Woke up initially at 6am... just in time to see the sun rising over the woods near CARP park on the north end of Coudersport, PA. (see photo above)
Took Sabrina for a short walk, and went back to bed. It is amazing how much rest a person can need... and yet, still feel tired.
Did some household chores, and called my mom. My dad is tentatively being transferred from Geisinger Hospital back to the hospital in Coudersport tomorrow.. so he can have a few weeks of rehab before coming home. He still needs surgery to completely repair his should socket, and to remove the large tumor on his clavicle... as well as biopsy his lymph nodes... but that will happen down the road a bit. He has done well with his hip surgery... just had a bugger with complications afterwards. Being almost 77 yrs old... I think he is doing really well.
So... here is the plan. I am going to drive to Geisinger this afternoon; stay overnight.... and come back to Coudersport the next day with all the stuff that my parents have had at the hospital (clothing, etc). Dad is going to be transferred via ambulance. My aunt and uncle are going to be driving from Bradford, PA to Geisinger on Wednesday morning, and will pick up my mom and take her with them to Philadelphia.... where they will be going to my uncle's funeral on Thursday.... and then they will bring her back to Coudersport on Friday.
The Wellsboro Diner.............
UPDATE:
I got to Geisinger just fine. I only made one slightly wrong turn; but figured it out right away and was able to turn around. The highways in PA are actually quite nice... some of the best I have seen in the US.
It took me about 3 hours to get to Geisinger. I stopped in Wellsboro PA to have a cup of coffee and some cream of potato soup (and to take some Tylenol for a pounding headache and fever) at the Wellsboro Diner. It is an old train car, that was converted into a diner, and has been in business since 1939. It is right on Route6... and has a distinctly 1950's feel. There is an attached gift shop as well.
On highway 15 ............
From there... I traveled through several small towns. PA is like that. You get little town after little town... with lots of farm land in between. Rarely... will be a town/city of substantial size..... at least, not in the areas I am traveling in. I saw ice and snow on some rock cliffs, several rivers, a swamp area with tons of Canadian geese....and a few Amish carriages driven by horse.
I was able to visit with my dad, and then my mother and I stayed at the "House of Care" .... a guest house for patients and their families... right next to the hospital. The House of Care is a fabulous place. Really affordable rooms ($15 a night).. kitchens... bathrooms.. laundry area... living areas with a library, fireplace and big TV... all snuggled in a little part of the Geisinger campus surrounded by some nice woods. We had a room in the back... and had an excellent view of trees and grass.
Sunset near Danville, PA