Day one of our cross country road trip from NY to LA started off bright and sunny. And early. This would be our longest day of driving, a deliberate decision given that much of the start of the journey would be along a route familiar to us - through New York, New Jersey and into Pennsylvania. We made good time at first, managing to avoid the rush hour traffic (another benefit of the early start) and, once past Newark, NJ, enjoyed the tree-lined open road.
Into Pennsylvania and the scenery changed from rolling hills and forest to vast farmland with neat farmhouses.
But four hours in and our luck changed when we hit a major tailback of traffic due to roadworks. For about half an hour we crawled along. The Amish horse-drawn buggy that we spotted on a side road was moving at a faster clip than we were. We passed the time reading the billboards advertising pre-owned tractors and listening to radio commercials for cow medicine which to our surprise came with appropriate health warnings!
Finally, we got up speed again and crossed into Maryland. We had planned a picnic stop at
Hagerstown City Park which is considered the second most beautiful park in America (the first being Central Park). The gazebo by the lake proved to be a picturesque place to have lunch.
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| the gazebo provided welcome shade on a hot day |
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| looking out over the lake at Hagerstown City Park |
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Leafy walks abound in the park
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The park is also home to Washington County Museum of Fine Art. We didn't go into the museum itself but walked around the courtyard where we found this rather charming sculpture:
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| Garden Sprite by L'Deane Trueblood |
Back on the road we enjoyed fabulous scenery: rolling lush-green tree-lined hills with spectacular views of mountains in the distance, interspersed with small towns, some so small that if you blinked you'd almost miss them. However, we couldn't help but stop when we saw this old country
store in Wilson, Maryland.
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| Old Country Store, Wilson Md |
A mixture of a general store, antique store and pharmacy museum, the inside was a cornucopia of delights.
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| Candy galore |
The museum section of the shop included some fascinating products including Udder Liniment and Cow Prescriptions. We were obviously in farming country.
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| The pharmacy section |
Further on down the road we passed through the town of Clear Springs which had a very traditional small town America feel.
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| Clear Springs, Md |
Our final stop of the day was in Morgantown, West Virginia, where we checked out the
Mountain State Brewing Company, a charming bar with
an extensive outdoor patio overlooking the Monogahela River. After reviving ourselves with delicious pizza and Cold Trail Ale we took a stroll along the riverside - which would have been even more pleasant without the early evening bugs.
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Boathouse on the Monogahela River, WV
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Back in the car, we had another two and a half hour drive through some amazing scenery on virtually deserted roads to our overnight accommodation in Clendenin. Even the clouds appeared to be tinted green!
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| The final leg for the day. We didn't have much company. |
Thirteen hours after we left home, we arrived at our destination for the night -
The Country Road House & Berries . Not far from I-79, but tucked down a country road, the strawberry farm provided an idyllic getaway, just what we needed after a day on the road. Our room was in the cellar house, a self-contained unit behind the farmhouse.
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Cellar House - Country Road House & Berries
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After a long day on the road, we were more than ready for a good night's sleep.
Mel writes contemporary fiction with a twist of mystery and suspense. For more information about her books visit her website, or sign up for her newsletter at http://bit.ly/melparishnews
But four hours in and our luck changed when we hit a major tailback of traffic due to roadworks. For about half an hour we crawled along. The Amish horse-drawn buggy that we spotted on a side road was moving at a faster clip than we were. We passed the time reading the billboards advertising pre-owned tractors and listening to radio commercials for cow medicine which to our surprise came with appropriate health warnings!
How cool! Mark and I have talked about taking to the road in the US (I've been to all 50 states, but he's a few behind :-) Love the pics--they really capture the feel of small town America.
ReplyDeleteOne of the great things about doing a road trip is being able to stop off at some of these small towns. Yes, some of them might turn out not to be worth the effort, but it gives a real insight into how diverse the country is - it is all too easy to think of America in terms of the big cities, especially when you either live in one or near to one.
ReplyDeleteHow cool that you've already been to all 50 states - that's quite an achievement! I'm probably getting close, but some of them I have only passed through rather than spent a night there. And Alaska is still outstanding - though hopefully not for long!