As I was trying to think about how to start this blog, all I had running through my head was that memorable scene from The Wedding Singer where Jon Lovitz is crooning this tune. There’s relevancy there I swear, but it’s so ambiguous and skewed I don’t think I could explain it if I tried. Haha.
For a few weeks now, Jeff and I have planned a boys’ weekend. Truthfully, I can’t tell you the last time we’ve had a boy’s weekend as it seems like it’s been forever and ever. When the opportunity arose, I had to make the absolute most out of it. The boys’ weekend was to span a little over two days – starting upon my arrival into State College Friday night.
So we’ll start with the drive down and my love affair with Sheetz. Haha.
I wasn’t smart enough to ask to leave work early, so that meant I’d be leaving around 5:30ish – with an estimated time of arrival at Jeff’s front door around 9pm. Now that I think of it, it probably would be a little after that, as there was a stop in Ridgeway that I’d have to make - and believe me - I’d have to make it! For those who don’t know, I have an unnatural adoration with Sheetz. Usually when I tell people this, the first question is: “What the hell is a Sheetz?!?”
Sheetz is like a bastion of convenience, littered about portions of northern and central Pennsylvania. It’s as though this company has found a way to capture magnificence, cut it up, and sell it in bite-sized portions for my euphoric consumption. Alright, so maybe that’s a little much…but let me tell you, this place is pretty freakin’ sweet. They make all food to order, and if you like playing with touch screens as much as I do when ordering a bevy of tasty treats, it’s not just ordering a meal. It’s one-step away from a video game.
I digress.
In Ridgeway, besides some historic stuff and a bizarre plethora of runaway truck ramps, there’s a Sheetz convenience store. A one stop shop for gas, shmagels, shmiscuits, shmuffins and any other foodstuffs you can add a “sh” prefix to. You’d think after several years of frequenting this establishment, the novelty would have worn off - - sadly - - it has not. Ridgeway Sheetz is the first Sheetz I pass on my way to Jeff’s. Hence, it is a required stop on my way south for gas, food, drinks and the general delight I absorb from its Sheetzy ambiance.
When I got to Sheetz, I realized I wasn’t very hungry. I had to get gas anyway, and decided that I couldn’t not get something - so I ended up nabbing something easy, yet delicious. A small cup of Sheetz fries and a diet cherry Pepsi. A dinner of champions indeed. With the obligatory Sheetz stop behind me, I made the rest of the journey to State College without anything blog-worthy to report.
I wandered in Jeff’s front door to find him playing Rock Band. We performed the ceremonious “Guy Hug” ritual, and then started talking about our weekend adventure. At some point we realized that Jeff was sitting on a zero day, and since I had spent the last four hours driving around, I was a little antsy in my pantsy and wanted to stretch my legs. Even though it was the 9pm hour, we decided to check out a few local caches that Jeff had yet to find. I think the reason this was such an agreeable idea, was that it was a beautiful night out. The sky was partially overcast and there was a chill in the air – but for me it was perfect weather for a nice hike. Jeff decided on the following two caches:
You’ve Got Mail was located near the confluence of a bike path and rails to trails – just a short jaunt from where we parked. One of the things I learned very early on when I started caching with Jeff, is that he’s not one to take the road more traveled. In fact, he prefers to mow his own path - throwing practicality and sensibility to the wind. For the spectator, this would be a very entertaining thing to behold. However, for those of us that follow him, it’s equitable to wading across the brink of Niagara Falls to get to the other side – while everyone else uses the footbridge.
Such was the case with You’ve Got Mail. Flashlights in hand, we approached our zero. There we found a massive dirt mountain standing between the top and us, where presumably the cache was hidden. Once Jeff’s nose is in the GPS, not much will stop him – so scaling the dirty muddy hill we went. Summiting Mount Mud, we learned that if we had just parked behind a nearby hotel, the walk would have been short, flat and much less dirty. Oh Jeff…..
Anyway, we made our way to the end of the mountain and there we found a mailbox – inside of which was the cache. This is something I’ve seen done before, but I think it’s a cute idea so – it makes me smile. We signed in, and back down the dang hill we went!
Our second and final stop for the night would be Cross-Eyed Cache. This cache was hidden down the rails the trails we had passed on the way in to climb Everest. I don’t remember exactly – but I believe the cache was a mile hike one way. The roundtrip hike for this cache would become one of my favorite highlights from our weekend. There was just enough light in the night so we could keep track of the trail – so to conserve batteries we turned off the flashlights. We spent every step of the two-mile roundtrip chatting about life, caching and all the little stuff you need to catch up with when you spend quality bonding time with your best friend. It was great, and honestly, I probably would have kept walking just because.
Eventually we arrived at the cache sight, and Jeff immediately found the cache. We did our administrative duties, and headed on back down the trail. I had a great time making this hike, and when we finally did return to the truck, I was extremely pleased. I couldn’t think of any better way to kick off this weekend than the adventure we had just completed!
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