Scranton PA

 And then there was Scranton..

The drive from Roanoke to Scranton was the longest leg of the trip up... It was a nice drive with lots of good fall scenery... The fall colors progressively got more distinct as I went north, and Pennsylvania trees were more advanced that the ones in Virginia... The Springhill Suites I stayed in there, was much better run than the one in Roanoke, and they really had their act together... They had the plastic covers for the remotes and the place was spick and span clean...  They had a great place to park my bike and plenty of restaurant fliers for Take-Out and Delivery dinner. It was also next to a fairly large strip mall which made  a good place for a morning walk... My new discipline for structuring in a COVID environment includes getting up earlier in the morning and taking a nice walk (after the first cup of coffee)...

It was during this walk that I found some interesting things that are a sign of the times. Of all the stores I walked past the only one that seemed to be prepared for crowds was the wine and liquor store... (6 feet stickers on the sidewalk in front)...   

I guess some businesses are doing better with the new economy than others ;-) There was one general store type business that was putting up Christmas lights, which I took as a sign of optimism... They handled essentials such as winter automobile items and canning supplies...  The most significant thing I noticed was the Starbucks. The time-frame I was waking in should have been prime time Starbucks business time, but there was only one customer and no drive through folks... My thought was that a lot of virtual offices must have virtual coffee pots... 

As you can tell, my morning walks are a good time for reflection and planning for the day...  My next leg of the trip up was going to be through the rest of PA, then western New York (far away from NYC), and then to upper part of Vermont.  Should be a good ride....