Scooter cruising with a friend

Today my friend Gina became the owner of my previous scooter, Vroomfondel, a Bintelli Sprint 50cc. As you can see, she’s quite happy with her decision. We picked him up from Campus Skooters, where he was having a headlight replaced. We took a quick spin over to Sheetz for gas and a snack before driving to Webster’s so I could finish out my workday. As soon as work ended, we were back on the road.

We cruised west, stopping first at the new location of Far Corners Asian Market. They didn’t have any good soy sauce, though, just Kikkoman, so we moved on.

Gina has lived in this region a lot longer than I have, so she had some great ideas for smaller roads to try. We headed in the general direction of Gatesburg, PA, west and a little south of State College.

Central Pennsylvania is gorgeous. No two ways about it. Everywhere you look there are rolling hills and picturesque farms and tranquil cows.

I’d never ridden with another scooter owner, and it was a blast. We rode side by side when it was safe to do so, and I enjoyed the speed limitations placed on the ride by Vroomfondel’s smaller engine. We moved through the countryside fast enough to get somewhere and slow enough to see what was around us. At one point, two horses galloped alongside us as we passed their corral. A few minutes later we spotted a heron (or maybe a crane?) lifting off into the air.

We entered Halfmoon Township, the most sparsely populated of Centre County’s towns. It covers 15,000 acres, most of which are occupied by cows. We stopped to visit a beautiful Quaker cemetery on Halfmoon Valley Road. Question: Does anyone know where the township got its name? I can’t imagine there’s a Henry Hudson connection, and I couldn’t find the answer online.

As the last rays of the sun broke through the clouds, we returned to State College for some Mexican food. I love cruising solo, but cruising with a friend is a special joy all its own.