My Vacation: Part 1 of 9, July 21, 2009
Jul. 30th, 2009 10:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lblanchard25th Anniversary Route 6 Trip -- July 21-29, 2009
Notes (Reflections will come later)
July 21, 2009
We knew that the weather forecast for the foreseeable future was not promising -- a lot of clouds, plenty of rain. But we were determined that we would adapt.
We had to make a few stops in Philadelphia before leaving town, but pushed off around 9:30. Because one of those stops was to make a bank deposit, we weren't able to stick completely to plan, which was to go east on Christian Street to Broad Street (aka 611) and thus officially begin out trip a scant six blocks from home. But we picked up Broad Street a little north of City Hall, went out to Doylestown and then north, more or less paralleling the river.
The city fell behind a little north of Doylestown, as the road became more of a country road, sometimes right next to the river and other times a few miles inland. We followed the road to Easton, where we marveled at the town square with its elaborate Civil War monument and bustling shops, and marked it as a potential destination for a day trip or even a weekend with side trips to the scenic Delaware.
Just above Easton, in Raubsville, we spent some time exploring the Groundhog Lock and lock-keeper's house. Many photos were taken. Toward the end of this stop it began raining intermittently -- sometimes a gentle mist, sometimes a gentle rain, sometimes a serious downpour.
We noted that there is a footbridge across the Delaware at Portland, PA, something potentially worth exploring another time. We also stopped to take a photo or two at the Resort Point Overlook at the Delaware Water Gap -- hard to do, given the prominence of the interstate highway along the Delaware. We had some cognitive dissonance over the fact that the Appalachian Trail also came down by this overlook.
Stroudsburg PA was very pretty and prosperous looking, with another picturesque town square. We wondered if it had become another NYC bedroom community and told ourselves we should explore it another time, possibly on the same trip as an exploration of Easton.
All the way up the river, we noted that commercial lots have been planted with masses of echinacea and rudbeckia where a year or so ago we might have seen annuals. As both of these perennials are both moisture- and drought-tolerant, we can only see this as a good thing.
There was a detour on Route 209 south of Dingman's Falls, and we were afraid we'd be routed around it, but we were mistaken -- we were returned to Route 209 a few hundred feet south of the Park entrance.
Many photos were taken at Dingman's Falls, a magical place even when it is raining, which it was for our stop, ranging from a gentle rain to moderate rain. A quarter-mile boardwalk from the visitor center to the lower falls was easy walking, even for me. At the lower falls, one could take stairs to the upper falls, but 240 steps was a little ambitious, and the lower falls themselves were quite striking. We spent time exploring the capabilities of our digital cameras -- in Roy's case, the camera in his Blackberry. I took a few Blackberry shots but relied primarily on my little Kodak.
After Dingman's Falls, we pushed on to Milford, noting how lovely it was, but going along Route 6 until we identified our motel (Myers Country Motel, Route 6). We went on to Port Jervis NY, noting as we did the entire cluster of big box stores just over the river from Port Jervis. A result of the sale tax differences, no doubt. On the other hand, Port Jervis was abundantly supplied with liquor stores, a result of the constrained choices of the Pennsylvania State Stores, not doubt. Port Jervis is also a lovely place, at least to the eyes of travelers passing through, so we've marked it as another potential stop.
Our destination, and our reason for going over to the NY side, was the Roebling Delaware Viaduct, built in 1848 to carry the Delaware and Hudson Canal across the Delaware River between Lackawaxen PA and Minisink NY. It is now a single lane automobile bridge with two elevated walkways north and south. Copious interpretive panels (which I photographed) give the history of the conflict between canal traffic and lumber rafts that was resolved by the construction of the viaduct. Lackawaxen was also home to the well-known author Zane Grey, whose home is maintained as a museum by the National Park Service. If you click the photo to the right and then click along on my photostream, you'll come to the interpretive panels, which are an exhibition in themselves and well worth reading, especially if you, like us, are fascinated with nineteenth-century ingenuity.
After exploring the Viaduct and stopping enroute back to Milford to photograph the Delaware from abundant scenic overlooks along NY Route 97, we checked in to our motel. The owner was a little distracted -- they were hosting a party for a neighbor celebrating her 80th birthday -- but we did check in and were charmed by out little cabin facing a green lined by tall hemlocks and pines. It was delightful to sit on our little porch in the cool evening and sip some vintage bourbon that Roy had purchased in Port Jervis.
We had an abundant, modestly priced dinner at the Milford Inn -- I had meatloaf and Roy had more moussaka than he could eat. I helped.
There are 53 photos in my Flickr set from July 21, beginning here. All trip entries are tagged "Anniversary Trip".
[to be continued]
Notes (Reflections will come later)
July 21, 2009
We knew that the weather forecast for the foreseeable future was not promising -- a lot of clouds, plenty of rain. But we were determined that we would adapt.
We had to make a few stops in Philadelphia before leaving town, but pushed off around 9:30. Because one of those stops was to make a bank deposit, we weren't able to stick completely to plan, which was to go east on Christian Street to Broad Street (aka 611) and thus officially begin out trip a scant six blocks from home. But we picked up Broad Street a little north of City Hall, went out to Doylestown and then north, more or less paralleling the river.
The city fell behind a little north of Doylestown, as the road became more of a country road, sometimes right next to the river and other times a few miles inland. We followed the road to Easton, where we marveled at the town square with its elaborate Civil War monument and bustling shops, and marked it as a potential destination for a day trip or even a weekend with side trips to the scenic Delaware.
Just above Easton, in Raubsville, we spent some time exploring the Groundhog Lock and lock-keeper's house. Many photos were taken. Toward the end of this stop it began raining intermittently -- sometimes a gentle mist, sometimes a gentle rain, sometimes a serious downpour.We noted that there is a footbridge across the Delaware at Portland, PA, something potentially worth exploring another time. We also stopped to take a photo or two at the Resort Point Overlook at the Delaware Water Gap -- hard to do, given the prominence of the interstate highway along the Delaware. We had some cognitive dissonance over the fact that the Appalachian Trail also came down by this overlook.
Stroudsburg PA was very pretty and prosperous looking, with another picturesque town square. We wondered if it had become another NYC bedroom community and told ourselves we should explore it another time, possibly on the same trip as an exploration of Easton.
All the way up the river, we noted that commercial lots have been planted with masses of echinacea and rudbeckia where a year or so ago we might have seen annuals. As both of these perennials are both moisture- and drought-tolerant, we can only see this as a good thing.
There was a detour on Route 209 south of Dingman's Falls, and we were afraid we'd be routed around it, but we were mistaken -- we were returned to Route 209 a few hundred feet south of the Park entrance.
Many photos were taken at Dingman's Falls, a magical place even when it is raining, which it was for our stop, ranging from a gentle rain to moderate rain. A quarter-mile boardwalk from the visitor center to the lower falls was easy walking, even for me. At the lower falls, one could take stairs to the upper falls, but 240 steps was a little ambitious, and the lower falls themselves were quite striking. We spent time exploring the capabilities of our digital cameras -- in Roy's case, the camera in his Blackberry. I took a few Blackberry shots but relied primarily on my little Kodak. After Dingman's Falls, we pushed on to Milford, noting how lovely it was, but going along Route 6 until we identified our motel (Myers Country Motel, Route 6). We went on to Port Jervis NY, noting as we did the entire cluster of big box stores just over the river from Port Jervis. A result of the sale tax differences, no doubt. On the other hand, Port Jervis was abundantly supplied with liquor stores, a result of the constrained choices of the Pennsylvania State Stores, not doubt. Port Jervis is also a lovely place, at least to the eyes of travelers passing through, so we've marked it as another potential stop.
Our destination, and our reason for going over to the NY side, was the Roebling Delaware Viaduct, built in 1848 to carry the Delaware and Hudson Canal across the Delaware River between Lackawaxen PA and Minisink NY. It is now a single lane automobile bridge with two elevated walkways north and south. Copious interpretive panels (which I photographed) give the history of the conflict between canal traffic and lumber rafts that was resolved by the construction of the viaduct. Lackawaxen was also home to the well-known author Zane Grey, whose home is maintained as a museum by the National Park Service. If you click the photo to the right and then click along on my photostream, you'll come to the interpretive panels, which are an exhibition in themselves and well worth reading, especially if you, like us, are fascinated with nineteenth-century ingenuity.After exploring the Viaduct and stopping enroute back to Milford to photograph the Delaware from abundant scenic overlooks along NY Route 97, we checked in to our motel. The owner was a little distracted -- they were hosting a party for a neighbor celebrating her 80th birthday -- but we did check in and were charmed by out little cabin facing a green lined by tall hemlocks and pines. It was delightful to sit on our little porch in the cool evening and sip some vintage bourbon that Roy had purchased in Port Jervis.We had an abundant, modestly priced dinner at the Milford Inn -- I had meatloaf and Roy had more moussaka than he could eat. I helped.
There are 53 photos in my Flickr set from July 21, beginning here. All trip entries are tagged "Anniversary Trip".
[to be continued]
