We Are… Strolling Around the Penn State U. Campus…

One of our quests while we have been full timing has been to visit the many large colleges and universities in our country. When we started to look for where we wanted to head next we felt we just had to go to State College Pennsylvania and see Penn State University (PSU). From Gettysburg PA we headed north for around 118 miles and pulled into the 7 Mountains Campground just a few miles south of State College PA.

We will only spend two nights as the RV park is on the very expensive end to us at $42.50 per night but we figured we could see all we wanted to in the day and half we would be here. We hit the ground running the first day as we drove all around State College to get a feel for what we wanted to do and what we wanted to see.

First up for us was the PSU arboretum and botanical gardens which was a great spot to visit all by itself. We walked all around it while enjoying all the flowers that were blooming as the bumble bees were really working them over. We even spotted a solitary bunny enjoying itself while feasting on the horticultural bounty.

Afterward we checked out Otto’s Brewery where we sat at the bar and ended up chatting with a very nice fellow who played college football and then got into sales. Before he left he told us several must sees in the area and even bought us a round of beer!

The next day we drove over to the free parking at the PSU arboretum and  found a marsh meadow walkway over to the main campus. The night before we downloaded a walking tour from the university website. PSU is a rather large sprawling campus and most of the buildings are composed of a similar red brick exterior. Although it is not the most scenic of campuses we have visited, it is steeped in history as it was founded in 1855 and it has the largest dues paying alumni association in the USA. Impressive!

The campus was bustling with activity since it was move in day for the students. Many of the 46,500 enrolled students and their parents were everywhere but we still enjoyed our leisurely stroll about the campus. The most impressive building we came across was the one called Old Main. Of course we had to take the obligatory pictures of all those new to the campus so we posed before the Nitany Lion statue (their mascot).

Nittany as it turns out was derived from an Indian word and means single mountain which refers to a local landmark named Mount Nittany where it was said that mountain lions once roamed. We also had been told by several people to visit the on campus Berkley Creamery so we made sure to share a pint of their Death by Chocolate ice cream (yum).

Of course we had to tour the athletic facilities as well and the PSU football stadium sits atop a small hill and is quite impressive. We sure wished it had been open to the public so we could have seen it inside. Nonetheless we still enjoyed our walking tour of PSU but it was time to leave and head home. Next up for us is a return visit to a very nice COE park near Tioga PA called Ives Run.

NOTE: We leave to Ives Run COE park near Tioga PA tomorrow morning. Then we move into New York for stops in Brewerton, Ogdensburg and East Chazy.

Road Trip to Hanover PA…

Our last day in Gettysburg we decided to do something different. We were planning to drive over to Codorus State Park for a nice hike. One thing we love about Pennsylvania is that the state parks have no entrance fees so visitors can check any of them out at no cost.

As we started looking for hikes we discovered that Codorus State Park also has the most challenging disc golf course in the state. Even more surprising is there are 54 holes of disk golf spread over three courses. We couldn't resist the challenge so instead of hiking we decided to spend the day playing as much disc golf as we could. We played two of the courses and there were some very challenging shots as well as some extremely long holes.

We only played 9 holes on one course and then drove over to a high point to have the lunch we brought with us. Boy what a beautiful panorama we had of the lake below from our lunch spot. Afterward we finished up the other 9 holes of the first course and then played a second 18 holes on another course.

After disc golf we planned a meet up with RV friends Dan and Merlene (whom we met several times all over the USA by now). However, we still had about an hour before we were suppose to meet them so we googled what to do in Hanover and found out that they were the snack capitol of the USA. So we decided to do the self guided tour of the Utz factory that makes some tasty potato chips and other snacks.

After the tour we headed over to the planned meet up spot with Merlene and Dan to a brewery in Hanover PA midway between where we were both camped. We picked Aldus Brewery since it was the highest rated brewery in Hanover. The beer was pretty good along with the complimentary pretzel sticks but the highlight was reconnecting with Dan and Merlene and sharing all that we each did since our last encounter.

Back at the camp in Gettysburg it was time to pack up to head out the next morning. When morning came there was rain in the forecast so I studied the radar and picked a time to leave hoping to miss most of the rain predicted for the day. We made the 118 mile drive to a campground just south of State College Pennsylvania. We plan to visit Penn State while here…

NOTE: We leave State College PA today and head north to Ives Run COE park near Tioga PA for three nights. Then we move into New York for stop sin Brewerton, Ogdensburg and East Chazy.

Fighting for a Cause Close to their Hearts… Gettysburg PA

We finally did leave the Shenandoah Valley. After a short 108 mile drive north we were all set up in the Artillery Campground in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The coolest thing about the drive was the fact that in only 108 miles we had driven in the RV on roads in four states. Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Our first full day we made a plan to do a self guided walking tour of the old town of Gettysburg. We had done the Gettysburg National Military Park the last time we were here so we thought we would add something different this trip. Afterwards we would revisit the Military Park and drive the auto tour loop of the battlefield later in the afternoon.

Right after lunch we stopped at the Visitor’s and Convention Bureau to pick up the free guide for the walking tour of historic downtown Gettysburg. Once we had the map in hand we found the old Gettysburg Train Station to begin our walk.There were lots of Civil War era buildings along this route that were steeped in history. Some buildings still had bullet holes and artillery projectiles embedded in them. One highlight was seeing the oldest building remaining in Gettysburg which was built in 1790 and I think it looks a hell of a lot better than most homes built in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

As much as we enjoyed the walk in the downtown historic district I was looking forward to seeing the Gettysburg battlefield again. Our first trip we could literally feel the ghosts of war all around us. It was impossible not to empathize with the thousands of mothers and fathers who suffered the loss of their sons.

This time we had a much different experience not because we felt any different but given the current affairs in our country. It was eerie to be walking the fields where many young American men, both confederate and union, had fallen. Each young man was fighting for a cause he so wholeheartedly believed in. Somehow in history the civil war has been defined as simply a war over slavery but to the young men on both sides it must have been much more than that in that they laid their lives on the line.They were each fighting for a cause close to their hearts.

Walking among the Union memorials and statues felt no different to me than walking among the confederate memorials and statues. I am confused how we in America can condemn anyone for fighting for what they believe in even if we don’t agree with them and their views. Why is it that we simply can’t agree to disagree in our country anymore! Haven't we learned from the past?

I am not one to pen a political blog but I will admit to being an Independent in our political system as I see good and bad in both sides about what is just and right for our country. Today we all value our right of free speech yet it seems many of us only want it when and if the views expressed agree with our own views. Walking among the many who died fighting with other Americans makes me wonder in our current state of polarization if we aren't heading back in that historic direction.

Sorry to go off on a rant but I sure hope we think twice about taking down any of the Civil War monuments in this beautiful and serene historic park. It would be a sad day when parents can’t bring their children to see the statues and explain what they thought was right and wrong about the Civil War. Above all the statues should remind us of what can happen if we do not make an effort to discuss our differences to find a middle ground rather than demonizing, hating and killing one another.

NOTE: We will be in Gettysburg for another day then move on to Springs Mills, PA for a couple of days before going to Tioga, PA where we will be for the partial eclipse.

As we shuffle off to Buffalo…

My original plan was to write a blog about the last several places we visited while in Pennsylvania. We loved hiking around the lakes at Twin Lakes Park and we also enjoyed hiking around Linn Run State Park along the beautiful mountain creeks. However, a couple of events occurred; one of which complicated our lives for the next several days…

While in Pittsburgh nearing the end of our stay, I decided it was time to replace our two 6 volt house batteries as the others were just not holding a charge very well.  Since there was a Sam’s Club nearby we stopped at their store and picked up two new 6 volt batteries for the house. Not as many amp hours as I would have preferred but the price was right. I installed them in short period of time and all was well.

That evening the dreaded “derecho” that the weather channel had been predicting for the Pittsburgh area came through. As a precaution we brought in our slides for the night and although it was quite a storm with lots of lightning it wasn’t nearly as bad as predicted. So the next morning everything was set for our long 250 mile drive north to just north of Buffalo New York.

As I pulled in the slides they seemed sluggish and when I tried to pull in the last large living room slide it would not come in as it seemed we didn’t have enough power. I had just replaced the house batteries so I assumed all was well… but it wasn’t. After a call to Good Sam’s we finally got the slide in after pushing the auxiliary start and the slide return button at the same time. Something was not quite right.

While driving other issues became apparent as we had no power to the refrigerator and no power to any of the front dash 12 volt plugs essential to our GPS and cell phones for navigation. With 250 miles to drive we decided to write down the directions and only use the GPS when we were getting close to a turn which, although added some stress to Sharon, worked. We eventually pulled into Cinderella Motel and RV Park about 3 hours later than planned due to the delay with the slides issue.

After setting up I looked at our situation and realized that our Xantrex Inverter was not connecting to the DC side of our world. So I call the technicians at Xantrex on a late Friday afternoon and after having to make one run to a Walmart to replace my bad Voltmeter  we were able to determine the inline fuse must have failed since there was no voltage reading between the positive and negative terminals of the Inverter. Everywhere I called did not have a 250 amp inline fuse for our system and our only hope was Colton RV in Buffalo, NY but they were closed…

Fortunately they were open in the morning and they had a 250 amp fuse that would work if I could only cut down some of the copper so it would fit in the slot our RV had for the fuse. After a bit of cosmetic surgery on the fuse we got it in and all seems to work except the generator which I think has its own fusible link. Since we are planning on hoteling it the next four nights in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada we decided that we would take the RV to Colton RV to llet them replace that fuse.  We will also have them do a small solar upgrade for our rig.  We had called Tiffin for a recommended service facility and the service guy was very enthusiastic about Colton RV.  After visiting them we can see why.  They are very friendly and accommodating even allowing us to park for free at electrical sites right behind the service area… and hey at least we are in Tim Horton country!

I am still trying to figure out what may have caused the fuses to fail in the first place. I have a surge protector on the system so the lightning shouldn’t have gotten past it and fried the fuses but I guess it could have. What may have more than likely been the cause however was when I installed the batteries I got ready to put the crossover cable on and it sparked rather aggressively. It was then that I noticed that I had one battery in backwards and send a charge up the line. I didn’t think would fry anything but it surely could have. In any event even though we were unable to tour the Buffalo area as we had hoped we should be shipshape once we checkout of our room in Ontario on Thursday night… Yep, in this lifestyle it is always something…