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Why Oh Why O-hi-o (Does anyone else know that song?) Greg and I went to western (or, as I was saying the other day, the left side of) Ohio this past weekend for his family reunion. I think it was really more of a gathering since there were only about twenty people there and no one but us and his parents drove more than a couple of hours, but okay, reunion. We drove, as we did for his cousin's wedding (which was very post-9/11 and the planes weren't flying yet), and I remembered a crucial thing. Y'all, Pennsylvania is B-O-R-I-N-G. Okay, pretty trees, check; mountains, check. But seriously, after about two hours of the same freaking vista (because it's no Hawaii; all the scenery looks the same) and miles and miles of stupid temporary barriers and nothing to eat between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh except crappy rest stop food (who the hell owns Sbarro, anyway, and why are they still in business), you are ready to flee the state forever. The no food thing was really a problem on the way home when we really wanted dinner and really didn't want it to be a Cinnabon. On the way out on Thursday, we left home around three. We had dinner in Bedford, Pennsylvania - right after the Turnpike splits into 76 and 70 - and it wasn't bad. We ate at a local seafoody/steaky sort of family restaurant called Ed's Steak House or something like that. Both my scallops and Greg's steak were a little tough and the 19 year old waitress called us both "hon," but the side dishes were decent (barbecue butter beans!) and the food came quickly. On the way out of town we stopped at a local ice cream stand and got Flurry/Cyclone type things, both chocolate. Greg had peppermint patties in his and I had Oreos. We drove on and spent the night in a $50 Days Inn room in New Stanton, PA. The next morning we woke up and attempted to have breakfast. We ruled out the two possibilities in town - Cracker Barrel and Eat n' Park - partly for hiring policies, partly because restaurants with "n" in the title scare us (this is important later), partly because we just wanted to grab something to go. Of course it would be easy to hop off the highway and find something later, right? Right? Ha. We ended up in a pit called Charleroi, where we ate mediocre doughnuts. We got out of town quickly. Lunch went a little better; we ended up in Zanesville, Ohio. After attempting to find some sort of quaint local place (the only one we entered resembled a smoke-filled bar) and driving around and over this bizarre Y-shaped bridge that had many one-way-only lanes, we actually ended up at Steak n Shake. Why don't we have these in my tri-state area? It's not exactly fast food - it's sort of diner food, but served very very fast - and it's so good. Good burgers, good fries, excellent milkshakes. (We were so pleased with our lunch that on the way home we stopped again for the shakes we didn't have room for the first time.) As we left, Greg said That may be the finest restaurant with "n" in the title that I've ever eaten in. Right he was. And then it was on to the reunion, at which I consumed my weight in non healthy food. Mmmm. Non healthy food. I did have gazpacho and a tomato salad and fresh green beans at various points, so I got some vegetables. Other than that? Meat and rolls and cheese and crackers and chips and dip and cookies and cake and quesadillas and nachos and the aforementioned milkshake and Flurry thing and a bagel with cream cheese and a sausage and cheese omelet and a crapload of Goldfish (the little snack that smiles back until you bite their heads off) in the car. Oh, it was fun, and I was prepared for the dip upwards in the scale this morning. Imagine my surprise when I'd lost another pound and a half - a total of six or seven since stopping the Pill (for hormonal reasons - banish any thoughts of baby! please! we're barely getting through this ridiculous summer! two years.). I'm thinking maybe my metabolism is rebounding? Or maybe I have a tapeworm. I had a good time at the reunion. I was tired as always nowadays but I enjoy Greg's family. One of his cousins and her husband have these three amazing daughters - smart in a very non-obnoxious way, just informed and opinionated and talented. 15, 13, and 11. They are a lot of fun to talk to. The oldest was doing her summer reading - Sophie's World, which I tried (and failed) to read, while I was reading Real Simple. Go ahead and ask how that GRE studying is going! Go ahead! (Okay, don't. Really.) There was lots of good food and talk and breakfast with Greg's parents on Sunday morning before we packed back into the car for the long drive back. The beginning was okay because we stopped in Columbus and went to Half-Price Books and BD's Mongolian Barbecue (I could have done without the MONGALS and MONGUYS signs on the bathrooms, but the food was good) and Borders, where I bought The Lovely Bones, which I promptly devoured in a couple of hours in the car. I wasn't as satisfied with the end as I was with the first two thirds, but I plan to read it again and definitely recommend it. Mostly, though, the drive back was long and boring (Greg did most of it, so I don't know why I'm complaining) and we got back and picked up my car from the Saturn dealership where it just had $1000 worth of work done and drove home and collapsed. And then I got up this morning and went back to the theatre program to put together our show that opens on Wednesday morning but that, my friends, is a tale for another entry. |