We got off a pretty obscure exit, and meandered through picturesque winding hills and farm roads. Very few cars were on the road, and we passed as many Amish horse-drawn buggies as we did cars until we got to Penn's Caves. It wasn't crowded, and we bought tickets for the 11:40 cave tour. When they called us, we walked down a steeply curving path to the steps leading down to the cave. The cool air rising from the cave made us glad we'd put our fleeces on, and the kids trotted right down into the shady area where the boat awaited. It was narrow, not much wider than a large canoe, with a narrow bench on each side for sitting. Flat bottomed, it was actually
very stable, even with the odd assortment of people in various sizes in our group. There was a small outboard motor at the opposite end, and I decided we'd be among the last to get in, so we'd be furthest from the motor and whatever smells came out of it... a half hour of huffing gasoline fumes isn't my idea of a fun time.There were lots of good-size trout in the shallow waters of the cave, mostly gathered near the waiting area, so I guess people must drop stuff in there to feed them. The water was very cold -- near freezing according to our guide, and it was that way year round as we were 100 feet underground. The water came from a natural spring, as well as trickling through the limestone rock above us. Once we motored away from the cave entrance, the only lights were the two giant flashlight/spotlights held by our guide, and it was pitch black otherwise. When we came into one
of the main caverns, he flipped a switch to light up the area, and we were amazed at the size of the space and the rock formations around us. I learned that Stalactites have a "C" in them since they grow from the ceiling, and Stalagmites have a "G" in them since they grow up from the ground. In Penn's cave, there is a set of matching stalactite/stalagmite formations that are separated by 6 inches. It will be 3,000 years before they meet and grow into one formation (according to our guide!). We saw the soot left from torches and candles from days when explorers had only those sources of light, and we saw how iron leaching through limestone colors certain formations. It was a really interesting geological experience!
Going back through the gift shop, we picked up goodies for the CT cousins, and bought a bag of what looked like dirt. That was actually an activity -- we took it outside, and the kids panned for treasure in the running sluice outside the gift shop. There were semiprecious gemstone chips of all colors for them to find, so it was fun.We left there, wandered back to the highway, and got off in Bellafonte to go find some lunch. The sigh on the highway said "Historic Victorian downtown area", so off we went. We ended up finding a Dairy Queen in the corner of a lovely old building, so we had lunch and ice cream there. Pressed tin ceilings at least 14 feet high, fancy old fashioned windows and doors, and a cool restored tile floor really gave the place ambience! We took our ice cream outside, found a shady bench, and looked around as we finished eating. It's a lovely place, and if we hadn't been there on a Sunday, probably more of the stores would have been open. There were some funky little shops that would have been cool to poke around in! We left there around 3, and headed off for the long drive of the day to Ohio.
Most of that went well, at least until the backseat denizens simultaneously announced they had to go -- and not the kind of go you want them to do in a gas station bathroom. We were in a very rural area, and getting off at the next exit led us another 4 miles off course to locate the only open gas station around. We bought some junk food as a silent apology for the fumes in their one unisex bathroom...
And then the junk food mania hit about ten miles down the road, and the drive for the next hour was hell. I don't think anyone will ever have to remind me never to feed them that shit ever again. I'm fairly certain there was green smoke coming out my ears and my fangs and claws left marks in the steering wheel.
Arriving in Wadsworth Ohio, we found a basically brand new Holiday Inn Express right off the highway. Right across the road there is an Applebee's where I had one monster size mango margarita with dinner as my treat for surviving the drive. We are happily tucked into a very nice 3rd floor room with two beds and a couch, plus a nice fridge and microwave. The fridge is good because I've got The Boy trained to fill it with our cooler items and use the freezer section to refreeze the water bottles and cold pack. They have a nice breakfast room downstairs, and we'll check out the pool in the morning while we wait for rush hour to disappear. I think we'll leave around 10 or so and head off on the final leg of this side of the trip. Indiana is beckoning... can't wait for the corn and tomatoes, and the smell of the forest on the farm.
