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Pennsylvania Road Trip
- Thread starter ArmyJoe
- Start date
Gimpy Girl
New member
Really enjoy reading your posts and seeing your pics. Great job! Look forward to reading more! :2thumbs:
Smylinacha
Yellinacha
Big :thumbup: from me - thank you for your blog!
Trickie Dick
New member
This is one of the best threads I've had the privilege to read on this forum. Thanks very much for doing it so right.
Dick
Dick
ArmyJoe
New member
Not much to report today. The skies were overcast and the winds were strong, which it made it a really crappy day to ride or take pictures. At least it didn't rain.
I spent the morning looking at vital records in the local courthouse and the afternoon looking for headstones. I'm 99% sure I found where my great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather are buried, but I'll need to locate some supporting documentation to confirm my findings.
Tomorrow, it's back to the couthouse to look for naturalization records. The weather report is "mostly sunny" and I'm looking forward to taking pictures of some of the local scenery.
As a bonus from yesterday, I've put togther a panorama of 9 photos of the cyclorama. To imagine the scale, the painting is 22-feet high and this is only about a third of it's length.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/von_landstuhl/cyclorama.jpg
ETA: I un-embedded the photo since its length messes up the line-wrap formatting of previous posts.
I spent the morning looking at vital records in the local courthouse and the afternoon looking for headstones. I'm 99% sure I found where my great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather are buried, but I'll need to locate some supporting documentation to confirm my findings.
Tomorrow, it's back to the couthouse to look for naturalization records. The weather report is "mostly sunny" and I'm looking forward to taking pictures of some of the local scenery.
As a bonus from yesterday, I've put togther a panorama of 9 photos of the cyclorama. To imagine the scale, the painting is 22-feet high and this is only about a third of it's length.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/von_landstuhl/cyclorama.jpg
ETA: I un-embedded the photo since its length messes up the line-wrap formatting of previous posts.
Last edited:
ArmyJoe
New member
The weather this morning was cold, but sunny. I had a bit of time before the courthouse opened, so I took a scenic route that wrapped around and over the mountain to the east.
It was nice to get out and just ride with no particular goal in mind. The view into the Wyoming Valley was spectacular and the road down was twisty and fast.
I arrived at the courthouse about 9AM and spent a few hours in the Prothonotary's office looking for naturalization papers for my immigrant ancestors.
Unfortunately, there were no records on file, which means they must have become citizens somewhere else. :banghead: On a whim, I decided to visit the church my family attended when they lived here. The cornerstone of St. Mary's Church of the Immaculate Conception was laid in 1845.
Walking inside, I was surprised by the simplicity of the design. The painting and statues are original, but the altar and pulpits are circa 1972.
The nun in the church office said their records were not open to the public, but if I wrote and asked for a specific record, they would send me the information.
As luck would have it, a Mass was to begin about 30 minutes after I arrived, so I stayed for that. It was a bit moving to worship and take communion in the same church my family attended for almost 100 years.
It was interesting to compare the exterior St. Mary's with St. Nicholas, another Catholic Church just a block away, that was begun in 1883.
After Mass, I went to the Luzerne County Historical Society. There I hit a gold mine (actually, coal mine) of information. I found an obituary for my great-great-grandfather in microfilm of the local paper. Cross-referencing the Report of the Department of Mines from 1906, I found Patrick Hayes was fatally injured on March 19, 1906 when he was "squeezed between car and prop on slope." His son James Hayes, my great-grandfather, also died in the same mine. On July 12, 1912, he was "killed by being struck by piece of coal that fell down the shaft." Now that I know their exact dates of death, I can request their death certificates from the State and, hopefully, find out their dates of birth and where they were born.
I'm glad I joined the Army, because mining is dangerous!
I wrapped up my day of research about 4 PM. With more time to kill, I rode around the city, checking out the sights.
Susquehanna River:
The Stegmaier Brewery is just a few blocks east of the town square. It was closed in 1972, but the main building was redeveloped and is used by Federal agencies.
This National Guard Armory is so big, the Shriners have an annual 3-ring circus inside.
I'm glad my research is done and I've seen everything I need to. The weather report tomorrow for Pennsylvania and Ohio looks like crap. I'll probably need the whole day to get home as I dodge thunderstorms.
It was nice to get out and just ride with no particular goal in mind. The view into the Wyoming Valley was spectacular and the road down was twisty and fast.
I arrived at the courthouse about 9AM and spent a few hours in the Prothonotary's office looking for naturalization papers for my immigrant ancestors.
Unfortunately, there were no records on file, which means they must have become citizens somewhere else. :banghead: On a whim, I decided to visit the church my family attended when they lived here. The cornerstone of St. Mary's Church of the Immaculate Conception was laid in 1845.
Walking inside, I was surprised by the simplicity of the design. The painting and statues are original, but the altar and pulpits are circa 1972.
The nun in the church office said their records were not open to the public, but if I wrote and asked for a specific record, they would send me the information.
As luck would have it, a Mass was to begin about 30 minutes after I arrived, so I stayed for that. It was a bit moving to worship and take communion in the same church my family attended for almost 100 years.
It was interesting to compare the exterior St. Mary's with St. Nicholas, another Catholic Church just a block away, that was begun in 1883.
After Mass, I went to the Luzerne County Historical Society. There I hit a gold mine (actually, coal mine) of information. I found an obituary for my great-great-grandfather in microfilm of the local paper. Cross-referencing the Report of the Department of Mines from 1906, I found Patrick Hayes was fatally injured on March 19, 1906 when he was "squeezed between car and prop on slope." His son James Hayes, my great-grandfather, also died in the same mine. On July 12, 1912, he was "killed by being struck by piece of coal that fell down the shaft." Now that I know their exact dates of death, I can request their death certificates from the State and, hopefully, find out their dates of birth and where they were born.
I'm glad I joined the Army, because mining is dangerous!
I wrapped up my day of research about 4 PM. With more time to kill, I rode around the city, checking out the sights.
Susquehanna River:
The Stegmaier Brewery is just a few blocks east of the town square. It was closed in 1972, but the main building was redeveloped and is used by Federal agencies.
This National Guard Armory is so big, the Shriners have an annual 3-ring circus inside.
I'm glad my research is done and I've seen everything I need to. The weather report tomorrow for Pennsylvania and Ohio looks like crap. I'll probably need the whole day to get home as I dodge thunderstorms.
Last edited:
ArmyJoe
New member
Here's yesterday's journey...
I left the hotel about 10 AM, ate breakfast, and got on the road about 10:30. It had just finished raining, so I was wearing my my Army-issue rain gear. Wearing woodland cammo while motorcycling is not the smartest thing to do, so I wore a reflective belt diagonally across my chest for visibility.
Not more than 15 minutes into the ride, I ran into construction. Some genius decided it would be a good idea to drop three lanes to one, so we had a 4-mile, 45 minute backup. My left hand was sore from working the clutch and I found myself wishing for a SE5.
The skies were heavy with clouds, which muted the fall colors.
It stayed cloudy for about half the ride through Pennsylvania, but then suddenly, the clouds parted to blue skies and sunshine. I quickly stopped to put on sunglasses. I considered taking off the rain gear, but decided against it. It turned out to be a good decision, because I soon crossed the eastern continental divide and rode into rain.
I stopped every 150 miles for gas and soon found myself in Sharon, Pennsylvania, home of the original Quaker Steak and Lube. I parked outside the front door and could see people stop and check out the Spyder when they passed.
The Lube is a chain of garage-themed resturants, mostly in Ohio and Pennsylvania, known for having cars and motorcycles inside on display. I had dinner under the Corvette.
After dinner, I crossed into Ohio and the rain came down a little heavier. It was never at the point where I felt I needed to pull over, but I did slow down to 60 mph. Being passed by big rigs with a blast of air and sheets of water made for an rough ride.
I got home about 9:30 PM, almost 12 hours from when I started. Total milage for the trip was 1231 miles.
When I was almost home, I calculated my remaining miles. I took a long route home, so I pulled into the driveway with just over 500 miles for the day. I have a new-found respect for anyone that's done the Iron Butt Association's SaddleSore 1000.
Before the weekend is over, I post a list of things that worked for me and what I need to improve on.
I left the hotel about 10 AM, ate breakfast, and got on the road about 10:30. It had just finished raining, so I was wearing my my Army-issue rain gear. Wearing woodland cammo while motorcycling is not the smartest thing to do, so I wore a reflective belt diagonally across my chest for visibility.
Not more than 15 minutes into the ride, I ran into construction. Some genius decided it would be a good idea to drop three lanes to one, so we had a 4-mile, 45 minute backup. My left hand was sore from working the clutch and I found myself wishing for a SE5.
The skies were heavy with clouds, which muted the fall colors.
It stayed cloudy for about half the ride through Pennsylvania, but then suddenly, the clouds parted to blue skies and sunshine. I quickly stopped to put on sunglasses. I considered taking off the rain gear, but decided against it. It turned out to be a good decision, because I soon crossed the eastern continental divide and rode into rain.
I stopped every 150 miles for gas and soon found myself in Sharon, Pennsylvania, home of the original Quaker Steak and Lube. I parked outside the front door and could see people stop and check out the Spyder when they passed.
The Lube is a chain of garage-themed resturants, mostly in Ohio and Pennsylvania, known for having cars and motorcycles inside on display. I had dinner under the Corvette.
After dinner, I crossed into Ohio and the rain came down a little heavier. It was never at the point where I felt I needed to pull over, but I did slow down to 60 mph. Being passed by big rigs with a blast of air and sheets of water made for an rough ride.
I got home about 9:30 PM, almost 12 hours from when I started. Total milage for the trip was 1231 miles.
When I was almost home, I calculated my remaining miles. I took a long route home, so I pulled into the driveway with just over 500 miles for the day. I have a new-found respect for anyone that's done the Iron Butt Association's SaddleSore 1000.
Before the weekend is over, I post a list of things that worked for me and what I need to improve on.
ArmyJoe
New member
Just realized I forgot to post my followup:
Spyder - No need to beat a dead horse about the need for touring comfort items, such as risers or highway pegs. I didn't have a problem with the stock seat. It's uniform flatness actually worked out well in this case as I found myself almost sitting on the tank because of the lack of risers. The only issue I had with the bike is a bit of sputtering between 3000 - 3200 RPM in first, second, and third gears. I used to drive at low RPMs, so I know this was not there before the recall update. I only noticed it at Gettysburg because if the low speeds required in the park. I'll probably wait on the latest fix to see what's up with the steering glitches.
CHAD windshield - Worked very well. On the highway, I had it all the way up and all the way forward. The wind went over my helmet and made for a quiet ride. (Edited to add - If anyone was wondering, I'm 69" with a 30" inseam.) My only gripe, which was posted elsewhere, was the lack of quality in the base of the mounting braket, which required me to drill larger holes to make it fit on the Spyder.
Cortech Sport Tail Bag - I'm glad I bought this. It was nice to have the extra storage space and not have to open the trunk while the engine was running. The bungies seemed slow to retract when removing them, but I'll have to use it a few more times to see if they hold up OK. When I left it unattended, I used a bicycle cable lock to secure it (and my helmet) to the passenger handgrips. My only suggestion to Cortech would be to replace the rubber zipper handles with metal ones that have holes, so small locks can be used to discourage casual thieves.
GPS - I got around OK without one, but a Garmin Zumo 550 is probably my next purchase, followed by a Scala Rider G4 when it hits the streets.
Spyder - No need to beat a dead horse about the need for touring comfort items, such as risers or highway pegs. I didn't have a problem with the stock seat. It's uniform flatness actually worked out well in this case as I found myself almost sitting on the tank because of the lack of risers. The only issue I had with the bike is a bit of sputtering between 3000 - 3200 RPM in first, second, and third gears. I used to drive at low RPMs, so I know this was not there before the recall update. I only noticed it at Gettysburg because if the low speeds required in the park. I'll probably wait on the latest fix to see what's up with the steering glitches.
CHAD windshield - Worked very well. On the highway, I had it all the way up and all the way forward. The wind went over my helmet and made for a quiet ride. (Edited to add - If anyone was wondering, I'm 69" with a 30" inseam.) My only gripe, which was posted elsewhere, was the lack of quality in the base of the mounting braket, which required me to drill larger holes to make it fit on the Spyder.
Cortech Sport Tail Bag - I'm glad I bought this. It was nice to have the extra storage space and not have to open the trunk while the engine was running. The bungies seemed slow to retract when removing them, but I'll have to use it a few more times to see if they hold up OK. When I left it unattended, I used a bicycle cable lock to secure it (and my helmet) to the passenger handgrips. My only suggestion to Cortech would be to replace the rubber zipper handles with metal ones that have holes, so small locks can be used to discourage casual thieves.
GPS - I got around OK without one, but a Garmin Zumo 550 is probably my next purchase, followed by a Scala Rider G4 when it hits the streets.
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NancysToy
Motorbike Professor
Really no need to wait. Anything the steering is going to do, it should do after the first update. The second update does not address the DPS, only the ECM and purge valve, to cure your sputtering.
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GeminiJane
New member
:2thumbs::clap::agree: Love following your travelogues and the pictures are great. Thanks for taking the time to share.
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