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It looks like my road trip has brought me to Kentucky, a state I hadn’t planned on visiting 😂🤷‍♂️. So I had to plan my morning around getting to a AAA office to pick up a map. 🏷️ 25.05C

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The birthplace of Mother’s Day. 🏷️ 25.05C

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I also visited the Fairfax Stone. This monument replaced the original 1736 boundary marker (placed by George Washington!), which delineated the 1649 boundary between the Virginia and Maryland land grants. It marks the “source” of the Potomac River (see the water flowing to the top left). 🏷️25.05C

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Blackwater Falls was cooler than I expected, probably helped by all the rain and flooding I’ve encountered on this trip. Glad I finally made it out here. 🏷️ 25.05C

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Angry dirty dishwater 😜

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I stopped by Grafton National Cemetery to see the grave of Thornsbury Bailey Brown, the first Union Army soldier to be killed by a Confederate soldier during the Civil War. (His original gravestone has since been replaced by an obelisk) 🏷️ 25.05C

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I drove all the way to rural West Virginia so I could finally tell you how I really feel… 🏷️ 25.05C

A street scene features a car parked beside a "Judging Zone" sign on a rainy day in a small town.
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Good junk. DAMN good junk. 😂 🏷️ 25.05C

A rustic roadside shop is surrounded by eclectic items and vintage signage, nestled in a lush green landscape.
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“A Mecca for all who would look back to the beginnings of chemical research…”

Why? Well, because the guy who lived and worked here discovered oxygen, among other things. His private home lab here might have been the best chemical lab in the country at the time.

This also marks my first “National Historic Chemical Landmark.” (Huh, who knew there was such a thing! Sounds like a fun quest for science geeks). 🏷️ 25.05C

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Small town central Pennsylvania. 🏷️ 25.05C

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Excellent day yesterday meeting up with @TimKStanton@mstdn.social for a walking tour thru historical Plymouth, plus a couple tasty pours at Vitamin Sea Brewing. 🏷️ 25.05C

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Jen has flown home, and I’m starting the last leg of my road trip. Here’s what my progress has looked like thus far (green counties).

I’m quite behind on posts, but will try to catch up over the next day or two. 🏷️ 25.05C

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Some recent highly-rated brewery stops:

  • Tired Hands Brewing (near Philly)
  • Sworn Brewing (near Harrisburg PA)
  • Ever Grain Brewing (also near Harrisburg)
  • Other Half (Philly)
  • Source Urban Brewing (Philly)
  • Maine Beer Co (Freeport ME)

🏷️ 25.05C

A glass of beer with a frothy head sits on a speckled countertop in front of a bar menu board.

A glass of beer sits on a polished wooden bar in a brewery with metal kegs in the background.

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📍 Fishtown, Philadelphia - iykyk… 🏷️ 25.05C

A building with red and brown walls displays a large yellow sign with the phrase I Hate Bank of America under a cloudy sky.
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The Tunkhannock Viaduct, built in 1915, remains the largest concrete reinforced bridge in the world. 🏷️ 25.05C

A historic stone viaduct stretches across a lush, green landscape with an informational sign in the foreground.A large stone arch bridge spans over a quiet rural road, surrounded by lush greenery and trees under a partly cloudy sky.

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Wawa remains firmly in second place in our rankings of best road trip convenience stores.

  1. Buc-ee’s
  2. Wawa
  3. Sheetz
  4. QT
  5. Love’s

🏷️ 25.05C

A Wawa store sign is mounted on a brick and beige exterior wall with a partly cloudy sky above.
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We also stopped by an overlook for Three Mile Island yesterday. 🏷️ 25.05C

Cooling towers of a power plant sit in the background with a river and lush green vegetation in the foreground.A historical marker details the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, highlighting the events of March 28, 1979, caused by technical malfunctions and human error.

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We also visited Clifford Brown Park, an interesting “listening garden” dedicated to the jazz legend. What a fun concept! (see rsjon.es for a video/audio clip). 🏷️ 25.05C

A circular paved area features a modern sculpture in the center, surrounded by benches and landscaped greenery.

A historical marker commemorates Clifford Brown, highlighting his influential career as a jazz musician and his impact on the music industry.

A crosswalk painted like piano keys leads to a park entrance, surrounded by lush green trees and a brick pathway.

A trombone design is embedded in the pavement of a wet, tree-lined park pathway.

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This morning we dipped down into Delaware to visit three of the schools at the heart of cases that were consolidated into what became the Brown v Board of Education desegregation case (yep it included far more than just Monroe Elemetary in Topeka). 🏷️ 25.05C

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My progress on the first leg of the trip, which started in Columbus and ends here in Philly (Jen flies in tonight for leg 2).

Blue counties are ones I’ve already visited. Dark green are the new ones I marked off on this trip, while light green ones are revisits.

I’m now over 2000 total counties!