The last time I was came through Pennsylvania on my way to someplace was early Summer, 1982. Back then, my stop in Harrisburg, about 80 miles behind me now, was my first hotel since I had left Northern California. When you’re 22, sleeping in a pickup at a rest stop is just what you did, but I was very appreciative of the warm water at the little hotel. I remember it was $39 a night. and I can still see the room. Why I remember these things I’m not sure, but they’re fun to think about every so often, if only as a comparison point.
That was 37 years ago, and I was on my way to Chester, Connecticut to spend the summer working with a veterinarian, building up my experience and resume as I looked towards vet-school. Harrisburg was my last stop before reaching Chester the next day, and I still recall the excitement of driving over the George Washington Bridge to then get on Interstate 95 up to Connecticut. Life was pretty simple then. You went to school and worked.
And now 37 years later, the anticipation and excitement are pretty much the same. The circumstances couldn’t be any more different, but I still feel like the same guy who drove the bridge back then, and many times since. I slept at a truck stop on my way to Colorado last July, albeit for different reasons - I was just too tired to drive any further and didn’t want to delay my arrival to the mountains! This isn’t my last stop in Pennsylvania, I have a couple more, and a few more in New Jersey, but pretty soon, like really soon, I will be walking over the same bridge. I’m pleased to say I think I’ve found a trail that’ll take me to the stairs on the NJ side without having to jump over freeways and guardrails!
There has been a lot of water under that bridge in 37 years, both literally and figuratively. I never did go to vet school - I wanted to specialize in equine reproduction, and even then, the profession was somewhat saturated, so I changed course, though I stayed with the animals. About three years after first driving across the GWB, I found myself there again, having driven up I-95 from West Palm Beach with a load of 12 horses. They weren’t just any horses… included in the bunch were 4 or 5 of the best polo ponies of their time, coming off a winning high-goal season in Florida. About halfway over the bridge, the trailer kind of lurched, and one (or a couple) of the horses started kicking. Turns out some kids in a car alongside thought it would be funny to throw firecrackers at the trailer. Funny it was not - in fact it was terrifying, thinking of the likes of Levicu and Mariposa in the back. Good thing is we made it safely back to Greenwich, no injuries. A warning to those kids, who are now probably in their fifties (!)… if you throw a firecracker at me on the bridge, I’m going to throw it right back… I’ve gotten smarter since then :)
The last couple of walking days have been nice, but I didn’t take a lot of pictures, you know what that means. Pottstown to Quakertown is pretty country, but walking was tedious given the narrow shoulders on the roads. Ditto today from Q-town into Central Valley, a couple of miles south of Allentown. I really had to be alert, as there was quite a bit of Friday afternoon traffic. I miss seeing the horse show trailers but, by now, the horses are either resting from the summer season or, if they’re really good, they might be basking in south Florida in shorts and flip flops! The hunters are still around for a while. Regardless, the roads were narrow, and your friendly blogger did very well but didn’t take a lot of pictures! I’m hoping things will improve for the next few days, and I’m planning my routes much more carefully for this last stretch. The key now is avoiding urban areas, and even though Billy Joel is waiting for me in Allentown, I don’t think I’ll be going there. Satellite view is my new friend, and I stay away from anything grey as best I can! Another of my challenges up here is that these small roads can very suddenly become turnpikes, not fun for walking so, for the first time since I started off, I am having to carefully map out my day to avoid the large and busy roads.
I haven’t reported on my waving research lately, as it had become a given in Tennessee. I waved, everyone waved back. Virginia also has good wavers, running at about an 80% return rate. I don’t have enough of a West Virginia sample to say for sure what kind of wavers they are, and Maryland, same, though I recall a good rate from memory. Then there’s Pennsylvania,,, no one waves! Actually, it’s about 10% overall, primarily the motorcycles and trucks, but the rest fail the PDY wave test. C’mon Pennsylvania… you’re messing up my statistics. It’s really quite simple; if someone waves at you, wave back! If you’re driving, you don’t even need to lift your arm, just a (proper) finger will do. This way, I have acknowledged your presence and position, and by waving back, you acknowledge mine, and we’re good. It’s kind of like a smile or saying please and thank you. basic stuff.
