Back to West Virginia

Sunday, November 1, 202 

Johnny and Vickie have to drop off and pick up a couple of items at auction houses in Maryland and North Carolina. So they invited me along for the drive - we will again rent a cabin at Pipestem Resort State Park in West Virginia.

I get to their house about 8:30 am - we turned the clocks back last night so I watched Saturday Night Live with a Halloween skit about Joe Biden and Hilary Clinton - I got up this morning at 7 am and finished getting ready.

We head off about 8:45-8:50am - Johnny doing the driving again - Vickie riding shot gun to navigate - and me in the backseat. They took the Chevy Blazer so I have quite a job getting up into the high seat - but the leather seats are so comfortable. We head out Interstate 195 West - we are spending the night in Maryland.  We pick up Interstate 95 South in Providence, R.I.  We have been down this road recently going to Westport, RI to another auction house. We near the exit for Coventry where the General Nathaniel Green Homestead is located. I remember studying about him in High School and at Boston College. The website for the homestead relates that "As Quartermaster General and war strategist, Greene was involved in the major battles of the Revolution including Harlem Heights, Trenton, Brandywine, Valley Forge and Portsmouth Rhode Island. Following the defeat of Generals Lincoln and Gates in the south, Washington appointed General Greene to command the southern forces. Under this command came success at Eutaw Springs and Guilford Court House and the withdrawal of Lord Cornwallis to Virginia. As the war ended, General Greene and others received gifts of land tracts and Tory plantations from South Carolina and Georgia in appreciation for the defeat of Cornwallis." Tours of the homestead ended yesterday - October 31 - so maybe we can visit in the spring.

We stopped in Coventry for biscuit sandwiches at McDonald's for J&V - to fill the car with gas - and at Dunkun Donuts for coffees and for an egg and cheese wrap for me. It was a cold cloudy damp day so I had a cup of hot decaf for a change - it was really quite good - I was surprised. I am a closet Folger's Instant Coffee drinker with lots of half and half and a Splenda to disguise the taste. I don't really like the taste of coffee so I may have to try a hot decaf again!

There were still small patches of snow along the sides and medians of the highway from the storm Friday.  Johnny had an old Casey Kasim show on the radio - top hits from the 80s. We crossed into Connecticut about 10:26 am - we were driving on the Jewish War Veterans Memorial part of the highway. We passed an exit for the Pequot Reservation. The Pequots have occupied land in southeastern Connecticut for over 1000 years and have fought to keep their lands - they finally received tribal recognition in 1983 - and they went on to open Foxwoods Casino in 1992. I have never been to a casino - I can be obsessive sometimes and am afraid I may become hooked on gambling. But maybe some day.

The highway transitioned to the African American War Veterans Memorial Highway. There was a large sign before Exit 72: Do Not Stop - Connecticut Correctional Facility Area. Does that mean that there may be some escapees lurking on the edges of the highway? I notice that unlike Massachusetts, Connecticut has 1 mile markers where Massachusetts marks every 2/10s of a mile. We crossed over the Connecticut River and I could see that the drawbridge was up on a bridge a little distance from the bridge we were on. 

Before Hartford there was another big billboard - this time is says that "Racism Is A Sin. Period." It is sponsored by the Dominican nuns from Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut. St. Albertus Magnus was a German Domincan Bishop - he was a great theologian and doctor of the church. I am particularly interested in St. Albertus Magnus because I was taught by Dominican nuns - Sisters of St. Catherine of Sienna - the Order of Preachers - at St. Patrick's School in Watertown. But this is a story for another day.

We pass the food trucks along the shore in New Haven - there are at least a dozen of them. This area would make an interesting weekend or mid-week destination. Food trucks are a big deal in New Haven with food from all over the world. Nearby is the sign for Frank Pepe's Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven - Mike and I came to New Haven last spring to try a couple of places for the best coal fired Napoletana pizza. I can't remember who the winner was, but we had some great pizza.  

I had notice a lot of new condos or apartment buildings going up in Seattle - I notice the same style here around Hartford. I'm not really into the newer architectural styles. We make a pit stop before we get into New York - the mist turned to rain - heavy at times after this. We were on a stretch of highway under repair so the driving was rough - the traffic slowed down even more because of a Trump caravan - there were trucks and cars decorated with Trump and American flags and signs -some said "Curb Your Democrat" and "Don't Tread On Me" - they were beeping horns - blaring sirens - some were racing and weaving in and out of the traffic altho most stayed in the two right lanes. Regular drivers hearing the sirens were trying to pull over to the right to let what they thought were emergency vehicles get by - the Trump supporters were beeping at them and not letting them in. It was disgusting - and obviously my observations are colored by my deep disdain for Trump and his cronies/followers. God help us if that criminal wins again.

Johnny passed the caravan to get out of harm's way. Traffic slowed again as we headed through the Bronx and Manhattan to the George Washington Bridge to cross the Hudson River into New Jersey. It reminds me of Boston's Southeast Expressway that cuts through Boston neighborhoods. It must be horrible for people living in this area to have that highway beside them - the noise and pollution are health risks never mind the ugliness of it.

Interstate 95 joins the New Jersey Turnpike for a while. We saw the Meadowlands complex and the American Dream Experience on our right shortly into New Jersey. The Meadowlands include the Giants football team's stadium, a race track, and the American Experience mall and entertainment center.

We pass the Newark Airport on the right and Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal on the left - the largest container port in the western US. It is rainy and foggy now - the visibility is low, but I see the Molly Pitcher Service plaza. Molly Pitcher is another patriot that I studied in high school. She was bringing water to her husband and his fellow soldiers during the battle of Monmouth in New Jersey-  when her husband was wounded, Molly took up his position at a cannon and spent the rest of the battle there.

We leave the New Jersey Turnpike as Interstate 95 joins the Pennsylvania Turnpike - as we go over a bridge a big Trump billboard welcomes us to Pennsylvania.  A little further on is a billboard proclaiming that Circumcision Is Cruel And Harmful. A little further past this is a billboard exhorting "Ordain Women Priests. Stop Male Dominance Of The Catholic Church." The drive along New Jersey and Pennsylvania is in industrial areas - no pretty scenery or farms - it seems appropriate on this dull rainy day.

The scenery picks up in Philadelphia - we pass Lincoln Field - I guess the Philadelphia Flyers play here. Then the Philadelphia Naval Yard is on the right. We pass into Delaware about 3 pm - there are exits for Wilmington and Brandywine where the Revolutionary battle to prevent the British from taking Philadelphia took place - it was a defeat for the Continental forces.

We cross the bridge over the Susquehanna river - the sign states that the bridge is subject to cross winds! The Susquehanna River is the longest river in the eastern US - we crossed it in another location on our last trip to West Virgina - route 76 near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania took us over the river. We can see construction below the bridge on the left along the river.  The foliage was past its prime when we left Massachusetts - as we drive south, there is colorful foliage in some areas and now trees are still green.  Maryland has exits aligned with the mile markers which they have just started doing in Massachusetts. There are farms on both sides of the highway.We get off at exit 77 to Maryland route 24. We take a right and find the LaQuinta Suites hiding behind a Quality Inn. Johnny checks in, and we take our bags in - our rooms are side by side. I have a king size bed plus a sofa, coffee table, desk, luggage bench. It is very nice. I am sitting on the sofa typing this out. The bed is a little high - almost to my hips - once I get in, I will only be getting up to the bathroom. I wish I had my stool from home - I could use that to get into the van and to get into bed!!

After checking in, we drove 6 miles to a Miller's Ale House for lunch/supper. It is a sports bar like the one in Watertown, but the food was good, and we were all hungry. I bought supper because Johnny paid for my room. I'll pay for breakfast as well - we have a Denny's, Waffle House, and Dunkin Donuts across the street.

My only disappointment is that there is no PBS channel - there is usually something good on PBS on Sunday nights. Instead I watched 60 minutes on CBS - segments on the election and the first US covid outbreak in the Life Care Center Nursing home in Washington State. CNN and MSNBC are all about the election - how Trump and the Republicans are trying to suppress the vote in democratic communities - we expected that.  I am wondering if there will be violence on Tuesday night - all the ballots will not be counted - Trump is saying he will claim victory if he gets close to the 270 Electoral College votes he needs. I hate to think about it.