Not quite where we wanted to be.

Tonight we are in a motel in Canandaigua, NY, an Econolodge Motel. This is not exactly what we intended. We normally come home from Chicago through the Finger Lakes of upstate New York, and have a little ritual of stopping in Penn Yan, where we (i.e., me, Shirley, Betsey and John) lived back in 1967 when I was a faculty-member at nearby Keuka College. Ellen and I have often eaten at the Seneca Farms stand where there is both food and ice cream, or have had lunch at the Penn Yan Diner. Today, we drove from Wauseon, OH and came along I-80 to near Clarion, PA - pretty much coming back the route we followed coming out back in August. But this time, we realized we would be getting to Penn Yan in the evening, right about supper-time. Since Ellen has made it clear she really doesn't want to drive any more after dark, that meant spending the night in Penn Yan. Which would be fine - except that when I went on line to find a room, the rooms in the entire region were mostly already booked up, and what was left in Penn Yan cost $250 and up! This is crazy! Penn Yan is not a fancy town! I guess the fact that it is a popular resort area - both lakes and wineries - explains some of that, and maybe Friday night is also a popular night. Anyway, we had to scratch Penn Yan. The closest we could come is Canandaigua, which is northwest of Penn Yan by about 16 miles. We did get here just after 7p.m. just after the sun had set. Almost dark but not quite. It's possible we might be able to get breakfast at the Penn Yan Diner - not sure it's open on Saturday. The price here at the Econolodge is not cheap - $120+ taxes and fees - but it's better than $250+ taxes and fees! And the room is nice. No COVID symptoms as of now. I took my temp after we got to the motel, and it was 98.8 - which I guess can be considered normal for evening, though technically it is a very slight fever. I'll take it again in the morning. So, we will arrive home tomorrow, sometime in the afternoon - it is about a six-hour drive from Penn Yan. If we can be finished with breakfast by 10:30a.m., that would be 4:30p.m. We'll see!

The Penn Yan Diner. It is open on Saturday, so maybe we'll get breakfast there.