When we woke in the morning, rain was thundering on our tent, and we stayed for a bit wrapped in our warm sleeping bags and blankets. We finally got out and discovered that it sounded worse than it actually was. A few minutes later a ranger came up and asked us to leave as soon as possible because they were closing the campground due to a storm with high winds that was coming in. We drove south through lots of rain that made it hard to see too far in front of us, but we were unscathed.
We spent the next few days in the major cities along the eastern seaboard (aka fake America) visiting friends. The highlights came from catching up and having fun with friends, which I will therefore not talk about here except to say how nice it was and to thank everyone for hosting us.
We made some nerdy history trips to Valley Forge and Harper's Ferry and a trip to Pennsylvania Dutch Country. At Valley Forge, we were regaled with Revolutionary War tales by a slightly idiot savant-type park ranger. Interesting Valley Forge facts: VF was actually not the coldest or most difficult winter that the Continental Army faced during the war, but it is considered to be the founding of the US army because it's where the troops got training from European advisers. PA Dutch country was what you would figure: really touristy with some Amish driving around in buggies who probably didn't want us gawking at them. So it was a little awkward, but we had some great food at a family-style restaurant where we were luckily the only people since they normally enforce conversation between dining parties.
Harper's Ferry is a nice little town just inside West Virginia. I've only heard of it in conjunction with the John Brown raid, but it played an important part in industrial America and in the Civil War. It's a beautiful little town sandwiched in between some mountain-y hills on a river. It's also on the Appalachian Trail, which allowed me to revive my secret dream of one day hiking the entire AT.
-M
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