DAY 10 August 24th, 2013
Ephrata, Pennsylvania to Rye, New York, a mere 181 miles although it felt double that (will explain later). Last night was our The Shining experience. The Twin Pine Manor is just a bit off. The house is big and a bit eerie and Norm the innkeeper a bit odd. Promptly at 8:30 am the player piano begins the morning wake up call and keeps on fora half an hour or so. Our room was right next door, spooky. We high tailed it out of the Twin Pine Manor and spent the morning meandering around the Amish countryside, stopping at a few farmer's markets, a cheese shop and a market which puts Whole Foods to shame - everything was sold in bulk. We picked up some fresh apple cider doughnuts, who can resist? It is beautiful countryside and experiencing the Amish way of life is a culture shock every west coaster should behold. We hit the road at about 1 pm for Rye, New York. It was a beautiful drive through Pennsylvania, although it is remarkable the amount of corn we grow in this country. Our pleasant day came to a grinding halt when we hit New Jersey and the east coast summer traffic. There were points during the drive when it seemed we were jockeying for position, just to pay a toll. The best was the Vince Lombardi rest stop just before the George Washington bridge. This is the 'last' food and fuel before leaving New Jersey. It was Jersey at its finest: bootleg cds and movies, knock off perfume and scalped tickets to the Jets game could all be acquired in this cultural mecca. It costs $13 to cross the George Washington bridge - who can afford that on a regular basis? We wound our way around Manhattan and headed for Rye to spend some time with family before our final destination - Poughkeepsie. Thanks to Katie, Ken and Sheila for the hospitality - a delicious dinner with family who are not so far away from Vassar. Until tomorrow, the last leg of our journey..













