On the Road Again...Sort of

The last time I traveled was to Dallas in late 2019. While I had plans for lots of trips in 2020, we all know what happened to those.

I had a list of things I wanted to do and places and people I wanted to visit as soon as it was possible. Now that we're fully vaccinated, I've been checking those items off. 

One of the places I longed to return to was Lake Erie and Presque Isle State Park in Erie, PA. I had enough points earned for a free night in a hotel. I made my reservations.

Plans started looking hinky a week ago when Hubby came down with a cold. I was on the verge of canceling, but by mid-week, he was feeling much better. He wanted to go. So I packed. 

Friday, friends we were supposed to meet up with for Saturday dinner got called away on a family emergency. 

Still, we went. 

The weather was lovely. 


There was a Hudson car show in our hotel's parking lot. 


I want one. 

Another friend had arranged for me to meet an Erie detective and tour the police department. Since I'm currently working on TWO proposals for new series and both are at least partly set in Erie, I was excited to delve deeper into my research.

I left Hubby to explore the Maritime Museum and took my tour. I got lots of great info and answers to my questions. 

Erie Police Department

With that done, we were free to spend the rest of the weekend having fun. 

Except in the wee hours of Saturday night, I started feeling crappy. Hubby's cold finally caught up to me. We checked out at 6:30 Sunday morning and were home three hours later. 

I haven't yet mentioned Kensi. She has embraced the idea of having her human home all the time. She was not exactly happy when we abandoned her. As soon as I dumped the contents from my backpack, she climbed in. And this is the expression I've been dealing with ever since. 


I do have more travel plans coming up this fall. And I want to take another weekend trip to Erie once I'm sniffle-free to make up for what I didn't accomplish this weekend.

Sorry, Kensi.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mom Update

Image
It’s been a while since I wrote anything about my mom. If you follow me on Facebook, you’ve probably noticed a number of posts recently about long nights in the ER with her. I appreciate the kind concerns and prayers from friends and family. But while I know they’re well intended, the “hope she gets well soon” sentiments cut like a finely honed blade. Mom isn’t going to get well. She has good days and bad. More and more of the latter. Today’s “good days” are about the same as the bad ones a couple months ago. She has vascular dementia. In addition to her mental slippage, her legs have grown weak and uncooperative, adding to her pre-existing balance issues. We plead with her to call for assistance to get out of bed. Unfortunately, she can’t remember that she’s had numerable falls lately, so she continues to try to get up and around on her own, resulting in more falls. And in more trips to the ER. She has dislocated her right hip twice now. She’s hit her head more times
Read more

The 2010 Confluence Writers' Retreat and Flood

Image
For days, the weathermen had been forecasting “THE FLOOD.” With melting snow pack combined with heavy rains, they were suggesting everyone pack up the women and children and move to high ground. Of course, our writers’ retreat was scheduled to be held at Paddler’s Lane , on the scenic banks of the Youghiogheny River in Confluence. “Confluence.” As in the point where the Yough (pronounced “Yawk”) is joined by the Casselman River and the Laurel Hills Creek. As in the place I spend a large portion of my summer at our camp. I scoffed at the panic mongers. Flood? Heck, it floods every spring. I ain’t afraid of no stinking flood. So off I went. Loaded up the car Friday morning under sunny skies and headed east, with joy in my heart. A whole weekend with my Sisters in Crime in a gorgeous house with lots of food. And writing. Oh, yeah. Lots of writing and—better yet—workshops with Ramona Long . First stop: Panera Bread in Uniontown where I met Sandy Stephen, Susan “ West of Mars ” Gottfried, a
Read more

A New Face

Image
I've been hearing over and over lately that I need to get new headshots done. People who only know me from my online presence complain when they meet me that I don't look anything like my picture. Hmmm. Is that good or bad? I'm still not sure. However, the fact that I now wear my hair a lot longer than I used to is a fact I can't deny. The problem with new photos is...well, I'm older than I was when I had those last ones done. If I could get away with posting a picture of me when I was 25, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Seriously, inside my head, that's still what I look like. Outside? Not so much. But I caved in this weekend. After shooting over 60 frames, I came up with four that I like. So I'm posting them here and asking for a vote. Which ONE photo should be my new "face" for my online persona? Choice #1 Choice #2 Choice #3 Choice #4 Leave a comment with your favorite. Okay, I get to make the final decision, so this
Read more