Alone at the Allenberry

Here in Pennsylvania the cities have not yet opened up restaurants, resorts, gyms, or movie theaters. However, they begin opening up next week. So in preparation of spaces becoming crowded again and a lot more people being out and about, I decided to take advantage of one of the hidden gems of my community before it gets crazy again.

In Boiling Springs there is a small resort called the Allenberry built on the beautiful grounds of south central PA. Throughout the year, this location is home to many theatre productions with the Playhouse Theatre, several weddings, fire-pits and outdoor seating, a bubbling river for fishing and wading, and beautiful stone buildings that are restaurants and locations you can choose to stay in while residing at the resort. I've been here a few times for the theatre, and have always walked the ground thinking about doing a photoshoot, but just never took the extra step to do one. Well, now that my best friend came into town, I decided now was the time.

We drove down to the resort, and the first thing we see is a chain on the ground that I assumed was used to keep people out during the majority of quarantine (the resort portion of the grounds have been shut down since March). It made me a little worried since I had never seen it in any previous visits, but after running into one of the employees getting the property read for reopening in a week, he gave us permission to walk around and take photos. Emily and I parked the car and started looking around, and honestly after one electrical crew left five minutes after we arrived, we were completely alone. We knew some employees were there getting everything ready, but they were all in the buildings. We would almost go 30 minutes at a time without seeing a single person, and the one person we would see every now and then was an elderly gentleman fishing in the river. We were practically alone at the Allenberry.

This blew my mind and was such a big deal to me as I recognized that I would probably never see this again. The Allenberry resort keeps pretty busy throughout the year, and there are always fisherman and walkers enjoying the grounds that are open to the public 24/7. I think we just got lucky and were able to come on a day where people were choosing to stay away since our counties are still in the yellow zone of quarantine.

Our day was spent exploring the grounds, really taking things in since we didn't have to work around other people, and enjoying our time taking photos. One thing Emily and I have made a point of this summer, is building her photography skills. Emily has always had a camera, and for the past several years she has had a fairly decent DSLR, but doesn't know how to use it to its full capabilities, and how to set up amazing photos. We are planning to go on a lot of vacations together to some amazing locations in the coming years. So this year is the year to learn. Each place we have explored or gone to spend some time, I have taught her different techniques and tips I use as a professional photographer as we photograph each other. Here at the Allenberry, I feel we really had a chance to explore and enjoy ourselves, and really test the skills she has been learning with such a beautiful location as the background. Just looks at these photos she and I got of each other! It makes me so excited for the years ahead and the many trips we are planning.

Well, I'm sure I'll post more our adventures soon. So for now- stay safe, much love!

Laura Mantooth