BPM Movin on...Ground Hog Part 2

Good morning! I could not finish the first post because I had to work. Work...a little four letter word that has me reconsidering my career.....more about that later....

Back to to Punxy.....

Fade to black.....

We found seats on a yellow school bus in the middle of the night. The heat was on but I could still feel the chill of the air. I knew that I was in trouble but I was not going to complain because I made the decision to go and I was going to be fun BP mom and not dour BPMom.

The bus let us out at Gobblers Knob and we walked through the gate. Dr. G took a selfie with the three of us. We looked eager and excited to be there. Yes, I was excited. I was actually in Punxy and was eager to see the groundhog. All we had to do was get through the next three hours.

The air was electric as people stood by bonfires, the stage show was going on, there were bands, singers, comedians, tee shirt vendors, and port a potties....If you know me, you know that I never, ever use those things, so I did not drink for 24 hours in preparation.

We stood on the hill and watched the festivities. There are ground hog calls and all kinds of songs and poems dedicated to Phil. Yes, it was all ground hog.....

I made it a point to meditate through the shows. Deep breaths....visualizing a warm beach and palm trees rather than whipping winds and frigid temperatures. My hand a feet warmers were not working which made me breathe deeper.

If I could move my arms, I would have been looking at my watch, but my mind went numb and I just stood there shivering.....then it was 6:30 am, it was not sunrise yet, and the lights went out. Suddenly, there were fireworks. The fireworks were so close, I was hoping one would hit me and warm my immobile toes. The fireworks were pretty cool and took my mind off my frozen digits for a while.

After the fireworks, all of the singers and dancers returned to the stage for a finale....it was getting close.

I looked at the sky and could see dawn....yes! This means Phil is coming out of his stump soon!

Then it happened...everyone in Gobblers Knob hushed....we looked up the hill and there was the PA state police escorting the Men of the Inner Circle....yep, they needed a police escort to get down the hill...like they were rick stars and not school teachers, plumbers, or funeral directors.....

We cheered as they assembled around Phil's stump. There were more speeches...a ground hog call....pledge of allegiance...then the President spoke about how he can speak ground hog-eese. Yes, with his magical cane in his hand, he has the capability of communicating with Phil.

When Phil emerges, they place him on a red carpet remnant on top of his stump. The President looks at Phil and speaks to him carrying his magical cane, of course. Then the President asks Phil if he saw his shadow.

It was time....we held our breath in anticipation.....6 more weeks of winter? spring? Come on, man! What is it??

The President finished his conversation with Phil and picked up a scroll. He read it to the throngs of Phil lovers and announced...."Six more weeks of winter!"

We booed and hissed and waddled back to the buses.

it took us 45 minutes to actually get on to a bus wince everyone was in the same predicament that we were...frozen solid and going to do anything to get off Gobblers Knob. After jockeying for position, we finally got on to a bus and were whisked away back to Wal Mart.


And so, my friends, that ends the story of our trip to Punxy. After thawing out at our hotel with lukewarm coffee and oatmeal, we headed home.....

One last note....Dr. G wanted to go with us and I thought it was because he had such a great time when he went with our cousin. Yes, he had a great time but never made it to Gobblers Knob...you see...they partied all night at the Burrow pub, passed out and never made it to see Phil.

All's well that ends well.....

Got to hit the gym!

Peace!

Movin on....BPM meets the groundhog Part 1

Good Sunday morning! It snowed last night in the northeast and I am happy to say that it was not enough that we need to shovel. Scoob and I have been considering attending  the Fire and Ice Festival a few hours away. The ice is actually ice sculptures that have been strategically placed throughout a little Amish borough. I am a sucker for ice sculptures since there is no way that I could possibly pick up a chain saw and start to create something beautiful out of a block of ice.....except chipping it down to add to a drink or two....

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."

We went to Place C, thinking not bad was an OK adjective. it took less than 3 minutes to drive to Place C, I ordered a spinach salad which according to the menu had Parmesan cheese. When it came out (without dressing), my faux Parmesan cheese was splattered all over the spinach leaves. not being able to catch my waitress, I ate the Kraft faux cheese loaded salad dry and almost gagged.

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!