Honesdale, PA

Our home base for these few days has been Honesdale in the heart of the Poconos. It is a larger town than either Milford or Hawley. We chose it for the Passport America half price discount campground. This location came with other advantages as well. It is about half way between Milford and Scranton on Route 6 making exploring in either direction easy. Being a larger community it also has a big grocery and a Walmart. That is convenient since it is time to refill our prescriptions. It’s chief disadvantage is being 30 miles from the interstate. That’s a lot of back road to get across with the Montana.

Main Street

Honesdale has the distinction of being the place were the first steam engine on rails made it’s maiden run in 1829. The city is proud to have a replica of the famous Stourbridge Lion and keeps it safe from the ravages of weather in a room at the museum. It is also safe from train enthusiasts and casual viewers as the museum is only open a couple days a week. We did peek in the window and it seems like a real jewel even if it isn’t the real thing. Honesdale was a key point in the transportation of coal from Scranton eastward to New York City. It was the end point of the Deleware and Hudson Canal which united these two rivers. Coal was moved by gravity railroad from Scranton over the Pocono Mountains to Honesdale and then along the Canal to the Hudson River. The last boat load of coal left Honesdale in 1898.

Honesdale Historical Society where the train engine lives.

Today, Honesdale is a thriving community with shops, businesses, banks, and eateries along Main Street and a Home Depot, Wal-mart, hospital and car dealerships in the outlying area. Main Street is divided into to sections—on the eastern side for a distance of about 4 blocks is the business end of town and for about 3 blocks on the western side are large old homes. It is really quite lovely.

The Town House Diner

We tried the diner, of course, and were very impressed. The owner greeted us at the door, showed us to a table, and chatted with us about traveling in South Carolina. He stopped by our table several times to chat and gave us a guided tour of his diner before we left. This 1957 Mountain View seems to be in mint condition and still has those juke box like music selector consoles (I don’t know the official name) in each booth from 20 years ago. This diner was impressive and so was the apple dumpling.

Tomorrow, westward to Scranton.

Hawley, PA

Driving west from Milford, just before the tiny town of Hawley, we came to one of the largest manmade lakes in Pennsylvania—Lake Wallenpaupack. We didn’t have time for more than just a few pictures, but it offers great outdoor fun with boating, swimming, water skiing, and, of course, fishing.

Lake Wallenpaupack

We had looked forward to visiting Hawley. Gene had read about the Ritz Theater which was supposed to be a 1933 art deco style movie house. It turned out to have little, if any, art deco features and stopped showing movies 36 years ago. Today it is a playhouse. Very disappointing. The other thing we were interested in was the Hawley Diner. We went on Sunday, and on Sunday’s, not only do they close early at 1:00 PM (just a few minutes after we arrived), but they also have a very limited menu. On Sunday, you cannot get soup, you cannot get French fries, you cannot get a salad or apparently even a piece of lettuce because my hamburger was delivered on a dry bun without benefit of any vegetable matter. Our waitress seemed to be a bit long on work and short on patience so I declined asking for anything. I will have to say, however, that my hamburger was very good. Gene stuck to the established Sunday menu and ordered an omelet. He was somewhat disappointed in the degree to which it had been cooked.

Hawley Diner

The diner was a 1953 Mountain View, constructed in Signac, New Jersey. The inside was chrome, pink and gray, with red swivel counter stools, but it has not been well cared for. It seemed sad and I was sad to see this gem going downhill.

This is a tiny hamlet, so there really wasn’t much of Hawley to see—only about 2 blocks along Route 6. The building most interesting to us was the old First National Bank Building which had been restored and is now a culinary school and restaurant going by the name of Torte Knox.

First National Bank, now Torte Knox

I can’t be very enthusiastic about Hawley. It looked weary and run down. Perhaps they don’t like the Route 6 tourists.

Next stop--Honesdale

Milford, PA

Milford is the beginning of our exploration of Route 6, but this is not the beginning of this road. US Route 6 stretches across the continent from the tip end of Cape Cod on the Atlantic Ocean to the sand of Long Beach, California on the Pacific. In Pennsylvania, Route 6 crosses the border from New Jersey in the hamlet of Matamoras and winds its way along the border to Milford then northward to Honesdale and then down to Scranton. From Scranton it turns northwest briefly before heading west along the northern tier to eventually cross into Ohio at Linesville just south of Lake Erie. Across the state, route 6 passes through cities, towns, villages, and boroughs that have, over the years, formed the history and heritage of Pennsylvania.

Our plan is to find campgrounds easily accessible to I-86 across the southern tier of New York. By staying at a campsite for several days we can then explore Route 6 without pulling the Montana around the curves and through the narrow streets of town. Speaking of curves, Route 6 is a popular ride for motorcyclists and bikers are welcomed with open arms. If you are into Diners, you’re in luck. There are some 15 or 16 diners along this drive. We plan to visit several of these eateries and I will mention them as we enjoy their homemade specialties.

Milford Community House and Library

We are currently parked at Honesdale, about 30 miles west of Milford on Route 6. From here we will visit Milford, Hawley, Honesdale and Scranton. After we got parked, and spent the following day decompressing from the stress of the drive, we started our investigation of northern Pennsylvania in Milford. Well, actually we did drive to Matamoras but I can’t say as there is anything there other than the Pennsylvania Welcome Center. With nothing else to see, we loaded up on brochures and headed to Milford.

Specialty shops in this little alley

One of the homes that caught our eye

Milford is a small town of about 1200 folks. The historic district is comprised of two square blocks north and south of Route 6. It has a lazy day feel that encourages the visitor to stroll slowly along gazing at the architecture and ducking into antique shops and boutiques. Two buildings were of particular interest to us. First, on the corner of Broad St and Route 6 is the huge gray stone structure of Forest Hall. Founded by Gifford Pinchot, known as the Father of American Conservation, this building housed the first school of forestry in America. Also located nearby is the mansion of Pinchot, Gray Towers. Pinchot, not only a conservationist, also became governor of Pennsylvania. He gets lots of recognition here.

Forest Hall

If you need a cow, there's one for sale here

The other building which got our attention was the Hotel Fauchére. This fabulous old hotel was established in 1852 by the master chef of Delmonico’s in New York which, at the time, was the most famous restaurant in America. It is still a hotel and restaurant today and although they offer a “fine dining” experience, I doubt it is up to the standards of Chef Fauchére. We didn’t try it, so I could be wrong. Just as a note, we generally follow 2 guidelines when selecting a restaurant. First, if it has tablecloths, real napkins, and wine glasses on the tables, it better be a very special occasion and secondly, are we dressed appropriately in jeans? We did go in and walk around the lobby of the hotel. The front portion is dark with very dark, almost black, ceiling paneling. In the back was a glass enclosed sitting room overlooking a small garden. This was very inviting. We managed to find a price sheet and a room for the night would cost $275. They will gladly add state and local taxes to that. We are currently camped for $20 a night which is more in line with our budget. So I am not familiar with hotel prices. This might be quite in line with similar accommodations in the greater New York area.

Hotel Fauchere

Sitting Room inside the Hotel

I have included several other shots from around town. One of our other favorites was the currently being restored old art deco theater.

Old Milford Theater

We’ll be wandering around Hawley tomorrow.

Back Roads Driving is NOT for the Faint of Heart

We started our trip along the scenic US Route 6 across Pennsylvania early from our campground in Gardiner, New York. We had been dissatisfied with the route getting to that campground because the road was narrow, curvy, and in need of some repair. In our driving around this area we had discovered state route 208 which was not far from our campground and it intersected with I-84 allowing us to also miss the awful road New Yorkers refer to as the “New York Thruway”. Since we had driven route 208 we knew there were a couple small towns in which the road narrowed as well as two left hand turns. All in all, 208 was far superior to any of the other options to the interstate.

Guess it doesn't matter which road goes
where since the road is closed anyway.

We were driving along minding our own business and everything was great—the sun was shining, the traffic was light, and all was well in our world. Well, Peanut was a little unhappy but he is always a little unhappy at the beginning of a drive. Our first left hand turn in town had worked out fine. At the second town we were about the 3rd car from the light. In the oncoming lane on the other side of the light was a tractor-trailer. He was also about 3rd from the light. When the light turned green all the cars went on their way. We were on the downhill side of the intersection so we were much slower getting to the intersection than the tractor-trailer. He, without using blinkers to indicate the direction of his turn, made a wide turn facing his left. That was great since we were turning left we continued on toward the intersection. All of a sudden he turned his cab in the opposite direction and swung out all over the intersection and made a right hand turn. Fortunately, we were on the downhill side and had, with the help of gravity, time to stop, but the shock effect was intense.

As luck would have it, we got to town just as school was starting. This is a rural community and children from all over the county come here to learn their ABCs and 123s. There must have been 20 school buses on this narrow, Main Street, as we turned the corner after the tractor-trailer. Our hearts were still pounding when we noticed the paraplegic driving his electric wheelchair along the side of the street in the line of oncoming school buses. Of course, all those buses moved across the yellow line into our lane to avoid hitting this poor man. Once again we were able to stop before anything awful happened.

It is our practice to refuel the truck at times when we don’t have the trailer attached. But today, the cheapest price for diesel was at the TA Truck Stop at the interstate. So we had waited. Now, I don’t know how truckers are paid and I guess it really depends on the company they drive for, but I have noticed that speed seems to be an important issue with most professional drivers. I understand they don’t like RVs coming through the truck lanes at the truck stops because it just slows them down. So whenever possible we try to use the pump designated for RVs at the truck stops. We approached the TA, saw the sign “Cars and RVs”, turned right into the drive and then noticed the sign further down the drive attached to a steel beam over the drive stating, in large letters, “CLEARENCE 12 feet”. We need at least 13 feet. Fortunately, we were out of the road and had room to straighten up in the drive to allow for cars to pass. We got out of the way of others, then tried to collect our thoughts. I got out to look and I felt like we could get under the sign. Gene got on top of the trailer, I got behind the wheel, and we inched forward until it was obvious we wouldn’t lose an air conditioner. Since we know we are taller than 12 feet, we were curious about that sign meant. Perhaps it was the height of the canopy over the pump. Our decision was made, we were turning around and going to the “big boys” pumps.

When we exited the interstate onto Route 6, our troubles started anew. We had 30 miles to travel to our campground in Honesdale. The directions were simple—stay on route 6 to route 191, right on 191 then left on 670 to the campground. Early on in the drive a tractor-trailer pulled out in front of us—this one hauling a light pole. I don’t know how long those things are, but it seemed just to keep coming. We barely got stopped in time. Fortunately, a little further down the road we had a few more stopping feet to our advantage when the lady walked across the street in front of us carrying a baby in her arms. When we got to the junction of 191 the road was closed forcing us onto a detour where we eventually missed our turn requiring a U-turn.

In this 100 mile stretch, all of our driving nightmares had come true. God worked hard all day long keeping us safe. Thank you, Lord! We spent the rest of the day looking for a way to move the Montana over interstates and exploring Route 6 with only the truck.

The End of the New York Journey

What a fantastic summer with so many wonderful memories. But, alas, our time has come to start heading south. Of course, we haven’t seen all there is to see in such a large state, but that just gives us reason to come again.

This entry will end the New York adventure and I will be starting a new journey with tomorrow’s posting. We are officially turning south now to head home for the holidays. We are heading back to Tennessee by way of Columbus, Ohio to visit with Gene’s family there. Gotta get across Pennsylvania some way so we thought it would be fun to take one of America’s most scenic highways, US Route 6, across the northern tier of the state from Milford to Erie, a distance of about 400 miles.

I have struggled to determine the best way to include this 10 day to 2 week sightseeing trip across Pennsylvania in my trip journal. It definitely is not part of New York, but not quite in the home for the holidays category either. So I have decided to let it have its own separate space—Pennsylvania’s Route 6. I always seem to lose a few regular readers every time I create a new journey, however, I also want anyone interested in Pennsylvania to be able to find the entries easily without them being buried in New York or family holiday stuff.

So, adjust your favorites list to Pennsylvania’s Route 6 and come on along for the ride from the Poconos to Lake Erie.

Hyde Park, New York

Springwood, Home of FDR

The small community of Hyde Park, New York is located just 5 miles north of Poughkeepsie on US Route 9 and is where Franklin Roosevelt made his home. The old home place, Springwood, was purchased by FDR’s father and it is the home in which the 32nd President of the US was born, raised, and eventually laid to rest. Following the death of Roosevelt’s father, the farm was owned by his mother until her death in 1941 at which time it was inherited by Franklin. Upon his death, he gave this beautiful place on the banks of the Hudson to the people of the United States.

Tree-lined driveway

Gravesite of FDR and Eleanor

Also located on the farm a few miles from the “big house” was a small get away place for Eleanor—the Stone Cottage. She was not especially happy living in her mother-in-law’s home so Franklin built the stone cottage as a place she could call her own. She started a small business here to teach skills to the local residents in the hopes that they would remain in the community rather than leaving for the “the city”. The buildings used for the furniture making business were eventually converted to the home where Eleanor lived following Franklin’s death. In this small house she entertained such dignitaries as John Kennedy and the Queen of England.

Val-Kill, home of Eleanor

The Stone Cottage

We wanted to take a final driving loop in our exploration of the Empire state so we did not take the time to visit the Presidential Library and Museum. As it turned out, the drive was not very scenic so we would have probably enjoyed the library and museum better. Oh well, sometimes choices made are not always the best. We’ll just add it to the list of things to do when we come back.

West Point Military Academy

In our spare time (ha!) when we were not running back and forth to New York City, we took a quick afternoon trip down to Highland Fall, New York to visit West Point. Since 9/11 things have changed on military posts and, although visitors are welcome, there are new restrictions in place. At West Point you have to be part of a tour group to enter the campus and even then cadet areas are off limits to the general public. So we selected the 2-hour tour for our visit. The tour was good, the guide knowledgeable and the bus air conditioned. I wonder why we don’t do more guided tours.

West Point Shield

West Point was opened in 1802 and has educated some of the most elite figures in military history. Most of the generals whose names we remember were graduates of West Point—Bradley, Westmoreland, Patton, Eisenhower, McArthur, Grant, Lee. In fact, according to our guide, during the Civil War 95% of the battles were led by generals on both sides who had been taught the tactics of war by the same instructor.

Cadet Chapel

Inside the chapel

We made three stops on the tour. The first was at the Protestant Chapel. It was a beautiful building, but the day was overcast so we didn’t get the full effect of the gorgeous stained glass. We noticed right away the precision and exactness of placement of the hymnals in the racks on the backs of the pews. Now that is a straight line that the army can do best. The chapel, as well as most of the buildings on campus, is of the military gothic style which simply means they are of the gothic style but with a flat, fortress-like top rather than spires. Hanging along both sides of the sanctuary are replicas of battle flags from the 1812, Mexican, Civil, and Spanish-American wars.

Custer's last stop

Our second stop was at the cemetery. Only West Point graduates (and spouses and dependent children) or those serving at West Point at the time of their deaths are allowed to be buried here. That has not always been the rule, so there are a few exceptions. There are some impressive names on the tombstones here.

Parade Ground with Mess Hall, Student Dorms
 and Chapel in background

Our final stop was at the athletic fields. From here we walked across to Trophy Point which overlooks the Hudson. A little too hazy today, but you can imagine the fine view from this fortress on the hill. Adjacent to the athletic fields is the parade ground with the cadet dormitory and mess hall in the background and the Chapel overlooking it all. Our bus driver took us through the academic area, pointing out the different buildings along the way, on our way back to the Visitor’s Center.

We really enjoyed the tour. This is an impressive campus graduating some very impressive people.