Indiana sunrise

Another long day on the road, but we were looking forward to stopping before 7 PM and getting ready to watch the Nebraska-Ohio State game on television at 8 PM. Little did we know what lay ahead.

We didn’t realize that this was a (a) Penn State football weekend, (b) Columbus Day weekend and (c) festivals of all kinds weekend in Pennsylvania. By 7 PM we were running out of options for a room and a tv, so Banjo Man checked out the televisions at the Super 8 and the Days Inn to see which had the best screen. He chose Super 8, so we checked into our room and then drove across the parking lot to something called Mama’s Dutch Restaurant or Dutch Inn or Mama’s Windmill Green Roof? We ate burgers and fries and escaped as soon as we could.

They were, sadly, out of apple dumplings.

Banjo Man wanted party food, but I convinced him there was no time to drive 3 miles to a grocery store before the game started.  After all, we had a small bag of potato chips and half a chocolate bar.  Also the two bottles of beer I brought from Idaho.  A plastic container of green tomatoes. Two dozen protein bars.  A can of Diet Coke.

We were all set.

Nebraska wasn’t.  At half time I ate the chocolate bar, put my ear plugs in and went to sleep. Banjo Man suffered through the whole miserable defeat with his two little bottles of beer and no salsa & Dorito chips.

Painful.

I have no pictures of Pennsylvania because I’m not a big fan of this state.  Nothing personal, it’s just hell to drive through no matter if you’re going east or west.  It’s endless.  ENDLESS.  There are no bison statues or weird tourist places.  I saw a billboard for a baseball bat factory tour.  I would have stopped for that, just to break up the monotony that is Pennsylvania.  We never drive through at a time when the antique malls are open, and I boycott Lancaster because of their puppy mill laws.  And I’m not a big fan of severe, dark Amish quilts.

day 7 east:

We didn’t get on the road until after 9 Sunday morning. Banjo Man grieved. I took a bath. We ate breakfast at a Burger King (sausage biscuits), which should illustrate how depressed Banjo Man was over this game. Suicide by sausage: no healthy oatmeal at the Super 8 lobby for him this morning.

A rainy day through New York and Connecticut, with traffic, but we were in RI before 4:00 Sunday afternoon.  Safe and sound, but a few pounds heavier.  The house looked great and the cool weather was welcome.  We were ready to stretch out on the couch and watch Amazing Race, so out came the popcorn popper and on went the pajamas.

The old folks are home.