Favorite Romantic Comedies for Valentine’s Day
A Top Ten list appropriate for February! As I’ve written before, Boots & Backpacks is full of romantic comedy tropes. Which romantic comedies inspired me the most? Why, these! 1. It Happened One Night (1934) IMDB link Hmm. An opposites-attract road … Continued
On the Trail with Darcy and Lizzy: Pine Grove Furnace and Caledonia State Parks
Continuing on the Appalachian Trail south from Boiling Springs, Darcy and Elizabeth leave the farmland behind when they enter Michaux State Forest. This is the geographical halfway point of the Appalachian Trail, equidistant between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount … Continued
On the Trail with Darcy and Lizzy: Duncannon to Boiling Springs
After crossing over the Susquehanna River, the Appalachian Trail goes through the town of Duncannon, Pennsylvania. It is a convenient place to buy supplies and do laundry. One business catering to thru-hikers is the Doyle Hotel. Elizabeth and Darcy stay … Continued
On the Trail with Darcy and Lizzy: the Schuykill to the Susquehanna
Next up in Boots & Backpacks, Darcy and Elizabeth end their visit with Marianne Dashwood and Chris Brandon, and climb back up from the Schuykill River Valley. The Appalachian Trail follows the ridge of the Blue Mountain for many miles, … Continued
Calm Exterior: A Boots & Backpacks vignette
Since my last “On the Trail with Darcy and Lizzy” post highlighted Hawk Mountain, I figured now would be a good time to share this little vignette I wrote. Think of it as a holiday gift to B&B fans! In … Continued
On the Trail with Darcy and Lizzy: Hawk Mountain and The Pinnacle
At this point in Darcy and Elizabeth’s Boots & Backpacks hike, readers get to meet a couple of important characters: Marianne Dashwood and Christopher Brandon! They both work at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, the world’s oldest educational and scientific organization dedicated … Continued
On the Trail with Darcy and Lizzy: Eastern Pennsylvania
In our last installment, we left Elizabeth and Darcy hiking out of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and thus leaving behind amenities like campgrounds and privies. The Appalachian Trail in eastern Pennsylvania follows long, flat, rocky ridges broken by climbs … Continued
On the Trail with Darcy and Lizzy: Delaware Water Gap (part 2)
Welcome to another edition of On the Trail with D&L, where I share pictures of the sights featured in Boots & Backpacks. We left our backpacking duo in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area on the New Jersey side of … Continued
On the trail with Darcy and Lizzy: Delaware Water Gap (part 1)
This is the first in a series of posts highlighting the various places Darcy and Elizabeth saw during their hike in Boots & Backpacks. I’ve had people tell me that the Appalachian Trail is almost another character in the story. I … Continued
Modernizing Austen Characters
(Crossposted from Stories from the Past) I previously wrote about how many of the themes Jane Austen explored in her novels are universal, even 200 years later. Similarly, Austen wrote characters who are still familiar to us today. They … Continued