11:36 p.m. - June 30, 2002
A short description of this entry is Recap, unfulfilled
This has been a weekend of many extremes, foremost being mastery of the freeways, highways, byways, and toll roads of the east coast; I went from DC to Niagara Falls via Pittsburgh, Erie, and Buffalo, then returned via 219 and ended up in western Maryland instead of central, so drove through Virginia to reach Maclean to drop off Spec before reaching the condo. And nobody got lost. Quite an accomplishment, given the medusa-like configuration of roads easterners call freeways.
You know, once you get off the freeways onto the byways, Pennsylvania and western New York are beautiful to drive. The Alleghenies are soft, rolling hills and the byways are yesterday's country roads with cemeteries and old stone houses and churches everywhere, and it wasn't humid but warm and sunny and that's what I like best, meandering along backroads and singing the oldies. I wouldn't revisit Erie, Pittsburgh, or Buffalo, but I would make the drive again. There were only two touristisms that struck me this weekend: First, there was a group of Amish (Mennonites?) in McDonalds chowing down on burgers and I admit I would have liked to examine closely simply for the contrast. Second, I got on the Maid of the Mist with the other cattle and got wet against the base of the falls; may as well admit the third but since it is really part of the second and in the spirit of honesty, I'll fess up--I did the Moaning Cave tourist trap where you take off your shoes to don some kind of synthetic hemp bootie and bright yellow ponchos and just about walk into Niagra Falls from the bottom. It was fun, though touristy; I emphasize the fun part and disavow any further mention of tourism. The amusement park, and specifically, this roller coaster--my weakness--set the tone for the weekend and I could not have asked for more or better, except perhaps that Spec not be such a chicken, but he did go on most of them and so all was well.
How to address the other part of the weekend and its impact eludes me.
Why do so many easterners smoke?
Why do so many people smoke, period?
And why is it that in every single restaurant, the only juice offered is Hawaiian Punch? Looking for Odwalla was futile and I thirst for a blackberry shake.
And then, when I arrived, I found the floors vacuumed and my pile of (dirty) underwear folded.
I am too tired to write. And I still do not understand exactly what constitutes a turnpike, unless it's simply paying a toll. But then isn't it a toll road?
