TV shows and movies invariably show alarm clocks sounding off at 6:00 or 7:00 am in a bright, sunny bedroom. HA! Do people really get up that late for important things like vacation? The night before, I set my trusty phone alarm for 3:00 am. When it started chirping on The Big Day, I was already awake - mostly - and thought about leaping out of bed, but decided not to risk bashing my head against the wall, and got up in the usual way, by tripping over the bedspread.
After showers and some last minute scrambling, Donald and I were out the door into the darkness of the wee, small hours of the morning, giving a quick glance around for skunks, raccoons, coyotes, and rabid squirrels. The coast was clear. We were on the way to our Greatest Adventure Yet! We stuck Susie to the windshield, programmed her for Bonnie & Clyde's, and off we went. It's really dark out at 4:00 am, even in June. No matter, the Grand Marquis has headlights and locks on the doors and we are safe, inpenetrable in our vacation cocoon.
In about an hour, we reached Bonnie & Clyde's, and even the sun was awake. I knew that Bonnie had been as excited, maybe even more so, about this trip, and wondered if we would find her waiting for us on the front steps. This was not the case, but Clyde knew the moment we arrived, and was ready with the bags. Donald and Clyde got the trunk arranged to their satisfaction, Bonnie and I did the same with the back seat. Cookies on the back shelf, ditto the anti-bac wipes, dance cards (our 24-page itinerary printed out in color and duplicate), maps, Triptiks in the voluminous pockets attached to the backs of the front seats. Blankets - although this was a summer vacation, we had done our research, and knew we could experience temperature ranges from the 30s to the 120s - were rolled up and stuck in places that wouldn't get in the way. I decided at the 11th hour that we needed to bring a smallish, legal-sized whiteboard and markers. I took much criticism for this decision. However, I still feel that it was the right decision.
We were on the road by 5:07 am; up for over two hours and STARVING. After all the meal-training we had done, being two hours late for a meal could have caused a minor vacation tragedy. We would make up for this food gap several ( dozen) times. Entering the Mass. Pike, we tried out the new EZ Pass and it worked. We stopped at the first rest area with a Dunkin Donuts for some breakfast sandwiches and coffee to go. We didn't have time to waste. One of Donald's assignments, sitting in the navigator's seat, was to watch for moose. I have long wanted to see a moose in its natural habitat, not ever in a road in the dark, and I had much hope of seeing one on this trip. Before we even reached even a small body of water on the Pike, Donald announced "MOOSE". Once we determined that there was no moose, Donald's moose-spotting credibility was irreparably damaged.
Two and a half hours after our DD fast food, we stopped for a civilized breakfast/lunch at Cracker Barrel. This was also where we spotted the red Ferrari in the lot, so we knew we were in a high class establishment. Back on the road, we hit a little rain, but it didn't slow us down. We reached Hoss' Steak & Sea in Shamokin Dam PA at 2:05 for our - supper? We'd had either one or two breakfasts, maybe one lunch, so it must be suppertime. Whatever it was called, it was a buffet - just what we had trained for - and we made the most of it. After supper, what comes next? Bedtime, I guess. But first we had to travel a bit, and we went through the beautiful town of Lewisburg, PA, with many brick and stone stores and homes.
There was a little difficulty finding the Comfort Inn. We had found it listed under both Lamar and Mill Hall, so not only were we confused, but Lucy and Susie were, too. The directions from the hotel said not to use a GPS, just the written word (how old fashioned). We eventually found it at 4:24. The sink in our room wouldn't drain, so we switched rooms. We had asked for second floor rooms. Some of the rooms on our floor were second floor, but ours looked out on ground level. The "concierge" shall we say, was not sympathetic to requests to move us all. Renovations were underway and there was nothing available. Our rooms should not have been available either, as they needed serious renovations. We toughed it out but we have long memories, and will not be visiting that hotel again. Bedtime was exactly 15 hours after rising time; 6:00 pm. Drapes in motel rooms are opaque for people with our kind of schedule, and we appreciated the darkness within, while the other kids were still outside playing.
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