Tomorrow is Another Day

 I am currently in Wheeling, WV, after spending three lovely days and nights in New York City. NYC is one of my favorite places in the world; I come alive in a different way there. Driving there, I knew the trip would be different and I was curious as to how it would be. 

For starters, I stayed in a neighborhood next to Columbia University rather than a hotel near the theatre district. There was no 24/7 hustle and bustle, no glittering lights of Times Square, and while I am sure there were subway stations nearby, I had zero interest in riding them during this pandemic.

Every other time I’ve been to NYC, I have gone to at least two Broadway shows and that was something else that wasn’t even a possibility, sadly. I felt is as such a sense of loss for both –not merely

for me, but for the theatre industry; the people whose livelihoods touch our lives so profoundly. I wondered how they were faring and felt hopeful that at least the writers were still able to vent their creativity—after all, Shakespeare produced a couple of his most memorable plays during the Black Plague!

Instead of riding the subway, going to the main branch of the New York Public Library and eating Nathan hotdogs, I stayed in the neighborhood. There was a dog run right across the street from us in Morningside Park and so that’s where Rubi and I began and ended each day. After her morning meet

and greet with the other dogs there, we would walk the neighborhood, setting out in a different direction each morning. Because New York is on eastern time, we could have a long and leisurely stroll before the day’s meetings began! Of course, that also meant the evenings could stretch out longer with meetings that normally ended at 9 PM, ending at 11! But I adapted.

Driving to Louisville, was like being in a series of Monet autumn paintings; I had heard that the fall foliage on the east coast was stunning but I was not prepared for the beauty of it. Massachusetts, Connecticut, Ohio were all lovely, but it was Pennsylvania who won the crown for Miss Autumn 2020. The reds and oranges and golds all crowded forward as if wanting to make sure I took in all their glory—not vainly, but generously, as if understanding how much I needed the magnificent tonic their presence offered.

To help out, the sun sent diffuse spotlights through the clouds, highlighting the more outstanding examples before mirroring them back herself, as set in a blaze of colors beyond the horizon.

It was a feast for the senses; I was grateful.

Once I landed in Wheeling, the goal was to stay in a parking lot of a casino, back to the car-camping extravaganza. I pulled in, late, around 830 PM and opened up the back of the Cherokee only to be met by the flailed, now dry wings of the screen tent that I had popped in to dry so long ago, on Tuesday. I had no desire to try to create a comfy sleep space for Rubi and me, and it wasn’t going to happen on its own, so I stayed in a cheap, pet-friendly motel.

The day had gone so smoothly, and for some reason, it was a bit of an odyssey, just making this one small change of plans happen! Still, I am now happily ensconced in a real bed, again; a reprieve from the car-camping once more! Tomorrow will also be a hotel night, as I decided to stay in a Motel 6 or its local, pet-friendly equivalent on Saturday nights to make sure my tech is all charged up and ready for Sunday service. But next week holds plenty of car-camping for me. I’m eager to experiment to see if I continue to reduce the clutter and make it comfier for Rubi and me. Onward and upward!!