Speaking of blocks of ice, that is exactly what I was a few weeks ago in Punxatawny, Pennsylvania.....that's right....Punxy....home of Phil, the prognosticating groundhog.....I kid you not....
Fade to black......
Last year (2017) Big Sis came to me with one of her crazy ideas...."hey, BP mom...." she says...."Do you want to go to Punxatawny with me next year."
Looking at her as if she was nuts, it took me less than 1 second to say: "sure." And that was it. Sometimes she does not follow up on things, so I figured I was safe.....
However.....
She did follow through, got a hotel room and paid a hefty deposit. Then I forgot about it.
Now it is November 2017, Big Sis says: "Remember,we are going to Punxy. You're in, right?"
Yeah, right. I'm in.....Definitely. Sounds fun. After all, we can go the night before, walk to the stump, watch Phil be pulled from his home, check the impending forecast, then glide done the mountains in the car with heated seats. Not complicated, right?
Wrong....
At Christmas, she mentioned that there was a two day minimum at the hotel so we are to go two days before Phil is unleashed. Ok, two nights and three days in Punxy....this is a movie, right?
As the time came closer, I began to check the weather forecast. It has bee a fairly mild winter, so I figured 30-40's...some frost....hat, coat, gloves....standard groundhog watching attire, won't you say?
The day approached and the weather forecast began to fade from cool breezes to whipping winds, freezing rain, and wind chills below zero. This was definitely not my idea of groundhog watching weather. I began to perspire.....yep....thinking about below zero wind chill factors made me rethink my sanity. But I made a promise and by jingo....I keep them!
And so, we drove through the mountains to Punxy. Dr G was going to meet us there. He had been to the festival before and was ready to go back. This is another story for the future.....so, we drove around the mountains stopping every now and then for food, bathroom, or gas....then we see the signs....
Every Punxatawny sign had a groundhog on it.
100 miles......50 miles.....20 miles....we were getting excited.....10 miles.....2 miles....yipppeee.....
Then we arrive.
Where is Punxy? There were a few stores, old buildings, abandoned store fronts, a side walk, and a few groundhog statues.
Is this it? Where is Bill Murray's quaint town? This place was a ghost town with groundhog statues and tee shirt stores. No hotel.....no diner....no bustling little town....it was sad and somewhat depressing.
We found our hotel outside of town across from a Wal Mart....yep, we had found something to do. Just like West Virginia and part of Ohio, I knew that we had a place to go....
The hotel was modern and did not smell (2 requirements for me). As we checked in, we were handed two vouchers for happy hour at the little 4 seat bar next to the reception desk. I was starting to like this little hotel....free drinks....that's what I am talking about.
After unpacking, Big Sis and I went to happy hour with our vouchers and sat with the television crew from the PA cable network. These guys were pretty nice and we had a great time chatting with them. This was their tenth year covering Phil and our first year, so I had questions.....
BP Mom: "Cable guys....what time should we get to Gobblers Knob (Phil's second home...a one story tree stump located in the woods).
CG: "Most people get there at 3 am for the festivities...."
BPM: "Are you freaking kidding me? It's going to be 40 below tomorrow....3 am? You cannot be serious!"
I needed my head examined....STAT! Where was the closest shrink? Not in Punxy...they don't even have a Dunkin Donuts. Who doesn't have a DD? This is madness! Breathe BPM...breathe!
Then I looked at Big Sis, who was not surprised.
Hey, did you know about this 3 am business? Did you leave a little detail out when casually asking me to go? How about: "Do you want to go with me to Punxy? By the way, we have to be a Gobblers Knob by 3 am?" She left the second sentence out.....
I took a big gulp of my first free drink then asked for my second with my voucher....Back to the cable guys....
BPM: "Fellas.....fellas...men.....really? 3 am? What could we possibly be doing for 4 hours before Phil appears?"
Cable guys: "Well, there is a show that goes on during the night. It's pretty good."
Again, trying to sugar coat my lack of wanting to pull myself out of bed in the middle of the night in subzero temperatures, I could not think of one person that I would make this acceptable to me.
Billy Joel? Nope
Elton John? Nope
Jon Bon Jovi? Maybe
Bruce Springsteen? Getting warmer....
Michael Buble? Absolutely not!
Again, I was feeling squeamish.
BPM: "Cable guys....really! 3 am? Give us the real scoop...."
Cable guys: "If you get there by 5:30, you will see what you need to see...."
Acceptable answer. Sorry, Big Sis....3 am...whipping winds in the mountains of PA waiting to see a groundhog....not doing it. Someone would throw a net over me if I had agreed to it.
Now it was time for dinner....asking at the desk which was one foot away from the bar, the attendant went through 3 possible places to eat....
Place A...."Naw....I wouldn't go there...."
Place B...."Nope...."
Place C...."Family food...not bad."
Big Sis was a champ...."Isn't this great?" she said.....
Yep, super.....
The next day, it began to drizzle, sleet and snow. We took a walk through the borough and began to groundhog shopping frenzy. I bought earrings with groundhogs on them (not for me, I don't look good in groundhog....), little groundhog finger puppets, a ground hog hat, two Phil tee shirts for kids, a coffee mug, and a pen whittled by one of the local men. With all of my purchases, I did not spend more than 30$.
There were decorated Phils all over town, then we saw some of the men in their tuxes and top hats walking around. Big Sis had to have a photo with them. I refused. I did not want my image captured with a random guy in a top hat....a ground hog maybe, top hat guy...no.
It took us 90 minutes to see all of the sights....then we went back to the hotel to have our own private happy hour and wait for Dr. G.
He finally arrived and had tickets for the groundhog banquet at the high school. Yep, we went to the banquet and met some of the other crazys who had this on their bucket lists. At our table was a family from Ohio who brought their mother to Punxy since she had long desired to meet Phil. They were delightful. The presentations an awards ceremonies were terrific and we had a great time. The only problem was that there was no booze....yep, we did this without a single sip of schnapps....
We got back to the hotel and set the alarm for 4:30 am. To get to Gobblers Knob, we had to leave the hotel, drive to Wal mart, pay for a bus ticket,then be dropped off.
As I lay awake all night, I could hear people scraping their windshields off and leaving the hotel. Then I got nervous. This is a huge deal for Big Sis. I don't want her to miss it. Yeah, it's cold, but she really wants to see Phil.....
Guilt got to me even more so.....3:30 am.....I got up...Come on. We gotta go....
I handed out hand and feet warmers from my days of watching baseball in subzero temps, had long underwear on, two pairs of socks, foot warmers, scarf, hat, minus 20 degree LL Bean coat, boots with faux fur, sweater and turtleneck. I could barely move, but I was warm standing in my hotel room. Then I went outside to scrape the ice off the car....dang it was cold. I knew I was in trouble and short of setting my pants on fire, I was going to be a very cold spectator.
We drove to Wal Mart and could NOT find a parking space. This was getting crazier....
After creating our own spot, we waddled to the yellow school buses and bought our tickets, found seats, and were on our way to Gobblers Knob....
I gotta work.....more later!
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