A new stretch of Highway is being build through this valley here, a very rude way to disturb this beauty here...
I manage to get safely out of West Virginia, even though I think these people here are pretty wired, first of all most of the drivers here think this is a race, in no other state have I've been passed so many times and so unsafe too, double yellow line, 55 MPH speed-limit, I go about 60 to 65, broom... another car passes me, what's up guys, also somewhat unfriendly at the gas-station and weird in the stores, but whatever, I'm out of here. Just before I leave I stop at a gas-station to get some lousy hot brown water with a Snicker Bar, "sorry no Snickers here" so I get a Reese's Peanut butter something crunchy and then I call Pei, I think she is merit to a guy from this state, mostly agreeable with the way he is... But really nice way deep down, thats for sure.
At quarter to five I cross the Potomac River into the State of Maryland. In Cumberland I had a hard time finding I-68, did eventually, by going to see a lot of that town. I do enjoy that, even by just driving. Now I'm looking for the Hwy-220 turn-off, no problem. Going north on that Highway,I cross into Pennsylvania, sorry Maryland, you were only good for 13 miles. Here in Pennsylvania I need to find a place to camp, even though the weather still does not look very promising, but I have to camp tonight, it's the law. In Bedford a sign points me West to the Shawnee State Park, I figure there be some camping there. I find a private campground first and check-into see for availability.
A little bit more than 20 bucks with a AAA rebate for a night on the grass, I'm ready to relax after the 173 miles drive some quality time alone with the computer is a fine thing.
Another Camp-site, here at the Shawnee Sleepy Hollow Campground...
Where I can work undisturbed on words and pictures!!!
It rained a couple of times at night not hard just so slightly and for short times, woke up a couple of times because I hear it rain. Then again in a tent you hear every drop that lands on it's skin, and after a while you think it's pouring rain outside. In fact is, that it just spits a few drops. Then in the morning when I come out of the tent every thing is dry. I'm sure glad about that, because I don't want to pack-up a soaking wet tent like I did in Louisiana during Cycle Zydeco. Lets eat some breakfast. More muessly with apple and banana, and of corse a hot cup of tea. Now I'm ready to start the battle of my day!
I'm backtracking yesterdays drive on PA-30 to Bedford, Pennsylvania. There I pass the Cannondale Factory in town. Maybe I should go dumpster-diving to see if there are some misfit bicycle-frames laying in there, then again maybe not, who has time for that, when there are better adventures ahead!
Instead of entering the Pennsylvania Turn-pike I stay on PA-30, its free and much more fun, specially with the Battle of Gettysburg ahead.But first I drive trough some green hills almost mountains through villages like Breezewood, Saluvia, Harrisonville, Fort Loudon, St Thomas.
House along the road in St. Thomas, PA...
Battle field of Gettysburg, a great piece of history lays in front of me...
Many important statues of generals, solders and goof-heads spot the landscape here...
I didn't want to spend too much time here, study all this history and remember all the names of the heroes that formed this important piece of American history!
It's time to move on, it's almost raining, drizzling and cold, back behind the steering-wheel and point the car towards north. After driving through the town of Gettysburg I hit Highway 15 North to Harrisburg, some curving around there along the Susquehanna River to Interstate 81 North.
In Harrisburg I'm sighting electrified railroad. Here on the east-coast is a lot of that, unusual for the states though, most engines are diesel-electric locomotives. I remember when I was in Harrisburg with Elaine in 2004, her brother and his girlfriend, Don and Annie, had a booth at a crafts-fair here and since we where already on the East-coast we hoped on the train from Philadelphia to see them, and that locomotive was electric. It was a fun trip to discover the East of the US.
Now I'm on a rest-stop of the I-81, using the rest-rooms and stretch my lazy body a bit, I'm ready for a yoga-class. but I have a bit more than 200 miles to go today, so lets move it. Interstate 81 veers north and 78 keeps the old corse further east towards Allentown. At some point I passed the Samuel Adams Brewery, now I don't usually drink their beer because the guy doing the commercials annoyed the heel out of me with his stupid talk about the way HE makes his beer with such and such ingredients not like the "others" who just do such and such with their beer, bla bla bla, it's the same stuff as any mass-brewed beers in this country, I can tell by the look of the brew-house... after all it is a Boston brewery lost in Pennsylvania.
Just before 3 o'clock I took an exit without any info about what is at this exit and so I ended up driving another highway to nowhere in order to find a cup of hot brown water. Unsuccessful I U-turn to get back to I-78 towards the state-line of New Jersey, longing for a coffee and something sweet...
A unsuccessful outing didn't get me any coffee or doughnut...
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