A Road Trip

Google said it would take me 7.5 hours to get from Tennessee to Lancaster, PA so I decided I could drive up Friday, watch my granddaughter, Miss Sway, compete in a gymnastics meet on Saturday, return home right after the meet and I would be in time on Sunday to take care of serving breakfast to guests at the Iron Mountain Inn where I am the Innkeeper.

After making arrangements to have my assistant come, lay a trail of red rose petals to the guest's room and prepare breakfast the next morning, I contacted the guest and explained the situation.  He was most gracious and said he looked forward to seeing me on Sunday.

I packed a toothbrush and change of underwear and headed north via I-81 through the Shenandoah Valley (bit of a boring drive), through West Virginia, then Maryland and finally into Pennsylvania.  A right turn at exit 59 onto 581 about an hour from the Marriott Hotel and convention center where the Red Rose Invitational meet was to be held..

I left home at 8:30 expecting to be in Lancaster and the hotel by 4:00.  But something went wrong…either I misread Google’s directions and time, or Google can’t map. Of course, we all know Google has the best maps in the world, but the time of a trip…hummm.

Anyway, I finally arrived at the Iron Hill Brewing Company restaurant just across from Franklin and Marshall College at 6:30 in time to meet my daughter and granddaughter for dinner.

I understand there are dorms above the brewery!  Now wouldn’t that be a good place to live during your college years!  I did have to stop and ask a mounted policeman for the final 10 minutes drive since my TomTom confused me…not for the first time! And I’d given up on Google.

A lovely dinner of mussels (which we don’t serve often in the mountains of East Tennessee), checking out various cell phones (do I want an Iphone 4 or 5) and generally catching up. 

Although there was a pool at the hotel, no swimming before a meet!  So it would just have to wait until after the meet the next afternoon. Then it was time for an early bedtime for one and all to be rested for the meet the next day.

Preparing Miss Sway's very long hair for the competition is quite a procedure!  Luckily her mom is a hairdresser so is prepared with lots of hair pins, hair spray and the skills needed to wind three thick strands of hair into a beautiful bun on back of Sway's head.  A hair net and scrunchy finished the job.  Then it was time to put on the competition leotard and head down to breakfast.  Be CAREFUL not to spill anything on the leo!

Meeting some other team members a lively start to the day helped calm any nerves which might be setting up butterflies.  The meet started at noon, but the team members were due at warmup by 11:15.  Running, stretching, finalizing skills - then the meet began.  Uneven bars were the first event and Sway did a fabulous routine - one of the best she has ever one!  What a great way to start!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=522047504512403&set=a.422495281134293.111124.124045604312597&type=1&theater

To be continued