Summer Travel Countdown and Review

Despite the fact that it is going to be in the 90’s on Wednesday, the summer is pretty much over so I thought I would take the time to go over some of the favorite trips that my wife and I took during the warmer months. This will not be a complete list as I am going to stick with my top 10 (with a favorite photo from each trip). They are ranked based on a variety of factors with some ranking higher because of the meaning of the trip rather than the place itself or because of some discovery that was made during our time there. Of course, many of them are simply places that we enjoyed and look forward to returning to in the near future. So, without further delay, here is countdown.

Honorable Mentions – Williamsport and Fort Washington

Williamsport was the furthest we traveled this summer and while it was an interesting trip I am not sure it was one that I would make again. It is a nice little town but one that leaves you wanting more. Fort Washington (Harvest Books in particular) is somewhere we will always visit. Maybe it will move up the list if we explore a bit more but for now it is just one of those common places that is part of our regular routine.

10 – Harrisburg

By no means is this one of the more pleasant or attractive places to visit and, during our time there, we weren’t able to get as much done as we hoped with regard to our genealogical research but it was a good trip. I put it at number ten because of the discovery I was able to make in a local book store (more about that in a later post) and for the glimpses of the past that the city still possesses (albeit deep under a layer of urban decay in some areas). It was a laid back trip for us and our first real exploration into the research process in an archive. For those reasons it made the cut but just barely.

9 – New Hope

I know a number of people who would easily put this in the top spot on their list but, for me, it was an okay trip. The town itself is very clean and easy to get around but the atmosphere is not something that I would like to spend a lot of time immersed in. The high tourist prices are also something that makes me hesitate to return. However, it was a great place to walk around and somewhere that my wife could browse around in multiple shops for Wizard of Oz merchandise. The smile it brought to her face bumped up this small town to number 9.

8 – Milford and The Delaware Water Gap

The drive along Route 209 through the Delaware Water Gap is one of the most beautiful day trips you can take on this side of the commonwealth. Milford was a nice little town and I would like to go back at some point when there isn’t a music festival clogging up the streets. This trip does win for best meal during our summer travels with the pastrami salmon sandwich at Bar Louis (I would return just for that). But the trip back is really what earns the spot on this list as we were able to explore Raymondskill Falls (similar in size to Bushkill Falls but free) and we stopped by Country Junction in Lehighton just before getting back on I-476. I don’t expect it to be anytime soon but I know we will take this trip again in the future.

7 – Appalachian Trail

This was not the most exciting trip we took during the summer but it was good to just get out and hike for a change. It had been way too long since I had put my boots on a dirt trail. The trail is beautiful in the summer and if get to the mid way point at the right time you can run into a number of through hikers and hear a handful of interesting stories about their time walking in the woods. But, in the end, the reason for the placement above the aforementioned trips is simple; this is something that I was able to cross off my bucket list. I would like to return some day to walk a bit more.

6 – Crystal Cave

When the temperature is in the mid 90’s with high humidity it is a refreshing experience walking into a cave. While I have explored a handful of caves in my life it had been some time since I had last gone spelunking and this was a first for my wife. The reason for the higher ranking is twofold. First, exploring a cave is a great exercise if you enjoy photography as it forces you to use depth and find patterns in a way that is seldom seen beyond the cavernous confines. Second, this was a trip back to my childhood as I have a vague recollection of a school field trip to this location and it was nice to share that memory with my wife. I am certain that we will bring others with us upon our return.

5 – Local Cemeteries (Leverington, Barren Hill, and Gulph Christian)

This trip was long overdue and while it had its depressing moments the overall experience was one that I will never forget. When you spend hours upon hours working on your family history you can easily get lost in the documents and forget the people and places. Visiting the graves of your ancestors brings you back to reality in a way that is hard to explain. This was the first time I was able to visit the resting places of my family and one that I will never forget. I will return in the future as there still is a lot of work to be done and a wrong that needs to be made right. I don’t know when but I will be writing about this topic in the future.

4 – Gettysburg

When you know your family participated in the Civil War, visiting some of the battlefields takes on an entirely different dimension. When you know you had family members on opposite ends of the field it brings about a certain surreal aspect to the experience. Standing behind the rows of cannons you can’t help but think about what it would be like knowing that your actions could cause the death of your family member. Today it is a fascinating contrast between the beauty of the scenery and the horrors of what transpired 150 years ago. I am certain that we will return in the future when we can spend more time walking the fields.

3 – Knoebels

This was a great trip and one that we are both looking forward to taking again in the future. It was one of those simply enjoyable experiences where we could walk around the amusement park taking in the sights and sounds all the while doing so on a budget. Being nestled in the mountains while going on rides and taking pictures is the perfect amusement park experience for us and one that I am glad we were able to share this summer.

2 – Jim Thorpe (x2)

There is a reason why this little mountain town was the only place we visited multiple times this summer. This may be our favorite little town to visit and we are looking forward to returning over and over again. It was a great place for us to both relax and explore at the same time which is not an easy combination to find. Natural mountainous beauty mixed with the small town charm is a hard combination to beat. This would have taken the top spot if it wasn’t for one very special event this summer.

1 – New Providence

I can’t say that I am a fan of Lancaster County. I really don’t have anything against it but it is not somewhere that I would choose to visit, I much rather go to the mountains. However, there is one reason why we continue to go back and that is to visit family. That alone would not get New Providence on this list but this summer it shot to the top. The reason is simple, my niece graduated in June and we headed over there both for the party and for the actual graduation ceremony. I am immensely proud of my niece and being able to see her graduate is why this was the best trip of the summer.

So that’s the recap of my favorite trips that my wife and I took this summer. As I said before, there are various reasons for the placements but this is how things fell into place as I looked back over the last few months. I am looking forward to continuing to travel around the commonwealth and while the frequency has since diminished I am looking forward to a few destinations in the near future that I will be writing about and posting pictures. For now I will leave you with a couple of questions (both topics I will also be writing about in the future): What are some of you favorite local destinations? Where would you like to go?

Working On The Bucket List

It’s always a great feeling to cross something off your bucket list and yesterday I was able to do just that when my wife and I walked on the Appalachian Trail. We didn’t walk very far but we left our boot prints on the trail and that is enough to cross it off the list. It is because of that simple list that we drove about three and a half hours each way just to hike for about two and a half hours.

Our trip this week did not begin on a good note as we sat in traffic on the Schuykill Expressway for about an hour waiting for a multi car accident to be cleaned up (Thank you KYW for the heads up after we put our car in park on the expressway). Once we passed the pile of morons (seeing the aftermath I can say for certain that stupidity was involved), the highway cleared up and we were finally making progress. The rest of the drive happened without incident and we arrived at Gardners, Pennsylvania in the Pine Grove Furnace State Park.

Once we arrived we immediately calculated in what direction and how far we would have to hike by chatting with some section hikers who had just emerged from the woods. We found out that about a three miles hike south would do the trick and get us to the halfway point. Now that we had our bearings it was time to start walking.

We passed the park’s namesake…

...with flowers blooming beside it...

…and the local hostel (which is quite full this time of year)…

…and made our way into the woods (no musical interlude needed thank you).

The first part of our hike was uphill and was not assisted in any way by the hot and muggy day… the kind of heat and humidity that makes us dread the oncoming of summer. Shortly after beginning it was made very clear that an overweight, out of shape, smoker on the trail does not move very fast. Much of this was explained by Bill Bryson in his excellent book “A Walk In The Woods” but his account isn’t really fully appreciated until you experience your fatness firsthand.

While the hike was hard for those of us in, to put it nicely, non hiking shape, there were times of even terrain that allowed us to find our breath and enjoy the path weaving in-between the trees.

There were also a few spots along the way that opened up and provided a small secluded wilderness oasis.

Throughout our excursion, we walked on a wide variety of surfaces from rocks…

…and plain old dirt…

…to little streams…

…and bridges.

We walked on logs (used as stairs)…

…through logs…

…and beside many fallen trees.

After about 75 minutes on the trail we had decided to push ahead for another 15 minutes to see if we could make it to the half waypoint. Shortly after resuming, the trail became a little too much for the fat man and his wife as the overgrowth covered the forest floor hiding the path and the footing that was tenuous at best. With a questionable trail and an evident imbalance between desire and ability we decided to turn around and try another day when we were both in better shape.

The hike back seemed much easier and enjoyable than our blind trek into the thick woods a short time ago and before we knew it we were passing signs in the trail that we clearly remembered.

As the cabins appeared in the distance and the rain began to drum the mountain canopy we could see trail open up and the asphalt get darker and darker as the AT thrust us back into civilization. A short walk down the road we were warmly greeted at the Appalachian Trail Museum which was right next to the parking lot where we left our car for the afternoon.

After a quick tour of the one room tribute to the trail, a few quick conversations with some weathered thru hikers, and we were heading back to the car leaving our last few footprints on the trail before we went home.

Our hike ended just in time as the off and on rain of the early afternoon was gearing up for an early summer onslaught.

But even with a nearly four hour drive home, I had crossed an item off my bucket list and that makes for a great day no matter how long the commute might have been.