A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 323 miles from Lebanon, Pennsylvania to Ravenna, Ohio, including several tunnels and narrow toll plazas, with clips from the truck perspective.
Author: David
Travel from Lebanon, Pennsylvania to Ravenna, Ohio
We drove our coach 323 miles, about six hours of driving, from Lebanon, Pennsylvania to Ravenna, Ohio.
Here’s a map showing our route, heading west:
An interactive map:
Preparing to toad up:
Geese and goslings on the road:
Entering the Pennsylvania Turnpike:
The first of several rather narrow toll plazas:
I-76 West, aka the turnpike:
Another toll plaza to exit the turnpike for fuel:
Fuel stop:
Back onto the turnpike:
Fun with zoom:
The first of several tunnels:
This U-Haul driver wasn’t very good at lane placement:
Out of the first tunnel and straight into the second one:
The third tunnel:
Service plaza:
Paladin on the dash at the service plaza:
The fourth-and-last tunnel:
Another service plaza:
Bridge construction:
Welcome to Ohio; a frame from the dash cam, as the photo was too obscured by rain (not that this is great):
Huge welcome center parking:
The last toll plaza:
Yay for E-ZPass:
A steep arching bridge over a rail line:
West Branch State Park:
Check-in office:
Our very sloped site:
Mirror head replacement
Back in 2022 a truck clipped the driver-side mirror on our motorhome, smashing the mirror glass. I replaced the mirror glass, which made the mirror usable again, but unfortunately the motor that allows adjusting the position would only work three of the four directions, so I’d have to manually push the mirror if it drifted out of position (which seemed to happen regularly).
We were going to get it replaced when doing the annual service, but the pandemic supply chain issues made the part unavailable at the time.
It wasn’t a super urgent issue, so we put it on the back burner, but it continued to annoy us. Eventually after much research I determined that one could buy a replacement head for the mirror, which (in theory) could be easily plug-and-play replaced. The part is manufactured by Valvac, and the part number is 719853, “Euromax-XL Replacement Head w/Camera, Lighted, Left Side, Chrome”.
I purchased this part:
The new mirror head:
It looked like an easy job, but we were about to be in Red Bay, so I got a mobile tech to look at replacing it for me. Good thing I didn’t try it myself, as it was too hard for that tech; he couldn’t fish the wires out of the mirror arm.
So later while at Thousand Trails Orlando I got a local RV tech, Charles Sutton of CS Mobile RV Repair LLC, to have a go at it. He also had lots of difficulty with it, but eventually managed it (and was very generous in not charging extra for it, too; I’d highly recommend him for any RV services!).
Here’s the old head removed:
He had to remove a bunch of excess insulation in the generator compartment to access the wires to get enough slack to reach the plugs:
Finally able to reach the plugs:
The replaced mirror head:
So nice to have that working again. And if we ever need to replace it again, it should be a much easier job next time.
Amish farmers market
On our tour of covered bridges, we also stopped off at the Bird-in-Hand Farmers Market in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania.
Our purchases; our first shoofly pie, very much like a date pie (and quite tasty), iced cinnamon raisin bread, fudge, and interesting honey flavors:
Amish country covered bridges
We drove through some of Pennsylvania Dutch Amish country in Lancaster County, to see some of the many covered bridges.
An interactive map of our route:
Several covered bridges:
Amish horse and buggy:
Amish working in a field:
Hershey Gardens
We explored Hershey Gardens in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
An interactive map:
Map:
Butterfly atrium:
Rose gardens dormant at the moment:
Other flower beds:
Soda Jerk Diner & Dairy Bar
We went to Soda Jerk Diner & Dairy Bar in Hummelstown/Hershey, Pennsylvania for dinner. A classic 50’s themed diner.
Ice cream soda and egg cream beverages:
Breakfast for dinner:
Pretty tasty stuff.
Independence National Historical Park
We visited the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
An interactive map of our walking route:
View of Independence Hall:
But first, Campo’s cheesesteaks for lunch:
Old post office:
Passage to Franklin Court:
Ghost structures representing Benjamin Franklin’s house in Franklin Court:
Benjamin Franklin sign:
Bicentennial Bell in Benjamin Rush garden:
Second Bank of the United States:
Jenn getting her passport stamps; this roll of paper is an excellent idea we haven’t seen elsewhere:
Cranking for smashed pennies:
Snack at the cafe in the visitor center:
Flag reflected in a circular window:
Court room:
Our tour guide:
Assembly Room, where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were both signed:
We did the expanded guided tour (40 minutes vs 20) that got to go upstairs:
Historical.
Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site
We visited Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site in Pennsylvania, which showcases an early American landscape of industrial operations from 1771-1883.
Visitor center:
Valley Forge National Historical Park
We visited Valley Forge National Historical Park in Pennsylvania, the place where George Washington and the Continental Army took refuge during the winter of 1777-1778.
Visitor center:
Housing:
Cannon:
Oven:
Redoubt:
Monument:
Covered bridge:
