As I mentioned in my last post, I had an hour and a half drive to my hotel, which caused me to break one of my Road Trip Rules – no driving at night. I didn’t really have a choice since I did a sunset tour, but it wasn’t too bad. I also drove on a toll road – part of the PA turnpike – because I didn’t want to wander on backroads on top of driving at night. It sucked, but, I just stayed in the slow lane and took my time and it was fine. I got to the hotel a little after 9pm.
The place was hopping – I stayed at the Omni Bedford Springs – I’d been wanting to check it out since I get emails from the Omni group from time to time. Apparently there were several weddings there that weekend and there were people everywhere. I got myself a drink and sat on the front porch in a rocking chair. Pretty relaxing. Then, headed to the room because I was beat. No photos yet.
Next morning though, I went for a little walk around the premises.
The hotel has its own golf course, and the building layout is kind of weird – one big long building with several restaurants, bars and shops. You could walk by the indoor pool and see it through windows. Of course my room was at the very left end of the building so I got a lot of steps in.
I was kind of hungry so decided to eat breakfast at the cafe next to the golf course. It was a glorious morning to sit outside and eat.
But soon enough, it was time to check out. At Fallingwater I was talking to a couple on the tour and they were also doing a roadtrip. They reminded me that we weren’t all that far from the Flight 93 Memorial so, even though it was about 30 miles in the opposite direction from home, I decided I should go see it.
On the way I saw there was a Covered Bridge so I decided to stop and see that too. It is the Colvin Covered Bridge.
Then I passed this guy:
I submitted his photo to Roadside America and got published again!
I didn’t realize it was part of an old Story Land – there were a lot of signs saying “KEEP OUT” though!
In about a half hour I reached my destination. The place was packed – I had to park on the grass because all of the parking spaces were filled.
It was somber and touching. And hard to believe what those brave heroes did.
But, time to get back on the road. I had to make a pit stop and saw a Burger King … love the door handles!
I decided to drive PA Route 30 most of the way home. I was expecting it to be boring and a lot of traffic lights, but I ended up going through Gettysburg, and the roads were windy and mountainous with some gorgeous views. Unfortunately, no place to pull over and take photos, but trust me the views were amazing!
An antique car commemorating the old Lincoln Highway, Route 30.
Gettysburg Battlefield
I made a stop in York – I found out that there is a Gin and Vodka distillery there, with a tasting room.
On the trip I bought a bottle of vodka from Kentucky – Castle and Key, and I also bought a bottle from Old Republic:
I got home around 6:45 and sat on the deck with a cocktail. Whew! The total trip was about 1700 miles! It was a great trip though – definitely glad I did it!
I just realized I neglected to include one of the experiences from my trip! I think it was my last day of driving, and I was outside a town and for some reason traffic was really really backed up. I could see some yellow flashing lights far up front but couldn’t tell what was going on. As it turns out, it was a convoy of maybe 20-30 Semi’s all going about 30 MPH, apparently giving rides to Make-A-Wish Kids! The sign on one of the trucks said, “Honk and Wave as you pass us!” So I did! I have never heard so many different truck horns in such a short period of time. Got a little choked up thinking about the kids riding in the truck, but was happy I could participate by honking and waving!
So, that was my trip! I hope you enjoyed reading about it – I sure enjoyed writing about it! Until next time dear readers!