After leaving Grand Design in Elkhart, Indiana, John pointed the truck east for a short stay in Canton, Ohio. I was on a mission to check off a bucket list item, The Pro Football Hall of Fame! 🏈❤️🏈 Four hours later and we were at our home for 2 nights, the Stark County Fairgrounds. The folks here were super, getting us hooked up with water and electric. Bonus: The fall trees around our rig were gorgeous! 🍂🍁
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The next day I awoke bright and early so John could drop me off for the VIP Insiders Tour at the Hall. I was part of an avid group of football fans, all sporting their colors. 💛❤️ We managed to stay civil (until the trophy room! HAHA!) and had a blast hearing the ‘behind the scenes’ stories. After the 90 minute tour, I spent the next 4 hours wandering the Hall, re-living some of footballs greatest moments and learning about the beginnings of the greatest game ever played! The Hall of Fame Gallery with the busts of over 354 professionals was awe-inspiring. So many great leaders! Funny Fact: One bust was stolen and recovered under a nearby overpass. Turns out the thief couldn’t get any money for O.J. Simpson! I ended the day in the Huge gift shop where each team was well represented. Well, maybe the Browns have a few more choices! LOL! I❤️🏈
Bedford, PA
Why Bedford? 1st, it’s fall in the Allegheny Mountains and the colors are gorgeous, it’s nestled on the historic Lincoln Highway or Route 30 , it’s rich in history, and there’s a covered bridges tour, and 2nd it’s between here and there! LOL
George Washington Slept Here!
I’m going to be seeing that a lot as we explore the Northeast. Our plan is to leave our winter home in South Carolina in February and wander our way north ending in Maine by May. Fellow RVers if you have any tips of Big Rig Friendly parks, please share!
Back to George Washington. He really did sleep in Bedford. The Epsy House was his command post during the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. A whiskey tax was imposed to help pay off war debt. Not surprising, this 1st such tax by our newly formed government didn’t sit well with some Americans, especially the war veterans who fought against taxation without representation. Meanwhile, the federal government maintained the taxes were the legal expression of Congressional taxation powers. (Thanks Wikipedia for the quick history lesson.)
So, G.W. was sent to Bedford to quell the riled up folks in western PA. He quartered at the Epsy’s warm and cozy home, while his troops camped in the fields next to the Jean Bonnet Tavern! 🍺 Still, open and haunted, John and I enjoyed a great lunch there on Halloween! The George Washington porter was an excellent compliment to my French Dip! There were no ghostly appearances during our visit! 😃
Exploring Historic Bedford
After spending the day wandering in and out of quaint boutiques and unique shops, I grabbed a java at HeBrews and joined a group of tourist for an afternoon walking tour of historic Bedford. Our guide was quite the storyteller. He wove an interesting tale about Bedford’s role in the French and Indian War as we walked. Fort Bedford was one of three forts built along Forbes Road (later part of the Lincoln Highway) to protect troops and supplies as they readied for their attack on the French at Fort Duquense. The attack never came as the French realized they were severely outnumbered this time and fled back to Canada.
Covered Bridges
Bedford County boasts 14 covered bridges. Traveling a 40 mile loop, we visited several of them. It was a scenic drive through the countryside on a glorious fall day! The colors were just past peak, but gorgeous none the less! We also made a gravity defying stop along the way. Read on…
Gravity Hill
This was so freaking cool and creepy! After putting the truck in neutral and releasing the brake. We rolled uphill! You read that right! Uphill! Seriously! Watch! 🥴🤪😃
A Whimsical Road to a Solemn Field
Our last adventure was traveling part of the Old Lincoln Highway, Route 30. America’s first transcontinental highway. Starting in Times Square in New York City, it passed through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California, ending in Lincoln Park in San Francisco. Like Route 66, there are several ‘giant sized’ attractions luring motorists to stop. I snapped a few pics along the route, but our final destination was a field in Shanksville.
They say from this lookout point on the Lincoln Highway you can see 3 states. Hmmm…
Flight 93 National Memorial
We started our visit here on the Flight Path Overlook. It was a sobering experience. From here we spent about an hour in the visitor’s center exhibits. It was hauntingly quiet as we walked with the other visitors through the exhibits, reading and remembering the remarkable courage of these brave men and women.
From the visitor’s center we drove down to the crash site and Memorial Plaza. The quarter mile walk adjacent to the crash site and debris field ends at the Wall of Names. Erected along the flight path, these 40 white marble stones are engraved with the names of the Heroes of Flight 93.
A stop at the Tower of Voices on our way out of the park completed our day. This amazing tower is a 93′ tall musical instrument with 40 wind chimes representing the 40 souls on Flight 93. Each chime is toned differently and when the wind blows they resonate together in an eerie yet beautiful song.
Beach Time!
The 10 day forecast says sunny and warm at the shore! Time to Go! 😎