Four states in a day... Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Today was another driving day, but we did have the distinction of driving through parts of four different states: Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. We even were in West Virginia two different times! Our route consisted of following I-70, then south on I-79, then east on I-68 until it runs into (and becomes) I-70 again.

For lunch, we continued our mission of eating at the
restaurants listed as the best, according to recent issues of Consumer Reports. In Wheeling, West Virginia, we ate at Cheddar's Casual Café. Since we we have only eaten there today we can't really decide whether the CR rating seems right or not. The most unusual item we tried was the edamame appetizer (that's soybeans!). The pods are served with a ginger soy sauce and a southwest seasoning. One dips the pod in the sauce, then the seasoning. The beans are eaten by pulling the pod through your teeth and discarding the shell. Although it was interesting eating them this way, I still prefer mine already shelled and in a salad or other dish. The other dishes were tasty.

The photos accompanying this post show that the leaves are already beginning to turn colors along the way. Last night's temperature was in the lower 40s! We had to break out the sleeping bag for a comforter since it was so chilly!

We entertained ourselves today with flights of fancy. One such episode was when we were at the West Virginia welcome center. A display included the motto: "A state born from a nation torn." Since we both don't like the Kansas tourism motto, "Kansas, as big as you think," we decided we should copy the idea from West Virginia and use "A state started as a nation parted."

Our campsite tonight is the Hagerstown/Antietam Battlefield KOA in Maryland. The road to the campground would through the tree-lined back roads, along a sizable creek. The sites are on a well-wooded hillside, although the pads are level. Even though the sites are close together, as is usual at most KOAs, the feel is much more like a Forest Service campground.

Tomorrows plans include visiting Antietam Battlefield and Harper's Ferry, definitely. We'll then move east toward Baltimore.