Moving On

Day 27

October 4, 2010

Day 27

October 4, 2010

5,120 miles later we leave Delaware.  The morning was busy with us packing and Donovan getting ready for school.  Bagels for breakfast and before we knew it the bus was coming.  He had to run to catch it and we almost had no chance for good byes.  He raced ahead and jumped on the bus as we lagged behind.   Grandma Pam wasn’t going to let it end like that and, bless her heart, she flagged down the bus driver who let us on to give the little guy a good bye hug.  All smiles,  he waved us off and the wheels on the bus took him off to school.

A quick stop at the grocery store turned into a cup of tea and the coffee shop next door.  I guess I really wasn’t ready to leave.  Fall was definitely in the air.  It was chilly at 48 degrees and damp from the rain.  We went in, ordered two cups of English Breakfast Tea, found a quiet table in the back and relived the last few days committing them to memory.  Out came the maps and we plotted our course for Albany, NY.  Only six hours away if you take the freeway. 

But we took the byways and saw the scenery at a little slower pace.  It really was a misty, moisty morning, and cloudy was the weather.  The clouds hung low over the trees and colors were muted in the filtered sunlight of the day.  But it seemed fitting for the time.  We took a slight detour into the city of Jim Thorpe.  From highway US 209 we saw the sign, “Jim Thorpe Exit” and found the most charming town.  Originally known as Mauch Chunk, it was renamed after Jim Thorpe one of America’s most versatile athletes.  He won gold medals in the 1912 Olympics and later had to return them because he’d played two seasons of semi-professional baseball.  Even then they had problems keeping amateurs fully amateur!  In the early 19^th century the town’s economy was based on mining anthracite.  As part of their mining production, a railroad was built that moved the coal 11 miles from Summit Hill to Mauch Chunk and then on to the Delaware River through canals, dams and locks. Both the railroad and system of canals, dams and locks were engineering feats for the early 1900s.  So much for that.  It was a pleasant interlude.

The remainder of the drive was just driving, driving, driving.  The rain drizzled most of the day and we made progress toward Albany.  Ten hours later we arrived.  From here we’re officially on our “Fall Color Tour”.  There’s enough to see here that it’d take a month of Sundays to do it all.