Farms in PA (Wind Farms too)

Sunday, our second day out.

We had the Continental Breakfast at the Hotel Hoity-Toity and headed out around 8:30. My back was cranky so I stopped for Ibuprofen (Vitamin I) which did the trick. I got really dehydrated yesterday so pledged to drink more today. I decided that after yesterdays adventure we were re-naming Dave's GPS Pocahontas. She had us worried several times but she also took us on some amazing roads we would never have found ourselves. The headphones are actually really nice. They work well and I think we see twice as much with them. We also get lost less, which may be ok or not. Getting lost is half the fun.

We decided to go southwest and found a very crooked road (Rt 307) that was sort of ok. We crossed the river and took Rt 29 south to 118, which again was not so great. So we went south some more to Rt 254 and finally hit pay dirt. Beautiful rolling farms in really wide valleys, and just as the valley got it's most fertile and widest and flattest, we saw the tell tale signs of twin streaks in the pavement, soon followed with horse droppings and soon after that, the Amish. Cute kids waving from the back of the buggies and being Sunday, all dressed in their best and out "visitin". Nobody was working in the fields and the mules and horses were just being lazy on their day off. There was no traffic or tourists in this part of PA so 2 guys on motorcycles got big waves from all the Amish kids and teens.

We saw a small road that went to the other side of the now really wide valey to Rt 45 which let us bypass State College where Penn State is. This again was beautiful farmland and also is where the Penn State Research farming area is. We could not begin to figure out all the stuff being grown there. It looks like a whole bunch of experimental plots of all kinds of crops. Also appeared to be some animals being raised there.

The weather was warm and humid but by no means unbearable. No sprinkles all day.

Yesterday we were surprised to run into a wind farm near Forest City. Looked like 20 to 30 turbines turning slowly in the light winds today. Very beautiful.

Pocahontas found today's 20 or 30 turbines this afternoon as we climbed the ridge just east of Hollidaysburg. We drove right under them as we crossed the ridge. Sure looked like NRG heated sensors on top!!

We skipped lunch again today so stopped in Johnstown for dinner and then to the hotel, which we had called in a couple hours before after yesterdays "No Vacancy" dilemma.

We are both really beat from the heat and intensive rubber-necking so off to bed. No idea where we go tomorrow, but we are close to the Maryland border.