Some Lincoln Highway
Day 1
Bridge, Forge, Fire
Day 2
A Rainy Day
Day 3
A Little More Rain
Day 4
The Glenmoore Gathering
September 14, 2008 (day 4)
The skies cleared for the concours and the cars looked beautiful. I know
the soggy
ground caused some rearranging but to a rookie it was almost undetectable. The
organizers, like ducks, may have been paddling furiously below the surface,
but it looked smooth on the surface. A most impressive "car show".
September 13, 2008 (day 3)
It rained on and off most of the day but there was a glimpse of sunlight
in the late afternoon. I saw the portable Vietnam War Memorial, found the
Point of Beginning, and parked my car inside.
September 12, 2008 (day 2)
Rain hampered things a bit but I still managed to find a cheesesteak and
the "yellow brick road". I ended the day on an up note in a room
with attached bar.
September 11, 2008 (day 1)
I started with a Lincoln Highway Bridge near Trevose, Pennsylvania, then
left the LH to check out Valley Forge. From there it was a combination of
old LH and current US-30 to Bedford.
Prelude
For an add-on to a work trip, this little outing has certainly gone
through its share of variations. As soon as I learned that I was scheduled
for a "half-expense-paid" trip to eastern Pennsylvania, I
penciled in that full length US-22 drive that's long been on my list. Not
long ago, USRoadman
posted photos of his drive along US-44. (By the way, USRoadman's site
has photos from a lot more roads than US-44. Take a look.) As I
looked them over, an extremely attractive addition to the US-22 drive
occurred to me. US-22, US-44, and US-66 comprise the entire set of
existing even-numbered double-digit US routes. The west end of Forty-Four
isn't too far from the east end of Twenty-Two so that it is possible to do
them as a set. Then I was soundly struck with the thought that this (44 +
22) would be "Sixty-Six the hard way". The idea of doing
"Sixty-Six the hard way" and simultaneously clinching the
"even & double" trio really took hold and doing US-22 by
itself suddenly seemed less appealing. I tried fitting the extended route
into the schedule and immediately realized it just wouldn't work this
time. "66tHW" is a great idea but US-44 would just have to wait.
Then I thought that maybe I shouldn't even target all of US-22 on this trip. Since I didn't know how much time would be my own, it wasn't even certain that I'd have enough time. Maybe I was already leaning toward saving it for my newly conceived "Sixty-Six the hard way" when another blow came from Alaska. Well, not from Alaska exactly but Alaska was involved. US-22 goes through Allentown, home of the recently opened America on Wheels museum. One of the American Road Magazine forum members is a volunteer there and this seemed a good chance to meet him and maybe even get a better look at the museum. The note I sent reached him just hours before his departure for Alaska. I could still see the museum but without meeting Dave. Another reason to consider saving the US-22 trip.
I occasionally look in on AliceRamsey.org to see how plans are progressing for next year's "reenactment" of Alice's 1909 cross country drive. When I took a look last week, I was pleased to see that the car was nearing completion and would be featured at a Concours d'Elegance in Canton, Ohio. When I saw that the Concours would be held on the weekend of my return to Ohio, it was out with US-22 and in with the Lincoln Highway. The LH goes right through Canton and within a mile of where I would be staying near Philadelphia. I could drive it all the way if I had the inclination and the time. I was sure I wouldn't have the time so took a look at options for picking up the route to Canton. I've never driven the original LH route north from Pittsburgh so decided that would be a nice way to enter Ohio and get to Canton. I'll probably catch some other LH bits but don't know what they'll be.