Gems of Southern Pennsylvania

Since our arrival to our camping spot in southern Pennsylvania, we've been touring some very interesting areas. Most of those got blogs of their own, but there are some other day-to-day gems that we have enjoyed in the eight days we stayed at Walmar Manor. One of those is the farmer's markets in the area. One evening we stopped at a market that had home-made soup (made with their home-grown vegetables and big chunks of meat) and apple/cinnamon/walnut bread for sale. That made a great meal at the end of a day of wandering. Another farm stand is just 3 miles from our campground. Eden Gardens makes fresh apple cider on Thursday, and if you bring your own gallon jug you can fill it for only $3.25. That's a great bargain! 100% apple with no preservatives, it's like drinking an apple. You can also buy farm fresh eggs, vegetables, and milk from another local dairy here.

Most of our touring has included lots of back roads driving, rather than the usual hiking we enjoy. But we did get some exercise on the Heritage Rail Trail one afternoon. Over the last two years, we have ridden our bikes on many of these flat trails that used to be railroad beds. This was the first one that we have experienced that still has the tracks and a working railroad that runs right beside the bike trail.

We started our bike ride at the Hanover Junction Train Station, and headed north. Our route took us through several little villages, one of which had a historical marker because it was the "birthplace of commercial ice cream production." Since Mark eats ice cream at least once every day, it seems fitting that he stood beside this sign in appreciation of its accomplishment.

About five miles into our ride, we arrived at Howard Tunnel. Using hand drills and black powder, this 300-foot tunnel was completed in 1838.

Today it is the oldest continually used railroad tunnel in the United States. We were just glad it wasn't in use the minute we were taking this picture.

We stayed close to the railroad tracks except for this short detour out in the open country-side. The trees are still predominately green in this section of Pennsylvania, but the crops and grasses are turning gold.

We crossed several roads on the bike trail, and this was one of those crossings. As we have driven across this part of the country, we have noticed that many houses seem to be built very close to the road--or perhaps many roads were built very close to houses. This picture shows two examples of homes that literally walk off their front porch onto the highway.

This house has the worst location. It's hemmed in by a highway and a railroad track.

The shade was thick during most of our ride, and the sun was getting low in the sky by this time. It was a great ride, but we had some misgivings when we started. There was a sign on the trail head that offered a $500 reward for information that would lead to finding the person that was placing tacks on the trail. Tacks would be impossible to see among the rocks and leaf litter, and that would certainly be hard on our bike tires.

We are glad to report that we didn't find any tacks. But we did feel the love from one of the trail's neighbors. Instead of scorning the bikers that invade the view from their beautifully mowed backyard, they chose to bless them with bottles of cold water. After 13 miles, we were blessed.

Another stop we made in southern Pennsylvania was to Millerville University in the small city by the same name. We like walking through universities, and this one was certainly ornate. This interesting building was built in 1895, and is the Biemesderfer Center. Over the years it has housed the library and the student union, but now it is home to the President and Provost offices on campus. Our friends from Southwestern Oklahoma State University might recognize this as the university that Dr. Prabhu went to when he left us. We stopped in the Provost's office in this building to see him, but he was in an out-of-town meeting all morning. We can report, however, that he has a delightful assistant.

After four perfect temperature blue sky days, we were a little relieved to see rain in the forecast. We have been out enjoying the wonderful weather and the interesting sites from early until late, and we needed some rest! It's pretty sad when we look forward to a rainy day that forces us to stay home and relax!

One of the new activities for rainy days is playing the piano. We discovered that the new keyboard fits nicely on the top of the dresser in our bedroom. Also, Mark fixed a holder for the piano stand, so it is out of the way, but easy to get to. Since we were here for 8 days, the piano and stand fit nicely at the end of our bed. Just carrying a chair from our dining table means Denisa was ready to play at any time during this long stay. So after 20 months without a piano, Denisa has played this new keyboard more in the last two weeks than in the previous 20 months. What a great birthday present!