Up the Eastern Seaboard
The Delaware Water Gap, the American Heritage Museum
We’re headed to Newfoundland and Labrador in our truck camper.
Day 2, May 21
A light rain was falling as we broke camp before 8:30 AM. The day’s plan called for a longer-than-usual driving day — 6.5 hours to cover 300+ miles.
We began our drive through a scenic, hilly and very green area in the Lehigh Valley of eastern PA. After an hour of driving secondary roads, we stopped for breakfast at The Gap Diner in Wind Gap, PA, a town that reminded me of historic crossroads in the Shenandoah — towns situated in a gap between leafy mountains. The diner turned out to be an excellent choice, full of customers, with a hometown feel, but also quick service.
By the time we got to the Delaware Water Gap (National Recreation Area), the rain had let up. We passed several old Dutch Reformed Churches. It’s in my genes to notice old churches. The one in Bushkill was right along the road, a decrepit wooden building overgrown with weeds. The next church was in better shape, with signs about VBS. I could easily speculate as to why one survived and not the other.
We drove through the NRA on a winding road which follows the Delaware River. Zero traffic. As we exited the NRA we crossed the river, which was very beautiful, its wooded banks all shaded in blue as the water curved into distant misty hills.
Saw a horse pulling a trotting buggy around a track below us, very fast, like they were training for a race.
Danbury Family Diner
Around 1:00 it was again raining and we were approaching Danbury, CT. I asked Siri for restaurants along the route. She kept suggesting pizza places so I asked specifically for diners, which is how we ended up choosing the Danbury Family Diner.
But instead of leading us to some roadside joint, Siri took us to a large mall. We ran through the rain to get inside, then wandered for quite a while, unable to find a map. Finally we spotted a security guard and he pointed to a corner some 80 feet away. By that point we had some choice words for Siri.
The diner turned out to be a very large, but nearly empty, establishment with many Mexican options on the menu. I suppose we were hungry and a bit wet and ready for some comfort so we zeroed in on the “Wednesday specials” which included soup or salad and dessert. Surprisingly, the food was excellent — beautifully presented and very flavorful.
Doug asked the waitress if her family was from Guatemala and she said Yes with pride. It turns out she bought this place two years ago. Business is going well. We asked for our dessert to go. I watched the waitress skillfully remove two hefty cakes from the rotating display case, then carry them away for slicing, balancing one in each hand.
Back on the road by 2:30. Still raining. As we headed under an overpass, we noticed a string of six yellow school buses crossing overhead. We were passing the exit for Sandy Hook/Newtown. What a reminder.
The American Heritage Museum
We arrived at our Harvest Host, the American Heritage Museum in Hudson, MA, just past 5:00. Which is when the museum closes. We tried the door and a young man told us that the door was only open because of a Yoga class that evening. Doug remarked about creative marketing, and the young man replied that the Yoga class was specifically to support vets who had PTSD.
He was very kind and said we were welcome to use the restrooms. He invited us to come back in the morning, after 10:00, and gave us a pitch for the exhibits, which include tanks and aircraft. He was obviously proud of his workplace. He told us where to park — a few other rigs were already in place.
So we parked and ate our slices of cake. The rain had stopped, or at least paused, so we went for a walk on the grounds. At the back of the museum, which is very large, there was a loop track and two tanks poised to go around it. I’d read about a tank course, and was sorry it wasn’t open. After our walk, we stopped in to use the museum’s restroom again.
This time another man greeted us. I thought for a minute that he was going to tell us the restrooms were off-limits, but I was quite wrong. He was the Executive Director, eager to welcome us. He said that since he was there for the Yoga class anyway, we might as well enjoy the exhibits, even offering to turn on some of the media pieces.
We spent more than an hour at the exhibits, which covered all the wars of the 20th and 21st centuries. An impressive place.
A few highlights:
The summaries of the wars were well-written, which is no easy thing, and the historical tidbits included seemed especially well-chosen.
The WWII exhibit featured a Higgins Boat like those used in the D-Day invasion. Seeing this was especially meaningful since we visited Normandy just last month and spent two days at the D-day landing beaches.
A brand-new multimedia presentation about the "Hanoi Hilton" was made of the cement slabs and bricks from the original building, reconstructed on site. The media included interviews with 4 or 5 of the survivors. Their stories were presented in three stages, each in its own setting: Being shot down. Being tortured. Being held in solitary confinement for six or more years. We were both speechless after seeing this exhibit.
