Going Back To 1776

I recently took a nine-day driving trip from Central Texas to Philadelphia and back to visit my sister and brother-in-law. The voyage by car took me through Texarkana, Memphis, Nashville (right after the flood), and on into Pennsylvania, from flat land to mountains with lotsa trees, big ones.

I recently took a nine-day driving trip from Central Texas to Philadelphia and back to visit my sister and brother-in-law. The voyage by car took me through Texarkana, Memphis, Nashville (right after the flood), and on into Pennsylvania, from flat land to mountains with lotsa trees, big ones.

My stop in Gettysburg was unforgettable, as was a trek into Amish country in Lancaster County on the way.

Upon arrival at my destination and tired of fighting the interstate, I parked my car in front of my hosts’ house and they gave me a break from driving and transported me to Independence Hall, to Betsy Ross’s house, and to many, many other locations (I got a close-up look at the Liberty Bell, among other things). On day two we ventured into Atlantic City where I got to stroll on the Boardwalk and pick up shells on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean.

Prior to my journey back to Texas, I returned to my abandoned car to jot down how many miles I had driven to get there (I had set the trip meter before leaving). To my great surprise the mileage was 1,776 miles! What are the odds?

I went through the Smoky Mountains and saw other landscapes on my way home, which ended at the 3,813 mark for the whole trip. While on my return, I took a short detour to Florence, Ala. to try to find out more information about one of my great-great-great grandfathers who died fighting in the Civil War and visited a remarkable public library there that had an extensive genealogy center. Everyone in Florence was helpful and friendly. 

When at Independence Hall earlier in the trip, the tour guide explained how the Declaration of Independence was written and debated by our founding fathers. His remarks at the end were on point and dealt with the requirement for strict adherence to the Constitution, something our corporate officials of today try to ignore and are attempting to destroy.

At home, one of the first things I did was check on my keyhole gardens <www.keyholefarm.com>. The plants had more than doubled in size!

During the drive, I listened to radio stations that pertained to where I was at the time. Interesting. Garmin and I had a few disagreements on the trail (“recalculating” she said quite often), but overall the trip was a big success and my appreciation for the Lone Star State was enhanced some.

My brother wanted me to sing “Texas, Our Texas” upon leaving the state and crossing back over, but the song that came to mind more for me was “Deep In The Heart of Texas.” Don’t worry. I didn’t torture Miss Garmin with my vocals.