So...what does your favorite Vacations From Home Team do on the first free Sunday of the year? They go to Reading, PA. Now, you may ask why, you may ask what the hell is in Reading? And, let me tell you that when the day unfolded I was questioning the choice as well...
We started the day at the Sunshine Cafe in Royersford, PA, which is already on the edge of Pennsyltucky and after enduring the gap-toothed smiles gathered at the counter we decided to delve into the deepest darkest regions of the glorious commonwealth that is so close and yet so very different from my home state of New Jersey.
I was actually suprised to learn that from the loins of Reading sprang John Updike and that the "Rabbit" series of novels had fictionalized names of the sprawling burg and it's environs. But, no, that wasn't the reason we decided to drive out there. And, no, it wasn't to tour First Energy Stadium. home of the double-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, The R-Phils, where a friend of mine played for the club back in the ahem, dark ages. No, we went to see the outlets shops that is evidently the city's main tourist attraction. We weren't in the mood to shop, but figured it was worth the visit. After many wrong turns, for we came into the town a different way than Janet was used to, we finally found the VF shopping area. It is a complex of renovated factory buildings converted into stores. So, with the day blustery and rainy we shuffled through a couple of the stores in the blue and red factory buildings just to say we were there. We looked for a Phillies t-shirt for Janet, but found nothing she liked and then lifting our nose at the Lingerie Tent and the kettle korn stand, we headed for a mysterious site that looms over the city atop Mount Penn. It is a Japanese Pagoda. Janet had talked about it all the way to Reading and there it was high high high up looking majestic and quite out of place in Pennsylbama.
According to Leslie, who once hailed from the city, (readers of this blog may recall she did a wonderful and true imitation of all 3 members of the Stooges last summer) says the Pagoda and the immediate area is the place to go drinking. It certainly is a beautiful place to visit and the Duryea Drive and Skyline Drive that climbs up the mountain is quite the excursion. Named after Charles Duryea, the owner of the Duryea Power Company, an early car manufacturer, technicians would test each manufactured car on the hilly roads and would only sell those that made it.
Well we twisted up the road, rising out of the creaky streets and delapitated buildings that are more the norm for Reading and entered the rustic area of Mount Penn rather quickly. Eventually we arrived to marvel at this striking Pagoda as the bracing winds buffeted this peak. I had been to Japan a few times over the years and this very authentic. But, as I leaned into the wind and looked at the curving tiers of this majestic building a nagging thought came to me....
WHY?
Was there a sizeable Japanese population in Reading, Pennsylvania? No...
The baseball team wasn't called the Reading Pagodas...
There are no Japanese restaurants in Reading, although I am sure there are a few chinese take out joints, though we were unwilling to lurk about in search of an egg roll.
But here, rising proudly atop this mountain in the middle of Pennsyltucky was a Pagoda. They are often temples associated with the Buddist religion, and usually erected over the remains of a holy man or a king and to house relics and holy writings. But this enigmatic structure was not built with any religious intent and the only relics inside were the elderly women who ran the hot dog stand and gift booth.
We learned the history of the place from a little piece of paper stuck in the window.
Around the 1900's this guy was attempting to quarry the mountain, but the residents of Reading stopped him because it would ruin the view. So, after seeing a picture of a pagoda from the Philippines he decided to build this pagoda as a luxury hotel. Poor planning or stupidity followed soon after, as this fellow could not get a liquor license from the city. The building was never utilized as a luxury resort and it went into forclosure with a bank. Eventually it fell into the hands of another citizen who eventually donated it to Reading. The town used its location as a way of transmitting morse code signals for firemen and news to the citizens. It was renovated in the 60's through donations and it remains a MUST stop in Reading, despite it's boring history.
Well, the place smelt of greasy burnt hot dogs and acidic coffee. The moldering ladies were pleasant and happy to see us as they presided over the array of pins and kites and commemorative plates in the display counter. We opted for coffee and sat on couches as we watched a number of people pay their dollar to climb all the stairs to the top, our enthusiasm having waned with the ho hum history of the place. Still it was a place to visit and we were pleased. The view is worth the trek, even if it's only Reading.
On the way back to Janet's we followed signs to the homestead of Daniel Boone. He was born not far from Reading and we drove through the idyllic grounds and did a quick walk through of the museum, making sure we did not make eye contact with the volunteers dressed in period costumes on the edge of their chairs waiting to give us a tour. We didn't stay long; Janet inflamed them by singing the theme song to Davey Crockett.... and we hightailed it back to Collegeville...and dinner.
Being from New Jersey, anything across the Delaware is rural, but I have since discovered that west of Route 113 is where the real Pennsyltucky begins.
So it begins.... another season of Vacations From Home. Sadly I haven't won the lottery, or at least enough of it to keep me in airline tickets, so we shall continue this haphazard sojurn through the area as cheaply as we can. Hope you can find some nugget of direction, some idea for a trip when the money is tight. It's certainly nice seeing the places that are nearer to home. One usually neglects what is in their own backyards. I just wish my backyard was on the north shore of Oahu.
If you have ideas for future trips for your favorite Vacations From Home team you can write me:
Greg.Dunaj@yahoo.com
You could also donate some frequent flyer miles to the cause.
love
g
We started the day at the Sunshine Cafe in Royersford, PA, which is already on the edge of Pennsyltucky and after enduring the gap-toothed smiles gathered at the counter we decided to delve into the deepest darkest regions of the glorious commonwealth that is so close and yet so very different from my home state of New Jersey.
I was actually suprised to learn that from the loins of Reading sprang John Updike and that the "Rabbit" series of novels had fictionalized names of the sprawling burg and it's environs. But, no, that wasn't the reason we decided to drive out there. And, no, it wasn't to tour First Energy Stadium. home of the double-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, The R-Phils, where a friend of mine played for the club back in the ahem, dark ages. No, we went to see the outlets shops that is evidently the city's main tourist attraction. We weren't in the mood to shop, but figured it was worth the visit. After many wrong turns, for we came into the town a different way than Janet was used to, we finally found the VF shopping area. It is a complex of renovated factory buildings converted into stores. So, with the day blustery and rainy we shuffled through a couple of the stores in the blue and red factory buildings just to say we were there. We looked for a Phillies t-shirt for Janet, but found nothing she liked and then lifting our nose at the Lingerie Tent and the kettle korn stand, we headed for a mysterious site that looms over the city atop Mount Penn. It is a Japanese Pagoda. Janet had talked about it all the way to Reading and there it was high high high up looking majestic and quite out of place in Pennsylbama.
According to Leslie, who once hailed from the city, (readers of this blog may recall she did a wonderful and true imitation of all 3 members of the Stooges last summer) says the Pagoda and the immediate area is the place to go drinking. It certainly is a beautiful place to visit and the Duryea Drive and Skyline Drive that climbs up the mountain is quite the excursion. Named after Charles Duryea, the owner of the Duryea Power Company, an early car manufacturer, technicians would test each manufactured car on the hilly roads and would only sell those that made it.
Well we twisted up the road, rising out of the creaky streets and delapitated buildings that are more the norm for Reading and entered the rustic area of Mount Penn rather quickly. Eventually we arrived to marvel at this striking Pagoda as the bracing winds buffeted this peak. I had been to Japan a few times over the years and this very authentic. But, as I leaned into the wind and looked at the curving tiers of this majestic building a nagging thought came to me....
WHY?
Was there a sizeable Japanese population in Reading, Pennsylvania? No...
The baseball team wasn't called the Reading Pagodas...
There are no Japanese restaurants in Reading, although I am sure there are a few chinese take out joints, though we were unwilling to lurk about in search of an egg roll.
But here, rising proudly atop this mountain in the middle of Pennsyltucky was a Pagoda. They are often temples associated with the Buddist religion, and usually erected over the remains of a holy man or a king and to house relics and holy writings. But this enigmatic structure was not built with any religious intent and the only relics inside were the elderly women who ran the hot dog stand and gift booth.
We learned the history of the place from a little piece of paper stuck in the window.
Around the 1900's this guy was attempting to quarry the mountain, but the residents of Reading stopped him because it would ruin the view. So, after seeing a picture of a pagoda from the Philippines he decided to build this pagoda as a luxury hotel. Poor planning or stupidity followed soon after, as this fellow could not get a liquor license from the city. The building was never utilized as a luxury resort and it went into forclosure with a bank. Eventually it fell into the hands of another citizen who eventually donated it to Reading. The town used its location as a way of transmitting morse code signals for firemen and news to the citizens. It was renovated in the 60's through donations and it remains a MUST stop in Reading, despite it's boring history.
Well, the place smelt of greasy burnt hot dogs and acidic coffee. The moldering ladies were pleasant and happy to see us as they presided over the array of pins and kites and commemorative plates in the display counter. We opted for coffee and sat on couches as we watched a number of people pay their dollar to climb all the stairs to the top, our enthusiasm having waned with the ho hum history of the place. Still it was a place to visit and we were pleased. The view is worth the trek, even if it's only Reading.
On the way back to Janet's we followed signs to the homestead of Daniel Boone. He was born not far from Reading and we drove through the idyllic grounds and did a quick walk through of the museum, making sure we did not make eye contact with the volunteers dressed in period costumes on the edge of their chairs waiting to give us a tour. We didn't stay long; Janet inflamed them by singing the theme song to Davey Crockett.... and we hightailed it back to Collegeville...and dinner.
Being from New Jersey, anything across the Delaware is rural, but I have since discovered that west of Route 113 is where the real Pennsyltucky begins.
So it begins.... another season of Vacations From Home. Sadly I haven't won the lottery, or at least enough of it to keep me in airline tickets, so we shall continue this haphazard sojurn through the area as cheaply as we can. Hope you can find some nugget of direction, some idea for a trip when the money is tight. It's certainly nice seeing the places that are nearer to home. One usually neglects what is in their own backyards. I just wish my backyard was on the north shore of Oahu.
If you have ideas for future trips for your favorite Vacations From Home team you can write me:
Greg.Dunaj@yahoo.com
You could also donate some frequent flyer miles to the cause.
love
g
