We drive on to the tip of New Jersey shore to Cape May. This is a very walkable city with lots of old buildings. The seashore has nice sand and the water is surprisingly warm. We see hundreds of tree swallows migrating. They rest right on the sand and on the fence, as well as flocking and milling about. This area is very important for bird and monarch butterfly migration south.
Oct 19-21 Into Pennsylvania, we visit the Harley-Davidson motorcycle factory in York for a great tour. We see fuel tanks and fenders being punched from raw steel, robotic welding, and then a lot of assembly on the lines by many workers. Gas tanks take 12 hours to make and paint so they are made the day before. The factory puts out about 250 motorcycles a day. Unfortunately, they don't allow photos.
We spend most of one day in Gettysburg visiting the National Military Park. The park is vast; we drive through battlefields and 1400 monuments in the park. A visit to the museum informs us that the battle of Gettysburg was key to ending the Civil War. The Civil War began when the Union northern states wanted to abolish slavery, which the Confederate southern states did not agree to. The war raged for many years killing 900,000 people, 69,000 in the 3-day Gettysburg battle alone. The museum is very well done with artifacts and film clips.
We enjoy a walk in downtown Gettysburg, admiring streets of historical buildings. Most are made of red brick with many restored to the 1860s.
Once outside of downtown Gettysburg, we are back in farmland and forest. The forest here is quite green still - it seems the farther south we go, the fall leaves have not changed colour. We do see an Amish buggy on the side of the road and also an Amish man riding a scooter as well as a buggy driving down main st. and a horse barn at the local Walmart.
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