Blogs from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States, North America

I really like Harpers Ferry. Geographically, scenically, geologically, infrastructurally, it has it all. The two defining rivers of the region come together, sweep through the mountains and flow East in a wide swathe of swirls and ripples. The Shenandoah comes in over a unique series of transverse rock formations, causing a long sequence of parallel cascades. The old town clings to the steep banks on the South side of the Potomac. To the North a black rail tunnel punches a hole in the rocky crag which defines the Gap. A broad road bridge crosses to the East. A 200 year old canal crawls up the northern side of the Potomoc. If you stand on the railroad bridge connecting Harpers Ferry to Maryland, you can see it all. And then the forests of West Virginia were over, ... read more

Hallelujah...our journey has begun. It had a pretty rocky start last week but after time, patience, repairs and a checkbook, we are on our way. This time, the only loud squealing heard upon pull-out was our squeals of joy, excitement and relief. We adopted that famous motto: If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again......we did. Our second shot has been a success.....thus far: fingers crossed. It’s so heartwarming to see all your beaming faces as you settle into your seats. Welcome aboard. Lulu is doing her happy dance....best she can without legs. The car repair place called Cory last evening at 5:00 PM to let us know the car was repaired and ready to go. Yahooooo. They fixed all the damage done cause by dragging it down the road....groan. Who would have thought?? We ... read more

The morning drive to Carlisle cheered me up a bit because compared to Harrisburg Carlisle was way more busy and happening. Then we went to a small town called Steelton which used to have more population back when it had all the steel manufacturing going on but now it was more of a abandoned town with factories producing only 5% of the original steel manufacturing capacity. When people talk about the prosperity of America, places like Steelton have a totally different story to tell. Then we went to Dickinson College which is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States. compared to publicly funded Harrisburg community college, Dickinson h... read more

Day 177 (Tuesday 13/10/09, NJJ) Drove to Harpers Ferry and got the shuttle bus into the old town, very informative. Then on to Gettysburg. Visited four states today - Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Drove around Gettyburg Battlefield which took just under two hours. The weather was perfect and the scenery colours were amazing. Once again another interesting and moving experience. Drove on to Carlisle, PA and checked into a Rodeway Inn. Dinner at Chili's - delicious. ... read more

Today we left the DC area and drove north to Gettysburg. We thought that we'd spend a couple hours driving the auto tour around the battlefields before heading up to Hershey. When we arrived at the visitor's center, we found that it had an extensive museum and exhibit that explained the conditions leading up to the Civil War, how the battle at Gettysburg unfolded, and what happened afterward. We spend nearly three hours in there before ever starting out on the tour. I thought that it was very impressive and really helped put into perspective what transpired there - far more so then if you simply looked out at the fields and hills on your own. We found ourselves trying the visualize thousands upon thousands of soldiers out there, where they came from, where they dug ... read more