Reporting in from the road

Hey, all! We're starting the second leg of our trip today - we've spent the last week in the Allegheny region of Pennsylvania, and I must say it was quite nice. Temperatures in the high 60s to low 70s during the day, 50s at night, low, low humidity, and scenic drives all around!

We checked out Kinzua Dam, Kinzua Bridge State Park, Jake's Rocks, Warren, Bradford, Grand Canyon of PA, hiked the Tracy Ridge trail, drove on the Longhouse Scenic Byway, and trekked out to Pittsburgh (where a security guard told us to stop taking pictures of PPG Place) <--besides that, it is a really nice city, very accessible and not too big. I went under the "Timpani" bridge, but I didn't see any timber supports there - it looks like the bridges have been undergoing repairs as of late.

Well, that's all for now. I'm on a limited access wireless plan so I can't indulge right now.

Just a couple of quick notes, though: US-219 in Bradford is one of the worst roads I have ever been on. Concrete slabs with holes everywhere, a very poor shoulder, etc, especially on the Northbound side. But, US-219 South of Bradford is a very enjoyable ride, the only traffic I encountered was a car from CT that I was behind for about 1 1/2 hours.

That's all for now!

Wow! Sounds like great weather! I'm sitting here in Phoenix in 110+ today. (I think I'm actually going to have to turn on the air conditioning.)

As far as being forbidden to take photos by a security guard, I understand their concerns but is this really the kind of country (atmosphere-wise) we want to live in? I like better the British people's response after the attacks in London this past week -- one man interviewed had the day off -- but the day after the bombings rode the Tube to work anyway just to make his point. They don't call it GREAT Britain for nothing.

Thanks for the report. Bob

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Originally Posted by TimboTA

Hey, all! We're starting the second leg of our trip today - we've spent the last week in the Allegheny region of Pennsylvania, and I must say it was quite nice. Temperatures in the high 60s to low 70s during the day, 50s at night, low, low humidity, and scenic drives all around!

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Sounds about perfect. Dennis will be bringing a bunch of moist air in the next week up there -- so enjoy while you can.

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trekked out to Pittsburgh (where a security guard told us to stop taking pictures of PPG Place)

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Yeah, Thurman had the same experience, but here is a photo of downtown:http://azfoo.net/places/pittsburgh/p...wntownPitt.jpg

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I went under the "Timpani" bridge, but I didn't see any timber supports there - it looks like the bridges have been undergoing repairs as of late.

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Bummer. Well, thanks for checking for us!

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Just a couple of quick notes, though: US-219 in Bradford is one of the worst roads I have ever been on. Concrete slabs with holes everywhere, a very poor shoulder, etc, especially on the Northbound side. But, US-219 South of Bradford is a very enjoyable ride, the only traffic I encountered was a car from CT that I was behind for about 1 1/2 hours.

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Thanks for that field report. Have fun!

Mark

It really is a beautiful city, isn't it?

Well, the security guard mumbled something about "private property" and handed me a torn brochure...I guess it's akin to being in the lobby of a building. I don't know, I didn't bother to ask him (truth be told, he probably couldn't have answered "why" anyway!).

The city is quite nice. We're in Fredericksburg, VA right now. We went into town today and walked all around. A highlight of our walking tour was viewing in-progress restoration at the Kenmore Plantation , a definite must-see for anyone interested in history. Three girls were in there working away with dental picks and the like on the intricate plaster detailing. Many other homes and businesses in the area are being restored. Just last week, I was lamenting how the country seems to have forgotten how to paint highly visible edifices (this includes oil refineries and their enormous, rust-covered structures) - but here they seem to have remembered.

The area is growing really fast, even since our last visit in 2001. According to Sunday's paper, in the 1990s, an average of 23 people moved into the city <i>every day</i>, which is over 84,000 people. Looking at 1990 vs. 2000 census figure data gives an interesting picture.

The weather here...hot, humid, sticky. Ah, just like back home in MA! But, that's okay. I prefer heat to cold anway. Tuesday is pretty much shot as I have to take a test for an online class I'm taking (note to self: don't schedule classes when you're on vacation!), but I'm trying to get it done tonight (Monday) so I can get out a little bit. We're planning a day or two in DC, then we're headed back home on Friday.

Then I begin planning for a blast drive in August!

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Originally Posted by TimboTA

The weather here...hot, humid, sticky. Ah, just like back home in MA! But, that's okay. I prefer heat to cold anway.

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You lucky dog. Washington DC in July. In addition the usual stuff, there are a couple of places you might find interesting: The National Museum of the American Indian and The National Museum of Health and Medicine (you aren't squeamish are you?)

Also could you do me a favor, dial 511 on your mobile/motel phone and provide a field report here on how useful the system is for traffic in DC and the surrounding area.

Great to hear from you.

mark

Well, we just got back from our trip! What a hectic day of driving...we also lost one of our travel mascots that's been with us since '99. His name is Martin and he is a bat from Mammoth Cave, KY. Right now we're quite sad. Maybe he'll show up yet...

We didn't get into Washington, DC at all. A combination of weather, traffic, and time management conspired against us. A rare defeat, that.

The trip was, overall, quite enjoyable. Our first day out, we headed along I-90 to I-88 and stopped for breakfast in Cooperstown, NY. Breakfast was subpar, but at least it was something. We picked from several different establishments and I guess we came up short. Oh well. Traffic on I-88 was almost non-existent.

From there we headed on to PA-267, 706, 409 and then US-6. A great meandering drive through the forest. We stopped at Colton Point State Park, the "Grand Canyon of PA" for lunch. The views were spectacular from the overlooks. There is a short trail running along the rim with some binocular stations. In the river below folks were swimming.

Our last stretch was on PA-59 to the campground. This road appears to have once been heavily traveled, but is now mostly fodder for locals bringing their boats to the Allegheny Reservoir.

Speaking of the reservoir (and the national forest of the same name), we were able to take a long hike in its environs. The air was thick, but once we made it to the shore and dipped our feet in the water, it was all worth it. We hiked for over 6 hours.

One day we headed for a ride to nowhere, and ended up taking PA-27 into Titusville to the Drake Well Museum, where, bonus!!, a car show was taking place. Everything from 1911 Fords to 1986 Firebirds were there. There was a DeSoto Airflow and a 68 Camaro driven by a man in a wheelchair. We walked the show, we walked the grounds, and we went in the museum and now know more than we ever thought we would about producing oil. PA-27 was smooth sailing. In fact, most of the roads we encountered (exceptions noted) were enjoyable drives, whether you like a sporting drive or a relaxed one.

Our day in Pittsburgh, as mentioned above, was overall enjoyable. We took US-62 much of the way. I counted 11 historical markers in as many miles. Pennsylvania has recently (2002) redone all of its historical markers in a nice blue paint, and they are highly visible.

Towards the end of the week, we drove the Longhouse Scenic Drive and stopped off at Jake's Rocks, which has great overlooks of the Kinzua Dam and surrounding areas. Thanks to my local maps, we were able to head up to the reservoir that is used for the Kinzua Dam peaking station (where all the water is stored at the top of the mountain). It's not hard to get to, but it is something to see. We headed to Kinzua Bridge, which, unfortunately, was partially destroyed by a tornado a couple of years ago.

At the campground, we met a couple from New York that appeared to be on their first outing together. We talked a little bit, but they seemed quite shy so the conversation fizzled out.

Since I'm still not digital with my photographs (odd for a computer science student, yes?), I'll have to wait until I get my film developed to post any pix. And yes, I'm going to be shopping for a camera soon, but I can't abandon my film SLR.

This was the first leg of the trip, which was more relaxed. I'll post about the second leg later.

Here's some pix from the trip: One from Colton State Park (the Grand Canyon of PA), another of Kinzua Dam (color's a bit off - old scanner)


<img src = "http://home.comcast.net/~shecky258/GrandCanyonPA.jpg">

<img src = "http://home.comcast.net/~shecky258/Kinzua.jpg">

Great trip report! I can't wait for the next installment. I had never heard of the "Grand Canyon of PA" so that was interesting to read about. How fun to run into a good car show like that. Sounds like you saw some great cars!

TimboTA, I recently completed a drive with a group of friends with our Porsche's through the Allegheny Forest, leaving from Fort Erie, Ontario to Kane, Longhouse Scenic-By-Way, St. Mary's, Hwy 555 to Emporium etc. The roads in Pennsylvania are EXCELLENT but I do agree with you on the US 219 in Bradford. We tried to by-pass this section of the highway along High Street but it to was not great.

The scenery in that area is fantastic, unfortunatly we did not manage to visit the Kinzua Bridge.

We had a good lunch stop at the Kane Manor Inn. Over night accomodations were in the town of St. Mary's at The Towne House Country Inn. A great place to stay.

I would like to post some pictures: how did you insert pictures with the text and not as an attatchment?

Sports Car Driver

Sportscardriver:

wrt images:

I am putting the images on my ISPs server and inserting an HTML tag that points to there.

We were in a Subaru Forester XT on this trip - her new ride - and we saw a few motorcycles in the area. Bikers tend to know the most enjoyable roads for driving!

Bikers have a nose, you might say, for the twisty, scenic roads. We live for them (just like Porsche-car drivers...)

"Bugs on His Teeth Bob"

I agree with you Bob. The best roads are not only the ones less travelled, but the gravel roads too. Two wheelers do in deed know where the good ones are.

Well, I'm having a go at posting some pictures. So here is one of me enjoying the Longhouse scenic byway.

Hey, if your going to post a picture, why not make it a happy one :-)

Okay, so I have some time to post a little more! (forgive me if I repeat something previously posted elsewhere)

We left PA on Saturday morning and headed South on US-219. That was a really nice ride through small towns and not much traffic. At one spot a couple of guys were setting up for a BBQ and the scent wafted across the road. If I hadn't just eaten I probably would have stopped and begged a bite!

We then headed across US-22, to the "Bud Shuster Freeway" (the improperly-named Interstate 99), and onto US-220 - another great drive, partially along a river and with minimal traffic (of course, it was Saturday!). East on I-68 then South on US-522 into West Virginia...where the traffic was at a standstill due to some kind of craft fair in Berkeley Springs. This is where it got a little weird.

We were running low on fuel so we stopped at a gas station that was packed with tourists. Being from MA, I am used to pumping my own fuel and proceeded to do so when a girl on a cell phone approached me and asked if I needed help. My instinct was: urchin preying on unsuspecting tourist in a crowded environment, hoping for confusion. I asked "You work here" "Yes". My cynicism on full-bore: "Oh, because I thought you were hanging out talking on the phone." Yeah, probably not the nicest response, but I smelled a rat.

She went on to another car.

I went inside to pay, and it turned out she "worked" there. I use the term loosely because it didn't appear much work was being performed. Err on the side of caution, I suppose.

So we headed out of there, again traffic at a crawl, this time because some guy decided to take his farm tractor for a 10 mile drive, and at the front of the line, an 18-wheeler. Ugh -

After that, the road opened up quite nicely and we hit US-17 without fanfare. Something seemed amiss when we got a little further along the road, though. Why is it such a wide highway? I would soon find out.

Flashback to Summer, 2001: Our first trip to Fredericksburg, VA. "Looks nice. Census figures show the town to be about the same size as where we're from." Nope, growing fast. "Wow, in a couple of years this will all be built up."

Present Day: Yeah, it's built up, that's for sure. We neared Fredericksburg, and Hey! Strip mall! Chain store! Franchise restaurant! Dozens of them, plopped into a distinct section of road that is, what, 10 lanes wide? Washington DC Southern extension, it seems. As I've mentioned before, quite the change. A little disconcerting, though. I thought to myself "These roads have got to be at capacity". A news story in the paper said as much our first day there.

Well, that's it for right now. I'll post more about what we actually <i>did</i> while we were there in a bit.

LOL....I love your writing style!

I'm just picturing you at the gas station and creeping along after the tractor. I can't wait to hear about your further adventures.

Well, the second week was quite different, weather wise, than the first. The humidity was very high, and the daily temperatures were in the 90's, with heat indices over 100. Being a fan of warm temperatures, I wasn't hating it. Of course, our cabin had A/C.

Saturday was travel day, so Sunday we stayed at the campground, me doing homework and her at the pool. Well, after a couple of hours of that, I decided it was time to get out of nerd mode and into relaxation mode. The pool was a perfect temperature, and nobody else was up there. Sweet!

Monday, we tried to get up early and head into Washington, DC. Instead, we woke up around 8am and then tried to head in. Not going to happen. Traffic was backed up to about 25 miles from the city. We stopped at a commuter bus station and picked up some information. We then headed into Fredericksburg proper (the historic district) and walked around.

I'm glad we did. We walked up and down the streets in town, which have painted cat and dog statues all over. A local stopped to take a picture. We told him they were all over - "Really? I only come into town to buy cigarettes. I never noticed them."

I guess you don't know what you've got until someone from outside points it out to you.

We lunched at Ellie's Tea Room at the Chimneys, which is located (as most businesses here are) in an historic building, this one with the requisite ghost stories posted about inside.

The highlight of the day was the aforementioned tour of Kenmore (pics forthcoming). There was another couple from MA (as if the Red Sox hat didn't give it away!) and a couple from VA on the tour with us. The tour was short but sweet, and afterwards we were allowed to meander around the gardens.

Afterwards we headed back to Caroline Street, which is the main drag, and had some really good ice cream at Lee's Homemade. It was very rich, though the cookie dough ice cream I had was a little too sugary.

Tuesday was more or less shot with me holed up in the cabin doing a test and having to fax it in to my professor. We ventured into the commercial nightmare on US-17. Fortunately there was a Kinkos/FedEx, and with the help of their G4 and super-fast fax, my test was on its way. Doing a 15 week class in 7...what was I thinking???

Wednesday we had planned to go to DC, but a violent storm Tuesday night kept us both awake all night, so we woke up rather late. Thinking back to Monday, we decided to do something else. What's around? How about Caledon Natural Area? We headed out on the road to US-17 Eastbound. What a difference! Nobody on this road, the landscape of Virginia's Eastern Shore prominent, clear skies, and, again, open road! Sweet!

A farmstand beckoned from the side of the road. Where are the peaches? Oh, yes. The holy grail of peachdom, Southern peaches. Why oh why can I only get those hard-as-a-rock California peaches in Mass? That's no good. But stick these babies in a paper bag for a day after buying, and, oh, so good! One bite fills the mouth with that succulent sweetness, a blast of moisture to quench your thirst. Drool........... Three will do for now (I should have bought eight).

Caledon is the Summer home for bald eagles. As such, the area where they nest is off limits from April to October, though you can take hikes of varying lengths through the hardwood forest. We took the shortest of the three, this being a spontaneous trip and we weren't prepared for a longer hike.

The Area also has an old homestead on it that contains a male and a female taxidermied eagles, various educational items, and an enormous eagle's nest off the back deck.

We continued driving after our stop there and headed to George Washington's Birthplace National Monument. While it was near closing time when we arrived, we were able to drive around the grounds. What a great place to grow up!

Thursday we got up early and tried to buy tickets for the commuter rail at the station in Fredericksburg. No dice. So, we tried to drive into DC. Keep in mind this is 5:30am. Yeah, great plan. Traffic backed up at least as far as the last time. I suppose I should have looked back at my notes from our last trip and realized that you have to buy your ticket at least a day in advance. But maybe something deep inside was making both of us hesitant to go into the city. Probably the weather. Heck, the only times I've ever been to DC is in the peak of the Summer humidity. Maybe I subconsciously didn't want to deal with that again!

So it turned into another day of lazing around, swimming and riding our bikes, reading magazines we picked up in the morning. I planned our route home.

And it's late, my mind is tired from work and my eyes are tired too, so I'll save that last part for another day.

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Originally Posted by TimboTA

We then headed into Fredericksburg proper (the historic district) and walked around.

I'm glad we did. We walked up and down the streets in town, which have painted cat and dog statues all over. A local stopped to take a picture. We told him they were all over - "Really? I only come into town to buy cigarettes. I never noticed them."

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Did you find out the source of the public art project?

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I guess you don't know what you've got until someone from outside points it out to you.

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That is part of the secret behind the concept of the two-hour roadtrip!

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A farmstand beckoned from the side of the road. Where are the peaches? Oh, yes. The holy grail of peachdom, Southern peaches. Why oh why can I only get those hard-as-a-rock California peaches in Mass? That's no good. But stick these babies in a paper bag for a day after buying, and, oh, so good! One bite fills the mouth with that succulent sweetness, a blast of moisture to quench your thirst. Drool...........

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Stop it. You are making us hungry!

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Thursday we got up early and tried to buy tickets for the commuter rail at the station in Fredericksburg. No dice. So, we tried to drive into DC. Keep in mind this is 5:30am. Yeah, great plan. Traffic backed up at least as far as the last time. I suppose I should have looked back at my notes from our last trip and realized that you have to buy your ticket at least a day in advance. But maybe something deep inside was making both of us hesitant to go into the city. Probably the weather. Heck, the only times I've ever been to DC is in the peak of the Summer humidity. Maybe I subconsciously didn't want to deal with that again!

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Bummer. DC is still an amazing place -- maybe next time?

Looking forward to the 3rd installment of this report!

Mark

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Originally posted by <strong>Editor</strong>: <br>
Did you find out the source of the public art project?

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Yes, we did:
http://65.17.219.53/Subpage.asp?pageid=4&subpageid=42

Well, getting into DC was surely made more difficult by the events of the week before.

The day of our departure we were to leave fairly early, but I figured given the traffic situation we should wait until later in the day. We left around 8am, and headed NW out of Fredericksburg on US-17. I was amazed that, even heading away from where most of the residents worked, traffic was still backed up. This lasted a short time, appeared to clear up, but by the time we got to US-15, traffic was just a long line of vehicles. This continued until we were North of Frederick, MD.

It is quite shocking that the DC metro area has spread this far West, having just seen how far South it has encroached. At one point, near Leesburg, VA, I believe, I was struck by how much development had gone on. Coming out of the rolling hillside of the Virginia I know and love, and into Anytown, USA was disheartening. I'm sure there are some merits and hidden jewels in the area; I was not of a mind to go looking for them that day.

Through PA the road was smooth sailing. We hopped on I-78 after a brief stint on US-22. A quick fuel stop and bathroom break, then on again until lunch, which is where things just went downhill quickly.

Hunger will make you do stupid things. One of these things is breaking your own rules. We did this, stopping for fast food at a (pseudo Mexican restaurant). Just the feel when we entered the building was bad news. I haven't seen that many irate customers in a long time (I'll spare the details, but it was ugly). Yet, we stayed for some stupid reason, thus breaking another rule. We ate something that resembled food, and headed back onto the road.

Things were uneventful until we closed in on the Tappan Zee bridge, when we realized someone was missing: Martin! He's one of our mascots that we got in KY in 1999. We had propped him up in a pocket near the door handle on the passenger side. In our haste to leave the fast food doldrums, he must have fell out. Either that or the stop before. She searched around, but we couldn't find him. After getting off of I-95 in CT (we missed an exit and ended up on that mess), we took US-1 a ways and onto some back roads. Back roads in CT are stop signs with some pavement in between. I pulled over and searched, in vain. We had to come to the realization that our friend was gone. :-(

At one point we got on I-84 (breaking another, sacred rule), then worked to CT-8. At least this was a nice ride into MA and along MA-57. We got home around 8pm, road weary and a little upset.

Needless to say, not the most satisfying trip for us. I'm hoping my upcoming ride will help remedy this - I'm actually going to KY - but we did (re)learn some things.

Namely, those rules I mentioned. We broke these rules:

Chain fast-food is to be avoided if there are other options available!
If, upon entering any establishment, there is a noticable air of negativity, leave!
Avoid CT roads IF the focus is timely travel!

and our number one rule:

Though shalt not travel Interstate 84 in NY or CT!

We saw a lot of nice things, and many parts of the trip were quite enjoyable, but a lot of the smaller things added up to bigger problems. We were able to reflect on where we are going in our lives, and this may lead to bigger and better things, and isn't that what vacations are for?

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Originally Posted by TimboTA

Though shalt not travel Interstate 84 in NY or CT!
We saw a lot of nice things, and many parts of the trip were quite enjoyable, but a lot of the smaller things added up to bigger problems. We were able to reflect on where we are going in our lives, and this may lead to bigger and better things, and isn't that what vacations are for?

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Tim,
OK -- Have to ask -- what is so bad about I-84?

Thanks for the latest installment of this on-going roadtrip of life.

Mark

Interstate 84 and I do not get along, and it's been that way for about 5 years now. Whether it's the strange engineering, construction, or traffic, I find it more relaxing (and faster, though that's not the point) to take I-87 to I-90 into MA from points South.

We have rarely had an enjoyable experience on that section of highway. It used to be one of the first and one of the last roads we would take on a trip. Coming back and getting frustrated 75 miles (but 3 hours on this road for some reason) from home did not put a nice cap on our trips. So now, we avoid it if we can help it.

I'm sure everybody has a specific road they loathe, and that one's ours.