Plenty of Possibilities in Pennsylvania!

[Note: Our last blog was a quiz.  We had a few people participate.  Most gave up too soon. Our winner was Ken Bilderback from Oregon – he guessed that the quiz was a bit of a trick.  He got two answers and then figured out that all of the answers were the same  – Lancaster, PA.  Ken has been sent our prize – a lovely postcard from the city of Lancaster.  Thanks, Ken.  We’re glad you won and happy that you enjoyed our little game.]

Our adventures keep getting better and better and Pennsylvania has been a long stay (36 days) with many exciting times during it.  We left our pretty site at Whispering Pines and found our new spot at Pinch Pond Campground in Manheim.  There was plenty to do around us but we started with a day of food shopping and laundry.

On our second full day in Manheim, we went to Hershey World and did the Chocolate Factory Tour.  It wasn’t the real factory – just a Disney-like ride but it was fun and we got a small piece of chocolate at the end.  We had fun shopping in the world’s largest candy store.  Then we drove through the town of Hershey which is a nice little town – how could you not like it?  It smells like chocolate!

On Friday, August 11^th we drove over to Crystal Cave.  We mentioned that we will be volunteering at Kartchner Caverns in November and we are reading and researching about caves and bats.  It was interesting to see Crystal Caves – the inside is not nearly as large as Kartchner but it has similar features. We took the tour and learned about the long history of this “show” cave.  Many caves like this one have been damaged irreparably by tourists traipsing through them but this one has held up well.  I think my family visited here in the 50’s.  There is a family home movie with all of us going into and coming out of a cave which I think was Crystal Cave.  In this movie, my grandmother is wearing a beautiful shirtwaist dress and high wedgies.  It’s a wonder she didn’t turn her ankle on the slippery uneven surfaces of the walkways in this dark cave.  We enjoyed seeing the structures and getting a taste of another underground marvel.

On Saturday, we drove through bucolic Lancaster County.  The homes and farms were neat and pretty with lots of flowers.  As we drive all over Pennsylvania we can’t help but notice that the lawns are enormous and meticulously mowed and trimmed.  We imagine endless hours on tractor mowers to keep them so perfect.  We stopped in the Bird-in-Hand Farmers Market, which is an indoor mall with lots of booths, only one or two that actually sells produce.  We bought some cider, some tomatoes and cucumbers, shoo-fly pie and some little toys for our grandsons.

The City of Lancaster was our next day’s adventure and we did the Historic Walking Tour.  If you saw our last blog which was really a quiz, and if you read the note at the top of this blog, you will now know that Lancaster is a city filled with history.  As we did the walking tour, we frequently stopped to marvel that all this stuff happened in this relatively small, remote city in the middle of Pennsylvania.  We refer you back to our quiz to fully understand how much there was to learn there.  One thing we didn’t include was that Abraham Lincoln passed through Lancaster twice.  Once during his campaign and then again when the train carried his coffin.  We stood on that corner that is no longer a railroad track but still has the feel of history.

Just a note – we celebrated nineteen months on the road on August 13^th!  Still going strong!

We didn’t want to leave Pennsylvania Dutch Country without learning more about the religious history that is still so evident here.  It’s not just horse-drawn buggies, old-fashioned clothing and amazing fruits and vegetables.  We stopped by the Mennonite Information Center and read about the Amish and the Mennonites.  We found that their differences are minor compared to their core beliefs.  The Old Order Amish and the Old Order Mennonites live their lives with a similar purpose of dedication to God and the strict traditions of centuries.

On Tuesday we moved our campsite to the Homestead Family Campground.  This area is very close to Plymouth Meeting/Valley Forge where Doug used to own his home.  One of our objectives in coming to this area was to visit Valley Forge Memorial Gardens to tend to Doug’s brother Creighton’s grave.  This cemetery is very peaceful and beautiful and after we put flowers on his grave, we lingered a bit to enjoy the serenity and remember Creighton.

The next day didn’t start out well.  Doug had installed sensors on all of our tires and first thing in the morning we heard the beeping.  One of the tires on our Honda CRV was loosing air.  We had planned to drive to New Jersey to see my brother Danny and his wife Lisa.  I was bringing lunch.  Doug put on the spare and eventually wound up getting all four tires replaced.  We are grateful that we were able to do this safely and not by getting a tire blown out on the turnpike.  But unfortunately, we were very late getting to my brother’s.   As soon as we arrived, we had to leave for his therapy appointment.  Danny has made amazing progress and it was good to see him getting back his strength and being able to use his arms and legs.  We managed to meet up with a bunch of my family – Steve, Sharon, Nico, Emily – in a wonderful restaurant in Collingswood – Sabrina’s.  It was great to sit next to Danny and see him enjoy a meal in a restaurant.  And, of course, it was a good time to be with my family.  We don’t plan on being back in Jersey for a while so this was a special time for us.  And, Collingswood, NJ is a great place to explore.  We were treated to an antique car show that we hadn’t even expected.

Then it was the weekend of the Philadelphia Folk Festival!!!!  Thirty years ago, Doug and I spent the second half of our honeymoon at the Folk Fest.  This year we had the extreme pleasure of being at one of our favorite events and having our son, Jon and daughter, Becky with her wife Paola and two adorable sons, Benjo and Mati share the fun with us.

To start the weekend off right, Doug and I babysat for Benjo (3) and Mati (16 months) – in our RV.  It was a very rainy, thundering evening so Becky and Paola stayed for dinner.  As the weather cleared they left for the evening concert.  Our babies were the best – we all slept together in our king-size bed and by 8:30 pm we were all tucked in.  Of course, that didn’t last long – Mati was up a few times but always went back to sleep.  Benjo slept through Mati walking on his face and kicking him.  But we cuddled and loved them and we all woke up happy.  Becky, Paola and Jon came to the RV for breakfast and showers and then we all took off for our first day of Folk Fest Fun.  Doug and I walked around trying to find some shade as we reminisced about all the times we spent at the Folk Festival and how it stayed the same even though there were some changes.  We sat on our blanket under the stars for the evening concert.  We were looking forward to seeing Graham Nash, but before he came on there was some thunder and rain.  We must be getting old, because we didn’t hesitate to pick up our stuff and head to the shuttle which took us back to our car.  Jon and his friends made it back to the concert and everyone said they really enjoyed it.

Sunday, Doug and I took off early to get to the Folk Fest in time to bring lunch for everyone.  Becky, Paola and the boys were enjoying the shade and children’s activities in Dulcimer Grove so we set up a blanket there and shared lunch with Jon and his friends.  The rest of the afternoon was spent at the Camp Stage listening to Celtic Music while Benjo played and colored and Mati walked and walked all around the grassy area.  Becky and family left and we said our good-byes and then we braved the sun to listen to more afternoon concerts.

At four pm the traditional bag piper marched through the crowd and onto the stage to start the last concert.  The music was great – lots of dancing in the “aisles” and as it got dark, the glo-sticks and glo-hula hoops came out.  Then Taj Mahal came on stage and once again, we had a great time listening to their tunes.  It is always a little bittersweet when the last concert comes to a close and we pick up our blanket, put on our shoes, find the rest of our stuff in the dark and say our good-byes.  This time it was not just leaving the Folk Fest grounds but also saying good-bye to our kids and grandkids.  This was the 56^th Philadelphia Folk Festival and we are confident that the Folksong Society will continue these festivals long into the future.  We always feel that we will be back someday!

We spent Monday resting and doing some laundry.  It was the day of the Solar Eclipse so we went outside to experience it.  We didn’t have the special glasses so we didn’t look directly at it.  We noted that the small patches of sunlight coming through the trees were crescent-shaped and that was pretty cool.  While we were outside, we met another couple – Joan and Bob – who own the same model RV.  They came over to visit with us later that day.  We compared notes and shared tips and travel suggestions with them.

August 22^nd was our 30^th wedding anniversary.  It turned out to be a travel day – we moved from Homestead to Gettysburg Farm Campground.  We spent the day remembering our wedding and talking about us.  We had already celebrated by being at the Folk Festival and with all the stuff we had been up to, it was nice to just relax a bit when we got to our new site.  That first night brought enough rain to make deep puddles on our grassy site that lasted until we left.

After another day of just food shopping and cooking, we went to see Gettysburg National Military site.  The museum was very well done.  We walked up to a circular room, called a Cyclorama, where there was the largest oil painting on the surrounding walls.  The painting depicted the battle of Gettysburg.  The Ranger told us that it was very carefully researched and the number and placement of the soldiers was accurate.  The foreground had 3-dimensional objects like boulders and cannons and shoes and trees so you really felt like you were in the battle.  The rest of the museum was equally riveting.  As you walked through the displays, you could stop to see a short movie explaining the events of each day of battle.

After learning about this part of the war in the museum, we got in our car and for over an hour we drove from site to site along the auto tour.  We read the descriptions of the different sites and started to understand the progress of the battle.  We were amazed at the number and size of the memorials scattered through the battlefield area.  Each and every battalion and division from each state and locality has erected some kind of statue or memorial to honor the dead and remember the struggle.  It would have taken days to see them all.  We then went to the National (Soldiers’) Cemetery – veterans from all the wars since the Civil War were laid to rest there.  We walked around the grave sites and enjoyed seeing trees from all over the United States.  We stood approximately where Lincoln gave his address.  Gettysburg was the turning point in the war and for us, it was a sad place but one that also inspired us.  The values that our country fought over all those years ago – we are still struggling now to get it right.

On Friday night we were so happy to be able to visit our friends Lee and Jill.  Lee and Doug were in elementary though high school together – so their friendship has deep roots.  We met Jill about 8 years ago when they got married.  Doug was Lee’s best man and the wedding was lovely – but as usual with this kind of event – we didn’t have much time to get to know Jill.  So it was a great pleasure for the four of us to connect.  We had a fun dinner at their beautiful new home in Mechanicsburg.  We talked for hours and then they came to visit our RV the next day.  Another fun meal and a long walk around our campground and then more hanging out and talking.  We enjoyed our time together so much we are hoping that Lee and Jill can meet us somewhere on our travels.  For sure, we will be seeing them when we pass this way again.

On August 27^th we left Gettysburg and headed west to the Pittsburgh area.  We are staying at the Madison/Pittsburgh KOA in Ruffs Dale, PA.  We have one of the best sites – a corner looking out at a pretty lake.

Yesterday, we did something that has been on my bucket-list.  We went to Fallingwater!  Frank Lloyd Wright built this magnificent home for the Kauffman family during the Depression.  To see it today is amazing.  Wright was so far ahead of his time that this home looks modern and the engineering involved in the iconic cantilevered patios is still being marveled at today.  It was Doug’s first Wright experience, but not mine.  I have been on the 3-hour tour at Taliesin West twice and in November I saw the Rosenbaum house in Florence, Alabama.  Taking these tours gives you an intimate look at the details, the structure, the order of the house and also gives you a deep look into the mind of a truly great architect.  Wright’s innovations stand the test of time.  I was thrilled to be able to be in this famous home.  What I hadn’t anticipated was that the home has been kept intact – including all the furniture and items that were the wealthy Kauffman’s.  I was up close and personal with a few Diego Rivera’s, a Picasso, some pre-Columbian art, and more.  It’s one thing to see art hanging in a museum.  It is a totally other experience to see famous art pieces hanging in a person’s home.  After the tour, we walked through the forest surrounding the home and stood looking at Bear Run, the powerful water that flows under the home.  A day to remember!

We will be leaving Pennsylvania this coming Thursday.  If you have read our blog, you can tell that we have done a lot in this state.  The weather has not always been great – some rain, lots of muggy days and overcast days.  But we can’t complain while we watch Hurricane Harvey destroy so much in Texas.  We now are having cooler temperatures that are hinting that Fall is coming.  We got to see lots of friends and family while we were in this state.  The only complaint we have is that the roads in Pennsylvania have been the worst we have experienced all over the country.  And some of the worst roads were tolls roads.  It really stinks to pay all that money and also put up with roads that clearly need repairs.  The RV with all its axles costs considerably more than a car – the last toll took $42.85 from us.  But with all the great things that we still want to see in this state – we will forget our complaints and be back.

We now turn westward.  Making our slow but steady trek towards Tucson.