On to PA and a Day of Caching in Quakertown 9/3-4/2008

Wednesday we packed up and left Apalachin after we saw Anna off on her first day of school. She seemed to have mixed emotions today as she really wanted to get off for her first day of school but she was sad to have her "Fun Gramma" leaving. Well were off about 9:30 on to Rt 81 down to Scranton and then onto the PA Turnpike (Rt 476) down to Quakertown, PA and Tohickon Family Campground. Funny thing happened as we entered the toll booths on the PA Tpk. as we drove through expecting to take our ticket and be on our way, no ticket came out of the machine. The toll attendant came out and said you must have EZ Pass somewhere here and I said yes on the car and he said we were all set to go through. Now can someone tell me why we couldn't use the EZ Pass on the NYS Thruway for our tolls and we could use it on the PA Tpk? Well anyway we got here about 1:30 after 3 phone calls to the campgrounds for directions. The directions on the web site take you down the back roads and through a covered bridge. Well that seemed hard to believe that we could go through with the coach, so we called and sure enough we couldn't make it as the bridge is 12' 1" and we are 12' 3". So we started following their directions which took us around the bridge and in from the other side , but we did have to call a couple of more times to verify we were on the right roads as they were very narrow and winding. After we got set up I took a shower and we drove into Quakertown to look around. We stopped at Michael's Arts & Crafts so Mom could pick up a few things and we were off back to the coach. By this time it was dinner time so we had egg mcmuffins and grapes for dinner. Then we watched a movie until it was "bed" time. We were so far out in the boon docks that all we could get was 1 TV station.
Thursday we decided to go do some caching as my back was feeling pretty good after taking some la la pills. Our first cache was along a nature trail right underneath 2 bat houses. Next was a cache at Memorial Park which was a sports complex along with a memorial to the veterans of all the wars. The hide was a clever one as it was a magnetic square with the log on the back hidden under the brace on a park bench and I don't know how Mom found it but she did.
Next was a cache that had to do with Quakertown history. Quakertown, the settlement of the "Great Swamp" as members of the Society of Friends originally knew it, began in the early years of the eighteenth century. Great Swamp, also referred to as Richland Centre, was in the middle of Richland Township and at the juncture of roads leading to Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley, Pottstown, and Newtown. In 1801, the settlement officially became known as Quakertown and the first post office bearing its name was established in 1803. As a crossroad village with a tavern, it soon became a stopover for stagecoaches and commercial traffic between Allentown and Philadelphia. Although it was the core of an extensive community of Welsh and German farmers, the village center remained quite small until the mid-nineteenth century. By 1820, Quakertown contained approximately twelve dwellings. Although the Borough of Quakertown was not "affirmed" until February of 1855, the first Burgess was elected in 1854. At that time, the village contained only sixty-two dwellings. The construction of the North Pennsylvania Railroad in 1855 gave a great impetus to growth in the area. By 1880, the population of Quakertown was nearly 1800. The combination of the coming of the railroad and national economic expansion following the Civil War, changed Quakertown from a tiny village to a bustling commercial center. Local industry included manufacture of cigars, boots, shoes, tools, harnesses, wheel spokes, and stoves. On September 18, 1777, during the American Revolutionary War, a convoy of wagons carrying the Liberty Bell from Philadelphia to Allentown stopped in Quakertown. The Liberty Bell was stored overnight behind the home of Evan Foulke (1237 West Broad Street), and the entourage stayed at the Red Lion Inn, which is now known as McCoole's Tavern. The Red Lion also fomented John Fries' Rebellion. Our first stop was at the site of where the Liberty Bell was stored Liberty Hall built in 1742 where there was a replica of the bell. We got our information and we off back to Memorial Park for some information on the war markers to complete the coords for the final stage. We had our coords and we had to go to a large sports complex for the final stage hidden in a huge tree in the woods. The cache was very interesting and we learned a lot about the towns history.
Then it was off to a Regal Cinema Theater for our next cache hidden in a stone wall. Next was a cache at WalMart and a cache hanging in a pine tree. next was a cache hidden behind Michaels Craft Store, where we were the day before, and it was a plastic container hidden in a piece of plastic conduit pipe with a rubber plug on top of it. Next was a cache located on a huge power box and it was a magnetic strip on the back of the box with the log attached. Our last cache was a magnetic key holder hidden on a huge piece of sculpture near a shopping center.
Then it was on back to the coach and we had lunch, Mom did our logs, I took my shower and a nap and Mom did some jig saw puzzles on the pc. We are going into Quakertown tonight for dinner to McCoole's Red Lion Tavern, which we mentioned above, so I can watch the NY Giants opening game as we can't get it here. Well time to say until tomorrow same time same station from Felton, DE we love you all and miss you. There are pictures coming.


Picture List:1,2,3,4,5,6,7-Levi Sheard Grist Mill Circa 1844, 8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15- Liberty Hall Circa 1772 where the Liberty Bell rested over night in 1777, 16,17,18,19,20-Sheard's Mill Covered Bridge Circa 1873 and is the longest covered bridge in PA, 21,22,23,24-Burgess Foulke House Circa 1812, 25,26,27-McCoole's Red Lion Tavern in Quakerstown, PA, 28,29-Red Lion Tavern sign one picture taken at night and the other during the day, 30,31,32-Red Lion Tavern inside the bar and front dining room, 33,34-Old house and barn along a country road, 35-Country picture along an old bridge and an apple tree with the leaves starting to fall, 36 & 43-Another old stone house along a country road-in picture 36 note the carved wooden face in the front next to the arch, 37,38,39,40-Another old stone barn and house, 41,42-Quakertown Baptist Church, 44-Lucky's Restaurant in Quakertown, 45,46-An old house in the country but take a look at the spooky trees in front of the house, 47,48-An old church that was renovated and made into offices....note the stained glass windows in picture 48,49-Antique shop in Quakertown, 50,51-Veteran's memorial Park, 52,53,54-Tohickon Campground where we stayed in PA, 55,56,57-One of the year round campsites at Tohickon and look at all the old license plates, work zone signs and traffic control signs around it.