strasburg railroad in the pennsylvania dutch country

Day 47 – Pennsylvania Dutch Country Part 2

Day 47 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

The Walmart parking lot was perfect last night.  I replenished my snack supplies, bought some groceries in anticipation of cooking dinner at a house tonight, enjoyed the salad bar at Ruby Tuesday for dinner, and grabbed coffee and a bagel from Panera this morning. One stop shopping, eating and sleeping at its finest in the Pennsylvania Dutch country!

This morning I took a driving tour of Lancaster, one of the largest inland cities in the 13 colonies during the American Revolution.  I actually wanted to find the Central Market, where many local specialties from the Dutch farmland can be found. Unfortunately I could not find the market which dates back to the 1700s.  I did, however, find Wheatland, former home of James Buchanan who was the 15th President of the United States. The dogs and I took a walk around the lovely grounds and through the Louise Arnold Tanger Arboretum.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
hershey's chocolate

Day 46 – Pennsylvania Dutch Country

Day 46 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Town of Bedford, Pennsylvania

I was much more successful visiting the antique stores, candy stores, and historic buildings that lined the downtown streets of the Town of Bedford this morning than I was at finding a pub last night.  I stopped by two historic locations, the Anderson House and the Espy House. 

The Anderson House, built in 1815, originally housed the first bank in Bedford and now acts as a public library and community center.  The Espy House, built around 1771, served as George Washington’s headquarters in 1794 when he and peace commissioners traveled to western Pennsylvania to quell the Whisky Rebellion, a violent protest by farmers who opposed an excise tax on whisky.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
frank lloyd wright's fallingwaters in the laurel highlands

Day 45 – Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands

Day 45 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

I pulled off at the Walmart in Kittanning, Pennsylvania last night, about an hour or so away from my starting point today in Ligonier.  One of the back roads to my destination was closed; so ,Gina, my GPS found an alternate route through the Laurel Highlands.  As I was following this route, the car in front of me stopped on the road.  When I began to pass her, she waived me down.  I couldn’t figure out what she would want except to ask about VANilla, since my van seems to get a lot of attention. 

Between VANilla and Texas plates, clearly I stuck out like a sore thumb, thus she asked, “Are you trying to get to 30?”  Of course, I didn’t know. Ultimately I was trying to reach 711, but there were so many turns in between that I couldn’t remember. She said, Well a truck has jack-knifed on the detour up ahead, so you can’t get through.  You need to turn around and take the following roads…”  Can you believe it!!!  When is the last time someone has gone out of their way to ask if you need help with directions?!?  It was totally awesome.  People in small towns are just plain nice.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
kinzua bridge state park, tallest railroad bridge in the world in 1882

Day 44 – Across the Alleghenies Part 2

Day 44 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

I started out the day in the Alleghenies at Pine Creek Gorge, also known as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania.  The gorge, located in the Tioga State Forest, is nearly one mile across and 800 feet deep.  Unfortunately, I arrived a week too late to enjoy the fall foliage of the surrounding tree covered hills.  I thought I would make it in time, as when I used to show at the horse finals in Harrisburg during the 3rd week of October, the trees were always glorious. 

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
french azilum

Day 43 – Across the Alleghenies

Day 43 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

I’m beginning my 7th day in a row of a migraine of varying degrees. From faint to extreme, but always there.  I’ve been ignoring it as much as possible, though that is why my posts have been so sporadic of late. I’ve been resting!  I’m not looking for any sympathy as I lived with them long enough. I’m just explaining why my stops and pictures have been limited as of late.  Unfortunately, it has rained at some point almost every day or evening, which has caused much of the trouble. It is raining again now. It has to be sunny sooner or later!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!