Pa.

Deer Meadow Campground - cute Mikaela!

pics from the road on day one:

Welcome to Pa!!

Up, Up and Away!!

Hi from THE ROAD!!!!!  It is UNBELIEVABLE that we are finally, finally beginning this adventure.  I wanted to write Sunday evening, but the  wifi was “down” at the first campsite – so I will have to try and capture everything that I wanted to say now.  Following in Phil G’s footsteps, I decided to use song names for each entry title.  (Thanks for the idea, PG!)  Entry 1 was “Anticipation” by….who is it??? …..yes, old people, it is Carly Simon.  Today’s title is a song by….come on….yes, the Fifth Dimension.  Good!

Now, here is trivia question number 1.  Sad to say it stumped SEVERAL family members (names omitted to protect those “geographically challenged”!!!).    Where am I?  I am 1 hour east of Ohio. Answer at end.

So, back to the beginning.  We were packed and ready to leave on Saturday night – with the departure time set at 7 am…and for those of you who know my issues with time, I am PROUD to say that we left at 7:15!  Not bad!  While Day 1 went well, Rich did have a hard time understanding how EVERY PART OF ROUTE 80 IS AN INCLINE!!  Seriously, when driving and pulling a trailer, inclines are not cool.  And how could the whole country be uphill???  We passed a sign that said, “You are at the Highest Point east of the Mississippi – 2250 feet.”  Great – but we never went down the hill – it seemed like it just kept taking more and more exertion (and gasoline!) to get where we were going.  And THAT was the inspiration for the blog title.  We went away – but it seemed we went vertically!  Route 80 was pretty to look at, with the main colors being the green of the grass and leaves, the blue of the sky, and the purple wildflowers growing EVERYWHERE along the highway.   Oh, and don’t worry, it DID rain today for a time.  Yes, we brought New Jersey’s weather with us – if only for a brief reminder.

At 2:45 pm, we pulled into the Deer Meadow Campgrounds in Clarion, Pa.  DING DING – THAT’S THE ANSWER TO QUESTION 1  – I AM IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA!  Good try to all those who guessed Michigan!!  The Deer Meadow Campground was very peaceful and pretty – and we enjoyed a nice night eating outside, and then watching the Yankee Game with our cable hookup inside.  Roughing it is not EXACTLY the way it used to be.  Mikaela and Rich played arcade games, while I took a stroll around the grounds.  So pretty – I will post pics tomorrow (with Rich’s help).  But I DID notice that MAYBE they don’t grow ’em so  smart in that area….there was a big sign that advertised “HEY RIDES” – even Mikaela got that it was the wrong hay!!!  And then, in their directions, we were told to “BARE RIGHT’ – not a pretty sight, take my word!!!  So, we got a good chuckle.  Trailer was great – sleeping with windows open in the mountains — awesome.  We got up on Monday morning, with our target departure time at 9.  We pulled out of the gate at 9:30.  There are a bunch of things to do when setting up/breaking down.  We have to get used to it, and our schedule will be better.  But, suffice it to say, our stay was perfect.

To give you an idea of where Clarion, Pa. is, I will sight two landmarks.  We passed a sign that said “Punxsutawney – 20 miles”.  Think Groundhog Day.  It’s about 6 hours from HP.  (We also passed an “Adult Supercenter”….ah, they got it all in Pennsylvania!)  The other landmark is the Cook Forest State Park.  It looked lovely.   Not really worth a 6 hour drive, but lovely nonetheless.

Catch you tomorrow – with another song and trivia question!

Marla

May trial run

May trial run

Anticipation!!

Well, it’s about 7 days and counting down until the journey of a lifetime begins!  We promised we’d stay in touch with all of our friends, colleagues and family, and keep a blog (for those of you over a certain age, that’s like a log on the web — a “weblog” — or blog, for short.  Oh, shoot – just read!!)  Many thanks to Phil G. for directing me down the technology path – from my little comfy place that only contains pen and paper!!  But, I think this will be fast, more fun – and more far reaching than a diary.  For now, so much to do – so much to still plan!!!  Will be in touch again soon.

Marla