DUNMORE - While hundreds awaited the arrival of Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton on Friday inside the Dunmore High School gym, Ron Patane dined only a few miles away at Casa Bella in North Scranton.

When the 68-year-old Moscow-area man took his seat in the crowded Italian restaurant, he couldn't have anticipated the arrival of Mrs. Clinton - or that he would have the chance to shake her hand and share a word.

"It was a privilege," said Patane of the experience. "Here we have the former secretary of state, the woman who might be the next president. (I said) 'I'm glad to see you. I'm glad you're here. And good luck.'"

Clinton, in the area for a campaign stop before voters decide whether she or Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will secure a key victory in Pennsylvania's Tuesday primary, was greeted by friendly faces as she made her way from table to table. She told one diner, "It's always good to be in Scranton" and another, "We're going to work hard."

"I met people who said things like 'I knew your cousins,' or 'I knew your uncles,'" Clinton said of the stop only minutes later, addressing the exhilarated crowd that filled the gym for her rally. "(I) met another woman who lived next door to my grandparents on Diamond Avenue. It just brings back a flood of the best memories and the best people."

The electric atmosphere of the rally was a stark contrast to the relatively quiet restaurant, as chants of "Hillary! Hillary!" thundered from the crowd.

"I'm bananas for Hillary!" said 23-year-old Katharine DiGiovanne, who wore a yellow, body-length banana suit adorned with Hillary Clinton stickers. "I think she's honest. She's going to take this country to places that we've imagined, but have had no one to take us there."

Dunmore resident Marlene Wilga shared DiGiovanne's confidence.

"I have more faith in her than the others," said the 80-year-old Wilga, who wrote in Clinton's name in the past two presidential elections. "She knows the ins and outs better than anyone. I think she can do something with that Congress, especially if we can get some Democrats in there."

The former secretary of state's experience was also highly touted by attendees of the rally.

"I think Hillary is good for the job because she's got experience," said Amber Le, a 23-year-old nurse's aide from Plains Twp. "She supports all the things that I support, and I would like to see in a president."

Both the substance and the style of Clinton's speech resonated with the audience, according to many who reflected on it afterward.

"I like that she is trying to unify rather than separate, (instead) of putting up walls and barriers," said Lisa Orlandini of Tunkhannock. "There was a strong energy. There was a supportive energy."