Stef vs Nor'easter: My Trip to Pennsylvania

My recent trip to Pennsylvania began with a slightly rocky start. Luckily, everything went uphill from there and resulted in a great trip to a place I had never been, to visit an equally great guy.

Snow!

I made the trip to visit my boyfriend and see where he lived and worked. At the same time, this trip would afford me the chance to meet his parents and oldest friends. Initially, there were plans to sight-see throughout the Lehigh Valley area, visit Philadelphia and possibly New York (Staten Island). But, even with the best laid plans and all that jazz, a snow storm--in March--put a halt to things.

It all started with a cancelled flight. Originally, I was to fly into Allentown, PA (with a layover in Chicago). On the morning of my flight, in the airport shuttle, I received a notification that my second flight had been cancelled. I arrived at the airport and was taken to the customer service desk. After a search for another flight, my options were looking dismal and involved a red eye flight to Newark. I called my boyfriend (waking him from slumber) in the early morning hours and asked for advice. We worked our way through the options and as a last result, he suggested Scranton, PA. It wound up being available for the same arrival time and still through Chicago. This, of course, meant that he had to drive an hour to Scranton in order to pick me up, but at least it wasn't from Newark, with a day of delay, and during a snowstorm.

People were either trying to beat the storm as I was, or escaping it. Luckily with the new flight plans, I managed to stay one step ahead of the storm the entire way before it hit in full force the next day. 14 inches of snow later, I shoveled snow for the first time. It was exhausting but fun and I would gladly do it again, trading desert summers for East Coast winters in a heartbeat. People always call me crazy when I make that statement, but I know I was not made for the blistering heat of Arizona. I was made for the cold!

The calm after the storm.

Shoveled sidewalk.

The snow and the act of shoveling it for a good portion of the day, resulted in a very lazy subsequent day. It was spent on the couch watching movies and the season one DVD box set of Supernatural. The roads were only slightly better the next day when we ventured out to have dinner with Jason's father (his mother was away on a trip at the time). Afterwards, there was another movie and more Supernatural (it's a favorite of mine and he was nice enough to indulge me with starting the show from the beginning). The next couple days involved much of the same except for venturing out further to a couple shopping centers to wander around, have lunch and get steps in. I recently bought a Fitbit, so a large portion of the week involved a lot of walking around the house (many times) to reach my daily step goal and stay active as much as the weather and vacation laziness would allow.

Me and Jason.

The start of the weekend was marked by a Skype call with Canadian friends; for their podcast, "How Was Your Week, Honey?" Both of us were on with Chris and Kristin, a lovely married couple we met through podcasting, who asked us to discuss the "origin story" of our relationship and the week we'd had thus far. It was a lot of fun and we had great conversations, but the whole thing wound up going so long that we didn't end with them until 3:00 am. The podcast was released in two parts, which can be found here and here. With how long we were chatting, naturally the first day of the weekend was spent in a lazy fashion once again.

We did make up for the laziness with a trip back to Scranton. This time to visit Chris and Zapata, two long time friends who conveniently lived a couple blocks apart from each other. We spent time with Chris and his family, learning a lot of interesting things about the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild video game, and chatting in their home. After that we picked Zapata up at his place and went out for lunch at a local diner. It was an enjoyable time meeting Jason's friends and also getting to learn some new things about him. The day ended with dinner at his parents’ house where I was finally able to meet his mom in person. We had a delicious meal, great conversation, and finished the evening with a movie: The Big Chill.

Me in front of the Steel Stacks.

Steel Stacks at night.

We packed the most activities into the last two days. The first of which was spent visiting the Steel Stacks (an old steel manufacturing facility which now holds events and festivals), the Sands Casino Resort and mall, a flea market, and a bowling alley. Then on the day I was flying out, we had lunch with Jason's mom after a quick tour of the workplace so I could meet his co-workers and boss. Afterwards, we wandered around to walk off the food and, again, make sure that I got my steps in. A short stop at Coca-Cola Park (the baseball field where the local team the Iron Pigs play), rounded out the trip.

The better bowler.

I was made aware, at some point during the trip, that the first leg of my return (Allentown to Newark) would not be by plane but by a United Bus. I'd never heard of such a thing, but was reassured that it would be a simple process by Jason's mother, who had taken the bus before. It did end up being very simple, but I had not realized that I would not be going through security at Allentown so we had a lot of time to kill. This wasn't a bad thing and I think it did help to make the goodbyes a bit easier. The hour and a half long bus ride felt like no time at all and I arrived with an hour to spare before my flight boarded. This was a good thing, because the line to get through security was super long, but it moved swift enough. Then it was a five hour flight back to Phoenix from Newark. Another good thing to note: my seat was upgraded for free at the gate to an economy plus seat. They were moving people around and they put me in an emergency exit row, but this meant more leg room so I wasn't complaining.

All in all, it was a great trip that could have started out poorly but luckily didn't and allowed me to spend an enjoyable week with Jason. I can honestly recommend the Lehigh Valley area to anyone looking to visiting this charming and historically rich area. As I was told during my stay, Lehigh Valley is the third largest metropolitan in Pennsylvania (comprised of Allentown, Easton, and Bethlehem), behind Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. I only saw a small portion of Bethlehem and Allentown. So if you're ever in the area, do go and explore.

Steel Stacks

Spring into April: Tips to Help Prepare for Spring

It's that time of year again. The birds are chirping and the flowers are blooming. Spring is in the air and it's time to put winter in the rear-view mirror. 

There are a lot of things that happen or can happen, maybe even should happen when Spring rolls around. Some of them halted by the cold weather of winter or due to changing priorities. Whatever the reason for changing habits over to more appropriate winter ones, once the days start to get longer it's time to embrace the vernal equinox again.

So here are five tips to help you do just that.

1) De-clutter

There's just something about winter that justifies a burrowing mentality. You tend to collect things, or receive things(Christmas, Hanukkah, etc) and not necessarily put those things away. It's ok, you can admit it, a little bit of laziness is a part of the turf when it comes to winter. 

Those books you have piled on top of your desk, the mail in a stack right beside the books, the jackets and scarfs hung over chairs. It's time for those things to go. 

You don't want to open the blinds or curtains and throw open the windows to let in that spring sunshine and fresh air, only for it to highlight the clutter that is EVERYWHERE. 

Hang up the scarfs, put the books away on a shelf and shred all that excess mail that you don't need anymore. It will make it all the more easier to dust and use that desk for what is was intended to be used.

2) Change Up the Wardrobe

You've put away the scarfs and gloves, but don't stop there. 

I tend to move my clothes around twice a year, in the winter and the spring. When it begins to get cold outside, I will dig out the jackets, sweaters and long sleeve shirts. They will all be moved to the side of the closet closer to the door; it's all about the ease of access.

Therefore, logic dictates, I do it all again when the weather begins to get warmer. This time with the t-shirts, tank tops, and blouses.

This isn't a must, but I don't have a huge closet. So if I can shove clothes I won't need for months off to one side, and only use one door, I will.

3) Get Outside

With warm weather comes outdoor activities. Don't waste any time to stretch out those muscles that may not have gotten as much attention during those winter months as they could have. 

Pick back up with hobbies you like to do outside or find new ones. The options really are endless. You can go for picnics or walks through the park. Head to the local zoo or an outdoor shopping area. 

Go rediscover those places you frequented the last time the weather was great, and maybe add a few new places to that list while you're at it.

4) Fight Allergies

Now if you're like me, Spring is not always the kindest to allergy sufferers. I live in a dusty and dry desert climate, so I'm no stranger to allergies through out the year. But they tend to seem a little worse once March and April roll around. 

There's no way to avoid blooming flowers and pollen in the springtime. It's nice to see blossoming trees and wild flowers growing in the woods. It's a pretty sight to behold after the empty, dead look that trees and plants were afforded by Winter.

So if you have allergies, don't let that stop you from enjoying the outdoors and the fantastic weather. There are a lot of great products out there to help stave off the effects of pollen and those other silly allergens.

5) Unruly Weather Alternatives

Drip drop drip. Little April showers.

Living in Arizona, our rainy days tend to be few and far between. Unless it's July and August(the monsoon season), that's when we see the majority of our rain for the year.

But for those of you who live in more humid climates, Spring often brings rain with it. So while you would prefer to be done with dreary cloudy days, use these days to your advantage as well. I for one love dreary cloudy days(and not just because I live in a desert and it's a rare break from the at times harsh sun), because it always tends to put me in the right mood for reading. 

I love reading books, to the point where the lack of space on my shelves has not stopped me from buying more. But now a days, you don't have to limit yourself to books. It's just as easy to curl up with an e-reader or tablet and wile away the rainy hours with a great story. 

Of course, what kind of blogger would I be if I didn't also recommend reading blogs as well, if you're not in the mood for a novel. There are so many different blogs out there, with varied topics for you to read. You obviously found this one, or have been a faithful reader for a while(welcome to the new folks and thank you all for reading). 

But don't be shy, branch out and subscribe to more blogs. You are guaranteed to find plenty more that you'll be interested in. I actually was recently made aware of a blog from iRazoo. They are an online survey company where you can take surveys to earn points which you can then redeem for gift cards. Their blog offers tips and advice on a variety of topics including a rundown on how to get the most out of their website. I haven't had the chance to check out their surveys yet, but it does seem interesting and would certainly help pass the time while you're trapped inside by rainy weather.

Some of my current go-to blogs that I would highly recommend are AgentPalmer.com, Honey Bears and Sydney Beans, and the Crimson Circle Club. The first is a geek pop culture blog with fun content and honest spoiler-free reviews of books, music, TV shows and movies. The second is a family blog by a lovely Canadian who uses her blog to share her experiences as a wife and busy mom of two girls. The last is a blog written by a group of women dealing with subject matter ranging from dog walking to thought provoking discussion topics.

So there you have it. Some tips to help you usher in the Spring. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a book to enjoy on the patio.