October 2005

I was going to be so productive around the house this weekend. I was going to get the garage sorted out to make room for the Acura. I was going to scrub, dust, polish and ‘dazzle-fy’ the house from top to bottom so that it would once again meet health inspection requirements. I was going to make cookies and other assorted goodies so that we’d be ready for the week.

I’ve spent all my free time to today trying to make myself disappear (via a movie) like a Star Trek crew member.

I’ve got my own unique sound effect down. I played it over the phone for Earl, he’s given it his stamp of approval. Now if I could just get the video effects just right. It has to have the right amount of flair.

Now if I could only beam this house clean.

Normally I shun McDonalds. I was once a huge fan of the chain and basically lived a “Supersize Me” existence when I was working nights on the Top 40 radio station. I could name every Mcburger, past and present, and even knew regional offerings throughout the country. Had my hair been a little redder and a little more plentiful, I could have been named Ronald.

A couple of years ago when I went on my health kick, the first thing I did was dump the McDonalds and friends fast food habit with one exception, and that was Chick-Fil-A. (There’s no Chick-Fil-As near us, so it was safe to keep it on the board as a rare treat.)

This past Monday McDonalds kicked off their annual Monopoly game, where you can win cool prizes, hot food and fun for the whole family. I don’t know why I obsess about this game, but I do and this year is no exception. I’ve eaten at McDonalds three times in the past week and at each visit have upped my grilled chicken sandwich to the “large” value meal so that I can get extra stickers. I have set up my game boards on my desk so that I can monitor my progress to winning a new car or a chance to be in an upcoming Buena Vista movie. I am saving my “Best Buy Bucks” for a DVD purchasing frenzy. I even considered posting “In Case Of Fire” signs on the walls through the house with the following instructions: 1. Save The Spouse. 2. Save The Cat. 3. Save The Computers. 4. Save the Stickers. I might have a fire drill over the weekend to make sure alternate escape plans are in place.

I considered meeting with our lawyer to modify the will so that I could negotiate who would take over the peeling fun, but he doesn’t take free breakfast sandwich stickers in payment.

Sideling Hill Tunnel.

Originally uploaded by macwarriorny.

Today I accomplished something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. I hiked up to the abandoned portion of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and got to see one of the tunnels up close and personal.

When the Pennsylvania Turnpike was built in the late 1930s, it was built along the old South Pennsylvania Railroad right-of-way. There were seven tunnels along the mainline roadway, all of which were two-lane. By the mid 1960s, the tunnels were growing bottlenecks. Four of the tunnels were “twinned” with a second tunnel alongside. Three of the tunnels were bypassed. In 1968, a nearly 14 mile bypass was built between the Breezewood and Fort Littleton interchanges. The original turnpike roadway, and tunnels, still exist today and were donated to the Southern Alleghenies Conservancy and are now a bike trail.

The abandoned roadway begins at the Breezewood Interchange and is visible when you exit the turnpike to follow I-70 east towards Washington D.C. From there it winds its way through the valley while it’s newer counterpart goes up over the mountains.

Unfortunately the original overpass over US 30 is in the process of being demolished, so I was unable to hike from Breezewood up to Ray’s Hill Tunnel as I originally planned. I was a little disappointed because that tunnel is short enough that you’re able to see the other end when you’re walking in.

Instead I followed US 30 east to PA 915 North and then onto Oregon Rd., a forest road. After a three mile drive through the forest and parking next to the forest station, I hiked about 1/2 mile through the woods and came across another portion of the original turnpike, about 1/4 mile west of the Sidling Hill Tunnel. This tunnel is the longest of the turnpike tunnels, clocking in at 6,782 feet. You can not see the other end of the tunnel when walking in. As you’re approaching the tunnel, you can feel the damp, cool air blowing in, chillier than anything you’ve felt from a subway tunnel. I hiked right up to it, curiously walking along the left side of the road as if it was an active roadway. I don’t know if I thought something or someone was going to come driving out of there or what, but I figured better safe than sorry.

I cautiously hiked up to the tunnel, mostly concerned about bats. Then I figured, I didn’t have any hair that they could get tangled in and if Bruce Wayne could survive the bats then I could too, so I walked in the tunnel about 250 feet and realized that I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. The tunnel has swallowed all the daylight I had left behind me. I peered ahead in the darkness, looking for signs of the other end of the tunnel and found none. I turned around and looked for the reassurance of the opening I had entered and saw the welcoming rays of sunlight. I turned around, walked a little closer to the opening, snapped some pictures and then hiked west along the roadway another mile or so before turning around and heading back to the car.

Afterwards, I stopped back in Breezewood, gassed up and hit the Turnpike to head home. Taking a different route than usual, I passed through Altoona and Williamsport, Pa. and Corning, Ithaca and Cortland, N.Y. before getting home.

All in all a great trip.

There’s more pictures here.

Blogging in Breezewood.

Originally uploaded by macwarriorny.

So I’m on my little road trip after leaving Earl in Philadelphia this morning. Yesterday we got up early (what happened to sleeping in on the weekends?) and headed to Earl’s dad’s for a visit. It was all good; we caught up on family activities and what not and then headed over to Earl’s stepbrother Rick’s house to watch the Eagles game and hang out with them. Rick made a great meatloaf in the crockpot, Helen whipped up the mashed potatoes and we all had a great supper together. For dessert we headed over to their new Cold Stone Creamery. Wow! They give really big portions there. I couldn’t even begin to polish it off, since I’m not a huge fan of ice cream, but I made a reasonable effort.

This morning Earl and I picked up some items he needed for work and then I got him settled in his hotel room, where his boss and co-worker were meeting him for a customer meeting in Wilmington, Del. Earl’s now in full travel mode, from Philly he flies to Burlington, Vt. tomorrow then he drives home on Wednesday. I’ll be meeting him in Albany so he can drop off the rental car he’ll have. Lots of driving!

Since Earl was out of town and I had some vacation time to burn, I decided that the Acura needed to go on it’s first long road trip. After leaving Earl in Philly, I headed south on I-95 and drove all the way down to Washington, D.C. Well, actually around it, on the Beltway. I then picked up I-66 and drove across the top of Virginia. It’s been a long while since I’ve been through there and I find the scenery quite nice. The scenery was also quite nice in the traffic jam I sat in around Manassas. Eye candy galore though a little on the yuppy side for my tastes. Enjoyable, nonetheless.

After I-66 I took I-81 up to Hagerstown, Md. and jumped on I-70 west. I figured I’d drive up through Central Pa. tomorrow and get home in the early afternoon. If you ever drive on I-70 in this area, you’ll find the odd experience of I-70 not quite making it’s connection to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. It actually misses the junction by about a mile or so, forcing you to travel through Breezewood, Pa.

Now this is an experience. I feel like I’m in the middle of nowhere, yet it’s lit up with neon like Las Vegas. There’s more neon here than one can ever imagine. Big signs for fireworks, travel plazas, Wendy’s and assorted gift shops and other odds and ends. Always a sucker for tacky, I decided to stay at the Holiday Inn Express here in Breezewood. It’s 7:46 p.m. and I have no idea what I’m going to do for the rest of the night.

But it’s an interesting adventure.

Tomorrow before heading home I think I’m going to check out one of the abandoned tunnels on the Pa. Turnpike. I even remembered my flashlight!

A new blog buddy, Jay, asked me some questions for the interview game. Here’s my answers!

1. What would you say is the greatest purpose your blog serves in your own life? And what is the longest you’ve gone without writing an entry in your blog?
I actually have no idea why I write in my blog. I think it fills a need of my somewhat eccentric personality, sort of an extension of my tendency to live life “out loud”. Back in the early days of my blog (2001-2002 or so), I’d only write once every couple of weeks, then it was once a week. For the past year or so I’ve written daily or somewhat close to that.

2. How did you and Earl meet?
Earl spotted me in a local bar where I was the disc-jockey. Someone approached him asked him what he was “into”, he pointed to me and said “that”. I spotted him as soon as he walked in the door (being in an elevated DJ booth was always so advantageous!), I walked up to him and said “how you doing?”, smiling, and he blushed and left. A couple of months later he walked in and I tried the same old routine again and I didn’t frighten him this time, he hung around and we got to know each other really quick. I honestly have to say that Earl is the only person that I fell in love with at first sight, though I didn’t tell him for quite a few months; he seemed so skiddish. 🙂

3. Who is on your “list?” As in the lists of famous people that couples jokingly negotiate with one another, giving their partner permission to sleep with if, in some impossible circumstance, the opportunity presented itself. (If you don’t have one, who would be on the list if you did have one?)
We’ve talked about the list before and I’ve thrown around a few names… Bruce Willis is a biggie, Stephen Cafferty from “Longtime Companion” is one, Pernell Roberts back in his Bonzana days would have been a big Bonanza for me.

4. If you divided your average vacation into a pie chart, what activity would have the biggest slice?
I love road trips, so driving would probably take up the biggest slice. Aside from that, just relaxing somewhere scenic would come in a close second.

5. What do you want to be doing in 10 years?
Enjoying life as much as or even more than I am right now. Career wise, if I’m not still at my present job, I’d like to be self employed with our own Bed and Breakfast or Diner.

O.k., now it’s my turn to ask Jay his questions:

1. How long have you lived in New York?
2. PC or Mac?
3. When looking at other guys, what’s the first thing you notice about them?
4. You can only watch three hours of television for the entire week including any “recreational viewing”. What do you watch?
5. How much coffee does it take before you’re licking the ceiling from a wicked buzz?