I now know that I under-calculated the number of miles that we would travel on the trip. I know that it is about eight hundred miles from my parents' house to our house, so it is now looking like a three thousand mile trip.
Also, for as bad as NJ looked on Monday, Tuesday morning he looked a lot better. Now, almost all signs of pox are gone.
Tuesday morning we left around ten for Scranton. We probably would have left sooner, but someone who will remain nameless was a little sluggish that morning.
Under normal circumstances, the trip would have taken five-and-a-half hours. Since we stopped for lunch at an actual restaurant, dealt with some of NJ's digestive problems, and took a scenic tour of the the area around Nescopeck, Pennsylvania, while I insisted that we weren't lost, we arrived at our destination almost eight hours later.
Just about every time Golden has visited the keystone state it has been in the winter in overcast weather. Not only that, but she has visited mostly the areas of the state still reeling from steel and copper mills shutting down decades ago. As a result, she has had a less than stellar opinion of Pennsylvania. Every time she heard someone call it a beautiful state she disagreed with this assessment, though she kept this opinion to herself. This time she got to see some of the more beautiful areas of the state in the summer sun. I believe that her opinion of the state improved.
I did give some thought to what I consider a mountain as I travelled through the Appalachians. I think that because all of the Appalachian mountains that I have seen are covered in trees, I never considered them mountains. I always figured it was the size of the Rockies that made me view them more as mountains than the Appalachians. I now think it is just because the Rockies are rocky. The fact that most Appalachian peaks are tree-covered makes me see them as overgrown hills.
My grandmother and great aunt are staying with my aunt in her house north of Scranton. It is a large farm house away from the population that was probably built around the turn of the twentieth century, which they are currently remodelling. My aunt's grandson and granddaughter are currently also at the house, so there were people everywhere.
The area around the farm house is something that Dwight Schrute would be proud of. I didn't see any beet farms, but I know I must not have been looking closely enough. I schruted it.
Around noon today, my aunt took Golden and I to the Teen Challenge adolescent center where my uncle works. Then she took us around Scranton. The Teen Challenge center is very new and is still in the building process. The views from the complex are spectacular, though.
After today, I am feeling pretty good. The next two days should be much slower with no excessive travelling, though I do have a few things scheduled. Going at a slower pace is something I am beginning to really appreciate.
2 comments:
I'm always glad to see an abandoned Exxon station! Thanks for the vicarious vacation - I hope NJ is better for you the rest of the trip.
I've never been very good at "taking it slow" on vacation. Penn. is much greener than I thought.
Post a Comment