Gaffron Family Fall Picnic Sunday!

Yesterday, we held our annual Gaffron Family Fall Picnic at Laurel Hill State Park. A yearly tradition since 2002, we’ve also gotten together on Mother’s Day up until 2001. For many years it’s been at Laurel Hill, with a stretch at Keystone State Park in New Alexandria. For the fourth year in a row, we used the pavilion with the indoor kitchen and it worked very well. We’ve had other parties and picnics here as well.

The weather couldn’t have been any better yesterday with a mix of sun and clouds. It was mild for mid-October. We had hardly a cloud in the sky in 2022 but it was much cooler. Speaking of that, we entered a cooler weather pattern to start the week and the higher elevations may even see a few snow flurries Tuesday or Wednesday.

October is a great time for leaf peeping in the Laurel Highlands. Somerset County gets the best color before everyone else due to the elevation, as well as the forest regions around Clearfield and Elk County. Yesterday, I was lucky to see some red, yellow, or orange in my travels down US 119 and PA 31 in Mount Pleasant and Donegal. With the recent dry summer, trees may easily turn bare and I saw a few like that as I came into the park. Color is near peak in other areas.

Back to the reunion. It had a 1pm start, but most of us were there by Noon. I made my arrival around 12:20 after picking up my boxed coffee at Dunkin’ in Youngwood and making a Sheetz stop in Donegal. That new Sheetz is always busy and with Fort Ligonier Days and Autumnfest going on, as well as beautiful Fall weather, it was busy yesterday. The spread was just as great as it’s been in the past. The winner of the day was those DeLallo cookies as well as those scotch eggs my mom’s cousin made. They’re sausage with hard boiled egg inside. I wish I would have seen the hot sauce to put on them. My boxed coffee was also a hit and the kids loved the hot chocolate. We had a nice turnout and we’re on tap to do it again next year.

As we walked into the pavilion, I got to see a slide show of old Gaffron family photos over the years. It showed all my relatives when they were younger. My mom’s cousin put this together and it was well worth looking at. I enjoyed hearing some of the old stories that the grown ups told as well. I got to talk with a few people, including my cousin from Erie who is a Browns fan (bad season in Cleveland) and the other who is a Phillies fan (tough loss in the playoffs). It was nice to get outside and look at the lake as I needed a little quiet time.

At the picnic yesterday, we began to make plans for some upcoming trips including November when I go to Hershey for the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert. We’re also going to see the Holiday lights the night before. It should make for an exciting weekend. It’s a little bit far out but we have some exciting news about Christmas Eve. We may get some more company. I won’t say too much now because I want to enjoy Fall and we’re asecnding the peak of this amazing season. I’m still enjoying Pumpkin Spice and other good Fall coffees. Thus, I’m not ready to defrost Christmas Mariah Carey quite yet.

The Dinner Series with Mr. Clougherty wraps up for the season on October 24 at Primanti Bros. The Turkey Sandwich and Thanksgiving tour begins November 1. I’m thinking of getting a Pilgrim from Getgo to kick things off.

At our picnic yesterday, it was so nice to see my parents enjoying themselves. With me living at home, and seeing them all the time it had me feel a little bit complacent and I’ve begun to take things for granted. Therefore, I nearly broke down as my overthinking things has led me down this road. I don’t want a repeat of 2002 or 2012 at the holidays when I was feeling down. Even 2006 and 2008 were better and those years sucked. Anyway, back to the picnic. The slideshow brought everyone together and Mom getting to see her cousins and family made the day better. Annabelle got to be with her cousins and they all had a great time. Once again, I slayed my outfit (red top and jeans with a cheetah cardigan) and my Coach bag with the cherry charm. Thanks, it’s Old Navy (where I got the clothes). Also, we made plans on top of that.

The ride home after the picnic was nice. Instead of taking PA 711 to Ligonier because of Fort Ligonier Days, I got off of PA 31 at Claypike and drove through small towns and past the Westmoreland County Fairgrounds. They’ll be lighting up for the holidays very soon. November 21 is the opening night for Overly’s Country Christmas.

Finally, it looked like Cutie’s one year anniversary celebration was a success. Because I was getting ready to go to the picnic, I wasn’t able to come in person. From the pictures and stories though, it looked very busy with the line to get in going up Otterman St. My cousins went to Cutie’s on Saturday and they enjoyed the experience. They read about how much I like it, and that made me feel good.