T Stands For First Road Trip to Pennsylvania

or eating our way through apartment hunting.

Rather suddenly, just after Christmas, the Eldest announced she had accepted a job with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center - Horizon and would be moving to Pennsylvania with a start date of 29. January. Pennsylvania didn't seem so bad. Not too far from the New York border except The Eldest was moving to the other side of the world to Western Pennsylvania a spit away from the Ohio border where she had no family, no friends, and didn't know a soul. She blithely announced she would look on Trullio  or some such website for an apartment. When I went to the website, I found the apartments looked like holes. Not a nice, clean, Hobbit-type hole, mind you, but a pit. A run down, rented room in someone's shed.

So I suggested she contact a real estate agent found on the town's chamber of commerce page. And since Himself and I were on Winter Break, we could all take a road trip to check out the area and The Eldest could see about finding a suitable apartment. She contacted the real estate agent, who turned out to be awesome and would meet The Eldest mid-morning on Wednesday

Tuesday morning, we packed our belongings and ourselves into the car to begin the 9 or so hour ride. Our route would take us down I-84 through Connecticut to I-81 and I-80 in Pennsylvania. While driving the highway we spotted a sign for a Cracker Barrel Restaurant in Fishkill, NY, and we decided to stop for lunch as we were well acquainted with the restaurant and liked the food. The fun thing about Cracker Barrel is all the restaurants are set up the same way. There's a country type store, restrooms, and the restaurant.

So grab a mug for your favorite beverage as we eat our way through the week.

The Eldest had some La-Di-Dah  (Latte) a new addition to the menu.

I had a welcome cuppa.

Himself had a Coke.

A bacon cheeseburger for The Eldest. I love a restaurant where you can get breakfast all day long. One of the things, I love about Cracker Barrel. That and the grits that are served with breakfast. Grits, a fluffy, biscuit, Sawmill gravy, bacon, scrambled eggs, and warm apple slices.

Himself had breakfast, too, with pancakes, but no grits.

On the way out, The Eldest spotted this cookbook. We needed to get on the road so I didn't have time to look at the book, but noted the exit of the restaurant so when I drive down with her to help her move it, we'll make another pit stop. I doubt the book will be gone.

The foothills of the Catskill Mountains.

Sustenance for the long road ahead.

crossing the Hudson River.

by way of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge as seen through my filthy windshield. I had hoped to take snaps of the scenery, but the wet day and road mist made that impossible.

A comfort stop somewhere in Pennsylvania, I think. While Himself and the Eldest went for a comfort stop, I gave the windows a much needed wash. After what seemed like decades in the car, especially the last hour when the digital readout on the clock stood still, we finally reached our destination. A lovely Cobblestone Hotel. While hunting online for hotels in her town, I spotted the Cobblestone and across the street a Perkins Restaurant.

In 2006, while attending a Western Writer's Convention (okay, a Big Valley FanFiction Writers Gathering) in Minneapolis, MN. My friend and real author, Erika Vetsch introduced me to Perkins and their out of this world pies, especially the Heath pie. Disappointingly, no longer on the menu.

I had a Cherry Coke.

We ordered an appetizer sampler: mozzarella sticks, fried pickles (don't knock them until you've tried them) and some chicken fingers.

I shared my salad with The Eldest because she loves cheese and I think raw cheese is nasty. Will have to remember to ask the waitress to hold the cheese next time we visit.

I had chicken pot pie.

The Eldest had salmon.

and Himself posed with his pepper steak also showing off his tee shirt. Never underestimate an old man with a chemistry degree.

We packed up the leftovers for awesome dinner the following day as our hotel room had a fridge and microwave.

Our room was clean, spacious, and very comfortable.

After enjoying cocktails (a white Zinfandel for me) and a Tequila Sunrise for the Eldest, we settled in to watch the premiere of The X-Files followed by a good night's sleep. After a nice hot breakfast buffet (included), we met the real estate agent for a tour around town and to visit 6 properties she had picked out for The Eldest to see. 

The first, was a second floor apartment in an old house. Parking was on a side-street and the street was  not plowed very well. The apartment was nice enough, lots of windows and light.

The next stop ended up being a bust. Another apartment in an old house. The real estate agent got a bad vibe about the property so she wouldn't even show us.

There were two units available at a small, apartment complex about 2 miles from the hospital. Both on the first floor and each  had 2 bedrooms. The complex was a little dated from the 1970s, but the property was clean and well-maintained. The landlord was very nice and told The Eldest of the work he was finishing up. Both apartments had hook ups for a washer and dryer. The Eldest liked the unit that had central air. The other unit had a large, wall-unit air conditioner. 

A two bedroom apartment in the Boston area would run over $2,000 per month. No utilities. So while salaries might be decent, the cost of living is so high one can't afford an apartment on one's own. The Eldest didn't want a roommate that she didn't know. So she lived at home while paying room and board.

The rent for all the properties we saw was 1/3 the cost for the same salary back home. Utilities were still not included, but the rent was very affordable.

The next property we saw was right next to an Arby's (fast food, roast beef sandwiches) drive through. The apartment was in another old house and looked a bit like the house that Jack built. The landlord was also very nice and had another apartment right next to the railroad tracks.  The Eldest declined to see that property.

We took the real estate agent out to lunch at Perkins, and the Eldest told her she liked the unit with central air at the small apartment complex. She contacted the landlord so the Eldest could sign the lease agreement the next morning.

The real estate agent also told us she had a client, an elderly woman who was either down-sizing or going into a nursing home and had some living room furniture the Eldest could have. She also thought there was a washer/dryer available.

We had planned on touring the area on Thursday and heading back home on Friday, but the threat of a monster ice storm had us getting out of dodge. We decided we would leave on Thursday after the lease agreement was signed, drive halfway home, and stay in Clarks Summit (a bit out of  the way as it turned out. It didn't look that far off the highway on the map.) 

The hotel was in a busy area. There was a restaurant about 1/4 mile away on the same side as the hotel, and we thought we could walk. No sidewalks and mud from recent rains made that idea impossible.

The restaurant was JJ Bridjes and from the outside looked like a dive, but looks can be deceiving.  Very few people were in the restaurant. We were shown to a table where there was some sports memorabilia. Autographed photographs of the Splendid Splinter, number 9, Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox. He played for the Red Sox from 1939 to 1960. 

There was a poster of Rocky, from the movie of the same name. And some Yankees baseball players, Mickey Mantel. Even though great baseball players, they were Yankees. There's a big baseball rivalry between Boston and New York.

It wouldn't be long before a group of church ladies showed up for dinner. They were planning a fund raiser. A family group was shown into the area behind our table and soon the restaurant was very lively.

A Pepsi, the preferred cola drink of choice.

An appetizer of cheddar cheese and bacon potato skins.

I had a Philly cheese steak sandwich with sweet potato fries.

The Eldest and Himself had Veal Saltimbocca with a side of pasta. I had some, too, as I have always have a taste of whatever Himself orders.

Sadly, we had to leave our leftovers behind as we still had a long way to travel and no way to keep the food temperature safe.

We got back on the road Friday morning well ahead of the storm and made it safely home by early afternoon. Just in time for some nasty weather of our own for the weekend.

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.