Allentown

Friday, July 24

The day dawned cool and sunny, and we took our coffee outside to enjoy the beautiful morning, and discuss our plans from here.  We are really taking this one as it goes!  

We decided we would go the short distance to Lancaster, PA tomorrow and stay a couple of days to explore the surrounding area.  And in the meantime, today’s exploration will be to Allentown, about 30 minutes from here.  Of course, Billy Joel’s song was on my mind, and I listened carefully to the lyrics on our way there.  Living in Allentown, coal gone from the ground, graduation on the wall, not as promised, getting hard to stay…..fascinating.  

Its a big town, and the houses are attached and crowded….at least the part of town we saw, which was not the best.  But our goal was the Mac Truck Museum, and you would not expect that to be in the best part of town!  The tour was so much better than I could have anticipated, and we donned our little bull dog pins, and thoroughly enjoyed our time there.  We actually ended up with a personal tour, as we were the only two at the time, which proved probably even more interesting!

Starving at 1:00, we looked up two noted restaurants, and opted for the Brass Rail, established in 1931, over Willy’s, the chili dog place!  Lunch was good, with Clem enjoying a cheese steak and a pierogi, which apparently figures into the area as it was featured at both restaurants.  Not my cup of tea, ever, he had never had one, so it was a good time to try!  

On to the Model Train exhibit, with little hope of it being very good, and we were pleasantly surprised to find a very large exhibit of both O scale and Ho, and tons of buildings, a circus, subway, working drive in theatre, and a huge lake where it rained and thundered during the half hour exhibit!  Very cool!

We had an issue finding the Liberty Bell Museum, but I was glad we persevered, as it proved very interesting!  Neither of us had any idea that it had been removed from Philadelphia and hidden under the floorboards of a church in Allentown!   An exact replica is now in the basement of the church, with stories of the way it traveled around the country for 30 years, before resting as it does now , fully protected, in Philly.  Each state capital also has an identical replica.  We were allowed to ring it with a rubber mallet, and the docent clanged it gently for us, and the sound is loud and  amazing.  A very fun, full day!

The campground filled up while we were gone, this being Friday, and we are less than pleased with it now!  Sites are close, and nothing between coaches, like bushes or a barrier of any kind, and you sit outside and look at the side of your neighbors coach!  Glad we are heading out tomorrow!