We awoke and packed the car. It is always sad to leave home. Fairhaven, in may ways, has been our home. Leaving the Fairydoo also means leaving the Vliets and Massimo. We have known Max since his birth and as he has gotten older, a big part of my thoughts. Tom is the better babysitter of Max, but we are combined, thus we are a great babysitter.
Kate had stayed at Sarah's the night before, but we made plans to meet for coffee at this spot in Dartmouth called Mirasol's Cafe. We got to Mirasol's where Kate was waiting for us alone. I was surprised that Sarah was not there but didn't ask why. Kate had talked about the Chippi, the "Super-Charged & Super Sexy Iced Coffee." I hoped it was super charged because two of them set us back for over $11 plus tip.
We sat for a small bit with Kate and us sipping our beverages. Kate had ordered two beverages with the intention of taking one back to Sarah. We didn't stay together too long as I was anxious and saying goodbye can be difficult. We would see her agin soon enough and it was time to get back on the road. Kate took this picture of us in the Ford Escape as we were leaving. She texted it to us with the comment, "two dudes two dogs." Sweet!
We continued down Route 6, the first time on this road in this area. It's always exciting to start a new journey, a new road trip. Tom wanted a picture of the sign to the left of the statue. "Nite Owl" Great name. This began our taking shots of while driving or stopped at a stop light.
We traveled through MA towards RI. The roads were stop and go and left rights. Our first detour was while we were headed towards Providence. A detour is never fun when you are trying to follow a specific road. Where did I lose the road? How do I get it back? Found it! One state complete, 13 more until we are home.
I thought that Rhode Island would be more of the same, but after some commercial areas, it morphed into more of a thruway. Rhode Island is such a small state that in,what seemed, a matter of moments we were in Connecticut. 12 more left. At this rate, we'll be home by Sundown. We stopped at a local park that my DogPark App informed us of. We never did find the dog park, but found the greater park that it was in. It was huge with fitness folks all over the place. The dogs ran for a bit, did some business and we were back on the road just as it started to rain.
We drove some back roads and some highways, all the time paying attention to the signs of Route 6. A left here. A right turn there. North, then South. It was slightly comical how this road meandered through the state. The weather was gray and stormy. We were listening to the radio when all of a sudden the tone of an emergency signal came on the radio with the added statement, "This is not a test!" A tornado warning was given for the area that we were driving through. We kept driving, checking the weather on the phone. Fortunately, Route 6 seemed to skirt the storm system that we were headed towards. Crisis averted.
If you recall, I hate tolls. Going through New York would be the first major test. It would also be a test of Tom's patience, as we would soon be coming somewhere near the Hudson Valley, the location with a supposed driving nightmare of gridlock that we read about. I have never been through New York without paying a toll. I had found a way into Manhattan with only a $2 toll many years ago. I had no idea which way the road would be taking me, but alas, no tolls.
We traveled along many waterways and saw many lakes. The dogs appeared happy to be on the road again, poking there heads out of the windows. Luther always has had a nose for water. He could be sound asleep, but when water was nearby, he would rush to the window and take a smell.
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| Flag at Half Mast (Never found out why.) |
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| Another Building Shot at a Stop Light |
The Hudson Valley was beautiful. I had been there once before with my High School. Route 6 traveled along the Hudson River before crossing over on a beautiful bridge. We were not in NY for very long. We had been traveling for less than 8 hours and we were in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania heralded Route 6 proudly. It went through many small towns that would never be seen unless one made a point of it. I-84 was the route of choice for the people wanting to get somewhere fast. We were getting hungry. We kept our eyes open for a place to eat. Out of nowhere, in Shohola, PA, there was a sign for 6 West Bar & Grill. I thought it would be a great idea to eat at our first Route 6 roadside restaurant. We parked the car away from the other cars so the dogs would not be a scary nuisance to other travelers getting in and out of their cars. We walked into the restaurant and found instead a bar.
It was one of those bars that you walk in and everyone turns on their barstool and looks at you. They look at you as if you are an alien. No friendly smiles. Just blank faces. We walked over to the tables in the rear. This place did not seem to have much on it's menu. It did have a number of dirty dishes on a few tables, though. We decided that we wanted something a bit different. Tom recalled another place across the street, so as if we were never there, we walked out and back to the car.
We drove across the street to Nanny's Place. It was a small restaurant with less than ten tables. It had a small kitchen with one cook. The waitress had her kids there, bussing and cleaning. The fare was mediocre but, as we say, it filled the hole.
The only problem about traveling without plans is when and where do you find a place to sleep. There comes a point in the night that you are tired and want to stop but you don't know where. I'm not a fan of spending $100+ for a room that we would sleep in until 7 or 8 and then leave. I just need a bed, a shower and a TV. That's why I like a Motel 6. You get those and they allow dogs, no questions. iPhone showed me nothing on our route. All of the hotels were on the interstates. Grrr.
It was getting late and we were in the middle of nowhere. That's when the panic set in. I just kept on asking Tom to keep an eye open for some type of Motor Lodge, the choice of stay on these backroads. The travel gods must have been keeping an eye on us as about 30 miles West of Scranton was a small motel called the Skyline Motor Inn.
I went into the reception area to find a young women behind the desk. We talked price, got a government discount (Thank you State of CA) and signed the register. Room 1, which was located at the very end of the complex. Perfect. The room was gently used, had wifi and a squishy bed. Fine, great, oh well. At least we had a place to sleep. We brought in a few items and laid down a blanket for the dogs to sleep on. They tend to be happy when we do stop somewhere for the night. A quick check of maps for the following day and we were off to bed. Tomorrow we will "Do 6!"
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