Sunday,
September 17, 2000
Got
up at 8am, and frantically finished packing. Missed our
departure deadline by 2.5 hrs, so we left East Rockaway
at 12:35pm. Headed over the the Throgs Neck, and up I -95
to visit Jerry at Burke. We thought we'd pass a deli along
Mamaroneck Ave, but no luck. When we entered Burke, we
found Lorraine wheeling Jerry down the hallway, headed outside
to the picnic area. It was a clear, and beautiful day,
in the low 70's I'd say.
Mary
made bean and cheese burritos in the Eurovan, and we ate on the
lawn, while visiting w/ Jerry, Lorraine, and Sari. As we
prepared to leave, we decided to use the bathroom at Burke, before
heading out for the big trip. What a mistake!!! Caryn
went in, passing a woman who said, ”Someone made a mess in there!”,(1)
while Mary browsed the used books for sale. By that point,
there was no way Mary could enter the bathroom, because the stench
that defies description was wafting out the door. Inside,
Caryn could be heard retching. Luckily, she returned without
causing a further mess.
(1)
this line was added at Caryn's request, lest readers think she caused
the stench that made her retch.
We
said
our goodbyes, and pulled out of Burke at 3:05 pm. Headed
across I-84 toward Port Jervis. Caryn napped on the way.
We stopped off at the PA welcome center, to gather the usual
pamphlets and paraphernalia.
We
decided
to stay the night in a hotel in the Scranton PA area, since we were
exhausted from 2 days of packing. But first - DINNER!
We headed just north of Scranton to Clarks Summitt, where the AAA
guide listed an interesting sounding restaurant. We hopped
out of the van at 6pm, anxious to make the early bird. We
were greeted by a smiling fellow in the parking lot, smoking a cigarette.
He asked if we were headed to the restaurant, to which we
enthusiastically replied “yes”. He told us the dining room
was closed for renovations. Shot down, we hopped back in the van,
and headed back toward Scranton, to have a browse at the Wegmans
grocery store we had seen advertised earlier on a billboard.
Mary had been telling Caryn about Wegmans since she visited one
in Buffalo, NY during the World University Games. We had
dinner there, at the Market Cafe. Inside Wegmans they have
a pizza place, hoagie shop, Italian food, Chinese food, you name
it. We had a nice spinach salad, (freshly made) and some
Chinese food. After dinner we spent several hours browsing the aisles.
Even though Caryn was enjoying the experience, she looked very depressed.
When questioned, she explained that she wanted to live at Wegmans,
and never leave. She was sad that she would not be able to
shop at Wegmans “ever again”. Mary offered to camp in the
parking lot, as Wegmans is open 24 day. Caryn decided we should
check into a hotel. After consulting our coupie
book, we decided on the Quality Inn, just down the street.
As we pulled in, we saw 2 police officers near their cars, wiping
their hands. As we pulled to the front of the hotel, the entrance
was blocked by 2 more police cars. While deciding what to
do, a young police officer, wearing latex gloves approached us,
and asked if he could help us. At this point, Caryn saw another
officer enter the hotel with his gun drawn. Mary explained
that we were going to check into the hotel, but were skeptical,
given all the police activity. At this point, the first
2 officers also were at the van. They suggested we go down
the road to the Fairfield Inn, a “new, clean hotel”.
Well,
we knew the Fairfield Inn was not going to be $39.99 as the Quality
Inn was advertised, but we decided to look for it anyway.
After driving around for a while, with no luck, we headed back to
Clarks Summitt, to the Summitt Inn, for which we had a $35 coupie.
After checking out the room, we decided it was fine, checked in,
and watched some Olympics on TV before falling asleep.
Monday
morning we woke to the alarm at 8 am. We decided to have
breakfast at the cute little “Gourmet Family Restaurant” adjacent
to the Summitt Inn. While packing up the van, the delicious
aroma of pancakes filled our room. According to Caryn's experience,
the were “the best pancakes I ever had. Absolutely delicious.”
Mary said the same of her French toast.
Back
to Scranton for the 11am tour of the Lackawana
Coal Mine. Merlin our guide was very informative, and
the tour lived up to its description of “the best hour you can spend.”
After a quick perusal of the gift shop, featuring may items carved
of coal, we headed west on Route 6, in hopes of a scenic spot to
make our turkey sandwiches. After 2 hours of driving, we
had to settle for a wide spot in the road, which was fine.
A bit earlier in the afternoon, we had passed a beautiful ruin of
the “Kodak View Diner”. Instantly we knew a U-turn was in
order. That was the photo of the day.
A
few hours after lunch, we pulled into a gas station in Troy PA,
for a cup of coffee. We sat inside, drank coffee, and watched
all the high school kids purchase their after school snacks.
We
s topped
for the night at
Hills Creek State Park, where we had a beautiful site (#87-D
loop), which we shared w/ 3 deer, a woodchuck, a woodpecker, a skunk
(who didn't appear until after dark) and a bunny. Other than
the above mentioned, the entire D loop was empty. Only a
few other campers were set up in the A loop, where you first enter
the campground. We set up our screen tent, and made a dinner
of baked potatoes and kielbasa on rolls. Mary hit the sack
early, getting a wonderful nights sleep.
Mary
awoke at 7:20 am after a great nights sleep on the lower bed.
It was just shy of 60 degrees. After the obligatory bathroom
trek, she made latte and a mocha on the camp stove. Caryn
was awakened with the delivery of her mocha. Seems she got
a good nights rest also, as she was all smiles upon surveying the
campsite. As we sipped our warm drinks and discussed the
beauty of the surroundings, Caryn reassured Mary that no skunks
would appear in the daytime, as they are “marsupials”...oops...she
meant nocturnal. While writing this entry, 3 deer appeared
in the site, munching on the bushes.
On
to Chapter Two!
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