Well, we got through the surgery and it was time to decide. Even though Jacob had two games during the time I'd be gone, my parents were up for it, so we put the plan in place. On Friday I sent the boys off in the morning and hopped in the car by myself. Of course, I had a million things to do just to get to that point--packing, laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, cleaning, setting out pillows for my parents, even two burned out light bulbs...the list seemed endless! I got out the door just on time and started my drive to Mary's apartment in Syracuse.
It was a fun drive on that leg, particularly in the beginning when the sun was shining. It had been warm on Thursday (over 65--between that and Pi Day at work, it was a great afternoon!) and Friday was cooler but pleasant, so driving in that with 80s power ballads blasting was a lot of fun! Pretty sure I couldn't have looked any more like the escaping mom relishing her freedom! I got to Mary's around 11am and we headed off to pick up two friends of hers who were coming as well. We stopped to pick up a quick lunch to go, and then we were officially on the road!
It was a long drive, and we only had a couple stops--one for gas and another for a bathroom break, at which point we were able to enjoy the 75 degree weather in Pennsylvania! It was sunny but windy, and the temperature felt so perfect! We made it to Mary's parents' just before dinnertime. As we were getting ready for dinner, it randomly poured outside, thunder and all. Fortunately, while it cooled off as a result, it was still pleasant and we didn't even need jackets when we left for the show!
As we got driving, it was still raining on and off, but was sunny in another direction. That, of course, is the perfect recipe for a rainbow!
The rainbow was short to begin with, but it was periodically a double and then eventually stretched all the way across the sky! It was especially scenic when we crossed over some water...
...but by then it was apparent that we were driving back into some real rain. The skies were dark in the direction we were heading. And yet, the rainbow held out, and behind us was an amazing sunset. This picture sort of captures all of it...
As we got closer to Lancaster, it really started coming down. It was hardcore, to the point where we had to slow way down and could barely see. There was lightning and wind. It was intense! And of course, our thoughts turned to how we'd get into the venue in driving rain without an umbrella! Then, as we got to the theater, we saw their sign that said, "LOT FULL". UGH. We were already running late due to the weather, and now we had to figure out parking. Luckily, it seemed like everyone was just going to the strip mall across the street and parking there, so we did too. And just as we parked, the rain let up to a light drizzle, so we made it into the theater mostly unscathed!
We literally walked into the theater itself as the band was coming on stage. Whew! The show was AMAZING. It always is, but this show had an "acoustic" theme, so we weren't sure what to expect since their shows are usually pretty rockin'. They sat in chairs for most of it, but it wasn't entirely unplugged. The volume was a bit lower than usual for most of it (so, perfect--no ringing ears!), but the energy was still very much intact! The lead singer's voice is so awesome, and it sounds just like it does on albums...if not better!
Near the end of the show they did unplug completely and sing without microphones or amps. They've done it before and it's always pretty cool as it makes the audience stay very quiet and their voices sound so pure. They actually sang my favorite song that way, which was a complete opposite of how they performed it during their last tour. That time it was loud and bold and super high energy, so hearing it quiet and slow this time was actually a neat contrast!
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| Unplugged |
We had such a great time at the show, but all too soon it was over. We had a 45 minute drive back to the house, so we stopped at a Wawa gas station to pick up some late night snacks. They had so much stuff that I felt a little like Mavis in Hotel Transylvania 2 when she goes to the place like 7-Eleven and sees the wall of "Slur-pays"! I opted for an Icee (cherry and cola mixed) and then found out that Wawa's soft pretzels were supposedly outstanding, so I grabbed a half a pretzel (they were packaged that way), and was a very happy camper!
I was quite tired by the time we arrived back at the house, and we quickly figured out sleeping situations - one twin bed, three air mattresses, three different rooms - and settled in. I was perfectly comfortable on my air mattress, but I could not sleep at all. I don't know if it was the wind hitting the house, the sugar and/or caffeine from my Icee, or sleep aids gone wrong, but I could not sleep. At least I was very comfy and relaxed. I think I got some after about 2am, but people were up and about by 6:30 so I didn't do much more than doze until a little after 7am when I gave up. So, not much sleep, but luckily adrenaline got me through, as I wasn't the least bit sleepy by the time I had to drive home myself!
We had a nice, slow morning. Mary's mom made some breakfast (a French toast bake and pop-open can cinnamon rolls--oh, how I miss those!), and we all eventually got ourselves dressed before spending some quality time with the animals and Mary's parents. Their dog Charlie is the sweetest thing. He's quiet and affectionate, and has such an endearing face! He just loves people so much and was apparently a little mopey after we left!
We ventured out into the now-cold and windy weather to meet the horses. Mary and her mom are horse people, and the barn on their property is the perfect spot to let two old horses retire. One of them was actually Mary's horse when we were in college, and they got a chance to reacquire her a couple years back, so I finally got the chance to meet her. The other horse, Coop, was hilarious. He's very social and was right over the fence to say hi!
However, when he realized we had no treats, he took to eating the fence and pawing at the grass. He cracked us up.
The area where they live is out in the country a bit, but it was beautiful. They're a bit elevated, so the views in every direction were really pretty. You might be able to see if you zoom into this picture and look in the distance. It was a great setup for the horses, though!
After spending a couple hours just chatting with her parents (which was very entertaining), it was time to head out. We stopped somewhere around Hazleton, PA to get a late lunch, and while we waited for everyone to get their food, I checked my phone. I had a message from Craig that was telling me that he was leaving later than expected for his trip to Toronto, and then he dropped in the small detail that my mom almost BROKE HER TOE. Seriously?! So of course I had to call him and get the story. It appears that the night before, the light to our basement didn't turn on (it may have been that it's a CFL bulb that took a second to turn on, so she thought it didn't work--but I guess we'll never know) and she missed a step at the bottom. Her big toe curled under her foot. She iced it and tried to make the best of it overnight despite the pain. She actually didn't even wake up my dad, aside from him hearing the noise she made when it happened and asking if she was okay, only because he'd have worried about it all night. So she didn't sleep much, and in the morning they went to urgent care to get it x-rayed. It wasn't broken, but perhaps sprained. She spent most of the day icing it before they headed out to Jacob's basketball game later in the afternoon. Once they came back from a post-game dinner, the ice went back on until they went home. Anyway, I was feeling guilty enough when a Facebook comment from my dad indicated the kids were being a bit of a handful, so when I found out about this, I felt awful. Bad enough to have the mom guilt of essentially shirking my responsibility as a mom for something fun, but now I had daughter guilt for my parents' babysitting stint turning into such an ordeal! Ugh. I guess I'll be sticking close to home for a while!
The trip home was otherwise long but relatively uneventful. Despite the previous day's 75 degree weather, we hit patches of snow throughout the trip. Nothing to complicate driving, thank goodness, but just enough to make us curse winter yet again. Just as we got to Syracuse, however, the snow got considerably heavier, and suddenly we noticed it visibly accumulating along the side of the road! It snowed like that for probably 5-10 minutes, but miraculously, less than five minutes from where we had to drop the two other girls off, we drove out of the band and it was fine again. I ran into much the same on my drive from Syracuse to Rochester, where one minute it was sunny and gorgeous, and the next minute I was driving into snow. Thankfully, again, it never impacted the roads, but it definitely kept things interesting. I figured I'd be really tired on my drive, but I think the skies were entertaining enough that no more than a little candy was needed!
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| Driving into snow, although it's harder to see than it was in person. That bright dot is the sun filtered by the snow. Two minutes later, it was still snowing but the sun was visible again, and two minutes after that I drove back out of the squall. |
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| After the snow, the skies were pretty magnificent between the sun, wispy clouds, and snow clouds. The snow cloud is off to the left. |
Now if spring would just get here...that'd be great.
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