Ashtabula, OH to North East, PA

62.5 miles. We crossed into Pennsylvania today, which was another beautiful day. It was a little warmer than yesterday and we had a slight tail wind, so for awhile we were living the dream. There were tons of wildflowers along the road and the air smelled great, except for brief periods when we passed fresh road kill. The road conditions and traffic were generally favorable except for the roughly 25 miles on either side of Erie, PA. A lot of the actual route in the city of Erie was on a paved bike path, which was very nice except that to get to where it started we had to try to follow a very confusing map section involving a lot of turns in a residential area. At one point we came across a mother and her daughter on their bikes and stopped to ask them for directions. When the mom found out what we were doing she became very excited and talked about doing a similar trip when the last of her 5 kids were grown, but bemoaned the fact that it would be awhile since her youngest was only 8. They were kind enough to show us the way by riding with us to near where the bike path began and pointing out the rest of the way.
We still were confused when we got to the part of the local park where she told us to go, so we again asked for help from a group of young guys who were all dressed up in what looked like medieval costumes and were carrying clubs and swords (these appeared to be made out of wood and then painted). They turned out to be very sharp and helpful despite their goth-like appearance.

We are staying outside North East, PA tonight, area known for its grape vineyards. There are also some wineries here but apparently most of these grapes are used to make grape juice. Tourists come here in the summer and Fall,* but right now it is pretty empty.

We went to dinner at a local restaurant and I enjoyed a delight that I had not had since I left northern Ohio many years ago - Lake Erie yellow perch, coated in batter and fried. One of the finest-taking fish dinners you will ever enjoy anywhere. There were 4 women at the table behind us and we could overhear one talking throughout the meal about various things, including what living during the Great Depression was like and how Pennsylvania wound up with a small section of the state bordering Lake Erie. As they got up to leave, this lady (I could not see her as we had our backs to each other) bumped my chair and turned around to apologize. She was obviously elderly but had a twinkle in her eyes as she asked Penny if she needed any pointers on how to push me around. She told us she would be 100 later this year. Wow, we both thought, we know people who are half her age (to avoid potential libel issues, no names will be mentioned here) that don't have nearly as much on the ball as she did.

*One can envision the type of conversation that probably takes place in the tasting rooms at the peak of the tourist season: "this Welch's grape juice has a distinctive taste, with hints of chocolate and dirty socks".