April 14, 15 - Lancaster
By Chris Ransdell
Tuesday started off not with a drive to Lancaster but with a drive to Newfoundland PA. One of the jobs that Brian is being considered for is up there (Newfoundland is vaguely near Scranton). We thought it would be good to be able to say that he'd been there (since it's a little remote and they may question if somebody was prepared to live and work there) and also to determine if WE thought we could live there. The drive was scenic, through the Poconos and along various waterways on little roads. It was not a fast drive at any point. There were quite a few abandoned houses and even a few big resorts that have been abandoned years ago which you don't see on the West coast ever. We had to drive back and forth a few times around Newfoundland to find the correct office where he would probably work. The job would be a good resume builder for Brian and would use both his HR and his mental health backgrounds so I think it's a special opportunity.
After scouting all that out we headed to lunch at a cute seasonal ice cream shop/diner, Angell's Dairy Bar. Once again, somebody who looked pretty indifferent and maybe even cold turned out to be very friendly once I engaged her in conversation. Newfoundland is very small but I was hopeful/delusional that there might be some luxury apartment complex tucked off the main road somewhere. Since I was trying to play it cool, I just asked if there were ANY apartment complexes nearby. She half choked and half laughed and said, in a self deprecating way, that there was nothing like that nearby. Later though she came back with an area map and pointed out that Scranton (or as she said Scranton and all the stuff around it that all blends together) was a relatively easy commute and pointed to a few little towns that were big enough to probably have apartments. She also suggested looking at the Multiple Listing Service website and searching for rentals in a radius search around Newfoundland, which she had done in the past for family members. So it turned out she was not only friendly but also pretty savvy on how to get things done.
I am intrigued by the idea of living in a very small town. In my imagination I would take up a raft of new rural hobbies (gardening and woodworking etc) and really enjoy the change of pace. I know (and Brian said) we would need to get to someplace more lively at least once a month and I'm sure that would be the case but I feel the need to do just the opposite when I live in a city so I don't see that as a bad sign. Thursday is his phone interview for that job so we'll see if that goes anywhere. Hopefully they appreciate that we took the time to scout the place out as it was a major diversion to an area that we otherwise aren't focusing on.
From Newfoundland to Lancaster was a mix of conditions. Following PA-191 through NUMEROUS intersections through various small towns was a little tedious. One very near collision where an auto parts truck started to pull out of a driveway with a parked vehicle blocking vision then stopped (which to me meant he saw me coming on the street) and then he came lurching out as we were going by him. I swerved very precisely as far out into the oncoming lane (which was empty) as he had lurched out into my lane and he stopped just in time. The whole thing was about 5 seconds from first seeing him to being past him but it was genuinely scary though and my legs were shaking when we stopped for a pee (!) afterwards. There were a few sections of a few miles each with truthful signs saying to watch for stopped vehicles on US-222 where semi truck after semi truck after passenger vehicle stack up waiting for far distant signals to change and clear. It was pretty tortured for about 20 minutes but then around Reading US 222 transformed into a beautiful expressway with a 65 MPH speed limit and the last 30 miles were so fast and smooth they almost made up for the middle 30.
The Best Western Premiere in Lancaster is by far the most elaborate Best Western I've ever been to. It has a Hyatt like atrium with water features and 3 restaurants and multiple pools and many room types. I booked a 'Penthouse' for us which is really a townhouse type thing. We love it. They are in 3 story apartment style buildings outside the main hotel. The ground floor of ours is just a staircase going up. The second floor has a full, lovely kitchen and a living room with a fancy portable sound system, big TV, 2 easy chairs with hassocks, a couch or love seat, a full bathroom and, a first for me, an HP OfficeJet printer/fax machine which we have used. It seems like there are 2 or 3 of everything you could possibly want. The third floor is a jetted tub, bed and half bath. Everything is very plush and it feels more like a well to do friend's condo than a hotel. Does this come in a monthly plan? :) I even made dinner last night which saved a few bucks. Pasta/chicken all in one skillet frozen thing and pepperoni/cheese roll with crackers and wine. Oh and a caramel chocolate/toffee cheese cake for desert.
As I write this Brian is at his interview near Allentown. I've gotten a few hours of work in already though there isn't a ton of obvious work to do at the moment. Tonight we head to Harrisburg to have dinner with Brian's friend David whose apartment and cat we will be spending time with (while David travels) for 4 nights. David came to Portland once so it will be nice to build on that friendship.
Brian here...the interview went really well as far as I can tell. It is an HR Supervisor position at Uline. I really liked the Manager and the general feel of the place. And it's close enough that we could live in the Bethlehem apartment. I also had a phone interview for the HR Director position at Devereux in Newfoundland and that went well. I will be going for a face-to-face interview Monday at 11 a.m. I hope to hear from the Uline one Friday as right now that is my preference, especially for a place to live. But both are great opportunities!
Tuesday started off not with a drive to Lancaster but with a drive to Newfoundland PA. One of the jobs that Brian is being considered for is up there (Newfoundland is vaguely near Scranton). We thought it would be good to be able to say that he'd been there (since it's a little remote and they may question if somebody was prepared to live and work there) and also to determine if WE thought we could live there. The drive was scenic, through the Poconos and along various waterways on little roads. It was not a fast drive at any point. There were quite a few abandoned houses and even a few big resorts that have been abandoned years ago which you don't see on the West coast ever. We had to drive back and forth a few times around Newfoundland to find the correct office where he would probably work. The job would be a good resume builder for Brian and would use both his HR and his mental health backgrounds so I think it's a special opportunity.
After scouting all that out we headed to lunch at a cute seasonal ice cream shop/diner, Angell's Dairy Bar. Once again, somebody who looked pretty indifferent and maybe even cold turned out to be very friendly once I engaged her in conversation. Newfoundland is very small but I was hopeful/delusional that there might be some luxury apartment complex tucked off the main road somewhere. Since I was trying to play it cool, I just asked if there were ANY apartment complexes nearby. She half choked and half laughed and said, in a self deprecating way, that there was nothing like that nearby. Later though she came back with an area map and pointed out that Scranton (or as she said Scranton and all the stuff around it that all blends together) was a relatively easy commute and pointed to a few little towns that were big enough to probably have apartments. She also suggested looking at the Multiple Listing Service website and searching for rentals in a radius search around Newfoundland, which she had done in the past for family members. So it turned out she was not only friendly but also pretty savvy on how to get things done.
I am intrigued by the idea of living in a very small town. In my imagination I would take up a raft of new rural hobbies (gardening and woodworking etc) and really enjoy the change of pace. I know (and Brian said) we would need to get to someplace more lively at least once a month and I'm sure that would be the case but I feel the need to do just the opposite when I live in a city so I don't see that as a bad sign. Thursday is his phone interview for that job so we'll see if that goes anywhere. Hopefully they appreciate that we took the time to scout the place out as it was a major diversion to an area that we otherwise aren't focusing on.
From Newfoundland to Lancaster was a mix of conditions. Following PA-191 through NUMEROUS intersections through various small towns was a little tedious. One very near collision where an auto parts truck started to pull out of a driveway with a parked vehicle blocking vision then stopped (which to me meant he saw me coming on the street) and then he came lurching out as we were going by him. I swerved very precisely as far out into the oncoming lane (which was empty) as he had lurched out into my lane and he stopped just in time. The whole thing was about 5 seconds from first seeing him to being past him but it was genuinely scary though and my legs were shaking when we stopped for a pee (!) afterwards. There were a few sections of a few miles each with truthful signs saying to watch for stopped vehicles on US-222 where semi truck after semi truck after passenger vehicle stack up waiting for far distant signals to change and clear. It was pretty tortured for about 20 minutes but then around Reading US 222 transformed into a beautiful expressway with a 65 MPH speed limit and the last 30 miles were so fast and smooth they almost made up for the middle 30.
The Best Western Premiere in Lancaster is by far the most elaborate Best Western I've ever been to. It has a Hyatt like atrium with water features and 3 restaurants and multiple pools and many room types. I booked a 'Penthouse' for us which is really a townhouse type thing. We love it. They are in 3 story apartment style buildings outside the main hotel. The ground floor of ours is just a staircase going up. The second floor has a full, lovely kitchen and a living room with a fancy portable sound system, big TV, 2 easy chairs with hassocks, a couch or love seat, a full bathroom and, a first for me, an HP OfficeJet printer/fax machine which we have used. It seems like there are 2 or 3 of everything you could possibly want. The third floor is a jetted tub, bed and half bath. Everything is very plush and it feels more like a well to do friend's condo than a hotel. Does this come in a monthly plan? :) I even made dinner last night which saved a few bucks. Pasta/chicken all in one skillet frozen thing and pepperoni/cheese roll with crackers and wine. Oh and a caramel chocolate/toffee cheese cake for desert.
As I write this Brian is at his interview near Allentown. I've gotten a few hours of work in already though there isn't a ton of obvious work to do at the moment. Tonight we head to Harrisburg to have dinner with Brian's friend David whose apartment and cat we will be spending time with (while David travels) for 4 nights. David came to Portland once so it will be nice to build on that friendship.
Brian here...the interview went really well as far as I can tell. It is an HR Supervisor position at Uline. I really liked the Manager and the general feel of the place. And it's close enough that we could live in the Bethlehem apartment. I also had a phone interview for the HR Director position at Devereux in Newfoundland and that went well. I will be going for a face-to-face interview Monday at 11 a.m. I hope to hear from the Uline one Friday as right now that is my preference, especially for a place to live. But both are great opportunities!
Love all the details you add, Chris. Keep posting all the adventures & observations =) Good luck on the potential job Uncle B <3 xoxo
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