On The Road Again… Returning Home From Erie

I woke up early Saturday morning still enveloped by the mass of comforters on the hotel bed. With a few things still having to be taken care of on the computer, it didn’t take long for me to make my way to the coffee maker before beginning my morning routine. I had been invited to breakfast the night before so there was little time to waste… it was going to be a bit of a mad rush to get myself together.

Once I got myself squared away, I packed everything up, and got out of the room (not before taking a final photo out the window at my view.

With everything back in the car, I walked over to check out before enjoying a quick nosh. There wasn’t much conversation as the Masonic herd (or is it gaggle? Flock? I don’t know) was already making their way to the Convention Center next door. A few bites later and I joined a small group heading over.

The meeting concluded by noon and we all made our way to lunch in the next conference room over. After an additional hour of discussion and fellowship we all went our separate ways with the Grand Lodge officers heading off to meetings and the rest of us heading either back to the hotel or beginning our journey back home. I made my way back to the parking garage and couldn’t help but to take a picture of the excellent view that my car was able to enjoy during the stay.

For the first time I made my way through the middle of the city and slowly glanced at the stores and people lining the main street. The drive home was pretty uneventful with cool weather and clear skies the entire way across the Commonwealth. While I wasn’t able to take any photos during my drive through the city, I did manage to get a few lucky shots while I was coasting down the highway.

The first section of highway was straight and pretty boring but I could tell that the clouds were going to be an interesting travel companion.

As the time flew by (mostly while I was on the phone) the elevation increased…

…and the clouds became even more intriguing.

Soon I was high in the mountains…

…weaving in and out of curves…

…and cutting into the mountains.

Not long after that excellent stretch of road, I stopped for a few minutes at the next rest stop. All of the rest stops that I encountered during my travel where in pretty good shape, clean, and the grounds were well maintained.

By the time I left the rest stop the sun was beginning to fall behind the range beside me. The longest day of the year was a great one for traveling and provided the perfect ending to my weekend trip to Erie and my time exploring the commonwealth.

One final push and my trip came to an end. It was long, tiring, and left me a little stiff from driving but it was a great weekend trip that I would do again in a second. In fact, I am already planning the trip next year with my wife. Now that I know what to expect, I plan on attending all of these meetings in the future.

Finding A Family Feeling In Erie

One of the things that greeted my in the lobby of the Sheraton... I guess I'm in the right place.  

The day began with a scramble to get everything in the car after making a large mug of coffee. While this is not much different than my usual Friday routine when I am rushing out the door to get to the office, this Friday morning was different… it was going to take me a little longer to get to my destination. With everything finally packed, I kissed my wife good bye, got in the car, and punched in the address into my iPhone. Estimated drive time approximately seven hours.

The actually driving started off with the usual traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway and the flow easing up as I headed north on the Blue Route. Where I would normally get off to head east however is where my route took a drastic change and I continued north toward Scranton. I was making good time and was slowly climbing further into the mountains when the mandatory coffee refill rest stop beckoned me to come inside. Fresh coffee in hand I resumed traveling and was turning onto I-80 shortly thereafter.

I will say that hearing the GPS say ‘continue on this route for 176 miles’ is a little disconcerting when it first echoes in the car but I had little choice in the matter, I was taking the most direct route. After many miles of cruise control travel winding back and forth between the endless streams of mountains, it was time to make another stop. Fortunately, this highway (no tolls by the way) had plenty of places to pull over and stretch. This is how I wound up in Snow Shoe.

As I had a meeting set up for shortly after my arrival, it made the stop a quick one and pushed through to the end of I-80 before turning north for the final stretch of my journey on I-79. Somehow, despite leaving the apartment later than I would have liked, I arrived in Erie with enough time to check in, put my bags in the room (I lucked out on Thursday night by booking the last available room at the Sheraton), and head down to the patio for the work meeting. During this get together, arranged back in March when we were all in Atlanta, we went over a lot of point, took some additional steps regarding working together moving forward, and also got to know a little bit more about each other beyond work. It was a great meeting that I am glad that we arranged while I happened to be in town.

Obviously, that meeting wasn’t the impetus for the trip. The reason I traveled all the way across the commonwealth was for the Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania which would be happening the following morning. These are the kind of meetings that I highly recommend brothers attend if they are able, especially when they are held a bit further from where they live. Within a few minutes of my meeting coming to an end and while I was on the phone with my wife, the District Deputy Grand Master noticed that I was sitting outside and invited me to join him and the other Grand Lodge officers and their families for dinner upstairs.

Here was the view I had out the back of the hotel before heading to dinner.

Well, I wasn’t about to turn down such an excellent offer so as soon as I signed the check and finished the conversation with my wife, I made my was upstairs and joined him for an excellent meal. This was only the beginning of the evening as, after an excellent discussion about all that is going on in the district and at my lodge (as well as answering a plethora of questions I have been meaning to ask) I was invited across the hall to the cocktail reception. So that is where our discussion continued and eventually concluded later in the evening.

While I had planned on simply making the trip to attend the meeting on Saturday morning, the day turned out to be much more than that. This entire evening was as welcoming and friendly as any meeting I have been to since becoming a mason. It truly was a family celebration during which all brothers joined together to enjoy a great weekend of fellowship and freemasonry. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience and one that I look forward to having again next year (hopefully with my wife).