Day 9 on the road:

No, we’re not in Rhode Island.  We’re in Syracuse, NY.  This is why:

(photo from pennlive.com)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44436279/ns/weather/’%20rel=’nofollow?ocid=ansmsnbc11

This morning we were up and out by 8 AM, ready to head to Williamsport, PA to meet Glen’s business partner and visit the office there.  But first, we had to gawk at the Penn State football stadium, which was 1/2 mile from the motel.

Impressive.  As were the students camped outside, in the rain, for tickets.

Does your mother know about this??  Are you warm enough in there??

Banjo Man drove by these hogs FOUR TIMES in order to get a good picture.  He thinks they are Chester Whites, due to their upturned noses.  Huh?

An hour later we learned that areas of Williamsport were flooding.  Areas of Pennsylvania were flooding.  According to the Weather Channel, the Penn. DOT and the local radio stations, every river in the state was flooding.  In other words, we had to get out of W’port as soon as possible.  The only road open at noon was Rt. 15 North.  The interstates were all closed down and there was no way to go east or south without running into areas that were being evacuated.

On the way out of town we watched people pull off the highway to watch the river flood below.  The pounding rain didn’t ease up until we reached New York.  We ate protein bars and assessed our food supply (2 apples, 5 bottles of water, 2 small containers of Muscle Milk–don’t ask–, a box of Triscuits, 1/2 box of Wheat Thins, 4 protein bars and 1 Hershey bar).

We could live for a week in the Mazda, if we shared nicely.

Luckily we didn’t have to eat all that stuff, because we eventually figured we were out of flood danger and stopped in a small town for lunch at a beer-making bar.  Next to the little brewery was an antique shop.  We inhaled our lunch and then went next door–neither one of us wanted to get back on the road.  Yeah, we were stalling.  I bought a tablecloth.  And an old aluminum strainer similar to the one Glen’s mother used.

(Did you know that “old” Pyrex containers/pie plates are supposedly safer than the new ones?  An antiques dealer told me that Pyrex changed its glass formula a few years ago and now there is a danger of them blowing up in the microwave.  So people are hunting for old Pyrex now!)

I’ll spare you the details of our afternoon—rain, traffic, getting lost, my “come apart” in a McDonalds with no wi-fi, closed exits, no radio reception, motels closed due to flooded parking lots, exhaustion, an EZ Pass with a low balance, the New York thruway—and just say we felt so lucky to make it to Syracuse and a Hampton Inn tonight.

We love this place.  They served free food (chicken bbq & beans from the Texas Roadhouse) and free beer in the lobby tonight.  And the nice Hampton Inn people kept it open just for us, because we were so pathetic.

Tonight we heard that Utica has flooded and I-90 was closed for a while.  We’d thought that by going so far north (370 miles out of our way) we could avoid the worst of this, but I guess we won’t know until tomorrow.

Meanwhile, here at the hotel, I have my earplugs in and Banjo Man is watching football in HD.  I don’t know where we’ll end up tomorrow, but at least we’ll be more rested.

Banjo Man just ate all of my Wheat Thins.