Rockville, MD to Flight 93 Memorial to Donegal, PA – 3/19/2017

March 19, 2017 (Sunday)

Slept well and slept longer than we both thought we would. When we woke up from the Radisson, we both thought it was around 7:30 AM. Turned out to be 9:30 AM. Checkout was 11:00 AM and Michael was still wanting to publish but realized we just didn’t have enough time. We loaded up and headed out around 10:45 AM. The weather was a little grey and cloudy but not bad. The drive today was almost 200 miles and should have taken about 3 hours. (I would like to mention that the roads in this part of Maryland were horrible. Never felt so many pot holes in my life! Could not avoid them.)

We got down the road a bit and decided to stop somewhere and have a “real” breakfast, not a drive-thru type. We stopped at a little town and about the only things they had to choose from (that we could find) was a McDonald’s or a Waffle House. Most of our experiences with the Waffle House chain have not been the best, but we decided to try it again.

It has been years so we gave it a try. The parking lots are always full.

Glad we did as the coffee was good and the breakfast was even better. Michael had one of their new bowls that had eggs, hash browns and sausage in it. I had a half a waffle and some hash browns. Everything was yummy and the place was jammed packed with people waiting. Interesting people working in the Waffle House. After eating we went next door to a 7-11 and gas station where we filled up the tank so we didn’t have to stop again.

Just a little further down the road we saw a scenic area and went to check it out. Found out it used to be a battlefield and had quite the history.

At first I thought it was not much of a view, then read and saw that it is really a battlefield memorial.

That’s the thing about this whole area – so much history everywhere. Just wish I could keep it all in my head. By this time it was getting colder and colder and there was more and deeper snow along the sides of the road and in the hills.

We thought the snow got pretty thick along the way but the roads were great the whole way.

As we passed into Pennsylvania and onto the turnpike, Michael and I were surprised at just how hilly and how much open land there was. Almost a big sky Montana feeling.

Don’t know what we thought Pennsylvania looked like but we are surprised how hilly and mountain like it is.

As we were driving along we saw a big sign for the Flight 93 Memorial (from 9/11). We decided to get off the turnpike and drive the 30 or so miles to the Memorial. Clarece (GPS) took us on nice rural roads through quaint little towns and many large and small farms. Also, lots and lots of snow and it was getting colder by the minute. (Roads in Pennsylvania are much nicer.)

Sure glad we have the heated seats, they are so nice on a day like this.

We got to the Memorial and decided to go see the crash site first.

They had some signs that illustrated what happened, who was on board, and just lots of general information.

Excellent displays explaining everything.

The investigation concluded the most likely target was the US Capitol building.

We then went inside a little building and spoke to a park docent who explained more. He told us how the plane came in almost upside down at over 500 miles per hour. He told us how the plane dug a crater into the ground 15 feet deep. He said when the FBI came in to do their investigation, they dug to 40 feet and found things from the crash down to 35 feet. He explained that the Visitor Center was built inside the walls of the path of the airplane. The walls illustrated the flight path. He said there was an observation deck where you can see the crash site, and which is part of the path flight the plane took that fateful day.

After talking to the docent, we walked down the coal black path to the memorial wall of the names of the people killed. Very lovely, very somber, and so much information. So glad we got to see and remember these heroes. What an awful day that was.

Black concrete, white marble headstones, and a subdued red plant all seemed appropriate to the site.

Each panel has a single name cut into the surface.

I didn’t think about it at the time, but the headstones are angled at such a way that they resemble the accordion action of the plane as it folded in on itself at such a great speed.

The FBI back filled the enormous pit they dug looking for evidence and left this boulder to mark where the main crater was located.

We left and went up to the Visitor Center, which had tons more information on the whole event. It had actual news about the twin towers and things happening that morning, it showed the cockpit, you could hear people on the plane calling their loved ones, and showed articles found in the debris field. Just so much. It was a lovely memorial and very thoughtful.

This is the exact flight path of Flight 93.

Still on the flight path, a lookout at the end.

From the outlook on the left is the Memorial Plaza and on the right is the Memorial Wall and you can just see the boulder where the plane hit at 532 miles per hour on a 140 degree upside down angle.

Inside the Visitor’s Center. The walls are black.

View from the back looking forward. The phones play some of the passengers calling their loved ones and saying goodbye.

The debris field was enormous and everything was broken into small pieces.

The rest of the drive to Donegal, Pennsylvania was only about a half an hour.

Edie caught some geese in flight. We wondered why they weren’t with their cousins in San Diego.

Frosty tree tips as we drive on to Donegal.

Edie finds this a beautiful scene along the Northeast highways.

County building in Somerset that caught our eye.

One of our first memorials to the Union fallen soldiers.

When we did get into the small town, we decided to stop at a nearby Dairy Queen to get dinner to take back to the room. The room is older but large and clean (that’s all we need really).

We spread out tonight. Edie says my snoring doesn’t bother her as much when I am a few feet away.

Sink with no counter space, and a shower.

All counter and no sink, Okay place, it all worked for us, just oddly laid out.

That was our day. Hope yours was great!