Our Weekend Adventure (What do you mean a rare snow storm is on the way?)

Our Weekend Adventure (What do you mean a rare snow storm is on the way?)

It is Saturday morning and we begin our weekend adventure only 40 minutes late but that’s ok, we have to be there 30 minutes later than I thought….. So I guess you can say we are ONLY running 10 minutes behind schedule. 

I begin checking off the items on my mind’s list -   OH NO ! ! ! I forgot the check book.  I think an IOU for a wedding gift would be kind of tacky – who would forget a gift like that.  (Especially if you ultimately forget to mail it ) .  As my husband would always say, “It’s just a U-turn away”…. So back home we head… not to bad, we are only two blocks away. 

With check book in hand, I also grab a pad and pen to handwrite today’s blog entry for Sunday’s posting . 

( I am really trying hard to post every day). 

This was suppose to be an easy overnight trip. Our clothes are all picked out, my crocheting is in a bag for the ride,

invitation with address– check

hotel reservation confirmation – check

Mapquest directions – check (just in case GPS has issues)

Review Weather.com – “RARE OCTOBER SNOWSTORM HITTING THE EAST”            

(oh great ! ! ! )  just our luck   …. HUGH POWER OUTAGES EXPECTED  - double great.

So down to the basement I go to dig out my snow boots. I pull out the box of tap lights and grab that new package of AA batteries I got at Staples last week (you know the ones I am getting 100% rewards back).  Flashlights, headlamps – you name it, I grab it.   I will be prepared, I was a Girl Scout Leader.  (should I bring a snow shovel?  Maybe we have room for the small snow blower.)  I grab the big umbrella as I make my way out the door….maybe it will just be rain.

As we begin our journey, northwest, ½ hour into the ride, the rain changes to a wet, snow mix….. So much for wishful thinking.   Think it is time to bring out the GPS…MY Garmin GPS…. Not the Sony (I hate the Sony GPS)…. (With this cloud cover, maybe I will get a signal by the time we get there).   Hey, good news the GPS connects quickly.Bad news, the wet mix is now snow ! ! !

I was really looking forward to admiring the beauty of the foliage changes as we headed northern to the higher elevations… instead I see the mountains obscured by the low cloud cover….. STU   ….I mean crazy people driving without their headlights on, slush covered windshields on parked cars, even a guy at a used car lot looking at 4 wheel drive vehicles while his small, gas efficient car idles dangerously at the side of the road. WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN ?

We are now 1-1/2 hours driving…. In the Pocono’s…..Snow is covering the roadway, we pass a salt truck…(FYI - I know this is a picture of a semi, we had already passed the salt truck )  you can’t even see the exit signs for Rt. 380….It is a winter wonderland out there….. It looks like a day in late Jan. maybe February, not the end of October.  All I can say is …..good thing the traffic is very light. 

I look up from my crocheting, 6 rows done, 2-1/2 hours on the road and we cross out of PA into NY….Since getting out of Scranton, there is no snow, no rain, only exciting thing I see is a State Trooper sitting on the side of the road with his lights flashing..The outside ambient temperature has risen from a low of 31 to a high of 36 and it appears to be rising….this is a good thing. 

More time passes and we finally turn off the interstate and continue to follow the GPS directions….. taking us thru farm country….cow’s grazing and hanging out, 2 white horses that are standing so still they look stuffed and an Alpaca Farm sign…..wait …..WHAT ?

One car passes us by on this 15 mile county drive.   I think, how do people even find these places to live…and then remember how to get back to them.    A random car is parked on the side of the road probably collecting fire wood from the wooded area about 10 feet in from the street. Atleast it is a macadam roadway, not some dirt road.  A few more cars….could we be getting back to civilization ?   I then remember I really need to find a CVS, Walgreens or Walmart.   I FORGOT TO BUY A WEDDING CARD ! ! OH NO ! ! !   We arrive at the end of the road and the restaurant is just up a bit…. Not another thing in site…..We have 1-1/2 hrs to spare so I plug into the GPS ….”shopping” …we are about 5-1/2 miles West of the town of Greene.   It shows there is an Eckert Drug Store… good deal . 

 

What can I say about this town of Greene….. I feel like I am in the old West….. The whole town is about 3 blocks long….only there are cars and not horses.... Building connected to building connected to building….. The GPS tells us “you have arrive”  and it is not an Eckerd Drug store….. it is “MIMI’S “.   We decide to park and talk a stroll thru town…(shouldn’t take us but a few minutes)  Luckily we find a Rite-Aid….. I get my card.   I remember I have two letters I forgot to mail. Is there a Post Office ?  just down the street…. So we walk….we get there …They are “OUT TO LUNCH”   (REALLY ? )..   that’s okay, I will just drop them in the box. 

We decide it is time to head back to the restaurant for the wedding after we grab a small bite to eat at “Bonnie’s for Breakfast and Lunch”   How bad can it be …. The establishment has been there for over 25 years.  What a deal…. Where can you get an egg salad sandwich WITH potatoe chips for just $2.95.     It is time to leave Greene…. This cute  little town …. It may be little but it has … the local lunch joints, the drug store, 3 real estate agencies (really ?  three? ) , a pizza place and even a Chinese restaurant  - eat in or take out.  I wonder if they deliver ? ? ? 

We travel East, 5.1 miles  (hey look another alpaca farm ) soon we arrive at the SILO ….. is this the place?   There is no one here…(just some waitresses)… It is almost two….. the wedding is at 2:30.   ARE WE AT THE RIGHT PLACE ? ?  ARE YOU SURE?   We go back to the car, check the invitation…..right place…Where is everyone? ? ?

So we finally find someone who directs us to the proper door we should have gone in….. (Not the front door ? ? ? some door in the back ? ? WHO KNEW) …….

We find table 12 and we sit……. and wait……I glance out the window,  the view of the mountains is beautiful ….. an then I notice …….it is beginning to snow….OH GREAT ! ! !