All come to look for America…

Counting the cars
On the New Jersey Turnpike
They’ve all come
To look for America,
All come to look for America,
All come to look for America.

We haven’t been back from Europe long, but we were ready to hit the road again – this time closer to home, and in a car.

Our focus was a weekend visit with friends in Pottstown, PA. This town was like a double dose of small-city Americana, where grandparents live a few blocks from the kids, where you can walk to a real downtown, and at the same time be very close to the farmers’ markets and the wonderful sweet corn and tomatoes exploding out of the fields this time of the year. We absolutely loved it and had a great time.

And then we went slightly further afield, since we had come this far. We are staying in Bloomsburg, PA, and went on a little pilgrimage today to visit a few of the local sights.

This area is known for its old covered bridges, and we were able to find our way to a few of them.

It is the most gorgeous day. We stopped at an old church with a few Civil War veterans in its cemetery, and admired the corn growing nearby. The sky was wide open and filled with perfect clouds. Could it get any better?

Indeed it could. We next went to Knoebels – a 90-year-old amusement park in Elysburg, PA. It’s pronounced “Kuh-no-bels” and we declare it the Brigadoon of amusement parks. No one outside of this area has probably ever heard of it – or of Elysburg – but many of its rides come out of the golden age, and some were made for Coney Island then restored by the Knoebels. The park itself is free (!), the rides are really inexpensive ($1 or $2), food is just what you want at such a place – with a few regional twists, like pickles or pork chops on a stick. It was clean, orderly, and there was something for everyone.

There are vintage and brand-new state-of-the-art roller coasters and water rides and little kid rides that first entertained children 100 years ago in other parks, then came here for a second life. What a great place…

We walked around like tourists and saw all these sights today with fresh eyes. This world is not that historic, but it’s ours, it’s beautiful, and we felt so happy to be home.