> I'm assuming our Holiday Inn room won't have an internet kiosk in it, so the next opportunity I'll have to get on-line will be Saturday night at my mother-in-law's house. Talk at you then!

We kicked interstate butt on Friday. We pulled out of our driveway at approximately 8am, and after a quick stop at the supermarket for stuff they were all out of, we got onto the highway around 8:20.

Despite getting an inch or so of snow the night before, the roads were in very good condition and we made good time. Our first stop was a little after 11:00 near Ashland, Ohio, at Grandpa's Cheese Barn.

[explanatory note]: Our first visit to the Cheesebarn came just after the RinkUnion 2. We had passed several signs for the place on our trip out, and resolved to check it out on the way home. Check it out we did, and decided that since cheese rules, a barn dedicated to cheese and cheese-related stuff is the ultimate is cheese rule-dom, and so we will be stopping there every time we make the trip to New England. Check out my first review of Grandpa's Cheesebarn in the middle of this post: http://www.rinkworks.com/rinkforum/view.cgi?post=39497

Our new route worked out very well. We crossed over into Pennsylvania sometime between noon and 1:00. Up until then, we had seen no bad weather, just lots of snow already on the ground and in the trees, and the roads were a little wet. But in PA it started to snow a little.

FIRST ANNOYING THING THAT HAPPENED: we had to stop for gas before we made it all the way to DuBois, where we spent the night. I don't remember what time it was, or what town it was near, but we pulled into a Citgo station. It was snowing lightly. Normally I like to pay for my gas at the pump, so I can just pump it and go. But this ancient Citgo station didn't have card readers at the pump, necessitating that I go inside to pay.

Going inside the station and finding no one at the counter raised the first red flags. I looked around and there was nobody there but a young man who appeared to be looking for a soda. Then he noticed that I was waiting expectantly at the counter, mumbled something, and meandered back behind the counter.

So I gave him my credit card, and he ran it through the reader. I took my card back, put it in my wallet, and picked up a pen, expecting to sign my name to the receipt and be on my way in moments. Then the phone rang, and the guy answered it. After a short conversation, he mumbled something and went outside, leaving meving me standing there. A couple minutes later, he came back in, mumbled something about the police and not having a light (?). Then the attendant began to stare at the card reader. I stared at him. He stared at the card reader. I waited. He waited. Finally after a minute or two, he mumbled something about problems with the machine. I caught something that sounded like "fifteen minutes."

After about three or four minutes, he asked for my card again. I gave it to him, trying not to look exasperated. Looking out the window, I noticed that the snowfall was becoming heavier. He ran the card through the reader again a couple more times, but nothing happened. He looked the back of my card, and again at the reader. Nothing happened. The young man mumbled something that sounded like "sorry."

Another customer came up behind me. He had cash, so lucky for him, he was able to pay immediately and leave. I remained behind, watching out the window as the snow continued to come down thicker and thicker, and wondering if my wife was wondering what had become of me.

Meanwhile, the dude behind the counter was looking at the back of my card some more, and then at the bottom of the card reader. He tried unplugging it and plugging it back in a couple times. Finally, as I began to show signs of impatience, and as several other customers began lining up behind me, he got on the phone with the credit card people, mumbling about how the machine wasn't working right and stuff.

Well, it seems my information did go through, but it never did print a receipt, and I never did sign anything. I suppose I'll have to keep a closer eye on my statements for a while to make sure there's no funny business going on.

After that, the trip went smoothly, and we arrived at our hotel at 3:00 on the dot, which was perfect since we couldn't check in any earlier than that anyway.

I was surprised how quickly we made it there. All told, it took seven hours, and that included probably an hour in breaks.

Gri"on to today"shny