April 2023
Pennsylvania has a lot more natural beauty than I expected and definitely more strenuous hiking than anticipated – a big plus! I drove in from Delaware and continued my exploration of the lovely stone homes which I would love to have photographed but there are no sidewalks and no place to pull over and park other than private driveways so I just had to drive through. The southern area has beautiful green rolling hills with wildflowers disturbed only by the occasional pro Trump banner. As you drive north you meet the mountains with beautiful rocks and hiking. One thing I found interesting here and much of the central East Coast was that the sky was hazy and had that brown hue you find in certain seasons in California. A highlight of my trip was getting to see my former State Farm colleague Steve. Even better was that we both easily recognized each other after more than 20 years, our last get together having been while he lived in Budapest in the late 1990s. It was either that visit or another when a group of us met Yoko Ono as she was walking down the street and we were sitting outside at the bar on the ground floor of Steve’s apartment building. I have the photo we took with her but her companion insisted on taking it and he blurred the photo, I am pretty sure intentionally.
KENNETT SQUARE / CHADDS FORD. Kennett Square is a cute little town near the Delaware border. A few shops and restaurants. I wandered around but did not stay here as few lodging options and instead found a place about ten miles away in Chadds Ford. The hotel, the Brandywine River Hotel was just average but in the parking lot was Antica Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar which had excellent food and wine.
WEST CHESTER. Really liked this town. Interesting buildings, brick streets and good coffee at the hipster Gryphon Coffee where I also had a tasty fig and camembert toast to accompany it. I had already booked a spot in Philadelphia but this would have been a good stop over for the night.
VALLEY FORGE. Lovely hiking and some interesting historical buildings. I hiked the Mount Joy Trail to Mount Misery Trail Loop, which is a moderate 3.5 mile hike without a bit under 700 feet of elevation and lots of greenery.
WISSAHICKON VALLEY PARK. Within the borders of Philadelphia to the north, this 1,800 acre park with a stream running through has tons of hiking options. I hiked the Gorge North Loop which is a bit over 5.5 miles and 800 feet of elevation gain. Lovely hike though really could have used a bathroom somewhere in the park or one of the many parking lots.
PHILADELPHIA. My entry point was to the northwest (to hike) which is a really nice area with lots of green space, lovely homes and a nice strip of stores and restaurants. This is the one area in Philly without a ton of potholes and where you can find wider streets. After my hike I stopped at the grounds of the Woodmere Art Museum just as they were closing (because it was nice and I was really hoping to find a bathroom – out of luck). I then drove through Chestnut Hill (where I returned the following day to meet my friend Steve at McNally’s Tavern for a really good cheesesteak followed by a chocolate cake and a good drip coffee at Chestnut Hill Coffee Co). As I drove south along Germnantown Ave. on my way to my AirBnb room, things got a bit less nice though still okay and I was surprised to see so many women in full burka (though many had a slit at the eyes and not just a mesh screen). There were also a lot of people wearing masks outdoors. As I continued my drive south, things went quickly downhill. The potholes increased and the quality of the buildings diminished and then into the area with bars on the windows and open drug dealing. Turns out I was staying on the outskirts of the poorest neighborhood (Kensington) in the poorest large city in America (Philadelphia), exactly 0.8 miles from ground zero skid row and the drug epidemic to be exact. Not yet knowing this as the map showed I would be in Fishtown which is still a bit sketchy but a bit safer, I kept waiting for things to improve as I drove along but the blocks were not getting much nicer. I stayed one night and was relieved to find my car intact the next morning with all its glass and all four wheels. The street where I stayed and parked felt mostly safe and there were a few hip bars and one trendy restaurant nearby but I decided to stay inside after 9pm.
DELAWARE WATER GAP NATIONAL RECREATION AREA. This is a very large area straddling multiple states and best not to use Apple Maps to find it as it will send you to a closed area of the park. I should have put in visitor center which I have learned to do but forgot. So, after some driving around I found my way to the Poconos for some hiking and an overnight stay. I drove a lot of the park as the NPS app showed that the northern campground was open – well, it wasn’t. So after a lot of wasted driving I ended up at a KOA overlooking the guest parking. Such a great nature experience. The only other open campground was an LBGT one which would have been fine except all the sites were right by the nightclub and I needed sleep, not a late night party. For my hiking, it was technically in New Jersey so my hiking photos are in both posts.
