Pennsylvania to Ohio

We finished up eastern Pennsylvania with a visit to Scranton.  In Scranton we went on the Lackawanna Coal Mine tour to learn about an industry that used to be an important part of the energy used for heating.  We took a train 300 feet below the ground, in tunnels that go on for many miles and in several layers.  The work for coal miners was dirty and dangerous.  Miners started as young as 10 years old and had a life expectancy of 35 to 40 years.  The last of that kind of mine closed down in 1966, so it is an area that has had to rebuild a new economy. 

We left the Poconos on Monday and drove to central Pennsylvania.  That put us in an area called the Pennsylvania wilds, which has hills wooded in every shade of green and small towns.  We relaxed there for a day, then moved on into Ohio.  Now we are south of Akron in an area that is mostly farmland.  We went into Akron yesterday to visit their zoo.  It was nice to see many school groups and not have to be in charge of any of the kids; I enjoyed the animals too.  Today we went to a huge flea mart and Amish restaurant in Hartville.  Since we’d been to Cleveland about four years ago, we’re not going up there to do things in that area.  Instead we’ll be moving on across the state next week as we continue west.

young coal miner (mannequin)

monkey vein, small crawl space

lemur at the zoo