21. Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia

Cold, wet morning of Wednesday, October 30th, left my friend Dan's house in Jackson, NJ, and drove 2 hours West back into Pennsylvania. Stopped at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, an old iron forge and company village from the late 1700's.  It was rainy and cold so walked around for only a little bit.

Got back on the PA turnpike and drove another 1 1/2 hours Southwest to Gettysburg. Stayed there two nights and had a good time touring the battlefield and the town on my scooter, even though it was cold and windy.

Outside the visitor center

 PA memorial on the battlefield grounds

Sculpture in the town

Left Gettysburg late Friday afternoon, drove through Maryland and into West Virginia where I stayed at a reasonably priced campground (all others were super high priced-due to weekend traffic?).  Next morning, drove back into Northwest Maryland and toured the Antietam civil war battlefield. Did three enjoyable hikes there on the really nice grounds. Enjoyed this place better than Gettysburg.

That evening, drove back into West Virginia to the town of Charles Town, where I stayed (for free) in the parking lot at the Hollywood Race Track and Casino. Did not gamble but was able to watch some football games and eat and drink. It was cold that night so didn't really enjoy the RV. Think this will be the last freebie for awhile as I need electricity to run the heater at night.

Next morning, drove 15 minutes to Harper's Ferry National Historic Park, where I spent 4 hours touring the town and doing a hike.  The town has a lot of history including an arms manufacturing plant,  the John Brown abolitionist rebellion, and the largest surrender of troops during the Civil War.

John Brown Fort - where he was captured

 View of town from overlook - at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers

 Some old village buildings

That afternoon, Sunday, November 3rd, drove 1 hour South into Virginia.