Day four, and what an incredibly fun day it was!
We woke up in State College, PA, home of Penn State (boo, go Terps!) where we had parked the RV and slept the night before. We got on the road early for a long travel day across the state up to Erie, PA on the shore of the Lake Erie. Our destination was specifically South Shore Wine Company, but we'll get to that later.
When we set off we decided to forgo the fastest route in favor of "the road less traveled" that would take us on a more rural journey. That decision made all the difference.
Our first "adventure" of the day was finding an RV shop. The night before the rain had been coming down quite hard and the wipers weren't quite at their best. I decided that we should stop and replace them before we encountered rain again. It was here, at Dale Smith's Camper Sales, that we met our new mechanic friend Mark who helped us out with selecting, and installing, the new wipers. Once this was complete we were back on our way.
As we drove along this route, around 2 p.m., or about an hour and a half after we left, we drove through the town of Tionesta. This little town isn't much more than a village, however, it had enough pride and charm that forced us to stop.
As we drove down Main Street there stood a town 'square' of sorts with different things for sale. We stopped to investigate. As we walked down the row of small shops we saw purveyors of barbecue, rock jewelry, knitting, jams, and more. I stepped into the Red Bandanna Winery shop while Ryan and Matt continued. I met Doug here, and after tasting several delicious, sweet wines I caught up to Ryan and Matt who were sampling sticky buns.
Ryan and Matt stumbled upon the birthplace of the smiley face cookie at Warners Bakery. Who knew? We grabbed some sticky buns and we were out.
With this digression complete, we once again continued the journey until we arrived at our destination, the South Shore Wine Company.
As we explored, we learned that the cellar was over 100 years old as we learned about the different varieties. We each tasted 3 wines and we decided to get ready for the night.
As we explored the surrounding map of the area we realized we were only a quarter mile from the Lake so we set out for an adventure.
We made it to the lake right as the sun was setting and it was the most beautiful site on the trip so far. So obviously we jumped into the lake for a sunset swim. Lake Erie is one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world and quite refreshing at that.
With a day of fun and adventures behind us we trekked back to the RV and turned in for the night.
Can't wait to see what the rest of the journey ahead has in store for the team.
