Nittany Dawn and Weekends of Fun

My favorite shift to work on the ambulance at Penn State is the day shift. It often begins like this.

Sunrise on a Monday morning in Happy Valley

The sun rising over Tussey Mountain and shining onto Mount Nittany, as seen from the top of the Eisenhower Parking Deck (conveniently located next to the Student Health Center, where the ambulances live). If that isn’t enough to inspire your day, the Berkey Creamery is a stone’s throw away. While the Creamery is known best for its ice cream, I am very fond of its French vanilla coffee. All of this was accomplished in the first hour of my shift on Monday, which alone made the sting of having to return to State College from a wonderful weekend in Morgantown with Chris just a little more gentle.

The trip back to State College would have been uneventful except for the fact it is that wonderful time of year when the deer become particularly stupid. I don’t understand why anyone needs a gun to hunt, if I weren’t careful I’d have had enough venison to last me for years of tasty stews from what the Cavalier would’ve caught. Though seriously, we don’t joke about that… too much. After striking a deer on I-64 near St. Albans, WV in 2009 at 70mph (in said Cavalier), I can attest that it is a terrifying experience.

The highlight of the day on Sunday was catching up with my college friend, Courtney, at Mountain State Brewing Company in Morgantown. We chose Mountain State Brewing because the food is incredibly delicious but it turns out they play Team Bingo on Sunday afternoons. We had never heard of such a thing but had a great time playing four rounds through wonderful food and conversation. They’re famous for their beer and flatbread pizzas, but I must give a shout out for banana pudding and root beer.

This came on the heels of a Saturday that could’ve been three whole days given the activities accomplished. We hiked four miles on the Mon Trail South (and I cut my left middle finger open, woohoo!), went to the 2^nd birthday party for our friend’s daughter, consumed some of the best BBQ in the world (Two Brothers BBQ in Presto, PA), and did all kinds of shopping on the I-79 corridor between Pittsburgh and Morgantown. I made some excellent finds at the newly expanded Hobbytown USA at Robinson and the Tanger Outlets in Washington, PA.

Magnetic alphabet train cars arranged interestingly at the Robinson Hobbytown