The Long Road Home

The Harvest Moon Bed and Breakfast in New Holland, PA turned out to be a real find. Carl, the owner, is an accomplished chef. He prepared a breakfast sufficient for a houseful of guests even though we were the only ones. Just for starts, there was cereal and assorted fruits and nuts for toppings, the usual beverages, fruit salad, fresh grapefruit, and banana nut bread. Carl also made poached pears with a warm pecan sauce, an apricot crisp, bacon, and ham and cheese omelets. The coffee was great. Not only did he serve up this delicious spread, he sat and chatted with us while we ate and made suggestions about how we could spend our day in Lancaster County.

The Harvest Moon is a lovely old brick home, probably built around the 1940’s, and faithfully furnished and decorated in keeping with that period. Carl and his wife have collected all sorts of knickknacks, folk art, toys, and household items – like an old Singer sewing machine, a Victrola, a tricycle, a radio, and a typewriter – that would have been found in homes back then, and scattered them about as if the house’s original occupants still lived there. Not only that, he had some 40's big band music playing in the dining room while we ate. He said that part of successfully operating a B&B is appealing to all of the senses. He has certainly done a great job.

After lingering over breakfast and good conversation, we said goodbye to Carl and followed his advice to explore the back roads of the area. We drove by farm after farm and field after field, and saw Amish people outside working in their gardens and yards, hanging out the laundry, and driving down the roads in their horse drawn carriages. We did venture out to the main road once in order to visit the Lancaster County Visitor’s Center but it was so commercial and, we thought, exploitative, that it made us sad and a little angry, so we went right back to the countryside. We stopped at a picturesque folk art place that had a lot of items nicely displayed and later found a farm where they were selling quilts and other items they had made.

Now, our road trip over, we are creeping along in heavy traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike, not sure what is causing the slowdown. We hope the pace picks up soon because it is a long ride home even without any holdups.

We have enjoyed our little road trip in Bugle1 and learned some things: remember to bring binoculars, hats, walking sticks and a backpack for hiking; pack a data cable for places where there is broadband but no wi-fi; get a Mass. Turnpike FastLane transponder for the Jeep, since many states have reciprocal agreements; avoid planning trips that require extensive travel on major highways, and don’t plan a travel day through a metropolitan area on a Friday (duh!). This experience has reinforced our preferred practice of flying somewhere and then renting a car to tour the local sites. We have another trip in the Jeep tentatively planned for late summer or early fall to Acadia National Park in Maine, and we’re even debating about renting a pop-up trailer to see how we like camping out – although I think we may talk each other out of that pretty easily in favor of a nice hotel or B&B.

All of our photos have been uploaded to Flickr. That’s it for the PA-VA-PA road trip. Thanks for reading!

From the Mountains to the Valley - and Below

Our last day at the Big Meadow Lodge. We climbed a short trail behind the lodge to a summit overlooking the Shenandoah Valley, about 3700 feet below, and then started our drive toward the Valley. We stopped to hike down to Dark Hollow Falls, about a mile and a quarter round trip - the return trip being uphill all the way. Sufficiently exercised, we bought a few souveniers at the Skyland Lodge and went on our way. We were soon stopped, however, because a motorcyclist has crashed into the stone retaining wall a little further down the road. First we had to wait for the wreck to be cleared off the road and then waited again near the park exit below for the Life Flight helicopter to take the victim away. We hope he makes a speedy recovery from what must have been a very frightening experience.

Once in the valley town of Luray , we took a tour of the Luray Caverns, "the largest caverns in the eastern United States". Our trek below ground was fascinating.

Our objective today was the Harvest Moon B&B in New Holland, PA. We figured it would be a 4 to 5 hour drive - and it would have been if we hadn't encountered torrential rains that forced us to stop twice - once in Carlisle, PA where it rained so long and hard that the road flooded, and again shortly after that on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. It was pouring so hard that you simply couldn't see well enough to drive. We had to wait about a half an hour both times before the rain slowed down enough to allow us to continue. We finally made it here to our B&B around 9:30 pm, 6 hours after leaving Luray Caverns. We are in a lovely Victorian home and we are the only guests. The owner is originally from Gloucester. We plan to tour the back roads of Lancaster County before heading for home tomorrow.

Ranger Walks in Shenandoah National Park

Day two without Internet access – and we don’t even have a cell phone signal! Has the world stopped yet? It seems strange, but I am somehow surviving. I’m sure there’ll be a ton of email messages waiting whenever we can reconnect. That may be tomorrow when we get to our B&B in Lancaster County, PA, but maybe not. These posts may all have to wait until we’re back in Lunenburg.

The weather couldn’t have been better on this trip. Today it’s sunny and about 70 – perfect for being outdoors. We started with breakfast at the lodge. It is always so pleasant to sit in a park lodge’s cavernous dining room in front of a giant stone fireplace, gazing out at a beautiful view – this one being the green foothills and valley below and white puffy clouds in the bright blue sky overhead. The guests at park lodges always appear casual and relaxed. There is a feeling of camaraderie, sort of like being at summer camp, and nobody fusses about what they’re wearing or seems to be in a rush. We noticed that most of the people here at Big Meadow Lodge are couples our age or older, with a few younger couples sprinkled in. There are practically no children, although a couple on our morning ranger walk had a baby in a stroller and there was a very sweet little girl with our Meadow Walk group this afternoon.

I was intrigued by the title of this morning’s walk – The Story of the Limberlost. I read the book, Girl of the Limberlost, when I was probably 11 or 12 and something about that story captivated me so that I still remember parts of it vividly. I found out today that the Limberlost Trail here at Shenandoah is named after the wooded and marshy part of Indiana in which that book was set. On our walk, Ranger John gave us some of the history of the creation of this park and contrasted the types plants and trees that where found here then and now. The chestnuts that were originally here have all succumbed to a blight, and now the balsams have fallen to the adelphid, with the ones remaining cut down a few years ago to prevent this insect’s damage from spreading. Because of this, the area we walked through is pretty desolate with fallen trees, especially evident because the others are just beginning to leaf out. This morning’s walk was a compelling lesson about the devastating impact non-native species can have on native plants and trees.

This afternoon we walked through the Big Meadow. No one is sure exactly why this open meadow is here and has not become covered with shrubs and trees. Mara, our ranger, pointed out many tiny wildflowers that are just beginning to show themselves. We saw some deer grazing nearby – and also saw one almost hit by a car passing by too fast on Skyline Drive. Deer are abundant here and don’t seem at all intimidated by people or cars. We visited the site of the home of a family who once lived here. All that remains now is the stone foundation. Around 400 families who lived here when the area became a national park were all bought out by the federal government in the 1930s, many against their will. It’s not hard to imagine how sad it must have been for those families to have to leave this beautiful place and the lives they had made here.

Tomorrow we’ll head to north Lancaster County, stopping at the Luray Caverns on our way out of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

From Independence Hall to the Big Meadow Lodge

We started the day in the historic city of Philadelphia and ended it at the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We woke up in our elegant room at the Morris House Hotel and went downstairs for breakfast in front of the fireplace in the book-lined dining room. After we checked out and stowed our luggage in the Jeep, we walked over to Independence Park to get our free tickets for the tour of Independence Hall. It was moving to know we were standing in the same buildings and walking the same brick-paved paths as Benjamin Franklin, John and Sam Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine. We checked out the Liberty Bell, now enshrined in a building with tighter security than an international airport. The highlight of our walk back in time, for me, was our horse-and-buggy tour around the Independence Park and Society Hill. Our guide pointed out the historical and architectural features of many of the public buildings and private homes in this area, embellishing her narration with stories of the people who built and occupied them. I was delighted with her story about 4’11” James Madison and the 6-foot tall lady he courted and later married, named Dolly.

After the obligatory lunch of Philly Cheese Steaks at Benny's Place on Market Street, we hopped in Bugle1 and hit the road. Five and a half hours later, we checked into the Big Meadow Lodge at Shenandoah National Park. The drive down wasn't fun. It was heavy going most of the way and we didn't quite clear the Beltway in time to avoid the beginning of rush hour, so it was pretty bogged down from there until we finally left Rt. 66 in Virginia. We did reach Shenandoah before dark, so we were able to enjoy many breathtaking vistas as we ascended Skyline Drive. Our room has a balcony overlooking the valley. We had a delicious meal in the lodge's dining room while watching the sun go down behind the Blue Ridge and we're looking forward to a couple of ranger-lead walks tomorrow.

Heading south in Bugle1

Tomorrow we leave for our road trip in mr. lo's new Jeep to Shenandoah National Park. We'll stop partway down in Philadelphia tomorrow night and hope to see a few sights before we complete the trip to Big Meadow Lodge on Tuesday. I'll post when Internet access is available and add photos to Flickr where you can see the full-sized photos and even run them in a slide show if you want.