Shall we continue our trip? We left off on the western edge of Pennsylvania, which really is a lovely state. It's surprisingly hilly and surprisingly rural (other than Pittsburgh, of course).
We ended up very close to Shanksville. The fields there look like this, and Flight 93 crashed in a place just like it on 9/11. It's very pretty.
We ended up at Gettysburg, high water mark of the Confederate army during the War Between the States. This is one of the most peaceful places you can go, and it's hard to imagine it as the site of such fierce fighting. I have heard people say it's one of their favorite places to visit, and I can't recommend it enough.
There was a tower you could climb with signs explaining the troop movements and the landmarks. There were also monuments to the various armies and units from each state here. A warm summer evening, the breeze, and the crickets made it a reflective place to visit.
Pickett's Charge ended here in hand to hand combat.
After driving through Gettysburg we ended up on some REALLY rural, extremely pretty back roads on our way to Baltimore, MD. The result was that there was no sign telling us we had crossed into Maryland. I had to content myself with this sign announcing the Maryland State Route 140.
We crossed the Chesapeake Bay and drove down the Atlantic Coast, stopping for seafood on the way. Yummy!
Here we are near Chincoteague Island, a place near and dear to the heart of every horse lover. As you can see, the landscape along the coast is scrubby brush and pine. It's still quite rural--the cities are mostly a bit inland--and the highways are still not big. Thus the signs for VA and NC are not great pictures. They grow a lot of tobacco around here.
North Carolina is of course home to the best university ever. No trip is complete without a stop at Duke University. Go Devils! The campus is lovely. Alumni are allowed to get married in this chapel, and when I was a student we once had a class on the top of the chapel tower at night. It was amazing!
The western side of North Carolina as well as South Carolina are beautiful. The Smokey Mountains, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and amazing weather made this part of the drive pretty fun!
We have finally entered my old home state of Georgia!
Atlanta is actually not a bad city, and the Varsity fast food joint, pictured here, is worth a visit. It's your classic greasy fast food--chili dogs, nachos loaded with cheese, curly fries, and orange smoothies are the way to go here. Be sure to get one of their paper hats.
Driving through South Georgia there is NOTHING but flat, hot, scrubby land for miles--except this enormous KIA plant. I wonder why they picked this place for their plant.
The town where I grew up is known for its golf carts. It's pretty normal to see people go through drive throughs in them. Chick-fil-A is a southern fixture of fast food. The chain hasn't made it to Oregon. Most people in Georgia can't imagine living without it.
We spent a few days with family in Alabama at a lake house. The walk down to the water was pretty steep, but the weather was awesome and the lake nice.
This was in GA just before we got to Florida. I had to put it in, of course!
We stopped to get him out of the road. He was kind enough to pose for a few photos first.
When people think of southern Florida, they think of beaches or CSI Miami. I think of strip malls with some palm trees. I get lost every time because all the strip malls and palm trees look exactly the same. It's neat the first time you go, but it's crowded, hot, and somehow feels very superficial and plastic and phony. I'm not a fan, though the beaches are nice. I got eaten alive by mosquitos though!
From here we caught a flight out to Munich! We spent the rest of the summer getting settled, and I think it's time to get you caught up on life in Germany in the coming posts.
Study hard, and be sure to look up our route on a map in the library!
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