Wanting to take an overnight train trip, somewhere, where we could experience the use of a “Roomette”, we chose to book an Amtrak to Philadelphia, meet our granddaughter, Carole, spend a couple of days exploring the area where the makings of a new nation began, and then, driving with her back to our home where all the family was to gather for our annual family reunion.
The day before our Amtrak train was to depart, we got notice that it was to be eleven hours late getting here from Seattle. That not being acceptable, as we would not be able to make an intended connection in Chicago, we quickly found a flight that would allow us to meet our granddaughter near her home in New York.

Although disappointed that we could not experience the train ride, we were, non-the-less, pleased that we could now spend a night at our student granddaughters home that she shares with four other roommates. All working on advanced degrees, her roommates were interesting and fun to visit.

After our night in New York, Carole, Ramona and I set out on our journey to Philadelphia where, in the next couple of days, we would visit the old city where our U.S. government began, and other city places of interest. We stayed three nights at an Airbnb about fifteen minutes from the old city, on the second floor of an apartment in one of the areas row house buildings, common in Philadelphia.

Our first full day in Philadelphia was spent visiting the history of old city: Liberty Bell, Benjamin Franklyn Museum, etc. I had a tough time walking the 2 to 6 blocks from place to place because the area was experiencing a record-breaking 104-degree heat that day. We stopped in cool buildings frequently. A local brew pub is a fine building to cool off in.

The last time I saw the liberty bell, over 50 years ago, it was on a cement slab in a grassy area of the old city. It is now in a modern building where I had to empty my pockets and go through a scanner before entering. The appeal disappears when the old bell becomes only part of a modern day tourist trap. Sad.
After the obligatory picture taking of us standing near this rope protected monument, we left for Independence Hall. Groups waiting to get in convinced us that, we could easily skip it and move on to the Benjamin Franklin Musium, another modern building.
To tell the truth, I wasn’t particularly looking forward to going to another modern museum, but the Franklin Museum turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. Filled with touch-screen computers, and games, made it quite an informative, interactive museum. Most things I could have seen pictures of or read about, but who reads these days.
Then, what more fitting than visiting an old pub to have a draft beer and get something to eat. After all, one must keep hydrated when walking in 104 degree weather. Beer is 97% water.

Now back at our Airbnb, I do what I do best, make martinis for the three of us. Then to bed in preparation for our final day in Philadelphia. The following day we spent most of our time at the wonderful Philadelphia Museum of Art. The museum's building became world famous when its grand front steps appeared in the film, Rocky, as part of a training scene for the fictional boxer Rocky Balboa, played by Sylvester Stallone. But it’s the interior that houses a plethora of interesting art. Its incredibly large collection of objects spans all of art history, especially American, European (medieval to the present), and Asian art.

Our journey home.

Our last morning in Philadelphia, we started a journey toward our home in Minnesota by taking a route that brought us to Parkersburg West Virginia. Here we stayed only so we would have time the next day to enter Ohio and visit their beautiful Hocking State Park and take the short trek to Ash Cave. The approach to Ash Cave is through a narrow gorge lined with stately hemlocks, massive beech trees and various other hardwoods. The narrow gorge is approximately one-fourth mile in length and with astonishing suddenness gives way to a, horseshoe shaped, overhanging ledge and cave shelter.

I learned later, that Ash Cave is named after the huge pile of ashes found under the shelter by early settlers. The largest pile was recorded as being 100 feet long, 30 feet
wide and 3 feet deep. The source of the ashes is unknown but is believed to be from Indian campfires built up over hundreds of years. One other belief is that the Indians were smelting silver or lead from the rocks. Still another theory claims that saltpeter was made in the cave. No matter the source, several thousand bushels of ashes were found. A test excavation of the ashes in 1877 revealed sticks, arrows, stalks of coarse grasses, animal bones in great variety, bits of pottery, flints and corn cobs.

Moving on, we drove to Lafayette IN to stay the night. From there we drove to Reedsburg WI where we would be a comfortable distance from our final destination –Home. Near Reedsburg is the Carr Valley Cheese Company, which is over one-hundred years old. Their cheese shop was on our way home, just off of i94 interstate in central Wisconsin. I was looking for some really good aged cheddar, at least 7 or more years old. I got some 10-year-old Sharp Cheese and, of course, had to buy some other cheeses as well.

After leaving Reedburg the next morning, we wanted to veer slightly off course so we could visit LaCrosse WI, a city Ramona and I had been to a few times before. There they have nice walkways along the Mississippi river for us to stretch our legs and get some needed exercise. But, here too, is Buzzard Billy’s, a pub with great beer and some of my favorite foods; Beer Cheese Soup (one of the best in the world – at least my world, anyway) and Breaded Alligator, a wonderful delicacy we haven’t found elsewhere.

Then, a couple hours later, we are back to the comfort of out own home.

What a wonderful experience this whole adventure was.