6. The Outer Banks and Home Through Pennsylvania

“A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.”– Moslih Eddin Saadi

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Part 6 (Final). From Pennsylvania landmarks to Home.

After visiting family in Washington, D.C., we headed north again. This time, however, our itinerary had a change of pace. While we continued our history theme with a return trip to Gettysburg, PA, we also explored a variety of new sites across Pennsylvania.

We've toured the Gettysburg National Park Battlefield several times, but we were excited to check out the new Visitor Center. It provided a great overview for our drive-through tour. The monument dedicated to artillery coordinator Captain John C. Tidball is in an area that isn't always accessible, but the vast battlefield and its numerous memorials are always impressive. The casual statue of Lincoln at the Visitor Center serves as a humanizing tribute to this iconic leader.

From Gettysburg, we headed northeast through Harrisburg and followed our instincts to Hershey, Pennsylvania. We had some serious quality control issues to investigate, and we were not disappointed. Hershey offers a variety of tours, including a free Disney-style tour of a chocolate factory, a hands-on personalized chocolate-making experience, and a bus tour of the town. Everything is designed to immerse you in chocolate and excite you about the neighboring amusement park.

During our visit, we listened to an audiobook about Milton Hershey. We learned about his determination in building not only the Hershey brand but also a unique community that supported his employees and helped young people.

After Hershey, we traveled west through Central Pennsylvania and discovered another Corps of Engineers campground, also named Seven Points. Much like our recent experience in Tennessee, this campground was well-maintained and featured uniquely designed campsites with multiple tiers. Seven Points Campground (PA) is located east of Altoona, near Hesston, on Raystown Lake.

From Seven Points, we continued west and crossed the Alleghenies, known locally as Tussey Mountain. Our destination was a place long on our bucket list: Indiana, Pennsylvania, the hometown of Jimmy Stewart.

Indiana is a charming town of about 14,000 residents, boasting a vibrant main street and a productive industry. In addition to celebrating their favorite son, Jimmy Stewart, Indiana promotes itself as the Christmas Tree Capital of the World, with numerous tree farms covering the steep slopes surrounding the town.

Our main objective was the Jimmy Stewart Museum, and we were pleasantly surprised by what we found. The museum features a thoughtful collection of photos and memorabilia recounting his early life in Indiana, as well as his Hollywood and military careers. One of my favorite photos was of Jimmy on the phone with a friend while visiting his father's hardware store, where he worked as a teenager. The museum also includes several nods to our favorite film, "Harvey," including Jimmy's sketch of the rabbit, Harvey, the pooka. I, too, own an original sketch of Harvey by Stewart. We highly recommend visiting the Jimmy Stewart Museum and spending some time in this lovely community.

We named our motorhome "Pooka," inspired by a line from the movie: "The pooka appears now and then—to this one and that one. A benign but mischievous creature." That's us on the highway—appearing now and then with a touch of mischief.

To complete our loop, we spent the night at the Mercer/Grove City KOA in northwest Ohio and made it back to our Indiana the following day.

As we drive along America's highways, like the pooka, we appear now and then to this one and that one. We hope to find you along the Pooka Trail.