Pennsylvania Tour - Day One

I just touched down in Harrisburg, PA about 90 minutes ago. It was a rather uneventful airplane trip, thankfully. After catching my flight in Eugene, Oregon I had a change of planes in Portland, and again in Chicago before arriving in PA. All in all, I left at 9:45 in the morning and arrived at 8:45 at night. Eight hours of travel with the time-zone changes. It went quickly. I had a brief scare coming out of Chicago when a woman sat down next to me and immediately wanted my life story. The last thing I wanted was to spend my trip being "chatty." I was tired and frankly, just not up to it. I wasn't rude, though, just gently evasive. :) I was very happy when a gentleman sat down on the other side of her and the two happily started in on their own conversation.

My Adventures in Harrisburg, PA....
When you land at the Harrisburg airport and head out to baggage claim, you are greeted by a very odd sight - rows and rows of rocking chairs. Yes, rocking chairs. Here, people sit, rocking casually waiting for their loved ones flights to arrive. It was surreal - rocking chairs were the last thing I expected to turn a corner and see in an airport. On the other hand, I suspect that if all airports had rocking chairs, we'd be a slightly more patient society (tongue firmly in cheek).

Next, I picked up my rental car. Now, one thing you have to know about me and rental cars is that I love to get the nice, full-size, extra-comfortable cars when I'm on the road. It's my one chance to really drive in style for not a whole lot more money. So, when I booked my car, I booked it accordingly. However, when I arrived, a certain thrifty rental car service which I won't mention by name had only five cars in stock, all small economy cars. The one I got was the kind of car that feels icky to drive. Yes, "icky." I found out real quick that if you ever-so-slightly turn the steering wheel, the vehicle weaves back and forth like a blind camel that's had too much to drink. Ugh.

Finally, I stopped to get something to eat. Now, I'd heard from a local that "Doc Holliday's" had great steak and potatoes, so that was my first choice. Unfortunately, it was closed (it was after 9pm by now). So I headed over to "Rod's Roadhouse Cafe" mistakenly thinking that it was probably somewhat like our own Roadhouse steakhouses back west. WRONG!

I walked in to a little line-dancing party - yep - real line-dancing just like in them there music videos! I found my way to a table and promptly ordered their Meatball Sub sandwich with fries. It was very tasty, I must say, but when I got my bill, I dropped my pickle. I had been charged $4.00 for a Coke! As it turned out, the drinks were $2.00 each, with NO free refills. Of course, the waitress did not tell me refills cost extra, so she got me for the extra two bucks. Bad waitress!

Maybe free refills are just a west-coast thing, too. How should I know?

Also, there are no non-smoking restaurants here, or so it seems. I've become spoiled by our no-smoking laws in Springfield, OR! So while I enjoyed watching happy couples do their line-dancing jig, I split as soon as I could get my sandwich and my $4.00 Coke down.

And hey, gas is ONLY $2.14 a gallon here! I'm so used to paying $2.40+ in Oregon that I did a double-take when I say the pump prices.

All in all a good day - some fascinating adventures already.

Here's looking forward to tomorrow!

David