Day 1- Ephrata, PA to Bridgeport, WV

After months of anticipation, the Ultimate Road Trip has finally begun!

Hallam Shoe House, Hallam P

Day one started off with Dan and Nancy leaving our home in Ephrata, PA bright and early at 8am in route to pick up our third road-tripper, Andy, in Hagerstown, MD. After a quick run through McDonald's for some breakfast, we came across the first interesting thing on our journey- the Hallam Shoe House in Hallam, PA. What a sight!  Unfortunately, it was closed for visitors, so we moved along our way.

We met Andy in Hagerstown, MD after about 2.5 hours of driving thus far.  After saying goodbye to his Mom, Andy joined us, and we continued down the road through Maryland to our next stop of the day, Harper's Ferry, WV.  This is a very cute Civil War era town at the point where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers meet, connecting the states of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.  We were here just long enough to get a few photos of the beautiful scenery and for Dan to grab some (almost) Southern-style BBQ.

Andy and Nancy, Harper's Ferry, WV

From here, we quickly continued to Winchester, VA, where we had a lunch date with our friend, Erika, whom we know from working with at Hersheypark.  Winchester is the city of Andy's alma mater, Shenandoah Conservatory.  We grabbed a delicious lunch at Patsy's Pastry Pizzas, famous in Winchester for its' gourmet style pizza pie.  Mmm Mmm good!

After settling back in the car and with the on-set of a heavy food-coma, we set out for the final leg of our trip this day, a three hour drive through the steep mountains of Eastern West Virginia.  We passed through some extremely rural, back hill towns, with little more than a gas station and perhaps a post office to distinguish them from the surrounding woods; Aurora, Romney, and Grafton, to name a few.  

The most distinguishable scenic view along this part of the drive, was of Saddle Mountain, a breath-taking 2,840 foot ridge in the midst of the Appalachians.  

We continued through the windy foothills for another 2 hours until we made it to our first destination of the road trip, Bridgeport, WV; a cozy old mining city of about 23,000.  This night we met up with Andy's friends Debby, Vinnie, and Andrew for an authentic Italian dinner at one of Bridgeport's most well-known spots, Oliverio's.  Here we spent a couple hours enjoying delicious wine, practically a four-course meal, and wonderful conversation with old and new friends, before settling in for our first night of much needed rest.  

Total travel time:  9.5 hours 

Total miles: 317.9