Into the white

I had a pretty shitty night of sleep Wednesday night, not an ideal scenario for a long day of travel.  My flight was not until 10AM so we didn’t have to leave the house till around 7:30 which was nice.  Cindy dropped me off around 8:15 so I had plenty of time to spare.  Check in went smooth since I already printed my boarding pass ahead of time.  I was through security and wandering towards my gate a full hour before boarding was even scheduled to begin.

I spent the time just futzing around on my laptop, taking advantage of the free airport wifi.  I also grabbed myself a drink and a snack since I suspected that much like everything else on Spirit Airlines, an on flight drink/snack would likely be a pay to play experience. (it was)  A la carte was how everything is handled with Spirit.  If you want to bring a bag you pay extra, want to be able to pick your seat, pay extra, food, drink, and anything else beyond just sitting your ass in the seat, you pay extra.  I am undecided how I feel about the business model, at least you can choose what is and is not worth paying extra for, an advantage in some ways.

The airplane looked very new but I was glad that I paid an extra $26 for an exit row seat.  The legroom in the normal coach seats looked like I would be wedging my knees against the seatback.  The seats themselves were rather minimalist and not very comfortable.  The padding was thin and hard.  Sitting in them for more than a couple hours would not be very comfortable at all.

The flight was not very full which was nice, I had the three seats in my exit row empty.  I started on the aisle and later decided to move to the window for a view.  As I mentioned there were no beverages or food served, unless you paid for it.  Very few people opted to pay for refreshments and I was in that group.  I kept myself entertained during the two hour flight reading an old magazine and playing Fieldrunners on my iPhone. The flight took off and landed early so that was cool.  Overall, despite the nickel and diming I experienced, I still would consider using Spirit again.  It got me where I wanted to go on time without a major hassle which is the most important thing.

As soon as I hit the exit walkway I got my first blast of PA winter air.  Unlike last year, I was already somewhat prepared as I had on heavy long pants and my long sleeve Under Armour cold gear shirt.  Once I retrieved my luggage which was already on the carousel  by the time I got there, I pulled out a heavy hooded sweatshirt and my coat which made things bearable.

Patrick picked me up after a brief wait.  I was worried we would have to stick around his place as his Christmas gift from me, a 3D printer kit was scheduled to arrive Thursday.  Luckily it showed up just before he left to get me so we could head directly to my dad’s place.  It had snowed the night before but the roads were basically clear on the entire two hour drive until the last mile or two as we approached Marienville.

When we went inside I got an extremely enthusiastic welcome from Maggie and Clara, their two dogs.  Clara was really affectionate, more so than I can ever recall in the past, it was nice to feel so missed.  My stepmom had the house feeling warm, inviting and very full of holiday spirit, something she always has excelled at.  She was in the middle of baking Christmas cookies.  Her cookies are probably the best I have ever eaten.  I didn’t wait long till I sampled a couple.

I wanted to go out and see the barn animals, the 20 sheep and llama.  Evidently the llama has been acting weird lately and not eating normally which I was sad to see.  The sheep and llama gave me cautious looks but didn’t freak out much.  It felt cold, very cold, more so than in Pittsburgh.  It turns out because it was, the thermometer read 19 degrees.

While we were outside dad showed me his new solar power array.  He recently sold his lifelong Alfa Romeo project car and used the proceeds to fund the installation of a large solar system to help offset his electricity expenses.  It’s a large system with forty 300 watt panels.  Unfortunately it was currently outputting nothing because a third of the panels were covered with six inches of snow and it was extremely overcast.

Daylight lasts much less in western PA compared to Naples, the sun was already setting by 4:30.  It made the long day feel even longer.  My step mom prepared a very different sort of meal which included a salad that included oranges, lime, onions and salmon, a combination that I wouldn’t have expected to work very well but I actually thought was quite good.  A desert consisting 100% of fresh Christmas cookies was a perfect compliment to the meal.

Thursday night we watched a dvd dad rented, some sub-titled Italian comedy called the Ferpect Crime,a Goya award winner, whatever the f that is.  I was very tired and drifted in and out through most of the film.  I saw enough to get the gist.  It was rather strange combination of odd humor, nudity, and physical comedy.  I generally avoid foreign films with subtitles like the plague but I found that my brain adjusted to reading the dialogue after a short while.  I don’t feel qualified to give the movie an official rating since I saw maybe 50% of it but let’s just say it won’t make my recommended list.

I slept in my dad and stepmom’s guestroom which I have slept in many times.  It’s a very quaint room with one problem, it’s normally like an icebox in the winter.  Teresa had recently bought a small electric space heater that I used.  It worked well, keeping the room very sleepable.  I played a couple games of Hearthstone before I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up this morning to 11 degrees which surprisingly didn’t feel too awful when I went out with Teresa to tend to the sheep and walk the dogs.  The lack of wind makes a big difference.  Dad suggested we go to the Kelly for breakfast, one of the few dining establishments in Marienville.  Walking into the restaurant/bar/hotel was like stepping into a time capsule from the 50’s.  The décor was obviously untouched for decades.

There was one other table of old men there when we walked in.  By the time we finished our breakfast, which was surprisingly good, we were the only patrons left inside.  Life in Marienville moves at a much slower pace and having to deal with crowds is something that happens basically never.

When we returned home Patrick and I headed outside to help dad with a short list of todo items including relocating the llama feed bin, reloading the firewood supplies and using a long pool brush to clear the snow off the upper solar panels which required using a ladder.

I believe the rest of the day here will be predictably slow paced which is fine with me.  I never come to western PA looking for a whirlwind schedule.  The mostly calm days with few issues of urgency is something I certainly am not accustomed to in my normal daily grind but I do appreciate in short bursts.  Tomorrow, on my actual birthday we are supposed to be pushing across the state to meet up with Todd and his family so we can do some sort of dinner somewhere.  It hopefully will just be a simple, quiet celebration of my stepping into the abyss of true old age.