Wedding, Tick Tocks, and Storm Chasing

On Saturday I ventured up to Sayre to meet up with my brother. His roommate was getting married at the Calvary Baptist Church, and Nick kindly invited me to attend. In typical Muth style, we arrived at the church with five minutes to spare, parking in one of my brother's clinical instructors in the process. The ceremony was beautiful and I particularly liked how Pastor Kurt stated that love was first a decision, then a commitment, and then an emotion. After the ceremony we chatted with the bride and groom, along with the other members of the family. Being Nick's sister makes talking to people a lot easier because everybody thinks he is fantastic and want to get to know me because of that. We chatted with the Day's about their recent trip to England while we waited to see the newlyweds off.
The reception was held at Pine Cradle Lake. The route was lined with green helium balloons that my brother, Chip, and a few others had put up that morning. Nick of course still had the helium tank in his trunk to prove it. Since we were early, I sat outside and read a bit from Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and watched the caterers roast the pig for the reception. Nick and I sat at a table with one of his co-workers and Chip's former roommate. We chatted about comedians among other topics. I spent the evening enjoying the food, slice of cake, avoiding the bouquet, and dancing. It was definitely a great evening!
Last night I decided to have a beer, along with chips and salsa at Tick Tocks in Honesdale. Some of you may think that going back to the town isn't really worth counting as travel, but in typical Kayla style, I ran into some interesting individuals. As I was paying my check, a man in his 60s came over to me asking if I wanted to join he and his friend because a "beautiful girl shouldn't be sitting alone." I wasn't going to agree, but then he asked if I liked Jeopardy, so I opted to stay and chat. Little did I know that this chat would last an hour, but I really enjoyed myself. The man who invited me over was named Rich and apparently is a retired firefighter and police officer from the Bronx. He bought me a glass of cabernet and toasted me saying, "Here's to you kid." Any evening is complete with a reference to Casablanca! I met his friend Clinton, who apparently is the new owner of The Fireside. He was born in Brooklyn, but now lives in Tyler Hill. They were joking that the people with money are smart enough to live up on a hill as opposed to down by the river. Rich apparently enjoys kayaking and kayaks the Delaware River and the East River. I jokingly said I hoped that he hadn't come across any bodies, and of course he said that when he was at the beach once, he saw one floating for the lifeguards to retrieve. Clinton left, but Rich and I continued to chat. He apparently retired a year before the World Trade Center attack, but since he used to be a chief in Lower Manhattan, he knew 34 men that died that day, which led to alcoholism that he has since gotten under control. He said that his former driver on the squad left his wallet and keys behind because he assumed he wouldn't survive that day. This encounter taught me to always take the time to talk with my elders because they always have intriguing stories to share.
Today on my way home from work I could tell I was driving into a really bad storm. I actually felt more like a storm chaser than anything else. It wasn't nearly as bad as the weather I encountered in Denver two summers ago, but it was still crazy nonetheless. The skies blackened quickly, and the cloud formations were cone-like at times. Soon the pouring rain began and was almost blinding in spots. I could also see flashes of lightning in the distance up in Stroudsburg. Thankfully I made it home safely and in time for the season finale of NCIS.

Sayre: The Blackhole of the Universe

Today I woke up to a voicemail from my brother saying, "Good morning! I've had coffee and chocolate covered espresso beans so I'm wide awake!" Or at least something to that effect. So I called him back and after a brief discussion, I decided to drive up to the blackhole of the universe to spend the day with Nick.

The drive was quite interesting because of the extreme wind gusts that I kept encountering. It was another one of those days that if I wore baggie clothes outside, I would most likely float away. Due to the wind, I had to keep a firm grip on the wheel so I didn't veer sideways, and I had to be on alert for other vehicles that were not as good at maintaining control along the highway. I stopped for gas in Gouldsboro, which might seem dull until you realize the name of the station is "On the Run." I was highly amused by this, of course.
I continued on north and soon found myself traveling along the Southern Tier Expressway. Exits off the stretch I was on led to Appalachin, which is where the FBI busted the mob years ago, and Tioga Downs. I thought it was quite sad to see the parking lot packed full of cars on a Monday. Is there seriously nothing better to do but gamble in these parts? Well I guess that's better than running a meth lab, but still, some need to find a better way to fill their days.

I finally made it to Sayre around 1pm and took a little tour of town before going to Nick's house. I ventured past the Guthrie clinic, the movie theater, and Son's of Italy lodge, along with the local bakery. Once I met up with Nick, we ventured to Elmira for lunch at Olive Garden. I was greatly amused by the names of the towns on the exit signs, such as Jerusalem Hills and Horseheads. We got to Olive Garden a little before 2pm and we had a very pleasant waitress who throughly enjoyed our humor. I ate numerous breadsticks and some ravioli for lunch, while Nick had the parmesan crusted steak. After meeting with a customer in Elmira, Nick's roommate also joined us for lunch. He was sharing a bit about his wedding plans, along with work.

After talking for about an hour, we parted ways. Nick and I headed back to Sayre, but detoured to Athens so that he could show me the parsonage connected to the church he goes to because that's where he plans on moving in May. On our drive, we went through a yellow light, which again might seem uneventful, but Nick referred to it as "squeezing the lemon" and I found this hilarious. As we got closer to the parsonage, the roads became hard-packed dirt. We came across a woman and a large bird, which prompted Nick to say, "Welcome to the country where we walk our birds." I enjoyed the tour of the parsonage and got a peek inside the church as well. We soon made our way back to Sayre and I decided to move on to my parents house for dinner. All in all, it was a very good day, and lots of fun.