We started this weekend’s walk in the center of York with its lovely old buildings. Outside of town we walked through farms and quaint small towns, ending this trip in New Oxford, PA. Another beautiful fall weekend. Next leg, on to Gettysburg.
We restarted our walking for the fall. This weekend we walked from the western edge of Lancaster to the center of York, PA. Since US 30 (the Lincoln Highway) is a limited-access freeway here, we spent these 2 days walking on PA-462 (the “Old Lincoln Highway”) through a quaint town on the shores of the Susquehanna River (Columbia) and across a beautiful bridge (Veterans Memorial Bridge). Our first rain did not dampen our spirits – nice to be back on the trail.
Our first two day stint. We walked from Gap, PA to the west side of Lancaster. Our walk took us from cornfields in Amish country through the city center of Lancaster. The second day in a row wasn’t as difficult as we thought it would be.
Note: Mike has graciously agreed to be my editor to help streamline the slideshow. I need assistance in paring down our photos.
Our 22nd anniversary. Can’t think of a nicer way to celebrate than walking with Mike. The weather was great – we walked from Coatsville to Gap. Enjoying the country pace.
Another beautiful day. Getting into more rural environs. Went from Malvern to Coatsville. Definitely more hilly – our calves feel the difference.
Today we walked the Upper Main Line and ended up in Malvern. Ate a nice lunch in Malvern before driving home. Our longest walk so far. I think we’re close to our limit, especially as the terrain is getting less flat.
Today we walked from Chinatown to Villanova. A day of stark contrasts – Center City to sketchy areas of West Philly and within one short block, onto the wealthy Lower Main Line. I was a little concerned about safety in West Philly. It’s sad to see that people live in areas where crime is a given. I learned another important lesson today – almost as essential as good footwear is SUNSCREEN. Even though it was overcast, I got a nice stripe of sunburn on one side of my face.
Today we completed our first milestone – one state (New Jersey) down! We walked through Camden and then over the Ben Franklin and into Pennsylvania. An incredibly windy day but mild and mostly sunny. Got a little camera happy but Camden was an interesting mix and the views from the bridge spectacular. We are leaving the flat terrain and starting to see gradual up and down grades. We decided that the urban walking is good because of sidewalks, but are looking forward to the more rural areas coming up.
Just a quick walk. Mike, who has been mapping our adventure, came to the conclusion that the stretch between Lawnside to Philadelphia at 13 miles was too long. Especially because the Benjamin Franklin bridge between Camden and Philly is up hill. Plus, I wanted to pre-drive the route through Camden to make sure it would be safe. So we did a short 2.5 miles to get the mileage down. Seemed incredibly short, we must be getting our walking legs.
One funny thing – as we began our walk who should drive up but our taxi driver from Day 5. He stopped and reminded us to bring our keys with us.
A mild but windy day. (Seems like we are always walking against the wind). Walked from Chesilhurst to Somerdale – our longest trek yet. Tiring but definitely doable. Had our first challenge: When we finished and went to open up Mike’s car, we realized that his keys were in my car back in Chesilhurst. Ooops. So . . . we did the smart thing – got some food (a nice refreshing sherbet) and called a taxi. Cost us a fortune but sure beat turning around and walking back. May this be our biggest setback!!
Walk Across America 
