Day 59 September 20, 2026 Lancaster Pennsylvania to Valley Forge Pennsylvania 69.2 miles
The day started very wet. About mid morning it eased up and didn’t rain until later in the afternoon. We managed to miss most of the rain.
The car would not start again this morning. The ring gear problem again. We were not able to rock it enough to start so Rob had to go find more help. He got one guy but that wasn’t enough so that guy got another one. The three men together were able to push it far enough to turn the wheel and point down hill. Rob popped the clutch and we were off.
First stop was Kohl’s to make a purchase so we would not have to do laundry another time after today. Car wouldn’t start again but Rob was able to push it far enough to get going. They didn’t have everything we wanted so we stopped at Goodwill. We found it there and cheaper. Car wouldn’t start again. Had to get help once more.Rob will enjoy this feature when he drives the car home alone in late October.
Next stop was the laundromat. A truck driver came over to talk about the car. He said this is one of the cheapest laundromats in the country. A large washer was $5.00 and dryers were $0.25 for 5 minutes. It was a smaller laundry but clean. All but one washer was working.
We ate lunch at the laundromat since it was lunch time and we were already stopped. That meant one less start of the car. However, the car started fine. The starter problem is truly intermittent.
Now it was off to the Valley Forge National Historical Park. We saw several buggies out on the road. The women today were wearing white aprons. Must be their Sunday best. On Saturday they were wearing black aprons. Here in Lancaster County is the largest Amish Community in the world at over 45,000 residents. Sure explains why so many buggies.
The drive to Valley Forge was mostly freeway like driving except no semi trucks. Don’t know where they are but we don’t miss them. The park is 3,600 acres so we picked the destination at the Visitors Center. The parking lot is quite a distance from the center. They do have a drop off area so only the driver has to walk back. The center has a small museum telling about the events here during the winter for 1777-78. They also have a short video. We decided to take the trolley tour around the park. That was very informative. Our guide certainly knew the stories.
After getting a room we went to a Target grocery store to get a salad mix for supper. They are not much more than a large convenience store. We were going to buy some more cookies but they only had Oreos and those are not ones we like.
Spoffords Travel 