KOA, West Chester, PA:  Drove into Philadelphia this morning.  Parked and walked around the historic district all day.  I was going to wear sandals.  Thankfully, I was smart and wore sensible shoes.  Had lunch at a little restaurant in the historic district.  I had a Philly cheese steak sandwich.  Mike had a Reuben.  Walked around some more, then back to our parking spot and walked around the riverfront for a while.  Back to our site.  Actually, some of the buildings around us here in the Brandywine Valley are older than the ones we saw today. 85 today and beautiful.

Independence Hall--where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed.

Independence Hall

Liberty Bell--the wood it's mounted on is over 300 years old!

Holiday Inn, Exton, PA, to KOA West Chester, PA:  Tossed and turned all night.  Wish we were in the fifth-wheel with our comfy Tempurpedic mattress.  Mike had no trouble sleeping.  Partook of their breakfast downstairs.  Now it’s a waiting game.  Mike went over to check on the truck and came back around 10:30.  All fixed and we’re ready to go.  Turns out it was the exhaust brake—a solenoid or something.  Hooked up and were on our way.  There are some really historic homes and other buildings around here—I’m talking Revolutionary War historic.  We finally made it to the KOA after meandering all over.  We’re out in the country again.  It’s a beautiful park.  Our site is like being in a National Forest campground, but with amenities.  We have full hook-ups for our 15 day stay.  But 8 of those days we’ll be in NYC and will leave the fifth-wheel here.  Low 80s today and sunny.

My side of the room.

Mike's side of the room.

Tucked into the woods--KOA West Chester, PA

Fallingwater grounds

The barns in this area all have little louvered shutters which give them a very distinctive look.

Hickory Hollow RV Park, Somerset, PA, to KOA, Coatsville, PA:  Left this morning around 9:30 and headed east on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.  A beautiful drive through the lush hills/mountains of southwestern PA.  Lots of long pulls up and long coasts down and around 4 or 5 tunnels.  The truck performed really well—only downshifted around 3 or 4 times in all those hills.  Dropped down into the Cumberland Valley and stopped at a service area for some lunch.  The semi parked next to us was hauling some kind of animals—probably cattle or horses.  I could hear them thumping around in there.  It was a regular trailer with no ventilation of any kind.  I can only imagine how horrible it was for whatever animals were in there.  Continued east and got off at our exit for the KOA.  However, it’s several miles away in the country somewhere.  Unfortunately, shortly after we got off the truck started belching black smoke and we lost power.  This has happened before and the mechanic said it was just something in the air filter.  We stopped and turned the truck off and then restarted and it was okay.  But only for a mile or so and then it started doing it again.  So, we happened to be right by a Holiday Inn, and we pulled in there, parked and went inside to see if they knew where there was a GMC or Chevy dealer.  They told us there was a Pep Boys right next door, so Mike walked over there and they told him the mechanic that works on diesels had left for the day.  So, we pulled the fifth-wheel out in the Holiday Inn back lot and dropped it and Mike took the truck over to Pep Boys so the mechanic could work on it first thing.  So, here we are in a Holiday Inn in Exton, PA, only 15 miles from our destination.  Could have been a lot worse though.  81 today and mostly sunny.

Honeysuckle or Jasmine--it smelled wonderful.

Nest with four perfect robin's eggs.  In the site next to us.  Unfortunately, the nest was abandoned for some reason.

Wed, 6/13/12:
Hickory Hollow RV Park, Somerset, PA:  Headed out this morning to see the Flight 93 Memorial which is only about 20 miles away.  I guess I was very surprised that the plane came down in a high meadow covered with wildflowers and fringed with trees instead of a farmers field down low.  The plane came down upside down at a 40 degree angle going 593 miles per hour.  It left a 40 foot crater and amazingly 95% of the plane was recovered and everyone on board was identified by some means.  The crater was filled in after all the remains and debris were removed and it looks pretty much the way it did before the plane came down.  It’s an amazingly tranquil and peaceful place—considering the horrific violence that took place here.  Left there and drove up to Johnstown to visit the flood museum there.  In 1889 one of the worst floods in our history happened here and 2200 people died.  Johnstown is situated along the Little Conemaugh River in a narrow valley.  14 miles upstream is a large earthen dam creating Conemaugh Lake.  At that time this lake was home to the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club which was owned by several rich Pittsburgh families. They would come to this pristine, man-made lake in the mountains and fish or hunt or just relax in their “cottages” along the lake shore.  Unfortunately, they ignored signs that the dam was weakening and after a period of heavy rain the earthen dam finally gave way.  The tower of water that hit Johnstown was over 37 feet high and wiped everything out in its path.  One woman was giving birth in the upstairs bedroom of one of the homes that was ripped away by the flood and floated away.  Both survived.  Bodies were found as far away as Cincinnati as long after as 1906.  South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club was abandoned since there was no more lake.  They left their cottages and everything in them and never came back.  Tomorrow we leave for western Philadelphia.

Someone took this picture right after impact.

Impact site in front of the boulder

The white marble "wall of names".  The wall is placed right along the line the plane took in its last seconds.

The white marble wall of names.

Wall of names.

So sad...

JOHNSTOWN FLOOD

City Hall--Johnstown

Members of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club used to hang out on the spillway.  Must have been fun climbing around in those long dresses.

Hickory Hollow RV Park, Somerset, PA:  Awoke this morning to the patter of raindrops.  Drizzled on an off.  After lunch we drove to the quaint little town of Somerset and went to the library to use their wi-fi.  After that we roamed around this cute and immaculate little town.  Back home and relaxed the rest of the day.

Kings Bridge--originally built in 1802

Mon, 6-11:
Hickory Hollow RV Park, Somerset, PA:  Left this morning under cloudy skies heading to Fallingwater.  A beautiful drive through beautiful, scenic jungle.  Fallingwater sits on 1500 pristine acres of hardwood forest lush with rhododendron and mountain laurel.  This beautiful home was started in 1936 and is considered Frank Lloyd Wright’s most widely acclaimed work.  It was built for Pittsburgh department store owner Edgar J. Kaufmann as a weekend home.  Much to the Kaufmann’s surprise, Wright designed the house to rise above the waterfall rather than facing it.  And the house and grounds were entrusted to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in 1963 by Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. with its setting, original furnishings and artwork intact.  There are original Picasso’s and Audubon’s in the house along with lots of Tiffany glass and other works of art.  But the house is the real art with its setting cascading down the hill right over the stream and falls.  Very dramatic.  Stopped for a late lunch in a little town on the Old National Road and then back home.

Fallingwater

Built right over a waterfall on the Bear Run

Rhododendron in bloom

Sun, 6-10:
KOA Columbus, OH, to Hickory Hollow RV Park, Somerset, PA:  Left this morning a little after 9:00 and continued east on I70 through the pretty rolling hills of eastern Ohio, then over the Ohio River into W. Virginia for about 12 miles and then into southwestern Pennsylvania.  Stopped in PA for fuel and food and then we continued east on I70.  The entrance ramps on I70 in PA are very scary.  There’s no long lane so you can merge gradually.  It comes to a stop and you have to gun it to get into traffic—just like Atlanta used to be when I first moved there.  Very dangerous.  Atlanta has done away with them.  Apparently, PA hasn’t.  We were glad when we got off on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.  This area of Pennsylvania is beautiful though.  Very hilly with lush forests and pretty streams.  We exited in Somerset, PA, which is a beautiful little town with lots of old, historic buildings in the little downtown area and lots of large, historic homes with immaculately manicured lawns and beautifully kept flower beds.  The park we’re in is in a little valley with cows grazing in the hills around us and the air full of the aroma of fresh mown hay.  We’re here for three days to see Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater and then the Flight 93 Memorial.  Both are nearby.  Arrived and were set up by 2:30.  84 today and sunny.

Hickory Hollow CG

Hickory Hollow CG

Hickory Hollow CG