Day Two (7/31) Titusville

If the blog title didn't clue you in, this vacation isn't like our others.  We're taking it easier and not so focused on getting to the next destination.  I did do some planning, but there's plenty of time to look around and we're far more flexible than before.  I'm still getting used to it.

First, a couple of old photos at the hotel that I mentioned yesterday:

After breakfast at the hotel, we drove to the nearest Tim Hortons in Meadville.  To my disappointment, the one in Franklin is closed.  To my surprise, the door to the one we stopped at was locked--you had to use drive-through.  I'm sure they are all that way, but I asked if they sell cans of coffee that way.  They do, and since I'm sure all of them use the drive-through, we'll get a can in Erie.

We drove around Meadville a bit, but soon we headed to Titusville.  

Didn't know this was here:

Ida M Tarbell House

The Oil Creek & Titusville Railroad was next.  No train rides due to you-know-what, and the store was closed, but you could still look around some.  And the Caboose Motel was open.  It looked like an interesting place to stay.

Caboose Motel

Caboose Motel 2

OC&T RR Boxcar

Passenger Car

Fe's been workin' on the railroad.

After this, we headed to the Drake Oil Museum.  This was also officially closed--so no museum or gift shop--but you could walk around and picnic.  We saw quite a few people enjoying the place.  Unfortunately, we did not see Drake's well (!) but we did see a few other interesting things.

Oil Well--not Drake's

Small Pumps

Yo Yo Drilling Rig

The rest of the day was driving around--through Oil Creek State Park, down through Oil City (to see the current District 1-0 office), lunch, and then back to Franklin.

Still no concrete plans for dinner, since lunch was a bit late.  I hope to go to the hotel restaurant--don't worry, I won't go hungry.

Tomorrow we head for the big city of Erie.

Day One (7/30) Franklin, PA

We hit the road just past 10 am today--and arrived in Franklin a bit after 2 in the afternoon.  As I wrote in the last post, I've been here a few times for work and I was impressed from the first visit.

We checked in to my regular hotel, the Franklin Quality Inn.  I have always been fascinated by their late 70s building style, but inside it's all modern.  They have some great historical pictures of the area hanging along the walls.

After a late lunch at Benjamin's Roadhouse, we strolled up and down Liberty Street to walk off lunch, which lasted until we hit Bossa Nova Coffee Roasters.  After my large latte, I was rarin' to go!  We walked around some more to look at the architecture and sights.

A.G. Egbert

Venango County Courthouse

Houses along Elk Street

Elk Street  House built in 1879--it was for sale!

Civil War Monument, Bandstand Park

Venango County Jail

Window detail

This building was the old PennDOT District 1-0 office

Franklin Public Library, built in 1894, remodeled 1921

I've read that this church has a Tiffany stained-glass window--that would be neat to see.

St. John's Episcopal Church

Victorian house

Look at what emerged from the chrysalis!

That's all for today--now to figure out what's for dinner.  It's almost 7 and I could eat, but not Fe.  She eats like a butterfly.

The Day Before...

Picture it...Carlisle in July, 2020: hot and dry, the dead grass crunching underfoot, the news an endless parade of conquest, war, famine, and death.  What's a guy to do?  Plan a vacation to northwest Pennsylvania, of course!

Both my wife (Fe) and I have been working from home since mid-March.  We're both very lucky to be able to do this when so many others have been put out of work, but we thought it would be a good idea to get a change of scenery (though I took some convincing).  Our first thought was Delaware and the beaches, but the news about COVID-19 got worse there for a while and we changed our minds.

I had been to the Erie area for work a few times and had thought there were things Fe would enjoy.  Though I usually keep my home world and work world totally separate, I mentioned some of the sights I had seen, the meals I'd eaten, the coffee I drank....and we decided to go.

Tomorrow is the first day of the trip.  It will be a long drive, but we've got a lot of time to do it and I think this will be a far more laid-back trip than what we're used to (see previous blogs in my profile).  We'll see if I can take it.