Some pictures and commentary from our road trip to New York.

Encountered a wandering imp named David in Springfield, MO who eagerly joined in our roadside yoga in a lovely shaded park near the zoo. We enjoyed the first of daily pauses, listening to our designated poet, assigned joke teller, daily homily giver and quote maker.Enjoying Sunday lunch at the Commoner in downtown Pittsburg. Eggs benedict with thick sliced pork belly.

Downtown tour of Pittsburgh near the intersection of three rivers. We Segway our way through the Pirates baseball stadium and across three bridges. Lot’s of history in Pittsburgh which is a beautiful city, once covered in soot and a coating of industrial grit.

We took several breaks on our 22 mile bike tour on the Allegheny Trail which is built on an old railroad bed. If we had kept pedaling, we would have landed in Cumberland, Maryland 150 miles east.

Ironworks bridge.

One of several bridges in the steel valley.

Jenna offers her mother a whimsical loving glance.

Lauren checking to see if her leg is still there.

Our bikes take a break.

Jenna takes a break.

Lauren takes a break.

We all take a break near the end of our ride on the Allegheny Trail.

Brandon practicing biking without hands so he can text and drive later.

Best sandwich in the world. Smallman Deli in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh.

Our historical house in Gettysburg, PA.

Old house in Gettysburg near the railroad station, occupied by Confederate troops during the three day battle.

1849 Colt Pistol in the Gettysburg Military Museum.

One of the greatest speeches ever only took a few minutes and the speech was considered unadorned and ordinary at the time. Now it rings forth like a clarion of truth.The poet Walt Whitman was shaped by the Civil War. Our first roller coaster of the vacation waiting in line at Hershey Park, PA. This wasn’t Zingo. I pulled a muscle and busted the funny bone on my elbow. And that was just while putting mustard on my bratwurst.

the clearest and bluest water I’ve seen. Skaneateles, NY at the northern tip of one of the finger lakes in western New York.

 The swimming area at Skaneateles, NY

What a gorgeous little town. Shortly after we stopped at a pick em yourself strawberry farm and bought several berry pies and picked several pints of strawberries.