East Coast Greenway Ride

  After our adventures at Jim Thorpe, we left Pennsylvania for Connecticut via New York City.  We crossed over the Hudson on the George Washington Bridge, a bridge I have crossed on my bike during the two "Escape NYC" rides I rode before Covid. Later in the day, we arrived at the Nelson Family Campground at a lovely spot next to their lake in East Hampton, CT. The next morning we rode the AirLine State park trail, with the first stop being at the Chandlers Ice Cream shop a short ways from our campground.  Fortunately, we arrived before the store opened and were saved from an early energy rush.  When we returned from our ride later in the day, they were open, and we enhanced our recovery from our ride.  :>) At the start of our ride, a cranberry bog supported many lily pads at this time of year.  Soon we are riding through the "Bishop's Cut," where the rocks were most difficult to cut during railroad installation being over 200 million years old, some of t...

  We awoke to a flurry of bird calls and one oriole stayed still long enough to get pixelated. We drove to the top of the D&L trail and 3 of us had a 35-mile ride down to the town of Jim Thorpe.  The slight downward trail made it an easy fun ride. I am always amused when the rail trail we are riding crosses a running railroad. Waterfalls and views were the order of the day along with lots of people on bikes.  The traffic was quite heavy at times occupying the whole width of the trail.  I don't have any camera shots since I was busy riding when around the large groups. At one point a few miles from Jim Thorp the rails diverged and Robert Frost's memorable statement graced the tracks going to a town that may be a ghost town now. A passenger train leaves Jim Thorpe a couple of times per day to take passengers and tourists up river so they can ride bikes or walk the trail.  We were interested but found the train fully booked for the time slot we wanted, hence ou...

We rode the D&L Trail northwest of Allentown, PA starting mid-trail after Beth fixed her flat.   The rail trail parallels the Lehigh River where an adjacent canal was built in the 1800s for moving anthracite coal downriver to the more populated areas and burgeoning steel industry. The ruins of the old canal locks are still visible in some places.  Today bridges take all the trucking and tourist load. After 20 miles, the rail-trail bridge into the town of Jim Thorpe is striking as well as the town.  It is known as the "Switzerland" of the USA.  It has always been touristy and the desired place to be because of the clear air.  This "Poconos" area is only about 100 miles from NYC. The town has its own opera house and the Marion Hose Company Restaurant was a great place for lunch right beside the Opera house. On the way back to camp, Beth stopped to admire the pink Lilacs along the trail. Here, Beth and Sandy herd a Northern Water Snake down the canal. After a p...

  Lancaster City Market building was closed on the day we visited.  Grrr. We enjoyed the floral and artwork in downtown Lancaster. Soon we sauntered to the town of "Bird in Hand" not far away to take a tour of a typical Amish home.  The docent who guided us through the home was not Amish and this home was an example of a home not occupied but she did a great job of explaining the Amish culture and answering our questions. The schoolhouse was similar to the one-room school I attended a few years back.  :>)  The children are educated only through the eighth grade and the teachers are unmarried women starting at 16 years old.  Once they are married, they can no longer teach since their job is now in the home.  At age 16, all the children are allowed (if they desire) to participate in the "English" world in a 2-year process known as "Rumspringa" to see if they desire to leave the Amish life.  They do come home each evening and live with their famil...