I was relieved to hear that she had slept a few hours on a bench in the airport and she was about to board her plane in spite of the fact that the first class ticket they had given her the night before was for a different person and had been torn up when she tried to use it. (Who runs these things, really?!) She told me later that when she got on the plane one of the other passengers had said, "Oh good, she got on!" That would have been a nice thing to hear after feeling so alone in the airport all night.
In my relief I went back to bed to lay down for a bit, and thought to myself, "Maybe I should just stay up and…" and, well, the next thing I knew it was noon. I guess I needed the sleep.
I got up, made some coffee, and started to wake up. I knew that I wanted to get to a specific town in Pennsylvania today, but I was a little worried given my unintended late start, but for some reason I didn't panic. I just took my time getting things together, talked with Angie and Ryan, and finally left around 3pm. (By the way, Angie is Mandy's best friend, and Ryan is her boyfriend. That's where they come in to this whole thing. And I want to thank them for the incredible hospitality, it was like being at home on the other side of the country.)
So I got on the road again headed south. Once I got out of town I noticed only one thing - Mandy wasn't there. I couldn't reach down and squeeze her calf to say "hello", and her arms never wrapped around me going into a corner. I was missing her terribly already!
As I continued on the sadness didn't go away, but I did get distracted by the change in scenery approaching the state line. The road started to get more narrow and twisty, and the forest thickened all around. I have never seen a forest as dense as what I rode through today. It was amazing. I got one photo that sort of shows what I saw:
The best way I can think to describe the real-life look of it is to liken it to a well-manicured juniper bush. You know, the ones that look like they would be nice and soft to roll around on? Only it was entire hillsides that looked like a giant, green, fluffy pillow. And where the woods met the road looked like walls had been cut out. When I looked to the side into the forest I was lucky to see twenty feet in. Incredible!
Through northern Pennsylvania there were still several small towns, (They call them hamlets, villages and townships out here) and beautiful old brick buildings to look at. I stopped for gas in Ridgway, PA and talked for a minute with a couple of guys on Harleys. When I told them I was from Seattle one of them said, "What the hell are you doing in Ridgway. Pennsylvania?"
I responded, "Just going for a little cruise."
We all had a good chuckle and I told them about the trip. They admired my bike, and made sure to tell just how envious they were, repeatedly.
Shortly after Ridgway I was forced onto I-80 for about 30 miles, and they were long miles. I had forgotten what it was like to battle with the trucks and other cars because Mandy and I had done such a good job staying on little country roads in New York. The only highlight was that I got to chuckle at the "highest point on I-80 east of the Mississippi - 2250 ft". That was a good laugh given the 9000 foot passes I crossed to get out of California.
I was, however, happy that I had gotten on I-80 because I pulled in to Snow Shoe, PA just in time for the 8 o'clock meeting. I had seen Snow Show ion the map yesterday and knew that I had to get to that meeting if I could, and I was pleased that I did.
The meeting was full of laughter and fun, and the topic was being stuck in our own heads (they called it camping out in their heads…) What a perfect topic for me to hear about again. As always, the solution we discussed was a combination of prayer, meetings, getting busy with something, and working with someone else. Thanks for the reminder, Snow Shoe!
