edensgarden's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What does the "PENNA TURNPIKE" have to do with it? When taking prescription medication it is wise to follow all of the attached labels and directions. The pharmacist knows what he�s talking about. From the preceding paragraph you might ascertain that I am taking prescription medication. Ding-dong! You�re right! It�s allergy time down on the farm. I�m all floaty and spinning and I have a tummy ache to boot � drug interactions? Or the Key Lime Pie I had for breakfast? I�ll get it right tomorrow. ========================================= While out in PA with my sister we decided, well I did really, to go to Valley Forge (come now, I am a History teacher so I have to pack at least one National Park into every trip -- would you expect anything different from me?) My sister is not as adventurous as I am on the road, and she was hesitant to drive to a place she�d never been to. She also kept trying to convince me that the road signs in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are not the best in the world. I put her fears to rest and reminded her that we were intelligent and would find our way, not to mention the fact that I am a total dork and had memorized the map. We loaded the van and off we went. It was a pleasant drive down. We made the mistake of driving south on State Highway 309, a very scenic and picturesque way, but dotted with small towns and Wal-Mart mega centers every 20 miles or so. It made for slow driving. Eventually we were to make an exchange and get on the 276 West. I saw numerous signs for towns, villages and other roads with numbers, but none for 276 West. One sign in particular was looming at us every 5 feet �PENNA TURNPIKE� -- 5 MILES, 2 MILES, NEXT EXIT. This wasn�t the road I was looking for, so we drove on past the exit and kept looking for the magical 2-7-6. Eventually we came to the end of the freeway and still we had not seen anything relating to or resembling 276 West. It then dawned on me that the �PENNA TURNPIKE� might in fact be the 276 West, but very badly labeled. Upon turning around and backtracking we found this to be true. The freeway going the other direction was very clearly marked, �PENNA TURNPIKE / 276 WEST & VALLEY FORGE �Um ok?� All my sister said was �I told you so.� Valley Forge is a very beautiful place, and I would recommend going there if you are ever in the greater �Philly� area. As the name would suggest Valley Forge is, in fact, a Valley wherein a Forge � a place where metal was made into useful objects back in the day � was located. Gen. George Washington and the Continental Army camped here in the winter of 1777. It was a very strategic location and gave the Americans a chance to regroup and train. I imagine that the landscape looks today, much as it did back in 1777. The Valley is quite large. The fields are wide and rolling, but in some places very steep. The fields are punctuated with groves of very thick trees. It really was very beautiful, and I�m sure it will be even more so in the summer when all of the trees have their leaves. Without sounding too sappy or over emotional, I would have to say that I felt a certain reverence there, it was the same reverence that I had the first time I walked the Freedom Trail in Boston. I was just reminded that the history is real and that the people that lived here had lives and families but they also had a cause for which they fought. All along the perimeter of the Valley are stone markers placed by the states to mark the places where their men camped. There were a lot of these markers. Later on we found out that between 12,000-15,000 men camped the winter here. One of the guides who was at one of the barracks said that records of the dead were not kept while the Army was here. He said that the fear of British spies was so great, that when a man died he was stripped of all his clothing and buried secretly. The family was not even told of the death. In addition to this, he mentioned that when they do archeological digs in and around the Valley they frequently unearth the graves of these soldiers. We stopped at Gen Washington�s Headquarters. The ranger, who was dressed in full Revolutionary Garb, told us that the building was original as were the floorboards were standing on and the walls we were touching and looking at. I thought this was exceptionally good. Mom was snapping pictures faster than you could say I-am-neurotic � what tourists we were! After a nice picnic we headed home. Sis and I decided to skip the scenic route and go home on the toll-way. Easy enough? Oh boy are YOU wrong! Finding then entering the toll way proved to be a hilarious test of my map reading skills, and my sister�s sanity. (See I didn�t memorize the way back � now who�s the dork?) We were looking for the 476 East, but on the map the roads ran north and south, add construction to this, and the previously mentioned lack of signs could have made for a disastrous combination. Eden, which way am I turning? Am I turning right? So right we went � lucky guess. Soon familiar signs for the �PENNA TURNPIKE� started to dot the side of the road, and we knew we were in familiar territory. Once on the toll way it was home to Bethlehem, no detours, no scenic drives. If you would like me to navigate for you � just forget it! 2:36 p.m. - March 26, 2002 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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