April 18, 2006

April 18, 2006

Carlisle, Pennsylvania to Cortland, New York

YEAR 2 DAY 305

 

Today was sunny and warm.

I got up early, walked Bo, showered, and was ready to start making phone calls by 8:00 A.M.. I made a few phone calls, and found a transmission repair shop in Harrisburg to replace the neutral safety switch. We prepared for departure, and headed out of the Flying J about 8:45 A.M.. I was expected at the transmission shop by 10:00. We drove north on I-81, turning east into Harrisburg on I-83. We drove through Harrisburg, a fairly large city, and found our way to the transmission shop. I parked in an empty lot across the street and walked in. The man I spoke to on the telephone earlier said hello, said he'd be right back, and left the room. A few minutes later, some woman came out and said they wouldn't be able to help me.

I freaked ! A loud, heated discussion took place. Her explanation made no sense. I started screaming. She started screaming. I stomped out, spewing obscenities at her over my shoulder. She followed me out the door and onto the street, continuing to scream at me. It was an ugly scene, and it just added to how lousy I already feel over the events of the last couple of weeks.

That's it ! I've had enough ! I'm not getting an alignment ! I'm not repairing the wonky back-up lights and dash board gear indicator lights. One of those problems is invisible, and the other wouldn't be noticed by most people. Fuck it ! ! ! Dee-Dee gets traded in "as is". I can't, and won't tolerate any more stressful events related to that truck.

We drove the rest of the way through Harrisburg, since we were so far into the city already, and wanted to head for Hershey, east of Harrisburg. We drove to Hershey, and found our way to the Hershey chocolate factory. We went in for our "free tour". Visitors to Hershey don't actually get to tour the factory, they get a "tour" around Hershey "Chocolate World", which could only be described as the Disney World of chocolate. The tour is a "ride" in a little Disney type car, like on a slow motion roller coaster, through an incredibly glitzy Disney type production about the manufacturing of chocolate. Not at all what we expected. At the end, is an extremely large retail gift shop. I bought a birthday gift for Amelia's upcoming fifth birthday and a huge chocolate bar for Joanne. The place was packed with thousands of people. Busloads of Japanese tourists. Large school groups. Shareholders attending the annual meeting. The parking lot was full, and larger then the parking lots of most large, urban shopping malls.

We drove about 10 miles or so down back roads to get back to I-81. The rural areas of Pennsylvania are pretty. The cherry blossoms are in bloom. We continued north on I-81, stopping for lunch at a rest area. While Joanne prepared lunch, I applied the decals for West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania to the map on the side of the trailer. New York was already filled in, so it will be awhile before I get to apply any more decals. After lunch, we ascended and descended the long, steep hills around Scranton, PA., immortalized by Harry Chapin in his 70's hit "Forty Thousand Pounds Of Bananas". HA HA HA !

We crossed from Pennsylvania into New York. The condition of the Interstate improved a lot as soon as we crossed the border. Pennsylvania does a poor job of road maintenance. Rural, upstate New York was very scenic. We stopped for the night at Cortland's Country Music Park, in Cortland, New York. It's a campground, with a large, old barn converted to a country music banquet hall. The campground surrounds a large pond. I think this used to be a large farm yard. We got registered and set up in our site. We took Bo for an obedience training session, then a tennis ball play session. I did today's accounting while Joanne prepared supper.

After supper, just as the sun set, we went for a long walk all the way around the large pond. Joanne washed dishes, and I worked on today's journal entry. I was going to work on updating my investment files, but I completely ran out of steam.

We still have one more long, hard day of driving until we reach Canada. After 4 straight days of driving hard, I don't think I have either the energy or the spirit to do it tomorrow. I think I'm going to take a day off tomorrow, and rest here.

DSK