Where for art thou, Romeo?

Feeling: Mothered.

Nuclear Power Plant, 3 Mile Island, Harrisburg PA

What a difference a guide makes. An intention of mine was to experience life across America as it's experienced by the people who live here, and for the most part I've failed at that. But Mary has been incredible in showing me around Harrisburg and the surrounding area. After getting the bike into the shop for a new rear wheel we've seen quite a bit starting with a drive onto 3 Mile Island - the location of a partial nuclear meltdown in 1979.

Beverage, cigar, and 1900 miles complete

We had a quick trip into Hershey, "the sweetest place on Earth" (give me Cadbury's any day), followed by a walk around Harrisburg to get the touristy sight-seeing bit out the way. After that it was the first bit of experiencing Harrisburg - Rae's Tobacco Shop. If you're going to celebrate 1900 miles of cycling, why not do it with a fat cigar and a JD and coke on a Friday afternoon? The shop has a smoking area for people to smoke and generally just relax - think a pub for smoking cigars. There's a crowd of regulars and conversation ranged from guns to beheading chickens to the US becoming a 'nanny State' with the UK used as the primary example of a 'nanny State'. To finish off the day was some Shakespeare - an outdoor rendition of Romeo & Juliet with a New Orleans setting and an incredible portrayal of Juliet's nurse.

Shakespeare In The Park - Romeo & Juliet

Saturday was more sightseeing, and if you're in the area there are two main tourist draws. As we'd already done Hershey it was Gettysburg's turn. For those that don't know, the battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle in the American Civil War and ended the invasion of the North (see Wiki for more details as I actually know very little about it all). I've seen a number of battlefields across Europe; WWI and WWI employed trench warfare and the lines are about a mile apart or less, the older battlefields just appear to be fields. Gettysburg is HUGE. There's a driving tour with stops at the most crucial points in the battle that's 24 miles long. In the panoramic below, pretty much everything in the foreground was battlefield, and that's only a small fraction of it.

Gettysburg PA

A lazy day was had yesterday. Bit of a drive round town, a BBQ and then a sit round a fire with fine wine, a fine cigar, and finely toasted marshmallows against a backdrop of the silhouette of trees lit up by a twinkling of fireflies. I was with a guy called Dan Garvin who is an ex-Scientologist and member of their OSA (Office of Special Affairs - essentially their intelligence division). Amazing to hear how the Church of Scientology abuses its members and how aggressive they are in pursuing their targets considered 'fair game'.

Harrisburg PA

Many many thanks to Mary for hosting me. Terri, Mary and their families are a model of human kindness and generosity and a real inspiration. How different things would be if Terri had gone for a run that day or my spoke had broken 1 mile further down the road - sometimes things just work out well.