This years summer vacation
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Just outside of Cumberland Maryland.
Just a quick personal note, I wanted to thank all those who, public and private, invited us to stop by. We decided usually on the spur of the moment where to spend the next day and it was not really possible to plan in advance where or when we would be anywhere but I do thank you, and whenever we passed areas I knew people were not that far away I gave you thoughts.
@LuFins-Dad we came into Appalachia first on US 50 into West Virginia and continued north on 40 which was contiguous with I-68. The hills were really beautiful, although my first thought was that this is an autumn drive when the foliage must be spectacular.
Indiana, meh. The trucking around Indianapolis was horrible. we liked eastern Ohio when the landscape turned more interesting although the cross into West Virginia began really beautiful scenery.
Although not to give Indiana such a bad rap, we went off highway when the trucking was just too much into some very rural areas and I leave you with a covered bridge which would do no shame to Madison county in Iowa.
Tomorrow Gettysburg.
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Listened to Bibis speech driving in West Virginia. I don’t like him but he speaks very powerfully.
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@bachophile said in This years summer vacation:
Listened to Bibis speech driving in West Virginia. I don’t like him but he speaks very powerfully.
Did he say anything, as far as you can tell, inaccurate?
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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68 is an interesting big highway. Did you go through Frostburg?
I drove 50 from WV through to Cincinnati about 23 years ago. It is a beautiful but harrowing drive.
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@LuFins-Dad 50 was wonderful. And pretty empty of traffic.
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I didn’t even think of 50, when you mentioned heading north of Cincy.
40 has a nice Alternative when you get to Hagerstown, shops and antiques along some farming towns and a nice outside view of the mountains, but you also may want to start heading north out of Cumberland.
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Went into a great antique mall in Ohio somewhere. Didn’t buy anything but I love those old collectibles stores. Spent an hour just browsing.
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@bachophile said in This years summer vacation:
Signs of recent flooding.
I see what you did there… Very nice. Your t-shirt is on the way.
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@bachophile I have an odd question. Probably ignorant, too. Yesterday I spent about 45 minutes driving through the rural Minnesota countryside, it was nice. I thought of you for a second... when you travel in the US like this... is there a "relief" that it's safe to drive almost anywhere in this country? For example, if I were to drive in Israel, I feel like my guard would be up the whole time.
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@89th well that’s an interesting question. Because oddly I see things completely reversed.
I need to clear up some misconceptions about safety in Israel.
Where I live, for example, violent crime is almost non exist. I go out and walk the dog anytime of day or night without a thought. If I forget to lock the door and no one is home, I don’t panic. In Tel Aviv, the country’s largest metro area, I have not felt any fear of mugging or violence. Otoh, in the US I am always keenly aware of my surroundings, don’t feel absolutely secure wandering around cities at night, and certainly lock up after myself. During the drive I’ve thought about random shootings being possible, and I really don’t feel as secure here as at home. Now maybe that’s because I’m in non familiar surroundings but nonetheless that’s how I feel.
Now yes, since October 7 the threat of military violence in Israel has increased, although the actual physical fighting in the north and south is not felt in the central part of Israel. And our alert systems are pretty good, that drone attack in Tel Aviv not withstanding. So overall I feel much more secure where I live than here.
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@bachophile said in This years summer vacation:
So overall I feel much more secure where I live than here.
What a sad commentary.
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Not such a great pic of rolling Appalachian hills. It was too hazy to get a good shot
Gettysburg was very moving. I was never really aware of the details of the battle but now understanding the Lee took a chance that superior numbers could overcome the Union holding the higher ground (actually just ridges with numerous canon) and sent hordes over an open ground which turned into a killing field,with the canon just turning the invaders into canon fodder. Thousands left dead over the grasses of the plain. Sheer lunacy.
Anyway, spending the evening in Amish Lancaster county. Also quite an interesting part of the country.
The epic ends this weekend with a Sunday evening flight back to Tel Aviv.
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Great trip! Thanks for bring us along!!!
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@bachophile said in This years summer vacation:
Not such a great pic of rolling Appalachian hills. It was too hazy to get a good shot
That is where I did most of my flying, along the Blue Ridge from North Carolina to Pennsylvania.
I have a lot of not so great hazy pictures, that is what the hills in western Virginia look like, especially in the summer.
This is from 12/3/2011.
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@bachophile Interesting regarding safety. Certainly there are places (cities at night, random truck stops) that you'll want to be on your guard, but you answered my question well. It's funny the misconceptions one has (or that I have) regarding places like Israel based on the news coverage.
Beautiful pic of the Appalachian hills. Now you know why they're called the "Blue Ridge Mountains" in some places. You're getting a nice full view of the states (more than I've had) by driving coast to coast. Deserts, mountains, cornfields, Amish country, Appalachian mountains (some of the oldest mountains in the world).
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Not to get too personal, but has the wife enjoyed the long drive?
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Hahaha yea she was great with it. It was actually nice having time together for hours at a stretch. We talk, we listen to podcasts, she warns me about my driving…and she was always in charge of finding the right place to spend the night. We drove max 6-7 hours a day, divided up for rest stops every two hours or so. Really it was a pleasure.
