We got a early start (odometer at 33,673) and quickly left CT, drove through NY, across the Tappan Zee Bridge (where they are already driving in the pilings for the new bridge) and into NJ so Rick could be at the office. We had Bonnie Raitt’s new Slipstream on the surprisingly good audio system – highly recommend.
After departing NJ midday we traveled through many states: many miles in Pennsylvania driving west to Harrisburg where we stopped for lunch, then turning south through Maryland, West Virginia, and into Virginia, along the Blue Ridge Mountains to our stop for the night in Salem, VA near Roanoke. Roanoke College is actually located in Salem.
Along the way we traveled through the city of Chambersburg PA – incredibly rich in US history! Rick read from his iPad about the burning of the city by Confederate soldiers in 1864 when the population refused to pay ransom of $100,000 in gold or $500,000 in greenbacks.. It was a pivotal event in the Civil War, rallying the Union forces with the cry of “Remember Chambersburg”.
It’s not possible to drive through the rolling hills and valleys of Pennsylvania and Maryland without reflecting on the bloody battles that took place on those beautiful farmlands during the Civil War. We took a side trip to Antietam – site of the bloodiest one-day battle in American history, just before we crossed from Maryland into West Virginia. In September of 1862 near Sharpsburg MD, General Robert E. Lee took a stand in a village of 1,200. Almost 100,000 soldiers fought there with 23,000 killed or missing. Now 150 years later most of downtown Sharpsburg consists of buildings that stood at that time and as you can see from the pictures the battleground looks as it did then. The scale of the death toll is staggering. It’s time to do more reading about the civil war.
Some music we enjoyed today:
Bonnie Riatt Slipstream
Lots of country radio
Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles
Song of the day: Richard Thompson singing Shenandoah as we drove through the Shenandoah Valley
Lunch:
We managed to make it to Harrisburg PA at 1:45 about 5 minutes after the grill closed at Jackson House. The owners are Italian and from South Philly and this place could definitely be a future James Beard American Classic. I had a Manhattan Sandwich consisting of turkey, cole slaw and Russian on whole wheat (very NJ/Philly) and Rick had a hoagie: turkey and tomato and they brought a little container of sea salt on the side. $6.95. Not really Manhattan prices.
For anyone who thought this was be a list of chichi restaurants, well, it’s not! As you can see from the pictures. Harrisburg looks like a city that might be in Bankruptcy and it is. There are many shovel ready projects underway.
Total miles today: 535
Doing a separate post on our fantastic dinner in Salem, VA.
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Sounds like a good start and lotsa miles logged.
You are doing the opposite of what I am doing: You are reporting more, I am reporting less and less! And even sometimes not at all!
Love being along for the ride with you!
My ride today: to the Cape.
It’s a glorious day, 63 degrees, i think.
Will be stopping to see my Aunt Marie at a nursing home (brief stay, rehab, age 91) and then on to Mo Beach.
Life is good!
Good to see you both the other day, as always.
Love, S.
Joan and Rick, Love the travel dialogue and music selections! I look forward to the next stop as those sandwiches have my mouth watering…Safe travels, Inese