It’s only taken a year (or 40, depending on your view point) to get here but the day has finally arrived.
With an adventure packed, road tripping 11 days there is sure to be plenty of memories to be made. Assuming no major hiccups like construction, I’ve got a good time line built. We’ll obviously have to stop every few hours which is how I’ve got it laid out.
Day 1 has us going about 325 miles.
Well we were an hour late in the departure time but surprisingly it all worked out. Our first stop was the Gertrude Smith house. Amazing. After leaving her childhood home, she returned to it but never married nor had any children. The house was left to her upon her parent’s death. When Gertrude died just 40 years ago, she had the foresight to leave the house in a trust with a board of directors. Visiting the house has no admission fee or request for donations to be made. It is like Gertrude walked out the door yesterday. It really was a beautiful home. What I thought was interesting was the “sick room”. In the time of Gertrude’s life, born 1891, through many epidemics of the time period, the family remained. Smart thinking on someone’s part. Instead of spreading diseases and making everyone sick, the afflicted remained confined and so did their germs.
The plan was then to visit Bottle House. A children’s playhouse made out of bottles. Well after a few turnarounds, we couldn’t find it. Not sure what happened to it. But a nice drive through the country and seeing the rolling hills of NC/VA.
Timing was working out. We’d be at Skeeter’s World Famous Hotdogs in time for the late lunch I had planned. We showed up and it was closed. Skeeter’s is a small-town restaurant. It looked super cute. So ahead of schedule, snacking in the car, on to West Virginia.
Tamarak. I thought it was going to be a large establishment. But still interesting. All local artist to include hand blown glass, wood worked products, soaps, and shoes at a cost of $260. $260 for a pair of shoes with no major brand name. Hmm... and no arch support, not my style. But we did speak with John to confirm tomorrow for “John’s make and take”, the opportunity to make our own hand- blown glass. So tomorrow’s adventure will be underway soon.
Day 2 had us back at Tamarak to make our own hand blown glass. Well, I made a heart (paper weight) but Mom actually blew her vase. Wow what an experience. I’ve seen glass made before but had never been that close to experience the heat. John, who was our host, did a great job in explaining techniques and ensuring we were safe. So about a half hour ahead of schedule, up and down and up and down the mountain we went to Appalachian Glass.
Yes, another glass making but this time we didn’t make our own. We watched as a 3rd generation son explained the craft his family had taken up. Super nice guy (and cute) he told some of the history about West Virginia being a major hub for stem ware, before Mexico and other countries took over. Next up was a local winery. Small but offered a short tour and free wine tasting. A few sips later, we decided on 2 bottles to bring home. We’ll be planning for wine and cheese on the deck with my aunt.
Crossing into Pennsylvania, we took a moment to stop at the welcome center to pick up needed information. I had planned for us to stop at a covered bridge. What I didn’t know was that they have so many you could spend days just hopping from one to another. One was enough for me. A large pizza later from a local joint, Mamma Cheez, we’re settling in for the night. The Roku player is working with Netflix streaming. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I was at home. But I do miss my babies.
We just wrapped day 3. We didn’t travel very far (only 43 miles) but still had an adventure packed day. With a drizzly rain, we started with the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum. The history is that the trolleys helped the cities to expand. Before them, a city would only be walking distance. With cars, the use of trolleys declined dramatically. The museum has acquired trolleys from all over the US and works to restore them. We even got to ride on the trolley which Mr. Rogers rode when he visited and aired a show from the museum.
Next up was Woodville Plantation, home to John Neville. It’s not plantation like those I know of in Charleston, SC, sprawling acres with a ginormous house. Again, run by volunteers, our guide was great and stayed true to character at every turn. Upon entry, with a bow to us, he asked to confirm if our corsets were tight as he didn’t allow loose women to tour. After entering the drawing room he asked Mom for a dance to demonstrate how they would entertain themselves. What a hoot watching Mom dance a style of the period, early 1800s.
Then we went to Soergel Orchards. They do tours for school groups. Well I asked about tours and we got a VIP tour from the owner, Randy Soergel. He’s 2nd generation of running the farm. He took us to green houses and showed the hydroponic lettuce being grown. Also in progress were cucumbers and tomatoes. In 2008, he lost several of the green houses when 28 inches of snow fell that was forecasted as only 8 inches. His mom still lives in the original house for the farm lands. Randy was super great. He suggested for us to do The Duquesne Incline and even drew a map to help us get there. Apple cider, chicken salad, broccoli salad, salsa, applesauce was our take here. With our treasures/dinner, we headed to the next hotel for check-in. We’ve now got the incline included in tomorrow’s agenda.
Day 4 we started out with breakfast at Bob Evan’s. Then we headed into downtown Pittsburgh. In researching what to do I saw a lot of museums which we could visit. We began at the history museum. They work with the Smithsonian and had a traveling exhibit for the Vietnam War. We also got to see exhibits for Heinz 57, Mr. Roger’s, and lots of history of Pittsburgh. I’d best describe it as a much larger version of the Upcountry History Museum. If you are from the area, you have more of an appreciation of the exhibits. Mom did enjoy reading about polio and realizing she just scraped by before the vaccinations came around.
We then went to the Duquesne Incline. Mom got to ride for free with showing her Medicare card. I guess getting older has some advantages. The day was clear so we were able to see a good amount.
A walk back across the river took us to Fort Pitt. This would be similar to Fort Sumter. I guess most of the colonies has some type of fort. But the park was a beautiful area. And it was the Daughters of the American Revolution who had acquired and maintain the only original structure from the fort. We are definitely above the Mason Dixon line. But the Yankees do admit to having slaves. At one of the museum’s it was mentioned that northern ports were actually where most of them came in.
Believing I’d gotten my steps in for the day, it was time for a nap. Who knew vacationing required so much work.
Since we’ve now been here for 2 nights, it’s definitely time to move on to a fresh room and a little closer to Niagara. A check of the weather has rain showers while we will be there. But hey, don’t you get wet at the falls anyway.
Day 5 has been a busy day with just over 200 miles travelled. We started with McConnells Mill state park. They had a waterfall which Mom and I joked about finding Niagara. There is additionally a mill. Seems everything is closed until Memorial Day. I had emailed asking about a tour but the person wasn’t going to be available until the afternoon. We couldn’t hang around, other places to be.
Let me start by saying how I watched as the temperature began dropping upon leaving the mill. We started the morning in the low 60s. By the time we got to Erie, PA, we were in the high 40s. With a t-shirt on, you realize how quickly you need a sweatshirt to go over it. Erie was actually not originally part of the plan but after some investigating last night and close proximity, I did a quick add-on to the list. And man am I glad I did. We stopped at the visitor’s center and Presque Isle State Park. It is a loop that has turn offs for the beach areas. We even got to see a light house. So with an attempt to feel the water with my hands, I got my shoes soaking wet. Damn waves. But some laughs later and a change back to the flip flops, we were all set to go again. And there were house boats. They told us at the Welcome Center that during the winter, people walk on the ice to get back/forth from land. OMG.
Next up was another country store. These are always fun to visit. And it had a small bakery. With coffee and dessert in hand, we left to visit a winery. At this point, I’d given up my schedule but still trying to attempt to keep to the destinations planned. What a great drive to the winery. Grape fields on either side. And some more grape fields. I was reminded of just last year when we did Route 66 and corn fields/windmill farms. City living you forget about the vastness of land until you are driving through it.
Another wine bottle in hand we reversed and went back to PA. I love crossing state lines on the interstate to go to welcome centers. Free maps. Not much you can get free so I try to take advantage of this. With the detour of the winery, we were on a state road when crossing into NY. We had to go back. But detours can be worth the effort. We found the Welch’s plant (mom got pic). So back to I-90 we get to cross PA to NY. But wait there was no welcome center. Only the toll both to get our ticket to the next booth. Damn NY. I’m guessing it will be the same upon re-entry to the US