Category: EasternLoop2016

Pizza Roundup Potsy Pizza

Pizza Roundup Potsy Pizza

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For my fellow pizza lovers, I bring to you a review of Potsy Pizza.

Potsy Pizza is a really, really good pizza place in Allentown, PA with more than just tasty pizza. My brother really enjoyed the steak sandwich with jalapenos!

At Potsy Pizza you can get a half and half pizza and spilt it or a full pizza to split or whatever’s good for you.

While we were at Potsy’s we got garlic knots, very garlicy, very tasty, and comes with warm marinara, yum!

Potsy’s has sandwiches, wraps, pizza, calzones, and Stromboli.

When they found out it was my birthday, they gave me a slice of cheesecake!

The staff at Potsy’s are super nice, the bathrooms are clean, and the décor is nice.

I think Potsy’s deserves a 5 star review. I have a feeling we will be thinking about the pizza at Potsy Pizza for a long time!

See you next time on…

Pizza Street!!

The City Of Brotherly Love

The City Of Brotherly Love

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Happy Independence Day!

We spent a day roaming around Philadelphia and learning some history about our Country’s founding.

Independence Hall is called “the birthplace of America”. We did a walking tour of historic Philly. Of the thirty three places on the tour, we only made it to seventeen. One of the best things about it…it was all free! If you ever make it to Independence Hall make sure you grab a ticket at the visitor center first thing or you might not get to see the room where the Declaration of Independence was created and signed. We snuck in on the second to last tour of the day. Most of what you see in the left photo above isn’t original…it’s been a long time…but the chair at the top was there when our country was born.

It’s not a LOVE statute…but it’ll do.

This Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is in Washington Park. The tomb honors both George Washington and an unknown soldier from the Revolutionary War.

The Merchants’ Exchange is the oldest stock exchange building in the United States. The road in front of it is cobblestone and there are lion statues on each side protecting the stairs.

We all know the story of The Liberty Bell, but did you know it weighs about 2,ooo pounds?

Carpenters’ Hall was built in 1770 and is where the First Continental Congress met to draw up a Declaration of Rights and Grievances and an appeal to King George III after the British Parliament punished Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party.

Benjamin Franklin was appointed Postmaster General in 1775.

The Christ Church Burial Ground is the final resting place for some of America’s most prominent leaders…including Benjamin Franklin. When we got there the gate was already closed but we caught a glimpse of Franklin’s grave through the fence.

Did you know that the National Park Service has trading cards? You have to ask the Ranger’s for them and they won’t always just give them to you…the boys were quizzed for each card. We love it when the Ranger’s make it fun and a challenge. The Ranger’s can really make or break a NP site.

A LOVE statue! We looked all over for the LOVE statue, but the park it was supposed to be in was under construction. We were surprised to find an AMOR statue at the Art Museum!

Do you recognize them? The stairs… They’re the Rocky stairs! The boys ran up them and did a little victory dance at the top. I leisurely made my way up to the top where the boys were waiting.

We even made it to the Mint! Unfortunately, photos aren’t permitted. *sad face* So, I can’t show you any of it. The Mint was such a cool experience for all of us. There’s a free self-guided tour that shows how coins are made. If you have a chance to visit the Mint, we highly recommend it! We learned a lot and scored some pretty cool souvenirs.

Yup. It’s a Philly Cheesesteak! We had to do it. I know…how touristy…but look at that sandwich!! It was sooo stinkin’ good!!! There are several places to go to try the famed Philly sandwich. The two you’ve probably heard about are Pat and Gino’s but, when we looked them up…they both had horrible reviews! Terrible! We found Sonny’s Famous! If you’re ever in Philly, you have got to try Sonny’s. And make sure you get the loaded fries!

It’s spring here…There are flowers everywhere! I love these white flowering vines we found outside the Independence Hall Visitor Center!

See y’all down the road!

#easternloop2016

Hopewell Furnace

Hopewell Furnace

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Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site was close to where we were staying so we took a day to explore another NPS site and learn some of our Nation’s history!

Mark Bird built Hopewell Furnace in 1771. You can see the Hopewell Furnace Big House in the photo above.

At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, American furnaces, forges, and mills were making around one-seventh of the world’s iron works. During the Revolutionary War, Hopewell played a critical role in supplying the our new Nation’s army with weapons. George Washington chose the Valley Forge location in part because of how close it was to Hopewell.

It took an acre of woodlands to make enough charcoal to run an iron furnace for just one day. At Hopewell, they made their own charcoal in the Charcoal cooling shed.

There are several buildings on the property that are open for viewing to show what life was like at Hopewell while it was running. They set up the dining room in the big house to show what a meal at that time might look like.

The barn held up to 36 horses along with a year’s worth of feed. One of the neat things about Hopewell, is that the animals that would have been running around at Hopewell while it was running are still running around it today.

Saturdays were baking days in rural America. They used wood fired ovens like the one above. They would test the heat by sticking their arm in and counting the seconds they could leave it in. The number they got to told them if it was too hot or not hot enough for certain breads and pies.

One of the buildings you can wander through is the wash building. I’m so glad we don’t have to do laundry that way anymore! That would be a work out!

And, of course, there’s the furnace in the Cast Shop! I couldn’t get a great shot of it, but it’s huge! The temperature inside the furnace would reach temps of 2,600°- 3,000° F and it would run 24 hours a day. Workers would constantly feed it, watch it’s flame, and listen to the sound of the its blast to make sure it was staying hot enough. This was probably the most important building there.

Hopewell was ahead of its time. People worked the same jobs for the same wages no matter what gender or color they were.  Some workers with families rented company tenant houses. You can see a Kids room in one of the worker’s houses in the photo above.

We had a great time walking around Hopewell and learning about early American iron working communities! These kinds of National Park units are often overlooked but we find that these are the kinds of NP units that are the most needed. They preserve a time in our history that would be lost and eventually forgotten. If we forget where we came from and the struggles our ancestors went through…how can we know who we really are or how far we’ve come?

See y’all down the road!

#easternloop2016

E Pluribus Unum…Out of Many, One

E Pluribus Unum…Out of Many, One

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We took a day to explore Valley Forge National Historic Park in Pennsylvania.

We have mixed feelings about historical interpreters. We’ve seen some that are disturbingly creepy, but the Ranger’s at Valley Forge were top notch and had a wealth of information.

Our new country didn’t have an army when the revolution began. General George Washington had to organize and train an army while fighting the war itself. When Washington and his men arrived at Valley Forge they didn’t have lodging so the soldiers had to build their own log huts. There was a competition to see who could get done first. The log huts you can see today are all reconstructions of what would have been there during the 1177-1778 winter. They’ve got some of the huts open so you can see what they might have looked like inside.

The National Memorial Arch was dedicated in 1917.

Trying to build and train an army all while fighting the war was just one of Washington’s challenges. Remember…at this time, the United States of America was a newly formed family. It was more like 13 families all trying to learn how to live in the same house. So, the first thing Washington had to do was unite the men into one army. He needed to ensure that the men’s allegiance was to the newly forming United States and not to their home state.

French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon had a life mask made of Washington when he was studying Washington to do a sculpture so when you look at this statue, you’re looking at a very realistic depiction of George Washington.

The house above served as both residence and office for Washington and his staff during his stay at Valley Forge. Unlike the log huts, this is the original building. The National Park Service has tried to get period pieces to show what Washington’s office would have looked like. The house went through a few different owners who made some changes during the 100 years after Washington resided there.

When the Park Service got control of the house, they tried their best to restore it to what it was while Washington was there. Through all of the changes the banister was never changed. So…we all had to touch the same banister that George Washington touched as we walked up the stairs. Can you imagine all of the conversations that took place around that banister…conversations that helped to shape our great Nation into what it is today!

In December of 1777, 12,000 soldiers along with 400 women and children made their way into Valley Forge. Six months, 1,500 log huts, and two miles of fortifications later Valley Forge was the fourth largest city in America.

The boys got their 42nd badge at Valley Forge. They don’t do it for the swag…we don’t force them to do it…they do it because they love to learn and it gives them something to do while we’re at a National Parks. It’s fun and educational for the whole family.

I couldn’t leave out the flowers. I’ve just got this one picture, but I thought these pale pink flowers were so pretty!

See y’all down the road!

#easternloop2016

Harrisburg, PA

Harrisburg, PA

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While we were staying in Gettysburg we made it to Harrisburg to see the State Capitol Building.

We went on a Sunday to try and avoid all of the end of the school year tours. I think there were seven other people in our group…it was great! The Pennsylvania State Capitol Building is definitely the most opulent one we’ve seen so far. I mean…look at that dome. See all of that gold? It’s real. Impressive, right? The dome is 272 feet, weighs 52 million pounds, and was inspired by Michelangelo’s design for St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

At the entrance is a set of 17 foot bronze doors weighing in at a full ton each.

Several of the Capitol Rotunda’s features were borrowed from the Paris Opera House. I love all of the deep vibrant colors.

One of my favorite things about the Penn State Capitol Building is the first floor. There are close to 400 Moravian tile mosaics portraying different aspects of the state.

We were told that the Capitol Building has been called a “Palace of Art.” It’s definitely filled with beauty. Check out the Senate Chamber in the picture above.

There are 24 stained glass windows in the Senate and House Chambers. Each window represents a theme and are framed in 24-karat gold leaf embellishments.

The six crystal chandeliers in the House Chamber require over 1,000 light bulbs and weigh from two to over four tons each.  When our tour guide learned that this was our seventeenth Capitol Building, she kept asking us what we thought. I got the impression she was a little competitive. We were asked by more than one person at the Capitol Building what our favorite one is so far only to be told that the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building is rated number two in the country. I can safely say Pennsylvanians are very proud of their Capitol Building! And they have a right to be…it is absolutely gorgeous!

While we were in the Harrisburg area, we took the opportunity to visit Hershey.

Yup. That Hershey.

There’s a free tour ride where they explain the whole process starting with where they get their beans and how they clean them to roasting them (it was warm on this part of the ride) to the melting process (it smelled heavenly during this portion of the ride).

And, of course, there was a souvenir shop where you could buy candy. Nicholas really wanted to get that huge bar of Hershey’s milk chocolate, unfortunately, we don’t have room for a candy bar that big! The Reese’s area was my favorite section. They even had some baked goods available! It was kind of like dying and going to sugar heaven! I think I got a sugar rush just from the smell!

We had to buy our souvenir Hershey’s Ride Photo. The whole experience was fun and we got a free candy bar! I’d call that a win!

See y’all down the road!

#easternloop2016

Gettysburg, PA

Gettysburg, PA

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We spent a week in Gettysburg. Most of the time the weather was cold and rainy which makes it hard to explore a battlefield. We did have a few hours here and there with decent weather so we crammed in as much as we could during those times.

There are a few ways you can see the battlefield of Gettysburg. We opted to buy the auto tour on disc that came with a nice booklet. The set was really well thought out and very informative without being dry or boring.

The first thing that struck us was how many memorials there are. Every army, corp, division, brigade, regiment, company, and state that took part in the battle has a memorial, monument, or marker.

On the second day of the battle the Trostle Farm was stuck in the middle of a battle. If you look closely you can see the cannonball hole still there.

Some of the monuments are so elaborate! You can actually go into the Pennsylvania Monument. There are stairs that lead to the top where you can look out over the battlefield. You know, you can read about these things in books, watch documentaries about them…but when you’re out on the ground where it took place while hearing about the personal struggles of the soldiers and the citizens…it really gives you a new understanding of what really took place. Three days in July two armies met by chance…and the country changed forever.

The Soldier’s National Cemetery can be seen in the above picture. When the battle was over on that third day and the armies left Gettysburg, they left behind a community in ruins and over 51,000 soldiers who were dead, missing, or wounded. More men fell during the Battle of Gettysburg than in any other battle on American soil.

The Soldier’s National Cemetery was dedicated on November 19, 1863. President Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address here. The speech was 272 words, lasted around two minutes, and transformed Gettysburg from a scene of utter destruction and death into a symbol of inspiration to those still living. Lincoln stated that the war would lead to a “new birth of freedom” for our young nation. You can’t stand in the spot where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address. The Soldiers’ National Monument was erected in that spot. Unfortunately, when we were visiting the monument was undergoing some restoration work so we got to see it covered in scaffolding.

The Gettysburg Address Memorial isn’t too far from the spot Lincoln gave the speech.

There’s so much to see and do in Gettysburg. You could spend an entire day touring the battlefield alone. It took us two days to finish the battlefield auto tour, but you could do it in one really long day.

Part of the Gettysburg experience is the Eisenhower National Historic Site. You have to take a bus from the Visitor Center to get there because there’s no public parking at the farm. When Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower bought this farm in 1950 the house was in bad condition. When they started remodeling it, they found a decaying 200 year old log cabin under the brick veneer. They saved what they could of the original house and used bits and pieces of it around the new house. Mamie Eisenhower’s favorite color was pink. If you didn’t know that about her before you visited her home, you would figure it out pretty quickly. The main color scheme throughout the house is pink.

Eisenhower used the farm to breed Black Angus for shows. Eisenhower Farms show cattle gained recognition in the Angus raising community by winning ribbons at major competitions across the U.S.

The boys took the opportunity to earn a Secret Service badge. This booklet was challenging physically and mentally. They definitely earned that badge!

The tour of the Eisenhower Farm is a self-guided tour which is kind of a bummer. When we visited the Lyndon B. Johnson Ranch it was a guided tour and the tour guide told us little stories and details about each room we saw. We were talking to one of the Ranger’s outside of the Eisenhower home and he told us this great story of when the Eisenhower’s first moved onto the farm. Not far from the farm is a watchtower for the Gettysburg Battlefield and the Secret Service wanted to close it down for safety reasons. Ike didn’t feel like it was necessary so one of the Secret Service agents gave him a copy of a book about assassins. After reading the book Ike had the tower closed. I feel like it’s stories like that that help us understand and maybe even relate to the person and not the public persona.

There were several lilac bushes in bloom while we were at the Eisenhower Farm. I took the time to smell them all… I’m not sure what kind of flower is in the right photo, but it’s pink!

See y’all down the road!

#easternloop2016

Pizza Roundup Pies and Pints

Pizza Roundup Pies and Pints

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For my fellow pizza lovers this is a post on Pies and Pints (our gps pronounces it Pees and Pnts instead).

Pies and Pints is a pretty good pizza place near Charleston, WV with pizza sandwiches and more! My brother got the pork sandwich and really enjoyed it!

I got the pork pizza and it was not all too great, I think it would have been better with a red sauce and no feta, but that’s just me! We also got a half-n-half pizza with half Cuban pork and half sriracha shrimp pizza! Those aren’t flavors I’ve seen before!

The second time we went I got the pepperoni pizza which was pretty good! The crust was good too!

The staff was nice, the bathrooms were clean, and they have good décor.

I think Pies and pints deserves a 4 star review.

See you next time on…

Pizza Street!!

Clifftop, WV

Clifftop, WV

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We stayed at Babcock State Park while we were in Clifftop for our two weeks of exploration of the area and it was wonderful!

Our first day in the area was pretty cold and misty. We’d heard about the grist mill so we went to check it out. It’s a gorgeous area. I mean, just look at the Glade Creek Grist Mill!

We walked in thinking we would take a look around and move on, but when we found the Miller there…well, one thing led to another and suddenly we had plans to come back after lunch so the boys could help grind some corn. The Miller was a wealth of knowledge. He explained the process and actually put the boys to work. In the left picture you can see Alex and the Miller as the Miller explained some of the grinding process.

Each boy took part in each job. They scooped the corn kernels into the hopper. The Miller explained about the phrase “nose to the grind stone”. When you’re grinding corn (or whatever you might be grinding) the stones will get hot. You don’t want them too hot or they’ll ruin whatever your grinding so you have to smell around the grindstone to make sure you’re not going too fast and getting too hot. As the ground corn comes out of the meal spout it lands on a big wire mesh screen where it needs to be sifted. You get corn flour, corn meal, corn grit, and then the waste which was used to feed the animals. Nothing was thrown away. You can see Nicholas sifting through some of the grain in the left picture.

 I’m watering down the details here. There’s more to it than this, but I’m not a miller and I don’t remember all of the technical jargon. In the right picture, Charlie holds some freshly ground corn meal. In the jars in the left picture you can see the different products that could come out of a grist mill.

For their effort, they were each given a certificate and we got to keep a bag of the corn meal they’d just ground! We’ve got some plans for this corn meal!! Freshly ground corn meal is so different from what you’ll get at the store. So much better!

We pretty much had the campground to ourselves…except for all of the wildlife. We counted nine deer grazing outside our front door one afternoon. The cats were very interested!

We were fairly close to the New River Gorge Bridge so we took the opportunity to go check it out. The boys snagged a badge and a patch there. It’s called New River, but it’s actually one of the oldest rivers in the world. It’s older than the Appalachian Mountains. At 876 feet, New River Bridge is the third highest bridge in the country.

While you’re at the visitor center you can walk down the hundreds of stairs to get an ok view of the bridge. Don’t get me wrong…it’s a nice view…but, I’d heard about a hike you can do to get a better view. The hike is called Long Point Hike for anyone interested. It’s a bit strenuous, but not terrible. I definitely earned the burger I had after that. We ended up hiking a total of around four miles round trip. It was so worth it! Check out the view from Long Point in the photo above! You come out on this point and you’re looking straight at the bridge and you’re far enough away that you can get the whole bridge with the river below it in your shot! Just watch out for the red wasps. It’s a long way down if you fall off the edge as you’re dodging the wasps… We had to talk Nicholas into going out there because he doesn’t like red wasps at all.

We also made it to Cathedral Falls! I don’t really know anything about Cathedral Falls except its super easy to get to. It’s always hard to judge how big something is in a picture unless you’re given a size comparison. If you look closely in the left picture, you’ll see Jerl and Alex checking out some tadpoles just to the left of the falls.

We only had time for one more place so we hit Nuttallburg. It is impressive!

In the 1870s John Nuttal wanted to take advantage of the rich coal deposits along the New River gorge and began buying up the land around it. By the turn of the century, Nuttallburg was a pretty busy mining community, but after his death it didn’t do so well. In the 1920s Henry Ford leased the town’s mines to provide for his company’s steel mills. He spent $100,000 to build the “button and rope” conveyor system you can see heading up the hill. Ultimately, his plan failed when he couldn’t control or buy the railroad, he needed to carry the coal form the mine to his mills and he sold his interests in the Nuttallburg mines in 1928.

There was an entire community at Nuttallburg. Homes, stores, schools…  In the two photos above, you can see the same plot of land then and now. The ruins of the home in the info sign are still visible. It’s amazing how different the area looked back when the house was new.

The row of coke ovens are still there. You can see where the Company Store was. You’ve heard the song 16 Tons by Tennessee Ernie Ford? “I owe my soul to the company store…” wasn’t far from the truth. Miners worked long hours in dangerous conditions to earn their pay. When the only store around was owned by the mining company…well, prices weren’t fair and miners usually ended up owing the Company Store more money than they made each week.

Yup, that’s coal! We saw it everywhere while we were exploring the Nuttallburg ruins. The only other place we’ve seen it so easily available is in Alaska.

We took advantage of the fire pit and had roasted hot dogs and s’mores several nights. You might be surprised to know that most of the RV Parks we go to don’t have a fire pit and don’t allow fires at the campsites. So…we indulged and took advantage of the fire pit while we stayed at Babcock State Park!

Flower report! The dogwood trees were everywhere and in full bloom!! I thought the blooms & butterfly in the tree in the bottom right picture with its delicate pink blooms on it were so pretty! These purple flowering trees you can see in the bottom left picture were growing all along rivers, railroads, and roads. We were told by a Ranger that they came over on trains from China. She also told us the name of the tree, but for the life of me I can’t remember. They were super pretty though!

We loved West Virginia more than we expected to! One of our favorite things to do as we move around is talk to the locals of each area. You really get a feel for an area when you chat with the people who live there. West Virginia is filled with hard working, genuinely nice folks that are trying to make ends meat in a dying state. Every time a mine is closed it’s taking jobs and livelihoods away from an entire community. I encourage everyone to take a trip to West Virginia this summer. Go explore and support the small towns and communities that depend on tourism to stay alive.

See y’all down the road!

#easternloop2016

Milton, WV

Milton, WV

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We spent a week at the Huntington/Fox Fire KOA just outside of Charleston. It’s giving our favorite RV Park a run for its money. The owners are super friendly, and really care about your stay. The park is very clean and family friendly.

The KOA has banana bikes in various sizes for all to enjoy for a small price. It’s very reasonable. The boys road them almost everyday we were there. The park also offered a couple of fully stocked ponds to fish in. Alex and Nicholas each caught a fish one evening! The ponds were both catch and release so we let the little fishes go. It was a great way to spend the evenings! There were several activities offered by the KOA, but the boys’ favorite thing there was the owner’s dog! Winchester not only had a great name… he does a great trick! If y’all are ever in the area, we highly recommend the Huntington/Fox Fire KOA!

We didn’t get to take a tour of the Charleston Capitol Building. The website said tours were available, but when we got there, we found out they’d recently changed that. Bummer. We did get to walk around some, but we really enjoy taking the guided tours. You learn more about the building and sometimes you get into parts of the building you wouldn’t normally get to see.

The Charleston Capitol Building was one of the more reserved buildings we’ve seen so far. Where other state capitol buildings have decorated every space this one has gone in another direction. And you know what? I like it. It’s not flashy. It’s modest. The building speaks for itself without all of the flash. In the right photo above you can see what they call a chandelier and it weighs 4,000 pounds. The chandelier is made from graduated crystals imported from Czechoslovakia. The light was definitely twinkling! Y’all know I prefer the stained glass, but I will admit the crystal chandelier was lovely.

Just like all the other capitol buildings, there is marble everywhere. You can see how much marble was in the Charleston Capitol Building rotunda.

 The museum across the courtyard from the Capitol Building was a nice surprise. We spent a couple of hours learning about the history of West Virginia. In the photo above you can see what a general store would have looked like during the late 1800s early 1900s in West Virginia.

We went to the Blenko Glass Company one afternoon to check it out. The building the glass blowers work in has an observation deck for tours and we watched that blob of glass as it was turned into this amazing blue vase! It was very cool. We stood there and watched them do several before we went down to the gift shop where we got a pretty blue vase to give someone as a gift. I somehow missed getting a photo of the vase we bought.

We also found the Milton covered bridge at a park near Blenko Glass! I used it as a background for some school pictures of the boys. They turned out great this year!

I’m loving all of the spring flowers! The tulips you can see in the left photo were in a vibrant shade of purple…one of the best colors in my opinion…

We immensely enjoyed our time in the Milton area. We’ve already decided another trip is in the future!

See y’all down the road!

#easternloop2016

Ohio

Ohio

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Ohio was still one of those skim states for us. We did get to stay a week, but we only went to one city. Columbus.

We did get to tour the capitol building. Notice there’s not a dome on the outside? But, when you go inside…surprise! It looks like there’s a dome! Apparently, they planned on putting a dome on the building, but it took so long they’ve just left it the way it is.

The biggest thing that stood out for me about the Ohio State Capitol building was all of the pink. It was everywhere! Not even the carpeting escaped the pink treatment.

We’ve seen several Capitol Buildings now, but I haven’t seen a ceiling quite as lovely as the one in the left photo. The picture really doesn’t do it justice. The other thing that stood out for me was the hand laid tiles you can see in the right photo. We’ve seen this a few other times, and I always enjoy it.

We also toured the American Whistle Corporation! The American Whistle Corporation is the only metal all American made whistle company in the United States. The company has nine employees and they make the entire whistle there in the factory. We weren’t allowed to take pictures of the factory floor…even though you can see it all on the TV show they were on one time. *shrugs* I did sneak a photo…but felt weird about putting it up. So, if you want to check them out, you can go to the show How It’s Made and look up their episode. The tour was both really interesting and boring at the same time. I’m not sure how they pulled that off, but they did. We made it through the tour and got a shiny new whistle at the end! It’s been loud at our place ever since.

Oh! And Guys, we found an all you can eat German buffet! All. You. Can. Eat! It didn’t disappoint. We didn’t get the best German food we’d had, but it was better than a kick in the pants! They also had desserts. So, of course, we had to try some of them! Schmidt’s is known for their half pound cream puffs…we got two…they were enjoyed.

That’s about all we did in Ohio…this time! We have a list of other cities to visit and will be doing those on a different loop!

See y’all down the road!

#easternloop2016