Clouds of yellow-green pollen drift through the air with each puff of breeze. In PA, May must be the month for the pine trees. I rarely suffer any ill affects from allergens but my head has been complaining a little here. It rained pretty hard last night and we are hopeful it knocked most of it down. It is beautifully lush and green along boulder strewn shores of the lake. It is worth a few sneezes.
I caught 12 fish today. They were mostly crappie and not exactly huge but it still made for a fun day. No fish for supper though. We released them all. Oh, and Kent caught a few too. Not as many as I did though! He says he’s exhausted tonight because of all the work taking my fish off the hook. That is the one part I really don’t like to do, especially if they are hooked deep. Thank you, Kent.
National Memorial Arch – Valley Forge
A pair of Bald Eagles has nested on an island in Lake Wallenpaupack. They are dutifully watching over one nestling already over half their size and fully feathered out. They are very attentive parents. I am hopeful he will fledge while we are still here. So cool.
What a drive. We got out of Philly ok and headed north to a Recreation Area just off Interstate 84 a few miles on PA 507. PROBLEM, the Garmin will do anything to keep us off non-commercial vehicle routes. (Yes, I know. You can turn that option off but sometimes it’s a pretty good thing since we are 60+ feet long and 13 feet tall). It routed us onto a curly dirt road marked for two way traffic but only one lane wide. Even after we managed to find our way back onto pavement we slithered around blind curves and over steep grades; all the while she is incessantly nagging us to make a U-turn in unbelievable places. In all, it was about 15 miles of wondering around just to avoid maybe 2 miles of 507, a no commercial vehicle route. Hilarious now. Seriously annoying at the time. Oh yes, our Garmin is a she. Kent has the voice of Samantha selected. I have never asked why.
Cape May and Wildwood are both filled with quaint, colorful bungalows. They send out a much more laid back vibe than Atlantic City. We didn’t stay very long but it felt a bit more my speed.
Some of the smaller burgs around Atlantic City have saved older tourist attractions. There’s no neon like at the Casinos and the shops are not nearly as glitzy but they are often much more interesting. The city of Margate saved one of those attractions; Lucy, a “building” shaped like a circus elephant. You can even go up inside of it for a view of the ocean. Now that’s something you don’t see just anywhere!
Lucy the Elephant
We paid a visit to the Atlantic City boardwalk. I must say I was not very impressed. Of course, it was cloudy and cool and a pre-season Sunday morning so it didn’t get to show its best side. The carnival ride pier is not open for the season yet and we were a little early for many shops and arcades as well. An hour or so strolling was enough. We headed off to one of the local wildlife preserves. Not until we saw Lucy of course.
It was a whole new twist on the story of Valley Forge. Sure, it was winter and some of the guys didn’t have suitable clothes. Good food was hard to come by but soldiers didn’t freeze to death or starve. They built their own huts and foraged for food in the neighboring hillsides, farms and communities. Life was not really any harder than the previous winters but the soldiers were tiring of the hardship and the Officers knew they had to paint a bleak picture to get what they needed if they were to keep the army together. That bleak story of downtrodden men in unbelievably bleak conditions is what made the history books.
They try to focus on the other story here. The story of this as the birthplace of the disciplined, organized, battle ready army that emerged from the muddy fields of Valley Forge.
It makes we think I ought to read some more history books to get the straight story.
A picture perfect fieldstone house on a rolling meadow along a peaceful stream. Split rail fences and fieldstone walls define the edges of the quiet country place. Foot thick walls and worn wooden steps stand as proud witness to great historic efforts. Regular people lived here. Military and political strategies were made here. The house was Washington’s headquarters the winter at Valley Forge. I wonder what will stand as witness of our times some 250 years from now. 