New territory today – civil war-era homes and towns and cemeteries spread across the area. Old roads with treed canopies stretching out for miles, winding and weaving across hill and dale. The riding is so much better on these back roads, or blue highways as they were known, because of the color of the roads criss-crossing the old maps. Now the routes are colored red, of course, but “red highways” just doesn’t have the same connotation.

Many of those old roads and the places found on them have been replaced by the interstate highway system, but you can still find simple mom and pop food if you take the time to look. I discovered such a spot for a very late lunch on 522 in Pennsylvania. On my way by I spied a bike parked in the lot, which is why I u-turned and pulled in.

I am usually never disappointed by these places out in the middle of nowhere that pop up and are gone in an instant in the rear-view mirror. I wasn’t disappointed with the chicken stew.

Once again, I didn’t let the place just disappear.