Groundhog Day !
We woke to weather this morning much like the poor Cleveland fans might be feeling – dismal. Stormy and foggy in town and the forecast for wet weather for the day.
Our travel today was really getting us from A to B so the weather was not really going to impact any plans. However, we had a few quirky places to visit for the day on our way into Pennsylvania – State 47 on our list !
First up in the east of Ohio we found the town of Warren. For a small town it was home to 2 significant public figures. Back in 1936 it was the home of Neil Armstrong – 1st man to set foot on the moon in 1969. In 1936 at the age of 6 he took his first flight with his father in a Ford Tri-plane (known as a Tin Goose) from Warren Airways.
In the middle of town is a lane way dedicated to another local – Dave Grohl – drummer for Nirvana and subsequent founder of the Foo Fighters. The lane has various tributes to him including 2 huge drumsticks.
That was the last of our entertainment for Ohio and we moved on in the rain into Pennsylvania. Our path followed I-80 for a while, a road we have travelled along in various other parts of the country on our tours.
We then dipped south east for our next brush with the movies. Punxsatawney is home to the Groundhog Day celebration each February 2, during which thousands of attendees and international media gather for an annual weather prediction – from a groundhog, Punxatawney Phil. The tradition/myth dates back to 1886 when German immigrants observed groundhog day – determining whether there will be 6 more weeks of winter if the groundhog sees its shadow when it leaves its burrow.
It became a cult classic Bill Murray movie in 1993 and the town certainly embrasses the concept. Phil lives in a burrow in a council building containing the city library and police department and nearby Gobblers Knob houses the “stadium” where the crowds gather each February 2 to see the outcome. There are also various themed statues of Phil around the town.
Our remaining travels snaked through varying countyside – forested and farmland – on our way to our stop for the night in Altoona, PA. We are again staying at Embassy Suites. Dinner was across the carpark at Champs Sports Bar. It is a barn of a place with huge bar in the middle surrounded by booths and tables around the room – and more tables on a mezzanine level around the edge of the building. And os course plenty of TV screens ! Well attended for Monday night and we shared a nice calamari dish for appetiser and a Flatiron steak and pasta dish for main.
Tomorrow we are back to Virginia and a stay in a National Park lodge.