Our trip may be over, but we still have some accounting to do!
Critter Count 2008
As usual, we saw lots of wildlife on this trip. Here’s a list:
lots of horses, cows, goats, butterflies, and fish
many deer, mostly up close
2 wild turkeys
plenty of chipmunks
2 snakes
too many raccoons, some live, some not, and some babies
several dead possums (at least they looked pretty dead – hard to tell with possums)
1 red tail hawk (up close and personal)
lots more soaring hawks
ducks, ducklings, and more ducks
several schools of fish (albino ones, too)
rabbits
plenty of donkeys
a whole barnyard full of sheep, pigs, chickens, goats, ponies, and roosters
6 pet dogs, including sweet Quincy (who went with the two cute young men from Vermont), Chase, Buddy, Boo, and Tess
lots of cats
a gazillion ground hogs
lots of bluebirds, as well as some goldfinches and robins, orioles, chickadees, sparrows, and woodpeckers
ravens
swans
a few squirrels
a trainyard full of Thomas crazy little boys (if you don’t think they are critters, think again!)
a gaggle of geese
frogs and tadpoles
1 very large, very dead snapping turtle
many, many June bugs and other flying insects
a goodly number of very drunk, nicotine addicted, tie-dyed, friendly, and feeling no pain ‘hippies’ (for lack of a better word)
a camel (really, not a llama)
alpacas
a cormorant
a black bear (really!)
a herd of ostriches
an osprey
fainting goats
a skunk (real, not just Peppy)
a parrot
Where’s Peppy?
To liven up this trip, we had a game where we asked our followers to guess where our travel companion, Peppy, was based on a photograph and a clue. For those not familiar with Peppy, he is a plaster skunk who was a 7th grade art project of Kim’s. Our mom dutifully saved him all these years, then gave her to Kim one Christmas. Just after Kim and her kids held a ceremonial going away party for Peppy and dumped him in the trash, Mom called to tell Kim she’d better not throw that skunk away! Needless to say, Peppy lives!
We took him with us on our first Sassy Sister trip, The Mother Road, in 2006 and photographed him at iconic Rt. 66 stops. He is a great conversation starter, allowing us to talk to the strangers Mom told us not to talk to, so there you have it.
There are still some unanswered questions, but I’m not sure we will even remember where some of them are!
Where’s Peppy #1
Hooray! At long last Suzanne has figured out that this was at the USS South Dakota Memorial in Sioux Falls, SD, from last year’s trip!
Where’s Peppy? #2
Congrats to Patty C, who submitted the correct answer! Peppy is with Merlin at Foamhenge, Natural Bridge, VA.
Where’s Peppy? #3
And the prize goes to Patty C (she is so smart!) who knew Peppy was on the tail of a dinosaur at Dinosaurland, White Post, VA
Where’s Peppy? #4
Has Peppy flipped his lid?
Where’s Peppy? #5
This is an easy one…and we have a winner! Patty C correctly placed Peppy at the National Toy Hall of Fame in the Strong Museum of Play, Rochester NY
Where’s Peppy? #6
Babs has somehow figured out that Peppy is at the TePee Trading Post in Cherry Valley, NY. Good work!
Where’s Peppy? #7
Congrats, Babs, for knowing Peppy was keeping secrets in the Secret Garden at the Stone Hill Quarry Art Park!
Where’s Peppy? #8
Cool moove…and MOO! to Suzanne, who knoooo that Peppy was on the grill of the Ben and Jerry’s truck in Waterbury VT!
Where’s Peppy? #9
Rock on! Suzanne has correctly placed Peppy at the Rock of Ages granite quarry. He’s actually in one of the cages that the workers get lowered down (by a huge crane-like thing on a derrick) into the 600 foot deep quarry.
Where’s Peppy? #10
Congrats to Cathy P! Peppy is taking a break on the front porch of the Sugar Hill Inn in Franconia, NH
Where’s Peppy? #11
Slow down!
Where’s Peppy? #12
Which way to Canada?
Where’s Peppy? #13
Once again, Babs knew Peppy was in the mood to talk at Moody’s Diner!
Where’s Peppy? #14
Babs knew Peppy was wanting a ride on an old Ford at Owl’s Head!
Where’s Peppy? #15
Babs was on a roll (thankfully, Peppy wasn’t, even though he was cleverly disguised as a lobster!)
Where’s Peppy? #16
Even me?
Where’s Peppy? #17
Home, sweet home – Anne recognized Sandy’s beautiful roses hanging over her picket fence and correctly placed Peppy in Stonington, CT
Where’s Peppy? #18
Good job, Suzanne! Peppy was not in Madison County, but he is in the covered bridge at Kent Falls, CT
Where’s Peppy? #19
Kim Mc knew Peppy was in the press box at Yankee Stadium!
Where’s Peppy? #20
Like talking to a rock!
Where’s Peppy? #21
Rex correctly placed Peppy under the treads of a tank at West Point
Where’s Peppy? #22
That’s right, Suzanne! Peppy’s standing on Lucy’s toes.
Where’s Peppy? #23
Can you spare a quarter for a tune?
Where’s Peppy? #24
You’re right, Suzanne – Peppy is peeping through the window of the Shoe House in Haddam, PA
Where’s Peppy? #25
I’m not leaving!!
Our Favorites
Each year, we try to come up with some lists of our favorites. Stay tuned!
Best Eats
Favorite Experiences
Biggest Surprises (and Disappointments)
Coolest Icons
Memorable People
Funniest Things
States Visited
North Carolina
Virginia
West Virginia
Maryland
Pennsylvania
New York
Vermont (toured the capitol in Montpelier)
New Hampshire
Maine
Massachusetts
Rhode Island (toured the capitol in Providence)
Connecticut
New Jersey
Delaware
Friends We Got to SeeAlong the Way (and who were kind enough to host us!)
We were in no rush to stick around the Atlantic City area, so we grabbed a quick bite of breakfast and were on our way by about 8:30. Did we mention that our hotel had a riverboat docked behind the dumpsters? We’re not sure why, and we did not go investigate, but it looked pretty funny to us. Atlantic City seemed to be a bit seedy to us, and in all fairness, we did not go all the way into the city to check it our for ourselves. Margate City seemed okay enough, and the beach (or shore) was pretty, but we’ll take our North and South Carolina beaches any day!
We did not have a whole lot on our agenda today – a drive-by of Storybook Land, Longwood Gardens, the Charcoal Pit, and a detour to the Haines Shoe House, which we missed in Pennsylvania at the beginning of our trip. Storybook Land was just down the road from our hotel, and it did not open until about 11, so we had to be satisfied with a few photos from the parking lot. Given that it’s an amusement park with a $20 ticket price, that’s probably all we would have done even it if were open! You can read about it at http://www.storybookland.com/ (turn your volume down – it’s loud!) and if you’re in the area with small children (somehow Atlantic City and small children don’t seem to go together…) you may want to visit. It looked really clean and well-maintained, and it’s been family owned since 1955.
On our drive across New Jersey towards Delaware, we saw a few curiosities worth stopping for – we just had to stop and turn around to get a picture of the American flag made out of colored milk jugs in someone’s front yard, and we were a little surprised by a Muffler Man sighting. Before long, we saw the twin spires of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, but not before we stopped for gas (again!) to take advantage of the lower prices and great service in New Jersey.
Our original plan was to have lunch at the Charcoal Pit in Wilmington, DE, on our way to Longwood Gardens, but since it was 10:30, we decided to visit the gardens first and then go back to the Pit. We passed the turnoff for Winterthur, which we had considered visiting, and we drove right through Chadd’s Ford, which is home to another Wyeth museum. So much to do and so little time!! We had voted on Longwood Gardens to honor our mom and grandmother, who both had gorgeous gardens and are/were excellent flower arrangers. We were not disappointed!
Longwood was the estate of Pierre du Pont, and it encompasses over a thousand acres of gardens, woodlands, and meadows as well as a summer home, a conservatory, and lots of fountains. Visit it at http://www.longwoodgardens.org/ but really plan to see it in person! We strolled through the flower garden, which I loved because of the way the flowers were planted in groups of similar colors – it was like walking through a rainbow! From the flower garden, we went to the Italian Water Garden, where my favorites were the waterfall tumbling down a staircase and the frog fountains. A special display going on this summer was a series of treehouses created especially for the Gardens. The first one that we came to was the Canopy Cathedral, which reminded us of the Gillette Castle because of the way the logs were carved.
From the fountains in the Italian Water Garden, we walked up a long hill past the meadow, and soon we had come to the next treehouse, the Lookout Loft, which was in the shady Forest Walk section. It was a sort of Adirondack-style treehouse. We walked past the duPont house, not sure if we could go in it or not, and then we found ourselves at the final treehouse, the Birdhouse. It was nice to go up in the trees and enjoy a few moments out of the heat of the sun, and Kim and I were reminded of the fantastic treehouse our dad had made us when we were kids. All the neighborhood kids hung out at our house, since in addition to the treehouse (which also had a fireman’s pole) we had a bagswing and a roller coaster that Daddy had made. We had a nice little walk down Memory Lane as we walked through Longwood Gardens!
When we realized you could go in the house, we took that tour, too. It was so interesting! I have loved being in these totally well thought out and well designed homes of people who clearly knew what they wanted and could afford to have it built the way they wanted it! Some favorite things in the house were the built in map case, the hidden library, Mr. du Pont’s office, the towel warming rack in the kitchen, the silver safe, and the fly fan. Even though the air conditioner was allegedly on, it was very hot and humid in the house, so we didn’t linger as long as we might have.
From here, we went to the Conservatory, which was built in 1919 and houses almost 200,000 square feet of plants!! Outside the Conservatory was another fantastic fountain display, the Main Fountain Garden, which covers five acres and has 380 fountains spraying 10,000 gallons of recirculated water. Wow! Next to it was the topiary garden, and from there we went to the Chime Tower and Waterfall. We could have stayed here for a few more hours – there was a lot we didn’t see – but we were wilting and hungry, and we had miles to go…We stopped in at the gift shop and we have to tell you that even the bathrooms were beautiful, complete with flower arrangements and mosaics. What a spectacular place this is!
Like I said, we were hungry and couldn’t wait to eat at the Charcoal Pit, (http://www.charcoalpit.net/) which we had read about in Road Food but we’d also heard from Melanie that we would not be disappointed. We had no problem finding it, and since it was getting close to 2 o’clock, it wasn’t too crowded. On the way in, we noticed some of the awesome ice cream creations and we saw some mighty juicy burgers, so we knew we were in for a treat! Kim had a chocolate soda with her burger and fries, and I opted for the big burger (no fries or onion rings!) and a hot fudge sundae. Heavenly!! Sure wish we lived closer to the Pit!!
Backtracking again, we were soon back in Pennsylvania and before we knew it, we were back in Amish country. We had loved the rolling terrain and green farmland of this part of Pennsylvania when we first started our trip, so it was a treat to get to see it again. We drove through Intercourse and Bird-in-Hand again, and we loved hearing the clip-clop of the horses on the Amish buggies. Why, you may ask, were we not heading south since we were on our way home? Well, one of the things we had really wanted to see on this trip was the Haines Shoe House, which is near York, PA. (http://www.jarrettsville.org/family/shoehouse.htm) You may remember that we had to bypass it on our first pass through PA, or else we would not have gotten to Lititz and Wilbur’s Chocolates before it closed, so we had figured out a way we could get here on the flip side of the trip. It was just a bonus that we got to enjoy Lancaster County again!
We arrived at the Shoe House a little after 4:00 and were there in time for the last tour of the day. Sadly, we were not allowed to take pictures inside the house, so you’ll have to be satisfied with seeing the outside and going for yourself to see the inside. I will say it was cool – people could (and have) really live there, and the current owners have decorated it really nicely – lots of shoes of all varieties add to the fun theme. We had no problem turning down the ice cream (there’s a shop there) since we were still on a sugar high from the Charcoal Pit, and now it was time to turn south and head for home.
It’s always hard to realize a trip like this is almost over, but that time was fast approaching! We weren’t sure where we would be spending the night, so we started looking at the map and perusing our Hampton Inn book. Kim made a few phone calls and we decided we could get as far as Leesburg, VA, before it got too late. We traveled down Highway 15 (which goes to Durham, too) and soon our Hampton was there to greet us. Since I’d been craving Chinese food for days, and we were pretty pooped, we took the easy way out and ordered some to be delivered. A couple of cold beers from the car, Chinese on paper plates – it was just what we needed! We got a little blogging done, downloaded pictures, planned our next day’s drive, and watched a little TV. Only one more day…
Do you remember our earthen lodge experience from last year’s trip? You might have thought nothing could top it. You would be mistaken. Tonight we are writing to you from our treehouse in Pollywogg Holler, somewhere near Belmont, NY. By all means, please check it out at http://www.pollywoggholler.com/ otherwise you will not believe me. Keep in mind that we had looked at the website before we arrived, and the pictures look much better on the website than the accommodations look in person. Actually, it’s not the actual lodgings that are an issue, it’s more the fact that this eco-lodge is so eco friendly that it has no electricity or running water. So you know what that means…
Once again, I find myself holding my laptop in the dark, hoping my words run out before the battery does. But, at least this year I have a handy light that plugs into my USB port so I can see the keyboard! Thanks, Melanie H!! Joining us at the Holler tonight are about ten or twelve women here for a bachelorette party and a couple from Queens who are here because she’s a travel writer. They are sharing our experience, as they arrived here with not even a flashlight. We, on the other hand, being the seasoned primitive campers that we are, have a mini maglight, a battery operated lantern, and the aforementioned computer light. And a blanket!
Our ‘room’ is quite cozy, having one large bed, one twin sized bed, and one piece of foam on a wooden shelf. We also have a dresser and an oil lamp with a foil pie pan for a lampshade. I’m sitting in a normal chair and there’s also a chair made from a tree stump up here. The stairway up is made of tree branches and wood and it’s a spiral staircase. We’re thinking we will visit the “facilities” before retiring for the night, and if we have to go again, we’ll just leave. We have had nothing to drink except the homemade wine (red raspberry merlot) that we needed immediately upon arriving to Woodstock, Jr.
Yes, that’s right. No need for us to visit the newly opened Woodstock Museum, since it could be right here. When we arrived this afternoon, mercifully later than expected (surprise!) the Sunday afternoon pizza and music fest was just ending. We estimate that at least one hundred people were here, all drunker than they should be to drive on the roads that got them here, and we did feel like it was 1968 and the summer of love. We felt slightly out of place, the way you would if you showed up about four hours late to a party where you didn’t know ANYONE and they were all totally sloshed by the time you arrived. And you were stone cold sober. We had no piercings or tattoos and were older than many of the party people. We were greeted by a nice, normal young man on a customized golf cart kind of thing made out of wood. Sort of like a baggage tug at the airport… He’s the one who told us we had come to the right place and he gave us and our luggage a ride down the driveway into the Twilight Zone.
The band was just breaking down and people were wasted and trying to stagger back out to the road. A young boy came up wearing a mudpack on top of his head. Really, a brain-sized piece of mud was on his head with rivulets of muddy water streaming down his face. He was so happy! Another little boy showed us his stamps. He was stamped from the top of his head all over his body (three on his stomach) with “Funknut” in ink. He was happy, too! We were trying to figure a polite way to leave, but nothing came to us, so here we are. While the crowd was dispersing, Bill, the owner of the property, took us under his wing. Remember Harley from last year? Bill reminded us of him, only he didn’t stick his tongue in Kim’s ear!!! And he’s older. The normal man who had chauffeured us was his son, Quentin. His other son, Mickey, is our host. Mickey makes a mean strip steak on the grill out back and serves it with a fantastic tequila lime sauce that he concocted (and shared with us).
While things were winding down from the afternoon frivolities, Kim and I toured the property. That’s when we realized that plumbing was not happening here! We took LOTS of pictures (not as many as at Roadside America) especially of the tiki trail and sculpture garden. And the snake we saw lounging on a tarp by the path… Mickey told us we could get an internet connection by parking in the driveway next to the office (down the road – Kim said if we had seen it first, we could have just kept driving!!) so we did that and posted yesterday’s blog. Since dark was falling, we thought we’d better get back to our room while we could still see the path (it’s at least a half mile from the driveway to the ‘base’) so we stopped blogging before we had added all the photos. We should be able to catch up on the blog tomorrow night when we reach civilization at the Hampton Inn! We have not seen a TV since we left, and we’ve had cell service for about an hour a day. We’ve actually had more internet service than anything!
But enough (for now) about our evening’s experiences. The rest of our day was loads of fun! We spent last night at the Weeping Willow Bed and Breakfast in Tunkhannock, PA, and it was lovely! Our hosts, Patty and Randy, couldn’t have been nicer. Two couples, one from the Jersey Shore (Dennis and Eileen) and one from Mountaintop, PA, (Dave and Cindy) were at the B&B, too. We regaled them with stories of our travels at breakfast this morning, and they were kind enough to listen and laugh. We did not have a jam-packed day today, so we didn’t end up leaving there until after 11:00, even though we had gotten up at 7 again. By the time we got gas, fixed our teas for the road, and figured out our route, it was 11:30 before we were on our way.
Cindy had told us about a roadside giant in town, and Kim spied it as we zoomed past it. We turned around to snap a photo so Cindy would know we saw it. The people who live across the street from the giant (once a Big Boy, now a NAPA parts guy) were out working in their yard and stared at me as I walked from the car over to take a good picture. We are sure they’ve never even considered taking a photo of it themselves!
Once on our way, we hadn’t gone far when we had to stop for a wreck that had just happened. We were so thankful we had turned around for that picture, or we could have been in the accident. Ambulances arrived as we sat in line, so we turned around and followed the locals. At least, we hoped they were locals, since we were following them up a steep, narrow gravel road. When suddenly cars appeared on this road going the other direction, we knew we were on the right short cut. Soon we were on our way.
Our only planned stop today was at the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, which is south of Wellsboro. While in Wellsboro, we went to the local Weis grocery store and bought chicken salad, slaw, cheese, and cherries to have with our Amish bread and Rt. 11 Potato Chips, and then we went to see the Grand Canyon. It reminded me of Quechee Gorge in Vermont, only not as cool. But it was neat and there were lots of hawks soaring on the updrafts and they were very entertaining. We took a short (but steepish) hike out to another overlook and had our picnic then. Did I mention that it is now raining and thundering and we haven’t made our bedtime bathroom run? What were we thinking???? Rats!!!
Our route across northern Pennsylvania was on Route 6 through the Endless Mountains. It is a nice road with quaint towns and expensive gasoline. Lots of places were still decorated for Flag Day, and it was neat to see how some towns are thriving while others are just hanging on. Once we were done at the Canyon, we stopped down the road at Animaland. We ended up just having a photo op and checking out the gift shop. I took a pit stop there and thought I would share with you the lovely jungle-themed ladies room. You may not be able to see it in the photo, but the flusher handle is a jaguar (like a hood ornament off a Jaguar) and the mirror over the sink matched the toilet seat. We didn’t stay to see the animals there, as we thought we might be missing something here at the Holler if we got here too late. If only we had known…
From the canyon it was back to Route 6 until time to cross the border into New York. We got Ms. Garmin out for the first time, and boy, was she annoyed that we had not listened to her all day. We got here, though, and now we’re waiting for a break in the rain so we can go to bed in comfort. We’re thinking we’ll be checking out early, likely sans shower…
Until tomorrow, ribbet, ribbet, ribbet, Jan
Pictures coming tonight, without fail! We survived the night, although it poured down rain most of the night…
175 miles traveled
This just in – check out this link to get a great overview of Pollywogg Holler. You must have audio to fully appreciate it! I’m pretty sure the man singing is Bill. Enjoy! http://youtube.com/watch?v=H4DOORDbms8
We got up at 7:00 this morning (Saturday) and had the car packed and loaded and were ready for breakfast a little after 8:00. We had thought about eating at Hershey Family Restaurant, but since they didn’t want us last night we opted for the Red Caboose instead. They have two real dining cars that serve as their restaurant, so we ate in one of them. We, and about 20 little boys who were about to wet their pants in anticipation of a Thomas the Tank Engine sighting. They were too excited to eat, but we weren’t. We managed to exert some degree of control, though, and we each ordered a “Little Engineer” – one pancake and a couple of slices of bacon. It hit the spot! Since we could get a wireless connection in the dining car, we took that opportunity to finish posting Friday’s blog and try to clean up the previous ones. Sometimes blogspot seems to have a mind of its own – must be related to Ms. Garmin…
While we were eating, we had plenty to watch out our dining car window. There was an Amish man plowing the fields with his horses and then a real train, being pushed by THOMAS (!!!), came chugging down the tracks. We soon had the dining room to ourselves. Once we finished, we decided to go up to the top of the View Tower (read abandoned silo now fitted with stairs) and look out over the Lancaster countryside. It was gorgeous! Very hazy (we learned at breakfast that rain was expected later in the day) but the terrain is rolling hills, green pastures, and fertile farmland. And we expended a few calories (maybe two bites of pancake) in the process. Finally, we were ready to depart from the wonderful Red Caboose Motel (check them out at http://www.redcaboosemotel.com/) and see what adventures awaited us today.
In case you are considering a trip to the Red Caboose – while it was sort of cool to say we’d slept in a caboose, it had nothing on the earthen lodge or the wigwams, and since it cost well more than both of those put together (higher rates on Thomas weekends…) we would have to say you’d really have to want to be there to pay those prices. We enjoyed our private (honeymoon) deck and it was great to be able to have internet access (a new router and a signal booster made it a wonderful connection!). If you were taking kids with you, it’s a great place for them – lots of wide open spaces for bike riding, a playground, the barnyard animals, Amish buggy rides, and it’s close to many attractions – The Choo Choo Barn, the Toy Train Museum (right next door), Dutch Wonderland, Amish Village, etc. And of course, there’s Thomas… we’re thinking he comes there right often. The food in the dining car was good and the people couldn’t have been nicer. So just file it on your list of places you might want to go if you had a good reason to.
Once on the road, we had in mind to take a couple of pictures – a giant Amish boy with some pigs, the Old Village Store in Bird-in-Hand, and the famous “Welcome to Intercourse” sign.
We are not sure about these Amish – besides Lititz (in Leacock County), Intercourse, Bird in Hand, and Paradise, there is also a town called Blue Ball, which we missed. Maybe it’s just me, but do you notice a theme here? We took our pictures and then we stopped at an Amish roadside stand and bought some homemade bread, and we found ourselves just a tiny bit behind schedule (we wouldn’t want to disappoint you!) but on the road by about 9:30. Ever since we set the Garmin to “shortest route” instead of “fastest route,” we have been traveling not necessarily on secondary roads or even tertiary roads, but the for real back roads. The ones that because only the locals use them, there’s no need for street signs, because they know where they are… Poor Jill, she spends her time recalculating for us. A lot. By the way, did you notice the Amish bicycle/scooter above? We saw lots of kids riding them, and most of the girls we saw were using them barefooted! On the highway!
We were on our way to Reading, PA, and its famous Pagoda landmark, located on top of Mount Penn. Although the Pagoda didn’t open until noon (we knew that) we enjoyed the ride up the mountain and thought the Pagoda was really cool. It was so hazy (pollution?) in Reading that we could barely see the city laid out below us. Jill wanted to make sure we got a real feel for Reading, so we drove through the PJ’s on our way out of town. Kim M, I know you wish you were with me. Kim C is getting used to my propensity for finding the really nice neighborhoods to get a tiny bit lost in…
From Reading, we went north to Shartlesville, PA, and the home of Roadside America, the World’s Greatest Indoor Miniature Village. Let me just say right here – THEY ARE NOT KIDDING!!!!! Kim and I LOVED this place! Picture one room about the size of the ground floor of your house. Now imagine that it has murals of the countryside painted on the walls. Now see if you can envision an entire miniature COUNTRY, through the centuries, complete with roads, cars, houses, factories, lakes, bridges, churches, downtowns, coal mines, caverns, mountains, Indian villages, parks, trains, trolleys, people, an airport, a circus, a waterfall – all in the same room and all created by ONE MAN!!! Laurence Gieringer began working on it as a child in 1905 with his brother, who stopped working with him when he became a priest. It’s been a tourist attraction in the area since the 30’s, and Mr. Gieringer died in 1963, but his family continues to allow his legacy and life’s work to entertain visitors.
Pictures do not begin to do this project justice, but even then I couldn’t pick just one or two, so I’ve posted more on the sidebar of this blog. If you have not been to Roadside America, please put it on your list of places to see before you die. And make sure you have plenty of time to take it all in! It was AWESOMELY STUPENDOUS! [NOTE: Sadly, Roadside America is no more, as of the early 2020s. Believe it or not, we even tried to buy it to move it to Paducah, but the owners (children & grandchildren of the creator) did not think we were serious buyers. Since there were no serious buyers (allegedly) they ended up auctioning it all off in tiny lots. I was so annoyed that I refused to buy any of it. Grrrr.]
Since we were now a little more than a tiny bit behind, we were forced to hop onto the interstate to get to Easton. The ‘slow’ lane was in such bad repair that everyone was driving in the fast lane, so everyone was going very fast. The posted speed limit was 65 for a short way and then 55; the observed speed was about 80. About the time the right lane got smoothed out enough to drive in, one lane was closed for repairs. Work zone speed was posted 45; observed speed, about 80. Has no one informed these people about gas prices? We were in Easton before we knew it, and since we could have been almost anywhere in the country (who could tell, on the interstate?) we almost didn’t know we were there.
We had a couple of destinations in mind here – the Pez Dispenser Museum and the Crayola Factory. We rolled into town about 2:30 and found our way through the seamier part of town into the very lovely and happening downtown area. The Pez Museum (http://www.eastonmuseumofpez.com/) is right next door to the Crayola Factory, but it closed at 4:00 and Crayola was open until 5:00, so we went there first. I had no idea there were so many different PEZ dispensers! The museum was very cool – great exhibits and displays.
The Crayola Factory (http://www.crayolafactory.com/) had an extremely bodacious box of crayons spilling out over the doorway to the factory – great photo op! Once in the factory, we watched a show about how crayons and markers are made (and really got to see that happen) and then we got free crayons and markers, and then we got to go make things! Saturday afternoons are a big birthday party day at Crayola. We were just a little out of place. And we thought all the children within a 100 mile radius were at the Red Caboose…
By now we were wishing we had ordered the Big Engineer for breakfast, so we found our way to Pearly Baker’s Ale House and enjoyed a delicious lunch of a small Chicken Cobb Salad and some ‘yam fries’, which is yankee for sweet potato chips. It was yummy and just hit the spot. We were able to summon enough energy to keep going, but first we took a picture of Centre Square, which was where one of only three readings of the Declaration of Independence took place on July 8, 1776. On our way out of town we saw Easton’s Free Bridge, which was built in 1895. It is the last of its type in the US – very Gothic. Again, we took a tour through the sketchier side of town. Just getting a flavor for all kinds of lives in America!
We aimed north towards the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, which took us right along the banks of the Delaware River. It was a very scenic drive! We wished that we had had time to walk around a bit and enjoy the park, but remember the rain that was forecast? We could tell it might be meeting us soon, so we continued on towards the famous Pocono Mountains. Kim was really upset that I had not booked us a honeymoon suite in the Poconos. NOT!! The drive was gorgeous, although again it was like we were in the land time forgot. I’ll bet some of the same cabins, resorts, and signs we saw have been there for fifty or sixty years!
Unfortunately, it was during this drive across the mountains on one of those very rural roads that the rains came. Since we were not in traffic (unless you call meeting maybe 10 cars traffic) it was not a big deal. Just limited our visibility somewhat and caused us to take the safer option of getting on the interstate for a few miles. Again, we had hardly been on the big road when we were greeted by lofts of firemen with flares and many emergency vehicles with lights flashing. There had been a horrible accident involving a car that had left the southbound lane, driven through the grass on the median, hit a guard rail, and then flipped down the hill to the northbound lane (that would be where we were). Thankfully it did not appear he had hit anyone head on. EMTs were extracting the accident victims as we crept past the site. So much for trying to be safe! We realized though that at least that guy got found in an expedient manner… We have been a bit shocked by how often we have not had cell phone service up here in the well populated north. How do these people live?
We made it to Scranton a little before 7 PM, and we took a lovely scenic route through town in search of the Glider Diner. Jill extracts her revenge at the most inopportune times. We found it, though, and had the house specialty of hot roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy. Diner food at its finest! We passed on pie but had just a tiny bit of ice cream. And then we were off in search of the Weeping Willow! Jill knew right where to go, with just a couple of extra turns just to prove who was in charge. We were again driving along a river, the Susquehanna we think, and got to witness a gorgeous sunset. It was a great day – we rolled in about 8:45 after covering about 250 miles today. It was a fine Flag Day!
Patriotically yours, Jan
PS This entry is being posted from Pollywogg Holler, NY, which is a story in and of itself. Pictures and the story to come later, when we have returned to civilization. Pray for us!
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