The food program that we are on requires us to eat about every 3 hours or so.  I know that sounds like a great idea but it’s a lot harder than you think.  It’s increasingly difficult because there are only certain things that are allowed.  This forces us to watch for acceptable eating establishments along the route.  I wanted to mention that because it seems like every time we stop it is because we are pulling in to a local diner.  Today was no exception.  We left the hotel around 9:00 this morning and headed for one of the local places that was a little off the beaten path – Top’s Diner.  Followed by Brody’s diner which was followed by The Twisted Bull (?).  The day was concluded at The Old Corner Hotel and Grill.  Hence the pictures that are in today’s post.  If I’m going to have to stop at these places, I’m going to take their picture.  None of these fine establishments were really outstanding but we enjoyed The Old Corner the most.  Our road miles were done for the day, it was in walking distance of our hotel, and they had Michelob Ultra.  These were the first beers (or alcohol of any kind) that I had tasted for at least 4 months.  They tasted pretty good.

The road today consisted of getting out of Huntingdon, PA on US22.  We took a hard right onto PA-45 at Alexandria, PA and stayed on that route until we hit US-15 for the last 35 miles or so into Williamsport, PA.

Route 45 was a little questionable at first.  We went a few miles and it was a lot of 10 and 15 MPH hairpin turns.  This was topped my a 10 MPH single lane under pass.  The underpass required a hard right turn and there was no possibility of seeing anything coming at you until you were already turned and sitting exposed in the lane.  Fortunately for us there was no one coming.  They should have known I was in the area by the sound of the air horn.  It was a little unnerving.

The GPS screen was showing some major roads to the north that started to look pretty tempting.  Jana always has the paper map in her pocket and reassured me that the road was going to get a lot easier to navigate from that point eastward.  What a great observation.  PA-45 was just what I hoped it would be – several small towns with old, old buildings.  Among the old buildings were several buggies.  This is Amish country after all.  It’s hard to take pictures from the back of a motorcycle moving at 60 MPH (impossible for me from the driver’s seat) but Jana tried to capture a few images to give you the flavor of the what we were experiencing.  If you look at the pictures, you will notice a distint lack of any other traffic which was another real plus.

By the time we stopped at our 3rd diner of the day we were getting texts and FaceBook postings telling us how scary the storms were going through Indiana.  I almost felt guilty because we were riding in bright sunshine and mid 80’s temperatures.  It was warm enough that we both shed the jackets we had been wearing.  I said I almost felt guilty but not quite.

Aside:  The Twisted Bull Diner was named by a cowboy who wrestles steers.  The cowboy jumps off of his horse onto the back of a running steer and grabs the animals head.  He tries to bring the thing to a halt by twisting his head and neck so hard that the bull falls down – the twisted bull means the cowboy wins.  I found this a curious name for a diner.

Once we hit US15 and headed north to Williamsport it was back to reality both road-wise and traffic-wise.  I  don’t think people in PA do anything but drive around.  I didn’t see much evidence that anybody was at work on this Monday.

When I was growing up I was pretty fortunate to be on a little league all star team that had some success.  The big dream of every little leaguer is to make it to Williamsport and the Little League World Series.  I still follow the LLWS today.  We stopped at the home of the LLWS and got to look at the diamond where the games are played.  This is the real Field of Dreams in spite of what that place in Dyersville, IA calls itself.  It was groomed better than a lot of major league parks and certainly better than the old diamond in Middletown, Indiana.

We made it to the hotel in downtown Williamsburg.  I don’t typically choose a downtown location but I thought I would take a chance here.  So far, so good.  After dinner at The Old Corner Hotel and Grill (diner #4) we’re settled in for the night.

The GPS is primed for tomorrow.  Another short day is planned and this one will be the infamous “turn around” point.  I don’t plan to go any farther east than Monticello, NY before turning the front wheel back west.   I hope there is plenty of sunshine and great roads left before we park in the garage.

Diner #1 for the day – Top’s Diner, Huntingdon, PA.

#2 Brody’s Diner somewhere in PA on route 45.

Diner #3 – The Twisted Bull

Obviously they were expecting 2 crazy Indiana bikers at The Old Corner Hotel and Grill in Williamsport, PA.

The real Field of Dreams – Lamade Stadium, Williamsport, PA.

Typical traffic on PA-45

Rolling along through mid-PA.