Nov 4

Nov 4 Vanlife of The East Coast: Trip Report

We were pretty spoiled with the fall colors in the northeast section of the United States. As we continued to make our way down the east coast the fall color hasn’t been as vibrant. We have heard that this was due to the lingering hot temperatures and then sudden freezes. Nevertheless, we explored new country, found some pockets of color, and even had a couple history lessons along the way.

Pennsylvania

As we made our way through Pennsylvania, we drove through a little town called Scranton on our way to Rickets Glen State Park. Now if you do not know the importance of Scranton, you may have missed out on a very classic show, The Office. Grant loves The Office and I tolerate it. At first it was kind of cute watching Grant recall the references from the show as we passed signs for different landmarks on the highway. However, that soon faded. I must admit though, watching The Office while in Scranton was pretty neat.

We drove to Ricketts Glen State Park which is home to 23 cascading waterfalls. Thankfully dogs were allowed and the three of us hiked around 7 miles admiring each waterfall. The fall colors weren’t great, but it was still a beautiful area to explore. Lhotse was jealous of Grant when he got to get his feet wet and I wouldn’t let him swim in the waterfall (see picture below). We even splurged on showers in the campground before returning to Walmart for the night, but to my dismay they were freezing cold.

Before we continued on, we had to make a detour to an auto shop because our van was making inconsistent and unusual sounds. Luckily, it was a easy fix and was done quickly while we waited in a dog friendly, free WiFi lounge and we were back on the road!

Grant and I had vastly different childhoods. On family vacations, my family stayed at all inclusive resorts, relaxing on the beach. Grant’s family vacations often revolved around a famous historical site. At the end of my family vacation, we got to pick out one, okay maybe several items from the gift shop. At the end of Grant’s family history lesson...I mean vacation... they likely had to take a quiz. So I shouldn’t have been surprised that we had a little history lesson of our own on this trip.

We spent a day touring Gettysburg, the bloodiest battle in American history resulting in over 51,000 causalities. It is difficulty to wrap my mind around such a battle after seeing Gettysburg especially taking place in the 19th century. Even though I have read the Gettysburg Address before, it brought new meaning to have read it in the place that it was delivered.

Maryland

One of my dear friends and college roommate lives in Washington D.C. We were fortunate enough to be able to meet in Maryland for a nice dinner. We couldn’t believe it had been three years but it was great catching up and eating outside the van.

West Virginia

West Virginia, mountain mama, take me home, country roads. Classic song! For the day, we visited Blackwater Falls State Park. It was a chilly raining day as we hiked along multiple waterfalls including the Blackwater fall, Elakala Falls and Pendleton Falls. The color was not spectacular but still a great place to visit.