T Stands for Westward, Ho!

So we packed up the car. I thought the car looked like she was screaming. No more! No more stuff! But everything fit. The Eldest's little Prius is a TARDIS

I had suggested we take two cars. We could take more stuff, and I would have easy transportation home. The Eldest didn't want to drive down by herself, and truth be told, neither did I. The entire trip takes about 9 hours, and a bit longer with comfort, gas, and food stops. The first trip we took when we went apartment hunting, took us 11 hours. She decided she wanted to break the trip into two travel days. So we planned on stopping after 4.5 hours of drive time in Wilkes-Barre.

The Eldest waved good-bye to the house, and we were off.

Barely an hour or so away from home, and we had to take a comfort break. Who knew Connecticut could be so long?

Once again, we stopped at the Cracker Barrel in Fishkill, New York, about 3 hours away, and just a perfect stop for lunch. Easy off, easy back on the highway. I had the unsweetened iced tea with lemon and she had her favorite Foo-Foo Lahdidah, aka Latte with chocolate and whipped cream.

While waiting for our meal, I was content to bask in the warmth and glow of the hearth. Very homey. Very country. And then I noticed the fire wasn't real logs burning, but a gas fire! Illusions shattered.

Usually when I go to Cracker Barrel, I order breakfast. They serve breakfast all day long, and you can get breakfast with grits. Mmmmm. A student of mine had said she loved the bacon at Cracker Barrel so she always ordered a BLT (bacon, lettuce, and tomato). That sounded real good, but I couldn't find it on the menu. I asked the waitress if they had a BLT. She said they did, but it wasn't on the menu. You had to ask. Maybe it's some secret BLT club. Either way, it was delicious. The Eldest had the Bacon Cheeseburger.

Crossing the Hudson River over the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, New York. You can see just under the guardrail of the barrier on the right hand side, the right side of the river is still frozen.

Notice no snow!

Crossing the border from New York to Pennsylvania and greeted by the sign. And a reminder, especially for The Eldest: Pursue Your Happiness

Higher terrain as we got into the Poconos Mountains.

I'm not the only one dreaming of Summer weather. A very large boat was being towed by a very large flat bed, truck. Someone was getting a fun toy.

The Choice hotel was clean, roomy, and a welcome break.

The view from our room. There was a Perkins Restaurant beyond the portico. But we decided to stay and have dinner at Pickles Pub in the hotel.

When we got downstairs, we walked into the small bar. Not many people were there. Four truck driver types. Two fellas sitting together at the bar. Another fella, a few bar stools away, and the last fella sitting at a table finishing his dinner. The bartender was a very perky redhead.

We sat down at a table by the wall near the bar where the two fellas were sitting. I decided I wouldn't take any photographs as the bar was tiny and no way not to get other people in the picture. The bar tender/waitress brought us menus. I ordered a Coke. The Eldest, as young women her age, likes to have a cocktail. She scanned the bottles along the bar and said "Oooh, they have fixings for an Apple-tini (vodka, apple juice, or apple brandy, or apple cider, and a cherry.) The Eldest pulled out her ID because even though she's in her late 20s, she looks like she's 14.

The bartender scanned the ID, and went to mix the cocktail, and asked The Eldest what kind of vodka she wanted in her drink. Ketel or Grey Goose. The Eldest was trying to decide when, the younger of the two fellas sitting at the bar told her to order the Ketel. He said it was real smooth. So on his recommendation, the Eldest ordered the Ketel.

I had a sip of the Appletini. Not bad. I'm not much one for mixed drinks as I prefer sweet, white wines. There wasn't a big selection on the menu. Hamburgers, fish, and chips. We ordered fish and chips for dinner which were quite good.

Now, in a small room, it's hard not to overhear conversations. The two guys sitting together were chatting up the bartender. She was chatty and flirty. She was also wearing an Eagles tee-shirt.

The Philadelphia Eagles football team and the New England Patriots (the team from my state) are set to square off in the Superbowl Championship on 4. February. Himself had said Philly fans are rabid. In fact, the Chief of Police or some official had ordered that the light poles in Philadelphia be greased so fans couldn't climb the poles whether the Eagles win or lose. We decided if anyone asked where we were from we would say 

The bartender was a good hostess and eventually included everyone in conversation. The two fellas at the bar were subcontractors for Verizon cell towers. Worked on the ground and said the guys working on top of the towers don't get paid enough.  Conversation turned to where are you from, and I told the bartender she wouldn't like the answer. She laughed. Said a gentleman from Boston came into the bar and was asking about apartments. She was making fun of the Boston accent as we have a habit of dropping the R sound so apartment is pronounced A-paht-ment. She said she couldn't understand a word he said. She claimed she could do a good Boston accent. Asked how she did and everyone laughed. Not even close.

We had to be on the road at 7AM to make it to the Eldest's apahtment (=^,.^=) in time to meet the cable guy to hook up Internet so we got up to leave. The older of the two fellas asked me if we'd like to join them at the bar. Thanks, but an early morning. Yup, I still got it.

The journey continues next week.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.