June 29 2017
Highway of History, Part 2
 |
| Gettysburg National Battlefield |
This morning, we left the Lincoln Court Motel in in Manns Choice Pennsylvania and proceeded east. We quickly found ourselves in some very mountainous country with twisting roads. Though the driving was tough, the scenery was spectacular. As we went through Bedford and Everett I remembered that I had some postcards of this country produced during the early days of motoring.
In some ways the scenery had changed very much, but in other essential ways not so much. The terrain was recognizable even if the roadway and businesses were not.
 |
| Along the Juniata River today |
We kept driving east through Chambersburg and made a stop in Gettysburg. The country we are passing through is rich in history. I am mindful of the fact that we are not doing it justice. We passed many towns rich in colonial history, Revolutionary War history, Whiskey Rebellion history and, in the case of Gettysburg, Civil War history. At least I know that I will be back here again in the next couple of years and will visit many of the sites in more detail.
 |
| Pictures with Abe |
 |
| I wonder if Lincoln ever tires of this? |
In Gettysburg we drove through the battlefield. Last fall my brothers and I did a more extensive tour the battlefield with an audio tour CD to guide us. I would highly recommend buying that audio tour CD to anyone planning to drive through Gettysburg.
 |
| A young soldier |
From Gettysburg we drove the Lincoln Highway to York and then on to Hallam to see the Haines Shoe House.
 |
| Haines Shoe House |
The Haines shoe house was the creation of Mahalon Haines who had a chain of shoe stores on the East Coast and was the self-proclaimed shoe wizard. Haines himself never lived in the house, he reserved it for his guests. Many times he would allow young honeymooning couples to stay in the house and would provide them with a driver and a maid, all at no cost.
 |
| Darrel and Carissa who toured the Haines House with us. |
Haines, it seems, was a very generous and good man and in his estate provided for the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts and his church. When he left this world he had done much good.
 |
Mahalon Haines, "The
Shoe Wizard."
|
We are spending the night in a campground in Gordonville Pennsylvania. Tomorrow, we plan to tour the surrounding area and then make our way to New Jersey. We have reservations at a County campground approximately forty-five minutes from New York City. We have the reservation for two nights and if we don't make it by tomorrow night, we will surely make it by Saturday night. We are considering going into the city early Saturday morning or early Sunday morning when there will not be much traffic. If we can't get into the city when the traffic is light, we will abandon that part of our journey.
 |
| Amish wife working with her husband. |
 |
| Amish Farm in Pennsylvania |
Bill and Linda, By my calculations you are staying tonight in Monmouth County, NJ. It should be a good weekend to be exploring around Northern NJ and going into NYC as a lot of people should be out of the area on an extended Fourth of July weekend. I would recommend that you visit Liberty State Park for the best view of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty, which actually sits in NJ waters. Take the NJ Turnpike extension to exit 14C; it's a very spacious park and holds many attractions. Then take the NJ Turnpike extension to the end and get on US 1 and 9 North. This is part of the Lincoln Highway and it will take you to the approach to the Lincoln Tunnel into mid-town Manhattan dropping you into the area around Times Square. Do not be hesitant to approach a NYC policeman for help in getting your picture taken at the Lincoln Highway sign on the northwest corner of 42nd St. and Broadway. They'll work with you to get this done. Traffic should be very manageable for an early morning weekend day. If you're going to hang around for the weekend in central NJ, I would suggest that you go down to the shore (that's what we call going to the beach or seashore). You can get a dose of Bruce Springsteen at either Freehold or Asbury Park, his old stomping grounds. Another good drive is south of there down to Spring Lake. There's nothing else like it on the East Coast. It should be a great weekend. Have fun. - John Jackson
ReplyDeleteHi Bill & Linda, I've been following your blog for the past three weeks as I traveled across Eastern Canada and now as I head West across the Northern US. I will be back in Wisconsin on Monday July 3rd.
ReplyDeleteI very much want to meet up with you somewhere in my area when you head West on the Yellowstone Trail. You can call or email me when you get closer.