The sun was shining again when we took off.  We scoped out the continental breakfast at the hotel and there just wasn’t anything there that we could eat.  It turns out that Denny’s was just around there corner so we loaded up the bike, checked out of the hotel, and pulled in to the Denny’s lot.  Denny’s can be hit or miss for me so I was somewhat skeptical going in.  This one turned out to be a “good” Denny’s.

The waitress was friendly and figured out a way to save us a few bucks by combining our breakfast order into one “slam” and 2 sides.  In the end I didn’t really save anything at all.  One of my great addictions in life is playing the “crane” (or “claw”).  These machines are usually packed with small stuffed animals that are greatly treasured at my house (OK – it’s just me that appreciates them).  The great challenge is to get the animal trapped in the wimpy claw then maneuver them to the escape hatch without emptying my wallet in the process.  The money saved on the breakfast deal was quickly gone as were a few other bills.  I did have success getting a rare yellow unicorn with sparkly wings.

I am typically somewhat outgoing and willing to engage people in conversations.  During this trip it has been difficult to have any conversation with anyone but Jana.  I’m not sure why that it is different this time but it certainly is.  I was pleasantly surprised by the willingness of the Denny’s staff to talk and joke with me.  One of the servers noticed that we were looking at a map and asked us where we were headed.  After the usual description of our trip, she mentioned that she was headed to Clearwater, FL tomorrow morning.  She is driving down with two really young children.  As we got ready to leave I saw her standing at one end of the counter.  I was carrying the extremely valuable stuffed unicorn.  She asked me if we had room to pack it on the bike.  I told her that it wasn’t going to New York with us because it was going to Florida with her.  Maybe it will occupy her 9 month old for 3 or 4 minutes of the 14 hour drive she was facing.  Another crane animal headed to a good home.

On the way out of Dennys I laid on the air horn (I love my air horn).  That brought a push in the back from my passenger and put a smile on my face for the first few miles.  Thanks Denny’s staff for brightening my day.

We were only shooting for a 200 mile day so we weren’t in any particular hurry.  We stopped a small gas station / convenience store after the first 50 miles or so, drank some water, and back on the road we went.  I’m trying real hard not to take breaks in gas stations this trip.  They’re boring and not designed for lingering.  The next stop was lunch at Roxy’s Diner in Prospect, PA.  The salads were huge and the server was not friendly at all.  We took exactly 3 pictures today and one of them was or Roxy’s Diner.

After the next hour, we were both fidgeting on the seat and I knew it was time to stop.  We pulled in to a gas station / general store in Nolo, PA.  I thought that would be ok since it wasn’t strictly a gas station.  It turned out to be only a gas station with a really nasty sign on the restroom door saying things like “NO PUBLIC RESTROOM”, “WE’RE NOT KIDDING, NO ADMITTANCE”,  and the always effective “THIS MEANS YOU”.  Ok there has to be another place right down the street – NOT.  We had to drive another 15 miles and get off our planned route to find a Sheetz Convenience Store – I guess they are well know around here.  The best part of that stop was finding “FRED” brand water.  It’s a long story but Jana’s family calls her Fred or Freddie sometimes.  A picture was taken of the FRED water breaking my own rule of no food pictures.

We cruised the last 45 miles into Huntingdon, PA without any issues.  There was a lot of traffic all day – US 62, 422, 224, and 20.  People in Pennsylvania would do better spending more of their time being friendly and less of their time driving around.

The hotel desk clerk recommended Woody’s BBQ which was only 2 miles from the hotel.  We ran down there after our workout.  We really kept one eye on the radar.  Food was ok and again the staff was not friendly.  I guess I’m spoiled by how open people are in Indiana.  I haven’t found this to be true in PA on this trip.  We’re in for the night and planning a short day tomorrow.  I need to make sure that I focus on taking more pictures. Hopefully tomorrow is not another “point A to point B” kind of day.

Selecting my prey.

Unfriendly staff – even the customers seemed angry.

Fred Water. Makes you wonder “why”?????