We had a leisurely morning (checkout noon) so we did one more load of wash to get us through the trip back (complementary for hotel guests - yeah).
We drove through Gettysburg on Highway 30, the Lincoln Highway, that we took through Ohio but missed coming in (Turnpike is much faster but $15.50 to get through the state toward York). We set the GPS for bicycle to go through the more historic and picturesque towns and areas and avoid the freeways that are all the same.
We stopped in Hanover for lunch and on our walk around town discovered a Clarks shoe store having its semiannual shoe sale with lots of people emerging with smiles and boxes of shoes. Can't miss that one. We each found two pairs of shoes and Don found a huge box we can check on the train (just need some packing tape to seal it). Too big for the trunk so it's taking up the entire back seat of the car.
Onward to Chambersburg for night.
Monday, September 12
Onward on the Lincoln Highway to Pittsburgh through more old towns and farmland. I wasn't sure where Shanksville was in relation to us and couldn't find it on the map but we soon started to see signs for the memorial. Apparently we both missed the entrance so we went on to the town (small and really cute) and found Ida's Store for a cheeseburger (Monday Special) for lunch which we took to the park to eat. On the way out of town we saw more Memorial Signs so headed back. The entrance was obvious to those coming from the Turnpike (not marked from the way we came).
We got into line and proceeded quite a distance to the actual site. Very impressive. They were in the process of clearing away the remnants of the previous day's ceremonies (between 3-6,000 people). A private ceremony had ended, just before they let us enter at 2:00 pm. That morning relatives of the victims had a private burial for their relatives at the site.
There were 40 people on the plane and it looks like about a half-hour of knowing what was happening by takeover by the terrorists then a 6-minute struggle before the plane actually went into the ground (45 degree angle, upside down at 563 mph). It made a crater 15 feet deep before the 7,000 gallons of fuel exploded sending it down 40 feet. The field had been owned by a mining company that had finished with it and ready for reclaiming. The hemlock groves around the site were owned by three families and are now part of the monument. The final site is a huge rock with flags on it. The walkway has a wood gate allowing you to look down toward the site. The brochure shows more monuments and displays coming. Very sobering.
Onward to Pittsburgh. Luckily it was Monday and the art galleries are closed (always takes us too long to get through). We decided on the Duquesne Incline for our "visit" to the Iron City. What a great time of day and lighting to see the view of river, buildings, and bridges. The carriages are refurbished from the 1800s and seniors are free.
Onward to Youngstown, Ohio.
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