Going Mobile

I'm writing this at home, on my own computer. After one last game of Mario Party 8 this morning, Lauren drove me to the Pittsfield Bus Terminal and stayed with me until the 10:30AM bus to New York arrived. She's the best best friend there is, and I miss her already.

The bus ride to New York was actually quite pleasant. It poured in the morning, but the rain let up around the time Lauren and I left for the bus terminal. By the time the bus hit Waterbury, Connecticut, the clouds were breaking up, and the sun was definitely out as we made our way through the mild traffic in the Bronx.

The Bronx wasn't the problem this time. The bus drove down 9th Street to get to Port Authority, and the traffic once we got past 5th Avenue and Central Park was appalling. No wonder they call it "Hell's Kitchen"; it sure felt like it. The bus was a half-hour late in arriving, and I barely made it to my next bus.

Have I mentioned how much I HATE, HATE Port Authority Bus Terminal? There were two long and disorganized lines waiting to go to Mt. Laurel and to Philadelphia by the time I got down there. Of course, both of those busses were late. Around quarter of 4 - fifteen minutes after the 3:30 bus was supposed to show up - a woman tells us to make one line, because we're all taking the same bus...and the Philadelphia line is already half-way across the terminal. Needless to say, this did NOT sit well with a lot of people, including me. As one of the last people in line, I had to argue my way onto the bus. I had a 3:30 ticket. It wasn't MY fault these idiots Port Authority hires obviously have no idea what they're doing. (I had problems there last Saturday, too. I had to ask four employees before I could find the Pittsfield gate...and a janitor finally told me!)

I was not a happy camper when I finally got on the bus. I was even less happy when I realized the bus was jammed to the gills and I ended up with the guy next to me snoring in my ear half-way to Mt. Laurel. Thankfully, the trip wasn't quite as bad as the last time I rode a bus that was full. The weather remained sunny, the traffic that had been so horrible in downtown New York had disappeared by the time the bus chugged its way through Lincoln Tunnel, and I didn't smell any smoke coming from the bathroom.

I called Dad right after I left New York and when I got in. I ate a lovely dinner of steak, corn, pierogies, and an old tomato recipe of Jodie's mother's after he picked me up and brought me over to their house. He, Jodie, and Jessa had spent the day watching football. Dad was watching - and yelling at - the Miami Dolphins-Arizona Cardinals game. Roughly translated, the Dolphins aren't very good these days. (Arizona slaughtered them, 31-10. (We also caught part of a much better game between the Jets and the Broncos. The latter just barely won, 39-38.)

Rocky Mountain High in a New York Minute

Yesterday was a very long day. Tropical Storm Hanna held off long enough for me to go for a short ride and make a quick trip to the Collingswood Farm Market. I bought a little pastry for my trip and a jar of apple butter for Lauren's parents as a thank-you present. The morning was cloudy, warm, and amazingly humid, but I wanted to get a ride in before I spent the rest of the day on the bus. Actually, it was a rather pleasant morning. I spent the rest of it watching Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake on CBS, baking the last of the Cinnamon Refrigerator Cookies, and getting my food for the trip together.

It just started raining after Dad and Jodie picked me up and dropped me off at the Greyhound Bus Terminal in Mt. Laurel, about 20 minutes from Oaklyn. Good thing I was there early, because just as it did last year, the bus to New York appeared more than 20 minutes ahead of schedule. I had no problems getting to New York. The bus was fairly full, but I did find open seats in the back.

I HATE Port Authority Bus Terminal. It's a good thing I had an almost three-hour layover there, because I got lost. Again. For the third damn year in a row. How do New Yorkers DO it? Even the employees couldn't figure it out. I spent over an hour in the wrong side of the building because the employees I asked directions from couldn't tell SPRINGFIELD from PITTSFIELD! And the place is dirty, dingy, dilapidated, and populated with some rather nasty-looking characters. (Never mind a few little construction projects - what that place needs is a total top-to-bottom, rip-it-out-and-start-over overhaul.)

The trip to Pittsfield wasn't much better. It's a good thing the bus wasn't anywhere near full, because I ended up spending over five hours on it. By the time we finally pulled out of Port Authority at 5PM, New York Rush Hour was in full force. Traffic was pure hell, especially going through the Bronx. The rain, which had abated shortly after leaving Mt. Laurel, had returned in full force by then, too. And of course, the Bronx seems to be about three-fourths bridges. We were supposed to have been at Danbury, Connecticut within an hour. We didn't get there until over a hour and a half later, by which time it was fully dark and the water was rushing across the sidewalks of Danbury in miniature rivers.

Even skipping two drop-offs that no one wanted to get off at, we were more than an hour late in Pittsfield. Thank god Lauren is one of the most patient and understanding best friends on the planet. She was there ten minutes after I called her and told her I'd finally arrived. It was still pouring, too. Good thing Lauren's parents new home has an attached garage. We spent the rest of that night playing Mario Kart on Lauren's Wii.

When we both finally dragged our rears out of bed around 9-ish, the sun was shining, the wind had diminished, and the trees on the majestic Greylock mountain range behind Pittsfield were as green as emeralds. Lauren and I slept in, then headed for Jiminy Peak, a ski resort/mini family amusement park a few miles outside of Pittsfield. We went there the first time I visited in 2006, but my knee injury prevented us from riding three of Jiminy's biggest attractions. With my knee in perfect working order, we were free to ride the Roller Coaster and the Slide as much as we pleased.

The "roller coaster" and slide rides aren't your ordinary coaster and slides. Both are self-propelled - YOU control how fast or slow you go, especially on the slide. The slide is on a bobsled-style course; the roller coaster looks like a scaled-down version of an ordinary small coaster. I liked the slide better. The ride's longer, you have more control of your vehicle, and there's more under you when you're on your way down.

(The slide has it's disadvantages, though. My third trip down was marred by a mother and her very young daughter who went suuuuppperr slloooowww. The little girl was so scared, she and Mommy just wouldn't move. The kid shouldn't really have been on the ride at all if she was that freaked. In fact, I'm surprised the ride's attendant let her go down - she couldn't have been more than 3.)

Jiminy Peak was fairly busy when we arrived. There was a line after us when we played the short mini-golf course. After the third run on the slides, we decided it was really getting too busy. We drove a few minutes away to Bob's Country Kitchen, a small, cozy diner-style restaurant. I love places like this. I had three big blueberry pancakes and hash browns. Lauren had baked sole, summer squash, and mashed potatoes with gravy.

We spent the rest of a quiet afternoon playing Mario Party 8 on Lauren's Wii, making a quick stop for take-home Taco Bell around 7. We're planning on spending tomorrow afternoon at the mall before Lauren watches wrestling with her parents.

Here's more on Jiminy Peak:

Jiminy Peak Mountain Adventure Park

(And in other news, the Philadelphia Eagles slaughtered the St. Louis Rams in their season opening game and first home game. It was truly a great day. ;) )