From Washington, DC to Newtown, PA
From Washington, DC to Newtown, PA
Ending Mileage: 
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Distance (in miles)
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It is time to say good-bye to Ron. I has been three great days after our longest separation in 23 years. We had a superb time and I have to admit to being a little blue as his cab drove away and I got on the bike.
To get out of Washington, I head first east on Rhode Island and then north on 7th. I get to the corner of Rhode Island and 7th to discover that I can't make a left hand turn so I have to resort to the famous right, right, right maneuver.
With each block, the condition of the homes and businesses worsens a little. Clearly we have spent our weekend in the good part of DC and now I'm seeing a little bit of the other side. It doesn't look as horrible as I had been led to expect, but I don't think I'm in the worst sections of the city either.
Finally into Maryland, I stop for a tank of gas. Across the beltway, the feeling of being in a major city begins to subside. The houses become more suburban and then quite suddenly, the road turns down a shady hill and I feel like I'm in the country. Down past a creek and then back up the ill to be greeted by a big red barn, silo and white two story farmhouse.
I don't stop to take any pictures because there is a friendly similarity to the scenery of the last couple of days. Sure there are differences, but I'm having a very pleasant ride on nice two lane roads lined with farms and farmhouses.
At one point, the road twists between the barn and farmhouse of one farm. The road is tucked tightly against the farmhouse. The back door seems to empty into my lane of travel. A hard right turn to avoid the corner of the barn and off we go. I wonder what the story is to this unusual arrangement?
On
to Gettysburg - one of the most famous, perhaps the best known, Civil
War battlefield. From the west, you come across the edge of the
battlefield well before you get to the visitor's center. There are so
many monuments memorializing the fallen that it almost looks like a
graveyard. But of course it is. In the three days that battle raged
here, as many men died as would die in Viet Nam over the course of
more than a dozen years. The impact of this one battle on the two
countries was monumental both in terms of the war but also in terms
of the personal human impact on so many families.
The
visitor center is under siege from tour and school buses. School
children, most oblivious to what hey are seeing, roam the parking
lots in packs preparing to attack the MacDonalds across the street.
I decide that I just don't have the patience or historical perspective to appreciate a visit today.
I continue on to the east.
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Approach York, PA I am greeted by a most amazing sight: a fully restored beautiful silver Lockheed Constellation is parked beside the highway. This Constellation is on tour and for the modest $3 fee I can both contribute to its conservation and climb aboard. This plan is certainly one of the most handsome planes ever constructed. The fuselage is nearly organic in its shape. The nose is wonderfully tapered. The aft end tapers upward to hold the distinctive tail with three vertical stabilizers. Thes planes were used as commercial transports but also extensively by the military for espionage and transport purposes. What an unexpected treat.  |
Passing through both York and Lancaster provides a real history lesson. In both cases, the highway I' am driving passes straight through the historic center of the town. Driving from the edge of town to the center and back out is like peeling the onion of each city's history.
On the outer edge are the strip malls, fast food shops and suburban patio homes of the last thirty years.
A bit closer to the center there is a transition through the post war years to the period between the turn of the century and World War II. Large prosperous two story brick homes on large lots line block after block of highway. Probably the best homes of the era, they survive in good shape.
Further in, there are older factory buildings, three, four and five story brick buildings, some now being converted to condominiums as the desirable inner-city location of the millennium.
This area also includes commercial building -- nearly all two story brick buildings -- perhaps stores on the lower floor with space above for the owner's living space? They press against the highway leaving only room for the sidewalk.
Just outside the very center of both towns is more residential. It seems to date back well into the 19th Century. The buildings seem incredibly close to this busy road. The stoops encroach onto the sidewalk, the bottom step barely inches from the traffic lane. There is no room for on-street parking here. People of all ages are present -- walking, playing, talking, sitting and staring.
Finally the center of town. Beautiful old trees provide cover for the highway. The old buildings have been lovingly restored. Sidewalk benches lend a casual air to the environment. Revolutionary and Civil Ware monuments share a small lawn in front of the mid-1800s court house.
Then as I head to the east, the city repeats the process again, this time in proper, rather than reverse chronological order.
I've been traveling at a slow pace today and I decide to skip the loop through the Pennsylvania Dutch country at a map check outside Lancaster. If I continue according to plan, it will be at least 8 PM before I I stop.
But I'm not totally denied an Amish sighting or two. I stop to allow a farm to bring his horse-drawn plow (or seeder, I'm no farmer) across the highway. Two children accompany their mother on an errand. A wagon dragging behind them presumably to carry purchases or the results of the efforts.
Traditional quilts and hex signs are for sale. The displays are beautiful. I seriously consider stopping in just to look. Unfortunately I know the phrase, just to look, but not how o put it into action.
Outside Philadelphia, there is a huge fire at warehouses that have been converted into office and business space. Later on the news, I learn that it is a nine alarm fire that has to be allowed to burn itself out. There is concern about toxic substances on site and there is an evacuation of nearby residences.
I skirt Philadelphia but can't find any motels. Pennsylvania does not seem to use the 'lodging' at this exit signs. Additionally there is either no advertising by motels or no motels to advertise. There is literally no clue where to find a gas station, place to eat or place to sleep.
Into New Jersey, the situation doesn't improve much. But I finally find a Hampton Inn outside Newtown, PA. Newtown proves to have a very attractive little downtown area. I end up having a wood fired pizza.
The couple dining next to me strike me as inspiration for a great SNL skit. They appear to be in their mid-20s and are having a complex discussion of a recently survey of the top 30 heavy metal songs of all time. They are way to obsessed with this. It gives me a good chuckle and they seemed to have a good time as well.
Continue Reading: To White Plains, NY
Depart hotel on Rhode Island Avenue heading east.
Turn left onto Seventh Street (US 29) -- well not exactly, this is a no left turn street, so I do the right, right, right trick to get heading north.
Enter Maryland
Turn left onto Maryland 650 heading west.
Turn right onto Maryland 97 heading east.
At Dorsey Crossroads, turn right onto US 26 heading west.
Turn right on Maryland 27 heading north.
Turn left on Maryland 407 heading north.
Turn right on Maryland 31 heading north.
At New Windsor, transition onto Maryland 75, continue heading north.
Turn right on Maryland 84 heading east.
Turn left on Maryland 832 heading west.
Pass through Taneytown, MD
Transition onto Maryland 140.
Turn right onto Harney Road outside Taneytown
Enter Pennsylvania -- Harney Road becomes Pennsylvania 134.
Arrive Gettysburg, PA
Depart Gettysburg on US 30 heading east.
Exit 30 to Pennsylvania 462 to drive through York, PA
Continue on PA 462, drive through Lancaster, PA
East of Lancaster, PA, transition onto US 30 heading east.
At King of Prussia, PA enter Interstate 76 heading east to avoid a huge fire in Bridgeport, MA.
Transition to Interstate 95 heading north.
Exit onto PA 332
Arrive Yardley, PA / Newtown, PA
(c) 2001 Thomas N. Engler Revision Date: 05/16/2001
