Nothing came to mind song title wise for our next stop, the Pines Resort in South Fallsburg, so I give in; I’m back to regular entry titles. I don’t often write two nights in a row, (I struggle with once a week) but I’ve had such a rotten day at work I figured if I thought about all the fun I had at the Pines, and wrote about it, maybe I would stop thinking about work. And I just don’t feel like doing photos (which I do every chance I get), because apparently, according to someone at my place of employment, I’m not very good at anything creative I do. But as I don’t write for work I at least have the freedom to do this without feeling inadequate.

I shouldn’t say it’s work I’m upset about, it’s not work, I love my job, I really do, I’m one of the lucky ones and I’m very grateful. It’s just one person, and sometimes it only takes one to ruin your day. There are some things people say, which are completely unjustified, and for which, I believe, I understand the uncalled for motivation. But I am struggling to excuse it, and I’m hurt. If there’s one thing that makes me really, really mad—crazy mad—it’s injustice. I did not deserve today, or rather what was bitterly said about me today, and which I heard about second-hand. But I’m supposed to be brightening myself up with Pines Resort memories. So I shall do just that whilst reminding myself there is Karma—and she’ll get hers.

So the Pines—wow! I don’t think I can remember one place, over the past year or so, which amazed me more at every turn. Initially, I was a little disappointed. I think we both were.  I thought to myself uhh ohh this is just going to be an abandoned hotel complex. Massive, but with lots and lots of identical rooms and identical halls; I wasn’t sure we were going to find anything of interest. How wrong I was. Talk about a diamond in the rough.

After our initial investigation of the paint ball ravaged reception area, and the repetitive rooms and halls, we discovered a wonderland of photographic possibilities. The further into the various buildings we explored the more excited I became. I feel very saddened by the damage the paint ball warriors have caused, but also fascinated by the colors the paint created and the reflections on the ice-covered floors the spatters manifested themselves into. I despise what vandals do, and I think vandalism is so very wrong and senseless—but at the Pines it made for some amazing shots. So, as with most things in my life I’m really torn between two possibilities—the Pines pre-paintball and the Pines post-paintball—I wish I’d had the opportunity to photograph both.

I don’t think I have ever said, “wow, come look at this,” so often, to my fellow explorer. I was fascinated by the indoor pool then went outside and was even more fascinated by the outdoor pool, which had become a solid sheet of ice, surrounded by broken, rotting and buckled deckchairs. Now, when I say fascinated, I mean fascinated by the light falling on them and the feeling you get when you see a thing that you have never seen in an abandoned state before.  I’ve seen countless indoor and outdoor pools (so has everyone) but not like this—not completely forgotten and discarded and unusable for their originally intended purposes.

There’s so much more to say about the Pines, we found so much more, (I can’t tell it will spoil the next entry) we almost ran into scrappers, we hid from the police, so the adventure is far from over. And the memories make me smile, but I have run out of word space (again) so, I’ll break my rule again, (I love breaking rules) and say to be continued…. It’s also late and I have the day from hell ahead tomorrow.

Ohh, to be back in South Fallsburg taking photos.