Pennsylvania {50 States of Yoga}

I have driven {and been a passenger} across the state of PA many times in my life.  In more recent years, I have visited Philadelphia and Bucks County a handful of times because it is where my husband is from and where my in-laws still live.  I've always like Philadelphia for it's history. {It is a lot like Boston, my hometown.} And Bucks County is beautiful.  Although it is quite suburban in areas, it still has many back country roads through the woods and hidden gems like Ringing Rocks Park.  This trip I spent time in another part of Bucks Country that I hadn't seen before, Washington's Crossing.

From a rest area entering PA somewhere on 95.

 

Truthfully, that morning I was on my way to New Hope, PA.  I can't resist this little town.  But as I got to the end of the winding, forested road at the edge of the Delaware River I was suddenly presented with an option.  Left to New Hope or Right to Washington's Crossing.  I had driven by Washington's Crossing on a trip a few years back with my husband, but really had no idea what it was.  So, the adventurer in me went right.  Time to explore.

First stop was Soldiers' Graves.  In December of 1776 Continental soldiers were camping on the Pennsylvania bank of the Delaware River, waiting for the right time to cross the river and begin their attack on the Hessian outposts in Trenton.  During this time an unknown number of soldiers succumbed to illness and previous injuries.  These soldiers were buried here on Christmas Day 1776, before Washington took his troops across the river.  In 1929 this monument site was built to honor these soldiers.

The Soldiers' Graves site is down a short walking path along the Delaware Canal.  I was there on a midweek morning in July and never saw another pedestrian.  One man rode by on a bicycle, but otherwise, solitude.  This made the experience a little more somber.  It was humid and hot.  Throughout the day we had bursts of showers and an occasional thunderstorm.  The air was thick with moisture and an earthy scent.  The experience was a powerful one and I left with a heavy heart.

Delaware Canal

The base of the flag pole at Soldiers' Grave gives homage to each of the 13 colonies.

The path to/from Soldiers' Grave along the Delaware Canal

A short walk from Soldiers' Grave is the Thompson-Neely House and Farmstead.  They offer tours, but I arrived between tour times and decided to not wait.  I don't know too much about the farmstead, so please explore the link here if you would like to know more!

Thompson-Neely House

From the Upper Park area I drove to Washington's Crossing Visitor's Center.  It was renovated in 2012 and is quite beautiful inside.  They have a collection of furniture and other household goods, as well as several displays with written and pictorial history.  I spent a little time reading the displays and learned quite a bit.  Oh.. and honestly, I had no idea why we cared about Washington's Crossing in the first place.  So when I got to the Visitor's Center I asked the folks volunteering at the front desk for a brief history lesson.  The short story is something like this...  Washington and his troops had lost 5 battles in a row in NYC and things were looking grim.  They came to Bucks County, PA to re-group and plan further attacks.  They then crossed the Delaware River, marched 9 miles to Trenton, NJ and proceeded to win 3 battles against the Hessian army.  These wins turned the tables and The United States were well underway to truly being a free nation.  Yay, history!

Replica of Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, 1851  {Apparently this painting is historically inaccurate in many ways.}

 

 

 

Outside of the Visitor's Center are several houses originally from the period.  Only one of them was actually standing at the time Washington and his troops were there, the McConkey Ferry Inn.  The rest were built in the years following the invasion of Trenton.

Hibbs House, built in 1828

Frye House and Blacksmith Shop, built in 1828

Volunteers - A couple of kids, early 20s?, that volunteer at the park.  One was teaching the other one the nuances of being a soldier in 1776.  They stopped and showed me all of the movements they have to go through to just shoot their gun once.

Durham Boat Barn, built in 1977 to house these boats.  They are replicas of the original boats Washington used to cross the Delaware with the Colonial soldiers in 1776.  They are used every year on Christmas Day for a reenactment!

McConkey Ferry Inn, built in 1752.

After my visit at Washington's Crossing I crossed the Delaware myself, but in my rental car, and stopped to fill up my gas tank.  I had planned on driving up the Delaware River to Frenchtown, NJ.  In Frenchtown is a warehouse store called Two Buttons filled with treasures from all over the world.  It's huge and amazing.  Dave and I went a few years back and I noticed a little path behind the store with buddha statues and the like.  I decided I would like to go walk along this path and planned to head in that direction.  While I was getting my gas pumped for me, New Jersey!, I checked times in my GPS to get to my yoga class that evening in Allentown, PA.  I was slightly surprised to see I had been spending my day with intentions of going to a 5:30p class, when my class was actually at 4:30p. So, it was time to go to Allentown ASAP!  Sorry Frenchtown, maybe next time!

There is no straight road from here to there.  No highways.  And that is okay.  Me and my GPS wound though forests and corn fields and beautiful old homesteads.  One of the ideas I had for "things to do" in PA was a tour of Bucks County covered bridges.  That was tossed aside at some point.  Fortunately, my GPS had other plans and we ended up driving over an old, one lane, covered bridge in Bucks County on the way to Allentown.  I was a little giddy.  Teehee.

I arrived in Allentown with 15 minutes to spare.  Perfect!  But first... why on earth did I drive all the way to Allentown to take a yoga class when there are plenty of yoga studios in Bucks County?  It all goes back to my very first 50 States of Yoga class in Palm Springs, CA.  In January I started this year long journey of yoga discovery with Amy McLaren at Urban Yoga Center.  I enjoyed her Eclectic Yoga class immensely and when I shared with Amy my plan for the year she immediately offered up West End Yoga in Allentown, PA.  The co-owners are a mother/daughter team and the daughter, Leah, was Amy's teacher.  Amy also taught at West End Yoga before moving to California.  The studio came highly recommended and they had a class that fit into my schedule.  So hey.. Allentown it is!

At West End Yoga I took the WE Keep it Gentle class with Cat, the other co-owner.  A few things before I get into details about the class itself... the studio is split between 2 classrooms:  Studio A and Studio Be.  {Isn't that neat!}  My class was in Studio A, which has a great space before the studio - a changing room, bathrooms, mat storage, and a sign in space.  The energy in the studio was high, although I believe that had a lot to do with Cat.  The class was packed.  There were a wide variety of students, from a young woman taking her first yoga class to retired folks.

Cat is full or energy!  I have never had a yoga teacher with so much spunk in a yoga class!  She had just come back from vacation and had such a light and vibrant spirit!  It was amazing to experience.  I am very glad I went out of my way to take her class and visit her studio.  The class was hard enough for me to break a sweat, but at no point was I overwhelmed or exasperated.  Cat shared anecdotal experiences that she made relevant to the class's flow... that she also freely admitted that she hadn't preplanned a program for.  This made the class feel loose and relaxed to me.  Comfortable.  It even turned into a bit of a vocabulary lesson - which could sound awful - but it was beautiful.  While sharing snippets of her vacation, she explained how the root of vacation is the Latin word vacare which literally means to be empty.  Of course this idea of being empty can be woven into a yoga practice, and she did so.  Magically. 

When the class ended, and I thought it couldn't get any better, it did.  As I have mentioned before, I like to let the teachers know I am a blogging fool.  When I tried to sneak that in to Cat's ear, she filled the room with excitement!  I get easily embarrassed.   I really am not one for attention.  I am proud of what I am doing, but I am not much of a braggart.  It was a little overwhelming, but greatly appreciated.  Cat introduced me to a couple of the other teachers at the studio, who happened to also be in our yoga class.  I told her about Amy in CA and how I ended up at her studio.  Cat is the sweetest soul.  {My eyes are tearing up a little just thinking about the positive energy she so effortlessly shares.}  Oh, and one last thing, a local farm had sent over a box of breads and pastries for the yogis.... for free!  I brought a loaf back for my in-laws. 

This is the only  photo I have to share... sorry!  The inside is amazing - really!

After my yoga class I drove back to my in-laws and stayed up for a couple of hours sharing stories of travel and aviation and family and everything in between.  Some people complain about their in-laws {why else would there be so many in-law jokes!?}, but I am really blessed that my husband has caring and welcoming parents.  Even when I am visiting them to pursue my own selfish experiences {this trip for yoga, the last time on a layover on my way to Barcelona}, they treat me as one of the family and take the best care of me.


Standby... one more state from this trip coming up soon... but in the mean time... all 50 States of Yoga here!