I had a very early start this morning. Several years ago we were flying back from London on the day that Prince William married Kate Middleton. I missed the wedding completely and felt cheated of a spectacle. This year I was determined to watch the State funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, but it meant waking up at 5am Cleveland time. So I did! I watched it in the dark on my ipad, trying not to disturb Neil who was not remotely interested in watching it. The alarm went of at 7.30 and then we started our “proper” day.
It was a stormy morning with rain and thunder rumbling as we went down to breakfast, and the rain was still falling as we left the hotel and negotiated the roads out of Cleveland. The rain stayed with us for most of the day but luckily today was really just one of those “traveling” days that we have now and then to get us from one area to another. However, that’s not to say that we didn’t have thngs to see….
About 90 minutes from Cleveland we stopped at Warren, PA to see a couple of unique places.
Neil Armstrong and his family made their home in Warren, Ohio, for a time when he was a young boy. An interest in flying developed at an early age and on July 26, 1936, at the age of 6, Neil and his father embarked on his first flight in a Ford Tri-Motor airplane – a Tin Goose – from Warren Airways on Parkman Road. As we all know, thirty-three years later on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong made history with his first flight in the Apollo 11 Lunar Module and became the first man to walk on the moon. His famous words from that historic day, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” will live on for eternity.
back in Warren, the location of Neil’s first flight is marked by a portrait of him and his Dad and a model of the lunar lander. In true American fashion, it’s next door to the carpark of a McDonalds restaurant!
However, Warren has yet another claim to fame. Rock star David Grohl, founder of the Foo Fighters and former drummer of Nirvana, was born on January 14, 1969, in Warren, Ohio. A local police officer thought about how the young people of Warren — a city that had fallen on tough times — could be inspired by Grohl’s success. So he persuaded the city council to rename a grungy alley just off the courthouse square, Dave Grohl Alley and to invite local artists to commemorate Grohls success. They’ve installed lights and a series of artworks that turn a dodgy back alley in small town Ohio into a place worth visiting.
From Warren we set off East again and befor elong crossed the border into Pennsylvania – State number 47!!!
Another hour or so down the road to a must-see in this part of the state, Punsxutawney, PA – the home of Punsxutawney Phil, who is one of the most famous groundhogs in the USA because of his important role on Groundhog Day. Groundhog Day is celebrated every year on February 2. Although the modern holiday is a uniquely American tradition, the history stretches hundreds of years back to European traditions . According to weather lore , Phil emerges from his burrow and if he sees his shadow, he will retreat and there will be six more weeks of winter BUT If he emerges from his burrow and does NOT see his shadow, then early spring weather is right around the corner. Groundhog Day is also the setting for a hilarious 1993 movie starring Bill Murray, and Andie MacDowell . Murray portrays Phil Connors, a cynical television weatherman covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, who becomes trapped in a time loop, forcing him to relive February 2nd repeatedly. It is one of my favourite movies, so I was tickled to visit Punsxutawney.
Punsxutawney have embraced Phil in a BIG way! Their are staues of him all over town and restaurants and shops named for him. We visited Phil in his “most of the year” home, the “Burrow” near the library and also went out to “Gobblers Knob” , the hill just out of town where the big celebration is held every February 2nd.
From Punsxutawney, we carried on South East and stopped for the night in Altoona, PA. There’s nothing fancy about Altoona, it’s just “on the way” to our next National Park. More tomorrow…