I'm starting to realize a problem that is becoming more pronounced with each passing year. I want to do new rides but the ones I've done in years past are also great and I want to do those as well. This is one of those rides; I absolutely love riding Lancaster County, PA. That place is absolutely gorgeous and it provides a nice contrast to the day-to-day scenery I have at home. I usually make this ride in September for the cooler temps, but this year the only time I could make the trip was the end of July. However, the weather was very autumn-like with temps maxing out at around 80. Mrs Mountainpharm made the trip with me this year so we took our time on the way up and stopped at Natural Bridge since she had never been there. We spent the night in Waynesboro so our ride north wouldn't be rushed. The pic of the bridge itself was taken with my iPhone which has crap resolution for some reason.








The next morning we hopped back on I-81 North and headed towards Winchester. We got off the superslab there and made our way over to 340 and stopped in Harper's Ferry.










From there, it was on to Darlington, MD and Chesapeake Harley Davidson. My back tire was a little more worn than I realized....something I didn't notice until the night before we left home. I called Chesapeake and made arrangements for a new tire upon our arrival (a BIG thanks to Bryan in the Service Dept for helping us out!). While we were there we took in the sights and sounds of the bike show being held at the dealership. Here are some of the more unique rides:




















More to follow...

 

A few more of from the bike show:






















Once our bike was done, we rode to our accomodations and relaxed for the rest of the day. The next morning we grabbed a bite at the Ballpark Restaurant on Rt 1, which is only about a mile from my aunt's house. I've been going up there for almost 40 years but had never eaten at the Ballpark until this trip.






After breakfast we headed out for a day of sightseeing. Our first stop was Tudor Hall in Bel Air, MD. This was the childhood home of John Wilkes Booth which is apparently open only a few days each month.








After an interesting history lesson on the Booth family, we headed south to Fort McHenry. The fort itself offers a fantastic view of Baltimore Harbor, and we even managed to catch a changing of the colors.












Continued below...


Continued below...

 

I am with you. I have family there in Belair, as well as Lancaster. I go up once a year for a long weekend.

Gotta check out the Union Hotel on the other side of the Conowingo Dam from the Harley shop.

I grew up in Lancaster left when I was 15 an moved to Carolina. It truly is great riding up there.

 

Check out Susquehanna state park. You can go up by the river and watch eagles fly.

 

After the fort, we headed back to the Darlington area to spend the rest of the day visiting with family. The next morning was to be spent riding a loop around Lancaster County, PA. The ride from Darlington to York on 74 and 24 is just spectacular.










We left HD Vehicle Operations and headed east on 30 with Strasburg next on our destination list. We made a quick visit to the Strasburg Country Store, picking up some butter toffee pecans in the process. They didn't last long.








Quarryville and CR Lapp's restaurant was calling so we left Strasburg and made our way to the chicken and corn chowder waiting on us at Lapp's.






After lunch, we headed back into Maryland to visit Havre de Grace. Bomboy's Candy cannot be missed when we're in the area, and the ride thru Port Deposit is quite scenic as well.














We had to head home the following day, and weather forced us to put away the camera and ride hard to beat the rain so we didn't snap and pics on the way back. Nevertheless, it was another great visit to that part of the country and I'm sure we'll be back up there next year.

 

Cool trip...I live here in Lancaster co.,,three miles from the Md. /Pa. line on Rt 222,,bet you went right past my house,,nice to see you like the riding around here,,living here ya sometimes forget whats around,,,LOL,,,

 

Thanks for sharing yours and the Mrs. adventures, really enjoy reading others great travels. Also really like that Led Zep bike, awesome tribute to a great band!

Thanks again for sharing!

 

That's funny...right in my neck of the woods. I lived around the corner where the old fruit stand used to be before the drop off down the hill. Meyers Electric is on the right going down. My dad used to own the Truck shop at the top of that hill on the left.

We may know each other.

 

Havre De Grace is my hometown...good to see pictures from home!

 

THanks for all the pics! Looks like you had a geat time. You should try smiling some time, it may help people to understand that you were in fact having a good time. I would like to have met the guy with the Zeppelin paint job. Love talking to super fans. Led Zeppelin was a big part of my teenage years.

Love when folks posts their pictorials.