On June 26 we watch from the backyard as Simon heads off to Newark for rehearsals

Soon we hit the road to follow in a 27 Foot RV, the ever faithful Robin as pilot. Mariah loved her perch and provided a great deal of assistance to the driver.

We pressed hard to Northern Pennsylvania and found a State Park in which to rest south of Hazelton. Mariah was glad to be in the woods.

Or maybe she was just hamming it up for the camera.

Robin plotted our trip on the computer.

The woods of the Pennsylvania Poconos reminded us of home

and we hated to leave, but we had to me moving on.

Locust Lake State Park was the name of the place,
and here at the lake we stopped to say good-bye.

Mariah wasn't very impressed with the Poconos

We pressed on through the Delaware Water Gap

and over into New York

Across the Delaware River

an hour or so later we crossed the Hudson at Newburg,
leaving "the City" far to the south.

In Bridgeport CT we found Robin's Grandmother her gracious and independent self

and she took us on a wild ride across Bridgeport to see Robin's Father

who she lost in '86

a further spin around town found the house where Robin lived as a little girl ...

and then we were back at Grandma's apartment to view her plaster pets...

We visited and met her neighbors ...

Before we continue on toward Simon's concert in New Jersey.

Through the Bronx on July 4th wasn't a quick trip, so we were happy to see the George Washington Bridge

We found Simon in Iselin, NJ checking out of the room he had been in for a week

Simon hadn't seen the RV so he had to check it out

Simon had other business though, as his 105 fellow travelers prepared to play a final concert and then depart for Amsterdam. Here the luggage for the adventure is collected..

The concert begins at noon, Simon's on the far left...

he and his fellow percussionists work through the music they have practiced all week ..

a two hour extravaganza.

After Simon's departure we head to Easton, Pennsylvania where my Shook ancestors settled in 1738

a place they left in 1769, almost a hundred years before the Civil War.
I was impressed with the monuments to the soldiers of that war, they rival those in the heart of every southern town.

South of Easton we search out Williams Township, the home of my ancestors, and we find it a delightful area of long range views and low hills.

And we search out the old churches, and prowl the cemeteries looking for my Shooks...

The oldest stones were German like the Shook's, but the newer were Italian and Greek surnames...

as we drove through the countryside we almost gave up hope of finding our people ...

but the stone houses, the old barns and the wonderful country gave us a feel for where they were from.

We found ourselves on one road almost by accident ...

and there was our goal, the Old Williams Church !

We are told that the oldest stones have turned to dust, but the church yard is filled with headstones in German, the graves of many neighbors and friends of our Shook's

although we didn't find our Shook's, we know this is where they were christened, married and worshiped so many years ago. And still they may have been there, for the old German scripts were so hard to read.

The hills and countryside here remind us so much of where they settled in North Carolina on the Catawba...

and the experience left me even more connected with my roots.

On we rolled into Amish country where we found a campground in Lancaster County.

And once again Mariah was happy to be out of the "truck".

Now we fall onto the road taken by the Shook's as they came south, the Great Wagon Road. Here at Columbia PA we tour the old Wright Mansion.

Built in 1734 the house was the gateway to Wright's Ferry, the main crossing point on the Susquehanna for settlers moving west in our Shook's times. In fact I had three GGGGGrandfathers who passed this way between 1758 and 1769.

This old monument was barely saved from destruction in the 60s, and is the only building remaining from those times along the Susquehanna.

Today it is furnished as it was in 1750, giving a great insight into the times of my ancestors passing. The house was owned in those years by Susannah Wright, and she was often visited by Ben Franklin and other notables.

Following in Jacob Shook's footsteps we cross the Susquehanna on the old Wrightsville Bridge, a structure rebuilt many times since it replaced the old ferry that Jacob knew.

Westward we go to the old town of York.

where the old Golden Plow Inn has been preserved from those times.

we are told its construction shows its Germanic roots.
Did my Grandfather's families stop here to rest?

On down the Wagon Road we go into Gettysburg...

Where we find the town over run by Civil War Re-enactors

We pay our respects to the "High Water Mark of the Confederacy", the point where Pickett's Charge was stopped up on that hill...

and we drive down Seminary Ridge

along the lines from which those Confederates charged.

Here we found the North Carolina Monument

its bronze "Tar Heelers" facing forward toward the distant 'High Water Mark".

"To the eternal glory of the North Carolina Soldiers, who on this battlefield displayed heroism unsurpassed, sacrificing all in support of their cause, their valorous deeds will be enshrined in the hearts of men long after these transient memorials have crumbled into dust. Thirty two North Carolina regiments were in action at Gettysburg, July 1, 2, 3, 1863. One Confederate Soldier of every four who fell here was from North Carolina.

Here a latter day confederate squadron forms up with Little Round Top in the background

Back toward South Mountain you can see the re-enactor's camp. Almost 10,000 came this year.

On down the road into Maryland, we find ourselves at Watkin's Ferry. Here my Grandfather's crossed the Potomac.

Another crossroads on the Wagon Road

On south we travel to Winchester, Virginia. Here was one of the few outposts of civilization in the days of Jacob Shook. George Washington resided here in the years before the revolution, and several old monuments record his stay.

The Old Wagon Road is a pedestrian mall in Winchester today

and precious little remains of its pre-Revolutionary character, as seen by my Grandfather's...

Southward we press down the old road into the Valley of Virginia.

Here and there we see reminders of that ancient past ...

and we see places that they may have well stopped to rest ...

Nestled in the trees is an old Fort constructed for protection against the Indians

a likely spot of refuge for old Shook, with a fellow German named Happ.

On southward we go ...

in the footsteps of those pioneers

We discover a few old buildings, this one an early church, that survive from that time. But most has been lost.

Finally near Lexington VA our time runs out and we must leave the rest of the route to future adventures.