PA AT

Ted. For the Pennsylvania leg of our Appalachian Trail adventure, we chose to begin at Pine Grove Furnace State Park. Located just 55 miles north of our base in Frederick, MD, the exact midpoint of the 2,193 mile long AT is celebrated here with a museum.

There were few hikers, the weather was beautiful and the mountain laurel were peaking. We walked north to a rock outcropping known as Pole Steeple to enjoy the views of surrounding Michaux State Forest.

The trails in PA have a reputation for being rocky and this one was no exception. However, the overlook at the end made it all worthwhile.

Finding Frederick

Judy. One of the things I enjoy about our travels is how much our surroundings can change in such a short period of time. One week after stepping out of tropical heat where we were wakened by the sounds of howler monkeys and both lyrical and squawking birds, we were wrapped in sweaters in a tiny apartment on a main street, and waking to the sounds of traffic and shoppers. In the evenings, instead of being lulled to sleep by the sounds of the ocean, we closed our doors to shut out the sounds of partying below us. Believe it or not, it doesn’t bother us—it’s just an interesting change. 

Although Frederick, Maryland, was founded in 1745, it was an important crossroads for Native Americans and early settlers much earlier. It’s close to both Baltimore and Washington, DC, as well as to Revolutionary and Civil War battlefields. The Appalachian Trail passes near here, as well as numerous beautiful hiking trails. 

So it sounded like the perfect place to settle in for a month. 

Actually, we had contacted a Servas family in the area—their bio said they loved hiking—and their first choice for us to stay was Frederick. Ian and Cari even drove by the apartment we were looking to rent to make sure it was ok. And they’ve turned out to be terrific friends. Frederick is filled with sweet old townhouses and shops. Our place is over a shop, and was noted to be the home of Samuel and Amelia Weinberg, built in about 1850, and home to the earliest synagogue in Frederick.  Exploring the building, it’s easy to see how the family lived over their shop and where the storage rooms were. There’s even old hardware on the doors! The front windows open onto the busy street, and a door off the bedroom leads to a balcony walkway with a clothesline and a view of rooftops and balconies of other buildings. 

Home sweet home

The back porch

 

Drive out of town for ten minutes, and you’re in the lush, rolling hills of Maryland. It’s a charming place to be!

 

View from an overlook near the AT

Two days after our arrival, we met our niece Becky, her son Caleb, and her husband Tom for our first AT hike in the area. It included a beautiful overlook, and we had a wonderful time catching up. Shortly afterwards, Ian and Cari met us downtown for drinks and appetizers, then took us for a walk along Carroll Creek Park, a brick walkway following the creek through the city. It’s lined with restaurants for a few blocks, then opens up on one side to a huge city park. There are murals on some of the buildings and metal sculptures along the creek. One was even made by the family of some friends in Georgia. A sculpture that spells out "Frederick" in sign language welcomes the deaf population. There is a school for the deaf here.

 

 

A dream of ours is to walk a part of the AT in all 14 states through which it passes. We’d done Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina, and our hike with family added Maryland. We’d heard about a flat hike along the C&O Canal, which is a national park, and also forms a part of the AT, so we hiked to Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. It’s a beautiful hike along the Potomac, and a tasty crab cake sandwich in Harper’s Ferry was a good break before our return.

 

Harper's Ferry from the trail

Crab cakes! Remember when we were in Nova Scotia and couldn’t get enough lobster? Well, that’s where we are now in Maryland! Wegman's, the local supermarket, makes delicious ones to take home, and both reasonably priced ones and off-the-chart ones are available in restaurants. Yep, it's a once or twice a week thing for us.

Cari and Ian invited us to their home for dinner one night, and we had the real pleasure of meeting their talented and interesting kids. We immediately felt right at home. On our anniversary we drove around the area to explore towns, and finished up with a delicious dinner at Isabella’s, a Spanish tapas restaurant across the street. 

Another day we took the train into Washington, DC, to visit the new Martin Luther King and FDR Memorials, and to see the National Gallery of Art. Shockingly—and truly wonderfully—there were hardly any tourists, and we could wander freely.

 

Part of the huge FDR Memorial

MLK Memorial

There are only about two weeks left, and we still have a trip to Philadelphia to visit our dear friend Vishal for the weekend, a graduation party for grand-nephew Caleb, and more hikes. As always, we are running out of time. We didn’t see more than we did see, but we’ve spent time with family and friends, and made new friends. 

Lonely Planet lists the top ten reasons to go to Frederick. Number ten is because “it’s perfect.” Well, it may not be perfect, but you can see perfect from here.

Back on the road

Ted. Judy and I flew back to Atlanta on May 5 and, after a brief visit with friends and family, loaded up Raymond, our beloved pickup truck, for our next road trip. 

Our destination was Frederick, Maryland. We have friends and family in the area and this was a good opportunity to work towards our goal of taking day hikes on the Appalachian Trail in all 14 of the states through which the 2,200 mile (3,500 km) AT passes. Frederick is a beautiful 276-year old town and lies within a 30-mile radius of portions of the AT in the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. 

We took several days to make the 700-mile journey north. Our first stop was Marion, Virginia, near Grayson Highlands State Park. A friend who had walked the entire AT had fond memories of the trail in this area. We were amazed by the beauty of the scenery along our route, through portions of South and North Carolina and Tennessee. The mountains in this part of Virginia were much different from those we were used to. The bald rolling hills looked more like Montana than Georgia. 

From the state park, we hiked south along the AT, immediately meeting a couple of northbound “through hikers.” Having started their journey in Springer Mountain, Georgia in February, they were on track to reach Mount Katahdin, Maine by July or August. On our hike, we also encountered two species of animals that we had never seen on a trail. 

Wild ponies

Wild longhorns

Apparently the Forest Service had imported these critters back in the 70's to maintain the vegetation. They seemed to be thriving and the balds remain magnificent. 

It was in Marion that we first felt the effects of the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline. Gas stations were beginning to close throughout the South due to severe shortages. We were able to top off our tank and drove north to Lynchburg, VA, a beautiful and historic little town on the James River. After a great lunch, we drove to Staunton, VA, where we spent the night (after finally finding gas). 

The next morning we entered the Shenandoah National Park and drove the 105-mile Skyline Drive to Front Royal, VA. The AT parallels the road through the park and when we stopped for a coffee we chatted with more “through hikers.” Again, the scenery was great, with frequent overlooks of the Shenandoah River Valley. 

Spring comes late in these hills

From Front Royal, it was a short final drive into Frederick where we will spend our next four weeks.

More People!

Judy. When we decided to come to Costa Rica, we were aware of the fact that we’d not have many opportunities to meet people, which, as you know, is a big part of our travels. The only Servas hosts we’d located were in San Jose, and we weren’t going there. So this trip was about the diversity of animals we’d see, and we were not disappointed. 

 Then we went to the Osa Peninsula and Drake Bay. Our hosts at Casa Horizonte, Yami and Pedro, were so open and willing to talk to us—despite the fact that Yami’s English is far better than our Spanish, she let us stumble through so that we’d have a chance to practice. In return, we spoke English with her 13-year-old daughter Gloriana. When we weren’t out exploring, we found ourselves sitting on the verandah chatting about the area, about their hotel business, and about Gloriana’s frustration with learning online instead of with her friends. 

Yami, Pedro, and Gloriana

 When we took the Corcovado National Park tour, we found ourselves with the friendliest group ever, beginning when we saw dolphins on the trip over, and the young Spanish woman shouted, “I’ve got videos if anyone wants me to send them!” Over the next few hours, we all really bonded: Anna and Monique, two young medical students from Barcelona; Judith, a therapist working with refugees in Vienna; and a young French couple taking a year to travel from Mexico to Chile. Even Roy our guide, joined in the fun. All of us love travel, and Ted and I found ourselves truly impressed by the charitable work of the women and the free spirit of the French couple. By the time lunch was over, we’d formed a WhatsApp group, promising to keep in touch. Anna had gotten my phone number, and since we hadn’t exchanged last names yet, put “Corcovado” as my last name so she’d remember where we met. The whole group had a great laugh over that, and my new name became “Judy Corcovado”.   

Monique and Anna

 (Anna and Monique, I think I gave you the wrong phone number for my WhatsApp account. Please email me at this address and I’ll give you the right one.) 

 After we left Drake Bay, we stopped at an archaeological site to see pre-Columbian stone spheres, and learn something about the indigenous people. A young Polish woman was taking photographs—turns out she just finished her PHD in mechanical engineering and was interested in the spheres and how they got there. We also learned that she’s from near Bialystok, where our friends Robert and Ann live! 

We were headed back to Uvita to pick up our big suitcase and drive up to Guanacaste when we spotted a hitchhiker on the side of the road. As we passed him, Ted said, “He looks like Stefan. Would you mind if we picked him up?” For the next two days Chris from Dresden, Germany, rode with us north toward Tamarindo. Turns out he’s a Scout and is just finishing his mechanical engineering degree. Chris, who’s only 23, has traveled extensively, and we never seemed to stop sharing stories. 

Chris, who looks like a young Stefan, and Ted

 On the evening we arrived in Atlanta, tired and hungry, we decided to eat at an airport restaurant. A few tables down from us sat a group of women having a great time—seems like it was the birthday of one of the women, and her friends had all flown in to celebrate. They were starting right there at TGI Fridays. On a whim, I walked down and said, “Y’all are having too much fun! Any chance you’ll celebrate with me on my birthday?” Immediately, I had five new acquaintances offering to come back in August. We chatted briefly, then they insisted I join them for a group photo. I gotta tell you: It made coming back to the US a lot more palatable. 

Sharon and friends let me play!

 Thank goodness we can’t get away from amazing people.

Lasting memories of Costa Rica

Ted. We have been back in the US for a few days. I’m already starting to miss Costa Rica…in some ways. 

Things I’ll miss                                      Things I won’t miss 

The heat                                          The humidity 

Sounds of a toucan at 10am      Sounds of a coati on the roof at 3am

Sights of macaws & parrots      Sounds of macaws and parrots 

Fresh local fruit                            Fried local food 

5:30pm sunsets                            5:30am sunrises 

Our little swimming pool          Our little used TP bin (no flushing)

Warmth of the Ticos (locals)    Coldness of the expats 

Lack of people on the beaches Lots of plastic on the beaches

Sweet songs of the birds            Gruff roars of the howler monkeys