For our first county collecting trip of the year we chose to
spend time in a state we’d hardly touched – Pennsylvania. We made up for lost
time!
We took advantage of some cheap flights from Southwest and
flew into Cleveland. We headed south out of Cleveland and around Akron on HWY
21 until we found our way into Stark County – our first new county of the trip.
In the spirit of “no county left behind” we then headed further south towards
the city of Wilmot. About a mile west of it we crossed into Holmes County. From
there we turned around and headed back north towards Canton. We had originally
planned to visit the grave of President William McKinley. But since our flight
arrived in the late afternoon, the tomb was going to be closed by the time we’d
get there. So we saved that for a couple of days later. Instead we continued
east into the city of Minerva and weaved our way through the city streets until
we crossed into Carroll County. A few minutes later as we continued east we
found ourselves in Columbiana County.
We eventually found ourselves on HWY 30 crossing the Ohio
River into West Virginia. As we touched down on the other side, we were
officially in Hancock County – although the county sign was actually on the
Ohio side. We continued on HWY 30 for a few miles until we crossed into
Pennsylvania and Beaver County.
We continued south, eventually turning back into West
Virginia. Once we got south of Weirton we crossed into Brooke County and got
onto HWY 22 heading east back into Pennsylvania. Once we crossed the state line
we were in Washington County – a county we’d previously visited. But less than
10 miles later we got into the Pittsburgh area and Allegheny County. From there
we headed north on I-79 and into Butler County – our resting stop for the
night. We checked into the Pittsburgh Marriott North in Cranberry Township and
went to bed. A long drive was planned for the following day.
The next morning we were up early and out the door around
7:15. Our general direction for the day was to head east. However we had one
stop to make before we could get going. We went north a few miles until we
reached Evans City. Our destination was the Evans City Cemetery – sight of the
opening scenes for the 1968 horror film “Night Of The Living Dead.” This was
probably the highlight of the trip for me!
Once we were done in Evans City we got on I-76 and headed
south back into Allegheny County. We made a brief stop in Monroeville in order
to get some breakfast al McDonald’s. We also couldn’t resist driving a few
blocks further to see the Monroeville Mall – sight of 1978’s Dawn Of The Dead
(the sequel to the previously mentioned film). The mall was not yet open for
the day. So we could only take shots of the outside of it. But it was still
pretty cool!
Once we left the mall we got back on I-76. A minute or two
later we crossed into Westmoreland County. We stayed on I-76 for quite awhile,
picking up Bedford, Fulton, Huntingdon and Franklin Counties. We also passed
through Somerset County – a county we’d been to before. Once we got off the interstate
we headed mostly south towards Shippensburg, where we filled up with some much
needed gas. We picked up Cumberland County along the way as well. Our next
destination was Gettysburg. But before heading that way we drove west of
Shippensburg in order to visit Tiny World – a small “city” which was originally
built for cats. The cats have long since gone. But the tiny buildings remain.
From Tiny World we got onto HWY 30 and headed into Adams
County and the city of Gettysburg. We stopped at the field location where the
battle started, as well as the Cemetery where Abraham Lincoln made his famous “Gettysburg
Address.”
Gettysburg is only about five miles from the Maryland
border. It was a county we needed. So naturally we dipped into Carroll County,
then turned right around and came back.
Our next destination was the Woodward Hill Cemetery in
Lancaster. We got onto HWY 30 heading
northeast and picked up York and Lancaster Counties on the way. The cemetery is
the final resting place of President James Buchanan.
Philadelphia is home to many Amish families. And we saw several of their house and buggies over our trip whenever we were off the interstate. After spotting one (and snapping a picture) we got back on I-76 and headed in the general direction of
Philadelphia. Since we’d already been to Philadelphia County, we were
thankfully able to avoid the back-up traffic all around. We picked up Berks,
Chester and Montgomery counties with ease. For Delaware County we had to get
off the freeway and worm our way through a pretty nice residential
neighborhood. There were no county signs anywhere. But we were there!
After Delaware County we headed north on HWY 611. We
eventually got into Bucks County and the city of Riegelsville. In Riegelsville
we crossed a bridge over the Delaware River and into the state of New Jersey.
The county was Warren. A few blocks south of it was Hunterdon County. We got
them both in about two minutes, then crossed the bridge back into Pennsylvania.
As we headed north out of Riegelsville, one mile later we
got into Northampton County. We then got onto I-78 and headed back west. We
picked up Lehigh and Berks Counties before we stopped at the city of Hamburg to
fill up the gas tank and get a soda at the Wawa gas station. Why did we choose
this location to stop? Because about a mile north of the Wawa is the Schuylkill
River. Once we crossed over that river we were in Schuylkill County. We then
turned around and headed back to the interstate.
I-78 joined I-81. And we picked up Lebanon and Dauphin
Counties along the way. As we neared the capital city of Harrisburg, we got off
and headed north, hugging the Susquehanna River as we went. Near Duncannon we
crossed the river and soon found ourselves in Perry County. We continued north
on HWY 15 and HWY 104, picking up Juniata and Snyder Counties within a few
minutes of each other.
The sun was setting by this time as we headed to the city of
Middleburg – which could have been named “The Middle of nowhere Burg.” We then
headed southwest on HWY 522 Into Mifflin County. About 10 miles later we headed
north on HWY 322 and picked up Centre County – our last new county of the day.
From there we drove into State College, passed Penn State University and
finally settled into our hotel – the Quality Inn. We’d spent over 12 hours
driving for the day. So the rest was well-earned!
On our last day we got up, had our free breakfast at the
hotel, and hit the road again. We got onto I-99 south and crossed into Blair
County. Once we got a few miles south of Altoona we got off the interstate and
headed west on HWY 422. Five miles later we crossed into Cambria County. We
stayed on HWY 422 for quite awhile, picking up Indiana, Armstrong and Butler
Counties. About 10 miles past Butler we hooked up with I-79 north and passed
through Lawrence and Mercer Counties. It was in Mercer County where we got onto
I-80 to head west into Ohio.
Once we were in Ohio, we picked up both Trumbull and
Mahoning Counties, our last two new counties of the trip. However we weren’t
quite finished yet. Since we were unable to visit President William McKinley’s
grave two days earlier, we headed back down to Canton. We passed the NFL Hall
of Fame (which will be saved for a later trip) and found our way to McKinley’s
Tomb. You can’t miss it! But be careful when you're inside. I accidentally tripped the alarm when I leaned too hard on the barrier.
Once we left the Tomb, we went north, stopped at Red Lobster
for lunch, then finished up the drive back to the Cleveland Airport for the
flight home. We ended up putting about 1200 miles on our rented Chevy Cruze. When
it was all said and done, we had visited 44 new counties. So what’s next? We
have a family trip to Florida planned for June. Stay tuned!
NEW COUNTIES - 44
TOTAL COUNTIES FOR 2018 - 44
ALL TIME COUNTY TOTAL - 1761
