Against All Odds . . . I Can Has Cheezburger!

It was the cheeseburger that almost wasn't!

I was scheduled to meet dear old friends for lunch at Duffy's in Boalsburg. My one friend and her husband were driving up from North Carolina, straight through the hurricane. We were all to meet at Duffy's at 12:30 for a nice lunch. I'd perused the online menu in advance, decided on a very nice burger.

My husband had some shopping and errands he wanted to do, so he planned to drop me off for lunch and go handle them. The remnants of Hurricane Debby had roared in around 2 in the morning, bringing some initial big winds followed by heavy rains. We were concerned, but not necessarily worried, to be traveling in such weather. But we were in for a surprise.

We had decided to go to Boalsburg the back way, through the Barrens, which involves roads with names like Marengo and Old Gatesburg. But when we got to Tadpole, we couldn't turn left. The road was closed that way! So we were forced to turn right instead. But first, we did turn left, thinking maybe the road was open in spite of the sign, but we'd have a look-see. Well, guess what: it WAS closed. Completely blocked, not sure what reason. Most likely water or trees down over the road. We turned around, came back.

My husband began to say things like: "You're not going to get to see your friends!" and "We're going to be a half-hour late!" But he took a shortcut onto Deibler Road, which helped a lot. From there, we went out to route 45, and from that point on, we were golden! We gravely surveyed the flooding and the damage. Small streams turned into rivers around us. Gravel was all over the road, but the rain did finally seem to be slowing down, much earlier than anyone had predicted.

We actually made it to Duffy's only SEVEN MINUTES LATE, if you can believe that. I walked in to find all of my friends already there, and we had a very nice visit. Maybe we were the only ones who encountered closed roads and had to find a work-around. It's surprising to me still, how much adventure a couple of little old ladies can get into just trying to have LUNCH!

So here is the cheeseburger that awaited me. This is called the Duffyburger, and it is served with American cheese and caramelized onions. I decided to have potato chips as my side, and they were excellent. Some kind of kettle chip. (I took a few home. My husband loved them. I have written Duffy's a note asking for more info!)

I am writing this story the day after. The rain here had mostly stopped, or abated, at least, by early afternoon on Friday, but the water and flooding remain. I belong to the Potter County Facebook group (Potter County is several counties NORTH of here), and there are many tales of woe in there: stranded rescuers, helicopters sent out to get them, houses and belongings, lost to the floods. Our governor of this great Keystone State has issued an order declaring a state of disaster emergency for 21 of our counties. We are okay here where I am, but we send all prayers and good wishes to those who are suffering everywhere because of this storm.

My soundtrack song is Phil Collins, with Against All Odds.