Letter 16 Eastern PA, Philadelphia

Harrington Travels East 2009
Letter 16, Pennsylvania to Philadelphia
An epilog on NY. We discovered only after we got into Pennsylvania that Frank W. Woolworth opened his first “Five and Ten Cent” store in Utica, NY in 1879. Upon his death in 1919 he owned over 1,000 stores in the USA and 75 in England. What a retailing trailblazer!

Monday June 8. We stopped just a few miles inside Pennsylvania at Ives Run Recreation Area operated by the Corps of Engineers. They have full hookups and for us seniors it is only $15. When we arrived on a Monday morning, there were 4 rigs in front of us and by the time we checked in there were four behind us. Olivia commented she had never seen so many coming into a park on Monday and one lady answered, “we never go on the weekend!”

It is a beautiful park with nicely scattered trees, paved sites with a graveled patio for table and fire ring. Our rig is pictured at the back center. The mowing crew was out when we arrived and it was fun to watch all five of them going around trees and not running into each other. It was not long before one of the host couples stopped to see where in Texas we were from. They winter and work in Donna, in the Texas valley. The couple working registration winter and work in Summerville, TX.

The longer we are here the more we like this park. It is a 5 Star Campground in our book. Green grass right up to all the trees, well manicured. Paved sites with full hookups. We could see why the campers were coming in steadily on a Monday morning. We found the best spots later on another loop that overlooks the lake and catches the breezes too. Too bad it is so far away from home.
While walking the loop we saw a

flag stand like we saw in the Myrtle Beach campground. It is made of PVC and comes apart for travel. The anchor is a 2’ rod (about 3/8” diameter)

stuck half way in the ground and a washer dropped over it to settle at ground level. The PVC is then dropped over the rod. This whole thing swivels with the wind. Rotarians??? Ideas??? Or how about for Lord’s Acre at home???

Wednesday, June 10 we went for a drive to the west and on the way, we put on the breaks when we saw this sign. When Olivia walked over to take this picture Fred found this one Heck of a Smoking Lounge! For those of you that do not know our daughter’s married name is Heck. This business is owned by Hecks. Note Fred’s new Birkenstock sandals. He has been looking for the right pair for over a year before finding what he wanted in Horseheads, NY.

We drove on to Wellsboro and the

Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, not far from this campground. It is a

pretty view and the Rhodedendrums were beautiful, too. We know this would be a

great place to come for fall leaves. This state park also held evidence of the

CCC workers again and we were glad to see a tribute to them. And we ran into evidence of another poet.

We then spent another two hours in a Chevy house - Darrow’s Motor Co in Wellsboro, PA because the check engline light came on for the “4 Wheel Drive.” The salesman set Olivia up to work on the blog and wanted us to mention them. They were all very nice and they made it a pleasant experience. We were sorry their dealership is on the cut list like Carlisle’s is in Waxahachie. Our problem is unresolved, but not a difficulty for us. Maybe the 4 WD feature won't work, but we don’t use it anyway. We have discovered, as many miles as we travel, just like at home there is always something happening with your auto. We just fix what we can and move on. No big deal—at least for now.

This area of Pennsylvania was heavily forested during the 1800s and early 1900s. It was clear-cut for its large hardwoods. All of the trees in our pictures are re-growth, most all hardwoods, less than 100 years old. Most of the open land is in the hands of small private owners. Harvesting continues on a much smaller scale than in the past. We read with interest Pennsylvania is the US leader in hardwood production. These hardwood forests continued from north central Pennsylvania along our route all the way to Philly.

Before we left Ives Run a new neighbor pulled in next to us. Unusual? We just had to take a picture of our neighbors rig!

Actually the little car goes in the back of the 41’ trailer. The pickup tow vehicle is parked beyond the front of their trailer in the background.

Thursday, June 11, we have been gone from home three months! And it is still raining! Today was mostly low hanging clouds with a few sprinkles until about four o’clock. Then it was a steady slow rain. We hoped it would clear up for travel the next day.

We drove to the other Corps park north and on the border of PA and NY. It also was a very nice park with hook ups. One loop was right on the lake. Our kind of spot. There were not as many spots occupied as Ives Run so if we can’t get in it on the return trip on the way to Niagara, we will stop there. It sure is nice to run into federal parks where we can use our Senior Pass. Fred thinks all Corps Parks will be closed on our return trip in late October.

Driving south on Hwy 15 we stopped at the Pennsylvania visitor center which looks like a Swiss chalet overlooking the two lakes.

It was one of the nicest visitor centers we have seen. Two staff persons tried to answer all our questions and gave us a sack full of information. Too bad the view was blocked by the low clouds.

Then we toured the town of Mansfield, PA which is about the size Mansfield, TX was about 15 years ago. Back in Tioga we stopped at a little café for liver & onions and were told of the

observation overlook trail between the two dams (Tioga & Hammond Lakes) where we could see the half mile long diversion channel used if either lake rises above a set level. Both dams have outlets that are used daily. Before these dams were build Tioga flooded regularly. These and other lakes were first authorized in middle 1900s. Some were constructed by 1960, all were completed a few years after the flood of June, 1972.

That flood covered

Tioga, Lawrenceville and several other small towns on the way to Corning, NY. The visitor’s center at Corning Glass marked the water lever in 1972 at 5 feet on the second level.

One other interesting point. Hammond Lake is on Crooked Creek and contains rather pure water from the local, mostly undeveloped, mountains. Tioga river drains through a large coal mining area, closed by 1990, and gathers metals along the way from these old mine pits. Tioga lake is acidic (sulfuric acid) and isn’t stocked with fish, though it does have some fish naturally.

Friday, June 12, we left this beautiful park and headed east on highway 6 and south to Locust Lake State Park.
The route took us over the

Warriors Path and also Sullivan’s march. The landscape over the

Susquehanna River is a patchwork quilt beauty as a result of a long history of managing land and water resources to ensure profitable crops and a healthy environment.

1. Contour strips that completely cover the soil are grown in alternating 100 foot wide strips with row crops The grass slows the runoff, decreasing soil erosion.
2. Diversion ditches are installed to permanently vegetated channels slowing runoff.
3. Barnyard runoff contains high amounts of sediment and nutrients. It is filtered through the grass.
4. Manure storage facilities improve efficiency by allowing farmers to spread manure when risk of runoff is low and crops can use the nutrients.
5. Natural steam-side buffers add to the beauty of the steams.

The “Mighty Susquehanna” travels 447 miles and drains 13 million acres from Ostego Lake near Cooperstown. New York to Harve de Grace, Maryland where it enters the Chesapeake Bay.
It provides 50% of the Bay’s fresh water at about 10 million gallons per minute.

Clumps of

wild roses are

everywhere and as we moved south we started seeing

wild Laurel.

Saturday, June 13 we made the last jump toward Philadelphia to French Creek State Park. The drive was pretty most of the way and the rain held off until we arrived. This is the first reserved place we have made and the site is not the best in the park, but after some difficulty leveling we set up. When Fred plugged in the electricity, nothing happened. And it was hot and still. We checked everything then drove to the park entrance and they called maintenance. Sure enough it was their plug and we were in business.

We finally found a real grocery store. It seems most of the stores we have found have been small grocery stores or Super Walmart. We would prefer to buy our meat and produce at a grocery store. It took some driving and some directions, but after about 2 hours we succeeded.

We went to bed with plans to attend the Historic St George’s Cradle of American Methodism Church in Philidelphia and the denomination’s oldest church building in continuous service since 1769. Francis Asbury had served as pastor there. Little did we know...

Sunday, June 14 we woke up at 12:15 am with a LOUD WHAM! Olivia thought a tree had fallen on us. She looked out the window and realized the

awning had collapsed from the weight of accumulated water! Fred thought (he doesn’t sleep with his hearing aids) the noise was thunder until Olivia told him what had happened. We had a flash flood in the campground and in our spot! After surveying the damage, we went back to bed as nothing could be done in the night. When we started stirring in the morning Fred called the Good Sam Road service. We just subscribed to it after our last flat tire. When the repair man found us, he started hand rolling the awning up and with a lot of effort from the ground, on his truck, and on the roof of the trailer he was able to get it almost all the way up. Now we have to find and order a new awning roller and a place to install it.

Fred admits it was his fault. Never, never, never roll the awning out flat. Its one the basic rules of RVing. Water is very heavy. Always lower one end to allow good drainage. We knew better. It was our mistake.

After all was said and done we decided to run into Philly to get the free tickets for Tuesday to the

Independence Hall and other buildings, get the lay of the land downtown, then head back home. WRONG!
It took us an hour to get to the freeway, then another hour of bumper to bumper rush hour traffic. Now keep in mind this is shortly after noon on Sunday! When we finally arrived downtown there was also lots of traffic and the parking garages were not where marked on the map. WE NEEDED BARBARA FROM BOSTON TO GUIDE US AGAIN! Finally we found a metered spot and begged for change for our dollar from pedestrians. Then we dashed over to the visitor’s center to get the tickets. Sure enough they only give out the tickets on the day of use, and they will be closed Monday AND Tuesday. Just about that time another ranger told us she had two tickets for 2:45 and if we ran we could make it. We did make it as well as getting $2 more in change for the meter.
Our tour started in the east wing where the Ranger guide told us about the

signers, then led us into the actual building.

We visited the

court room and saw the English defendant box as well as the

jury box.

In signer’s hall

we saw a copy of the

Declaration of Independence where it was actually signed.

The clock tower stairwell is

beautiful.
We also visited the documents building and the legislative room where the first congress met to write the Articles of Confederation.

Independence Hall is

inspiring and it was very thrilling to see the place where independence was DESIGNED, DECLARED AND SIGNED into being.

In the Independence Commons we witnessed several

costumed characters and visited with a

lady quilling. She said the year was 1777 and she was quite content with the King even with the rebel rousing in the country.

We visited the Liberty Bell. We were reminded that the bell was originally the Pennsylvania State House Bell. It is a symbol of the American Revolution and of liberties gained and a reminder of liberties denied. It is a relic of the nation’s beginning that has inspired and challenged visitors, especially in times of crisis. Its outline, familiar throughout the world, conveys the idea of the continuing expansion of liberty to new peoples and into new aspects of life.

The “crack” makes it instantly recognizable. The gap is really the result of an attempt to fix a thin crack that destroyed the Bell’s tone sometime after the American Revolution.

The repair work dates to 1846. It failed when, as the Bell rang for George Washington’s birthday anniversary, the original crack reappeared and lengthened. It zig-zagged up toward the top of the Bell, silencing it –at least physically– forever.

The architects of this building placed the Bell appropriately where it was

visible in front of Independence Hall. We are so glad we went to Boston before coming to Philadelphia, as this allowed us to follow the sequence of the American Revolution.

Fred questioned our

Ranger guide about some of the frontier generals.
By this time Olivia knew she would never get Fred into Philadelphia again so we asked the Ranger if Geno’s and Pat’s was open on Sunday. He said “Yes, but parking would be a huge problem in that neighborhood, but Sunday would be better than during the week.” So we took off negotiating the streets of south Philly. They were one way and narrow. Cars were parked on both sides of the street leaving one lane in the middle. People opened their car doors with their rears hanging out, just waiting to be hit. The houses are about 12-15’ wide, flush with the sidewalk, with steps leading up to the door. At one place we saw people cooking out on the sidewalk. We did find a parking place on

Passyunk Street which was a little wider and only one block from Geno’s.

Geno’s and his rival Pat are on opposite corners of an angled street. Pat invented or started selling Phili-Cheese Steak sandwiches, then Geno opened his and the competition was on and their notoriety began. Both places are long skinny triangles. Seating is on the sidewalk along both sides of the establishment. As you can see people flock to both of them. We arrived about 4:30. The line was all the way back the side street. On this end of the building was the sandwich order window, followed by the drink and fries window. The condiment table was slanted and very hard to dress the sandwich without losing it on the ground. We ordered sandwiches with provolone and American cheese, then bought cheese fries. We luckily found seating with a couple from Detroit on the shady side of the building.

The cheese fries were very good. In our opinion the sandwiches are highly overrated. They were good, but not worth another trip. The roll was a long Hogie type bread and was not heated. The steak was thinly sliced and warm. They added the cheese of your choice and a few chopped sauted onions.
The relishes supplied were ketchup, mustard, a pickle relish, and big cherry peppers. We found no napkins.

All said and done, they both have gold mines and it is a big thing to experience while in Philadelphia.

As we left town and attempted to get out of south Phili, we were amazed at the crowded conditions. They should never sell cars to this part of the world. There is very limited parking. They even park in the

medians of

the streets! In all of this lower income area, the streets were littered, it seemed dirty, BUT we saw NO graffetti!

It took us another 2 hours to get back to the trailer. The first hour in bumper to bumper traffic AGAIN! What’s with these people going in and out of Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon. (Patti notified us Monday night that the Delaware River flooded the subways in Philadelphia, therefore causing more traffic on the freeways downtown.)

On the way back we passed a nuclear power plant (Limmerick we believe) in full power very near an outlet mall and were surprised it was so close to the large population.

We close this chapter of Pennsylvania and will be seeing the Amish part next.

Let us hear from you,