When the movie Easy Rider came out in 1969 the advertising said, "A young man went looking for America and he couldn't find it anywhere."
I managed to find it in under two hours. To my great relief it's still there.
Directions, Head north on US 19 and keep going for a few miles and start scouting the small PA routes.
I was up and coffee-d up by a little after 0800 and sat down and thought it over and decided to see if I could find America. Preparations were fairly easy and I thought over the proper equipment. I suppose if I was younger a motorcycle would be perfect, say a Royal Enfield 500cc Bullet with a sidecar.
But I am now an old man so a different vehicle was in order, enter the 1991 Mazda Miata. It was perfect. Not only that, I cut a magnificent swashbuckling figure in it with a pair of aviation sunglasses and a boonie hat.
Needless to say, when I get out of it I go back to being a dumpy old man again. Oh, well. Can't win 'em all.
Anyway, I spent the day driving through rural PA, booming and zooming through the two lane blacktop and some dirt roads looking for Americans. I was not only looking for the sights, sounds and aromas of America. I was looking for the people.
I was looking for the type of people that the suburban Karens fawn all over to their faces and then tell cruel jokes about them behind their back. I was looking for the people that feed us and the people that support them and I found them in spades every time I stopped at a likely looking spot.
I pulled into a country hardware store and when I entered it was bright, airy, exceptionally clean and sterile looking as seen on TV. I was thinking of not bothering and turning around until my nose spelled an aroma of far away and long ago. The place smelled like a hardware store! It had the wonderful aroma of axe handles, baling twine and whatever else made hardware stores smell so good back in the day.
I struck up a conversation with a fairly well dressed man that was purchasing a couple of doe tags and found he was a country lawyer. I told him of my quest to find America and he lit up with a smile and told me I had come to the right place. "I know what you are doing and why. I wish more people would discover where they get their food," he said.
Rural America has its problems, too and the attorney mentioned defending a meth head that he took in exchange for a motorcycle that he resold to pay his fee. That's also part of America.
I chatted with another hardware store customer, a farmer with a side hustle. He said the split between jobs was just about right. He had a couple of corn fields and raised a few cows. He offered me a pretty good deal on a half cow which is too much for my small freezer. I turned his offer down because of that.
Off to the next adventure. On the way out the door I was greeted warmly by a large black woman and her husband that were going inside. She had a wonderful smile.
Off the side of a side road I spotted a small engine repair shop and saw it too late. The place next door was a harness maker of some sort. I pulled in and nobody appeared to be home so I went back entered the small engine repair shop and was stunned to find it was Amish owned and run. It had electricity, formerly unknown the the Amish until I realized that the reason the Amish not using electricity had something to do with a wire (power line) attaching their home to whatever. The phone he answered was cellular and hence no wires.
I had heard that the Amish were now using solar power so I asked the owner. He had three other Dutchmen on his payroll and one of them explained to me that entire system was 12 volt LED lighting with solar and an occasional generator backup. When needed they'd charge the battery with a Honda 2200.
I also found out the harness maker was Amish but was probably helping his son and was not home. His customer base was Amish as they don't drive and use horses.
Later I discovered that not all Amish use electricity but that comes later.
All along the way I was treated to the wonderful aromas of produce and livestock. I thought to myself what Karen would do if she moved next door. Probably screech about her rights and demand the farmer shut down operations. The outrage would be epic when the sheriff told her to get used to it or move.
"You actually allow people to live like that?!!"
I was off and running and a coffee stop to the local convenience store I met a young country girl that had pierced ears, natural hair, a pretty smile and a face that didn't look like she had fallen into a tackle box. No weird hardware had been installed.
She took my coffee money, smiled and thanked me and I was on my way. I didn't gas up there because I wanted to visit another convenience store.
A run like this can really only be made running solo because two people tend to become a unit. If my wife or anyone else wanted to come with me the trip would have been a bust because a single person reaching out poses little or no threat. Besides the other person generally demands the attention one wants to give to the people they encounter. Besides when I'm alone I can act up a bit.
I had to gas up. It's late in the Miata season so I didn't want to stuff the tank because I like to store it with a half tank of stabilized fuel and freshen it in the spring.
A few more miles down the road and I went into another convenience store manned by an older woman. While it looked a little old, it was pretty well cleaned and maintained. I found my way back to Rte 19 and headed south again. En route I passed a house with an older Peterbilt rig in the yard. Probably one of the last of the owner/operators. They used to be relatively common back in the day but I guess the corporations can buy in bulk etc. so that business appears to be dying off.
Time was passing and I headed back down US 19 because it was the second fastest way home. I could have hit the Interstate many times but chose not to. I 79 parallels US 19 through Pennsylvania.
On the way south I saw a familiar road off to the right. The Dutchman that roofed my house back about 2011 lived there. Hard right rudder. Did he still live there? Was he still alive? Let's find out!
I pulled into a familiar yard and there he was. It was a joy to meet and old friend even though it took him a while to figure out who I was. I hadn't seen him in well over a decade and that was very shortly after the loss of one of his sons that had been electrocuted via an aluminum ladder hitting a hot wire.
There he was, still busy. Now he makes boat covers with First Class craftsmanship. He's still amazing.
When I asked him if he had 'gone solar' he explained that my very recent experience had been from a different Amish community. The communities are different and have different rules. He explained that his community was strictly old school and he preferred it that way. His home was strictly non electric.
I hadn't seen him in a little over a decade, shortly after the loss of his son in '13. We talked about life, family, and the future and I asked him what the materiel was that he used to build the new barn.
He stunned me when he smiled and said, "Off spec garage doors. I bought an entire truckload." I was amazed.
They're fairly solid and very well insulated and interlock well. Typical country ingenuity.
We parted friends and I was soon back on Rte19 and homeward bound. It was getting a little late. I headed south at a somewhat slow clip and pulled over several times to let others pass me.
For the entire day I carefully watched my six and pulled over numerous times. While life in the rural areas is somewhat slower, that didn't give me the right to slow things up. The country is based on logistics and some farmer needs a quick trip to the store doesn't mean he wants to get stuck behind someone dawdling along taking a Sunday drive two days early.
When I got to Zelienople I decided to cheat a bit so I cut over to I-79 and zipped on home.
It had been a wonderful, glorious day.
I had been planning a nice road trip to the Boston area and it's about a 10-11 hour drive. I was planning on taking about 3 days to make the trip just cruising through rural areas and meeting the people.
Actually I had planned on a rough 3 days, loading the pickup with a case of MREs, a sleeping bag and cooler and calling it good. The wife expressed concerns so I opted for a couple of day trips.
I think maybe next time I'll head east or maybe south into WV.
I'll keep you posted.
What a great adventure! Thank you for sharing. As an ex-pat Pennsylvanian from Bucks County, I can see your entire trip in my mind's eye. Good luck and God speed on your next adventure.
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