US Hwy 20: Tri-State Hop-Skip-Jump

I pulled out of Geneva this morning, happy to put the eeriness behind me. US Hwy 20 continues as a decent two-lane road through a few old towns, most of which look slightly more prosperous than what I've seen. Shortly, and with barely any fanfare, the road crosses into Pennsylvania.



There are only about 50 miles of Pennsylvania coastline along Lake Erie, so it's a pretty quick traverse. Mostly it's a series of "historic" towns -- so the signs all tell you -- that date from the early 1800s. They're generally tidy and healthy looking, another notch up the economic scale.



The city of Erie is a little spotty and I was satisfied to drive right through it, hindered only by stop lights practically every block. In between towns, the rural landscape begins to feature vast grape vineyards. There's a lot more to that story, which I hope to explore in depth tomorrow.



Shortly and with little fanfare again, the road crosses into New York State. There's nothing beside the sign to delineate the transition, though the quality of the roadway did improve.



I've driven just a short distance into NY and turned south a few miles to Lake Chautauqua. I'm now camped on a hill overlooking the lake, centrally located amid a varied assortment of towns and attractions. The weather has cleared and warmed, so I'm actually hopeful about having a couple of nice days to enjoy the area… Stay tuned!

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