82: Another night in Pennsylvania

(Sunlight and snow on grass.  Taken last week.)

We tried to make it home today but it’s not going to happen.  The snow is really flying here in western Pennsylvania, coming down off of Lake Erie near Cleveland and spreading it’s merry whiteness south and east on the Pennsylvania turnpike.  It’s almost uncanny the way it’s training down and across I-76.  To make matters worse, it’s terribly windy (gusting up to 40mph) and extremely cold with a wind chill of -5.  The snow would hit the windshield and freeze, making it even more difficult to see (because blowing snow doesn’t cause enough visibility problems).  The de-icing fluid for the windshield wasn’t working.  Apparently there is a point at which even that stuff freezes.

We made a reservation at a hotel in Somerset, PA before leaving West Chester.  Just in case.  I’m glad we did.  I can’t imagine what it would have been like to continue in that mess.  Hopefully we’ll make it home tomorrow but we’re not counting on it.  The snow is supposed to continue through 7pm tomorrow and word is that it’s worse at home.  Oh the joys of trying to get back into northeast Ohio in December.  It usually takes us about 4 hours to get home from here.  I’m not sure how long it will take in this weather.

On the plus side we had dinner tonight at my favorite Pennsylvania diner:  The Summit Diner.  They have fantastic comfort food that is freshly made.  M and I both ended up with the hot turkey sandwiches made with yes, real roasted turkey breast (not some deli lunch meat type substitute), gravy made from scratch, and real (not the powdered or flaked) potatoes.  I had hot chocolate with that.  Yum!  (You can read a quick review, and see a few photos, here.)  Although I wanted a piece of pie (they are known for their great homemade pies), I had no room for it.  Someday I will try their coconut cream pie.  Yep, I will.

We walked over to the diner from our hotel which helped me get in the rest of my outdoor time for the day.  I took a walk this morning around the hotel in West Chester and have added up some more time here and there at rest stops along the way.  I should have taken my camera along with me this evening as it’s really pretty out there if you don’t have to be driving in it.  The lights along the main street were twinkling with their colors really popping in the snow.

The walk was quite invigorating.  The wind pushed us there, making the walk easy. We had to fight the gusts on the way back.  I like watching the way the wind twirls the snow into small and sometimes large snow dervishes.

I guess that’s it from PA for now.  I hope to be home the next time I blog.  And if not, I wouldn’t mind another meal at the Summit Diner.  Maybe it’s time we tried something from their breakfast menu… or a piece of coconut cream pie for lunch.