A long hiatus, and a trip to Massachusetts

It has been quite some time since I've written anything to which I did not also add chords, but I wanted to get back to one of the things I most enjoy.

My mother is going through a change of life. She recently found herself needing the services of a long term care facility, which means that her children (my sister primarily), had the daunting task of cleaning out her apartment and finding homes for her things that could not be stored.

I was assigned several pieces of furniture several blankets, some kitchen-ware and some knickknacks, These were too large to transport via car, so a box truck was reserved.

My lovely wife and I planned to rent a car, drive to Massachusetts, drop off the car, then get a box truck, load up the stuff, and return to Pennsylvania. When we found out how much that would cost, we decided that I would ride up to Massachusetts on my Honda PCX150, load the stuff onto the box truck, then load the scooter in as well and then I alone would drive the box truck back to Pennsylvania. Even with one night stopover in New York, it was a far less expensive option.

So, after getting off work Friday night of Memorial Day weekend, I kissed my wife goodbye, loaded the crate, slung my ukulele on my back, and started out at 6:30 p.m.,

The route started out simple enough: follow US 222 north out of Lancaster and past Reading...but then I told Siri to find me a route that avoided highways and boy howdy, she did. I soon found myself on the most rural of country roads. It was, on the whole, an utterly pleasurable experience. Eventually I did have to find a less rural route, but it was a blast while it lasted. Only one caveat. At one point, Siri did try to send me down a gravel road. I told her no and went around.

I stayed overnight in the village of Monticello, NY, which was all well and good. The motel was seedy, but clean, and it wasn't until the next morning that I realized it was right next door to a drug rehab facility. The scooter was fine, so I wasn't too concerned, even after discovering that I was only a block away from the county jail. Fantastic!

Breakfast at the Monticello Diner was excellent though, and I was soon off again, following Siri through the mountains. The lady at the toll booth over the Hudson wouldn't give me a break on the toll since I only had two wheels, which didn't seem fair, but I made it over the Rip Van Winkle bridge without falling asleep.

It wasn't long before I was traveling down familiar roads into the Berkshire mountains. Route 23 took me all the way to Russell Mass, where I went off the beaten path to come down out of the mountains in the center of town.

The visit with my family was nice, and I even had the opportunity on Sunday to spend some quality time with the PCX, running around the hill towns, taking video and pictures.

Unfortunately, Monday came far too soon. Once the box truck was loaded, the joy of scooter riding was traded for the most unsavory alternative of driving a GMC Savanna modded with a 10 foot box at highway speeds through Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. It was a horrible experience which I would prefer to never relive.

A plus of this whole story is the completion of yet another ride from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts on a 150cc scooter. The ride can be done if one paces one's self. It is one of the most enjoyable things I can think of.