn't want the speech about slowing down.

My life continues - I forget about the ticket - typical. I'm really not the most responsible adult sometimes... I got a notice that I was getting a letter from the borough - (thank you, Informed Delivery USPS). I snagged the letter before Gene saw it, which prompted me to

go pay my ticket at the borough hall (hello small-town living!). To be told I had to pay with cash, check, or money order. Credit cards and debit cards not accepted. Which I have lots of feelings about... for another post. So I leave after they tell me I can pay online with a card or come back with cash. Such an inconvenience since I'm there ready to pay - but not with cash or check. I leave and head to work, where I promptly forget about said ticket.

A few weeks later, PennDot sent a letter that Gene intercepted and read. He said it seemed like I was being scammed, as the letter stated my license would be revoked on a date in January (that is escaping me now) due to an unpaid moving violation. Naturally, I said, "Oh, that's not a scam. There is an unpaid moving violation. I'll pay it when I get home." Which didn't happen—it got forgotten yet again, never to be thought of again, until...

It's 2 weeks before Christmas, I'm home working on some last-minute crafting gifts, with 21 cats milling around helping me. It was unseasonably warm, so I have the front door open. When there's a knock at the door, of all the possible people it could have been, I would not have guessed—the Constable, asking for me by name. I have a moment of panic—WTF have I done? I've not done anything to have the Constable on my front porch (at least that I can recall). He says don't panic—it's nothing major. To which I laugh and invite him in. His "nothing major"—a bench warrant, for yours truly. What for? That speeding ticket I wanted to keep Gene from finding out about. So Gene's upstairs working, and I quickly explain this to the Constable and say I'd love to get this taken care of before he realizes you are here for this ticket. We laugh about the situation, I sign off that yes, I am guilty of speeding. The last thing I have to do is pay, which now includes court fees and Constable fees for serving the bench warrant. Payable by—you guessed it—cash or check only! FFS, again—my money is in an account I don't have checks for, but have a debit card to. As he's explaining to me I have 14 days to pay (which is Christmas Eve), otherwise his next visit will be a little different, involving the handcuffs—Gene makes his grand appearance downstairs. I'm dead at this point. How has a speeding ticket gotten so out of hand?!?!

At which point I tell Gene what's going on. At which point, Gene says he wants a refund on his marriage as this is not what he signed up for. Can't say I blame him - I take the blame for all his stress and gray hairs! But he also proceeds to tell the Constable that next time, just come in and take me. Don't let the cats out or harm them in the process. That, my friends, is true love.

I did get the ticket paid - the same day the constable came to my door. Moral of the story - always carry cash or a checkbook, especially if you have to pay a small town or borough for anything.

Till our tails cross again,

Melanie

Creativity Struggle Bus

I'm sure I touched on this slightly before - the decision to start a blog - not a light one. I felt I had plenty of things to write about. Fast forward to 2 years of writing - I've not written as much because now I have no idea what to write about. Shocking - I'm a talker, always have something to say, so why am I struggling to write some blog posts routinely?!? Anything I think to write, I shut down thinking people don't want to read about it. The creativity struggle is happening for my blog and work - read on for more on that.

Recently, I promoted myself at Unveiled Bridal & Formal and their sister store - The Edit Hbg. (Who does that?! Promote themselves at a job where they are the employee?!) I took over doing social media and event planning for The Edit. At the time, it sounded like a great idea. Now, I find myself struggling to come up with new content to share on social media. Some days the creativity flows; most days it doesn't. I end up in a rut where I've written or created basically the same things with the slightest variation. That's for sure not getting us new customers! This applies to The Edit and to my personal blog, so it's also not getting me new readers.

With that, I turn to the handful of readers (Sharon & Barb read most consistently, Gene seldom reads but makes an attempt...) to send your ideas & prompts. What do you think the world should be reading from me? What have I done that needs telling?! As I write this paragraph, I remind myself of a situation with the Constable—absolutely worthy of its own post...

I guess for the blog struggle bus of finding things to write about - my life has become mostly boring, all work, less play. My best stories come from the cats or whatever pet I happen to be house-sitting for. There's a piece of me that shuts down simply writing about the pets - because how many people truly want to read about someone else's pets they don't know?

So please weigh in—no matter if it's your first time reading one of my posts, or you've been reading—what do you want to read about? Will you read even if it's the boring day-to-day of my 21 cats or whatever group of pets I'm house-sitting? Do you want something different? Have a question about me, the cats, or the super allergic-to-cats husband? It's all fair game...help me get writing some good content for your entertainment!

Til our tails cross,

Melanie