The Central PA and MD Road Trip

Since I'm going to England this semester, I thought I should make the college rounds at least once this summer. As some of you know, I am planning a visit to the old Moral Conundrum sometime in September, but I might have to cancel that if gas prices keep climbing. Anyways, I left Warren around noon on Friday, the 18th, and drove down to Brice's house in MD. Lisbit was visiting too, and the three of us went out with Brice's homo-erotic friends (to whom he introduced me as Herpes, but what else should we expect?) to see The Dark Knight.

My general disdain for the entire Batman franchise is not a secret, but this movie was fabulous. Go see it! You should also heckle Christian Bale's gruff, "I-might-be-Bob-Dylan's-uncle" falsetto and ask your nearest neighbor why they didn't drill nostril holes into the helmet. Seriously, it's a good question.

The next day we drove out to the train station and commuted into D.C. for the Anon Rally. And, you know, Annoned. Now there's an interesting point: annoned. I wonder if that's a dactyl or an anapest? Probably a ghetto: UH-nont. Damn trochees. Anyways, I'd love to regale you with all of the sordid details, but that would undermine the point of anonymity. I do, however, have this picture:


Needless to say, we had an amazing weekend and there are several things I am never going to forget. Like the Punch-Kisses. Each and every one of them.

I left early on Sunday (incredibly pissed at both of my cohorts) and drove to the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, PA. I haven't seen Cheri since late May, and I haven't worked a show with her in at least two years, so this was a real treat for me. I helped (read: stepped where she stepped and touched nothing) her set up the sound board and microphones, and the helped (read: actually provided some useful service) strike the set. I even got to see a wonderful production of Guys and Dolls for my trouble!

Then we went out to a local diner for an impromptu cast party and returned to the theatre to build for Funny Girl. Unfortunately, it called for periactos and I didn't have my own tools. So, at Cheri's suggestion, I left Bucks County early and drove out to Lititz to see Chrissie.

We sat around, gossiped, goofed off, and did our normal routine of high-energy, low-brow humor before sleeping for a solid 9.5 hours. Catching up on some Z's might have been the highlight of the trip; I was fairly exhausted and sleep-deprived by this point. The next day I offered to take her out for lunch, and she picked an excellent little place called Cafe Chocolat. They serve assorted dark chocolate treats, a full menu of (organic, gourmet, couture, perfectly portioned, international... take your pick) delicious entrees, and a wide variety of teas. If you're ever in or near Lititz, I highly recommend stopping by for a bite. We had a full menu spectrum - specialty drinks, salad, entree, and dessert - for around $20 each and enjoyed every bite.

Later that afternoon we watched (and mocked) Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and just had a good time digesting. I left for Harrisburg around the same time Chrissie left for work, and got to Laura's apartment at 6:30. She has a great location and lots of space, but no furniture. I would love to see what they do with the place in a few more months, I think it will be really nice. We gossiped, giggled, and joined her roommate (another Messiah Alum) and mutual friend in a game of Rock Band. You should see a girl quartet try to play Enter Sandman. Misogyny aside, it's some funny stuff.

Unfortunately I didn't get to see Elise on Tuesday. She had to drive back to Lititz for the day (didn't I just come from there?), so I decided to cut my trip short, save some gas, and just drive home. Now I'm back in Warren with a whole extra day off work all to myself! I think I'll probably spend most of it working on my new story (a venture about which I am particularly excited). It might not have been as relaxing as the beach, but this was definitely an enjoyable road trip. Hopefully it will be enough to bolster me through December...

Here's to hoping!