Wandering Retirees

We’re off! It was a sputtering start. We intended to be on the road by 8 AM. Right. 8:00 blew by as we did all those last minute things we forgot had to be done. Best laid plans and all that.

On the road a little before 9 and happy to settle in for the 280 mile ride. Somewhere north of Reading we stopped for the first rest. Coffee, rest for the glutes, some water and a snack and on our way again. The speed limit is 70 all the way out and we kept fairly close to that. Some folks blew by us going much faster. Surprise, they were from Jersey!

We stopped 3 times today before arriving in Donegal, PA, a small town of fewer than 200 souls but filled with motels, restaurants and shops to serve folks traveling through. The town is reputed to be named after the Irish town and county Donegal.

And we are so happy to stop here. Predictably, our buttocks are feeling the discomfort of prolonged residence on the cycle seat. Experience tells us it will take nearly a week to move beyond this. (We figure that cowboys needed to acclimate to the saddle on long cattle drives as well. This is a comforting analogy we’d be very very happy to maintain, thank you.)

As befits opening day folderol, we checked into our luxury accommodations at a Day’s Inn and decided a nice walk would be a “good thing”. So we set out on foot to what Google identified as a grocery store a mile down the road to buy our evening repast: a salad, some chips and seltzer for drinks. Following Google’s directions we walked about an hour (way more than a mile!) along a busy road past the Family Dollar and Dollar General and an antiques store to the Donegal Market which, it turns out, specialized in azaleas and firewood. No salad. No seltzer. No chips. Yikes. We stopped at the Dollar General (we admit it) and bought some block cheese (Pepper Jack), Triscuits and ginger ale. (Also a comb, sun block and sundry other things we forgot despite meticulous planning!) Home we walked with our goodies and set to with an appetite. We tried not to notice that we passed a couple of enticing pubs on the way. Go figure. However, having eaten and relaxed, all is good.

We should mention that the scenery is beautiful in western PA. We’re in the foothills of the Appalachian chain south of Pittsburgh, and it’s breath taking. We have a couple of pictures to prove it.

Tomorrow, we will try to start very early due to weather. Our goal is to reach west of Dayton, OH for the night ahead of inclement weather. We’ll let you know how we make out.

Have a great night.

It’s Day 1 and we are ready!

Cool tunnels

And occasional sweeping turn in the Allegheny Mountains, part of the Appalachian Chain

The long walk …

It’s what’s for dinner!