Yugoslavian Parliament

It’s just black squares?

Long time, no write.  I feel as though its been a few weeks, not a couple of days since my last entry.  I had a reunion with some old college friends, offering us the opportunity to reminisce and laugh at our antics and experiences in a day when it was culturally acceptable to perform such things.  We survived only by dumb luck and determination, and the ability to wake-up for class the next day.  Of course, there was a time when slavery was culturally acceptable too.  Culture has changed a lot since that institution, and Andy, Julie, Wendi, and Matt could fall out of a classroom seat and somehow land on a barstool.  The pub on the YSU campus is now a Dunkin’ Donuts!  The watering-holes that lined the street surrounding the campus have been replaced by national franchises, selling tasteless food.  I’m not saying we drank our way through college, maybe just through classes and study time and the weekends and the evenings.  Oh, you get the picture.  We must’ve sounded like a bunch of chickens squawking over a square egg, and about as exciting to our husbands, daughters, and friends, as watching the Yugoslavian Parliament debate rock prices.  But for us, we had a helluva a lot of fun in the rock quarry.

On with the show.  I said farewell to Chelsea and Christian, getting back on Trafalgar en route Upstate NY.  I was not quite 100%, as swinging the hammer in the rock quarry is a little more difficult these days.  I enjoyed a super ride on roads too small for painted lines, through the Pennsylvania countryside.  I got some great pictures of this old covered bridge.  One sad little ghost town, Mt. Jewett, PA had one business open, I rode past and felt so guilty for passing it up, I turned around.  I parked in front of the business, took some pictures for notes, and was treated like I was a celebrity in a five star restaurant.   Kaffe Sol, a name I just now had to Google, was a wonderful little eatery where I enjoyed “beef weck” (I had to ask), delicious macaroni salad, and chocolate chip cookie.  This was all freshly made, baked, prepared, etc.  There were three other people in the place, enjoying there lunch, and three employees on staff, and we all engaged in conversation like we were family just back together after a long vacation.

After lunch, I decided to get a campsite, relax and catch up on my blog.  I got to the campsite, 4 miles away, and set up for the night.  I was tired, and when I uploaded my pictures from the day, alls they were was black squares!  Remember the rain storm I suffered through on the way home to Chelsea’s house from the dealership?  Think Poseidon adventure.

Instead I resigned myself to read by the campfire.  A guy on a KTM Adventure 1090 sauntered over, he rode from New Jersey and was going to stay 2 weeks to explore the Allegheny mountains, where this all unfolded.  Throughout the night, Route 217, where I lay about 300 yards away from, was the parade route for the tractor-trailer drum and bugle corps.  They practiced a John Phillip Sousa number throughout the night with their compression brakes.  The next morning, I packed up a dew-soaked tent, and then rode up to Bradford, PA.

I used Yelp to find a place to eat breakfast, but after three tries to closed businesses around town, I went to the most knowledge source I knew—cops.  They pointed me in the right direction.  A local place where two pancakes, two eggs, two sausage links, two bacon strips, two glasses of water, and two conversations with customers curious about the space suit, cost only $4.00.  I love small town America.   After morning chow, I toured the Zippo/Case knife museum, Bradford, PA being the manufacturing and headquarters for that famous lighter.  How absolutely iconic Americana, the only thing more classic was the twofer: a Harley Davidson Zippo lighter.  The museum was interesting and worth a trip if you’re ever in the area.  I dug out the big Nikon and took some shots.

Once satisfied, I climbed back on Trafalgar and we proceeded to my dad’s gravesite through densely wooded country roads of the Southern Tier.  I could live here, this time of year.  The weather was great, the roads were great, and the people were great.  Every stop, I fell into delightful conversations with people curious about me and Trafalgar.  Finally, I met up with my brother, and we spent an enjoyable evening together.  I think that gets me up to date, tomorrow I’m off to visit my old boss from the college days, when I went to school to be a veterinarian.