Vacation from Responsibilites

Pennwriters board of directors, of which I’ve been a member for more years than I care to count, holds three meetings a year. In February, we have a teleconference meeting. In May we have a short evening meeting the Thursday before our annual conference. And in October, we have the big mega meeting that lasts all day, and during which, we hammer out the bulk of the year’s business.

That meeting was this past Saturday in DuBois, PA. This is a new location for us, and frankly, it was a huge improvement. In past years, we met at a “rustic” motel that shall remain nameless to protect the not-so-innocent. I liked their meeting room and the food, but the guest rooms? No internet. No heat. No hot water. Seriously. Cold showers. It could be that the guest rooms were on a hillside above the restaurant and meeting rooms, and the hot water tank was down there and the hot water just never made it up the hill. And it could be that they hadn’t turned the heat on for the season yet. But I froze!

Another venue we used broke just about every fire safety code I can think of. Plus they promised internet, but no one could connect to it. The food was okay. Barely.

THIS time, the rooms were great. The food… well, we won’t discuss that. Suffice it to say I lived on Reese’s Pieces and coffee for much of the stay, although I did venture out through the rain to walk (run) across a four-lane highway to snag a salad at Sheetz.

I love Sheetz.

Anyhow, I stayed over Saturday night after the meeting. Had a room to myself. With my Sheetz salad, Netflix on my laptop (how can cable TV provide 75 channels and still have nothing worth watching?), and NO RESPONSIBILITIES, I was in my own little version of Heaven.

Sunday morning, I continued to enjoy my escape from Responsibility (yes, that’s with a capital R) until check-out time. Then I met up with my dear friend, Paula Matter, who drove two hours from the other direction to join me for lunch. We drove a few miles down the road and found a Ruby Tuesday. Okay, so we got a little lost, too, but we had fun.

Of course, all “vacations” must come to an end. After a three-and-a-half hour drive home, I was greeted by two miffed cats and an upset mom, who thought I should have been home hours ago.

It’s nice to be missed. I think.