Our day began early because we had to be at the Amtrak station for a 7:00 am departure. We checked the Amtrak status line and learned that the “Capitol Limited” was just a couple of minutes behind schedule. The photo shows the sight that greeted us as we came down the stairs to breakfast at 6:00 am. The owner at Connelsville B&B had assured us that breakfast would be ready, no matter how early we needed to eat. We enjoyed homemade muesli and yogurt while they finished preparing the rest of the breakfast.
Soon we were on the bikes headed to the Amtrak station, which was an easy 3 block ride from the B&B. We made it with plenty of time to spare, and when the train pulled up, the porter was expecting us. We’d made reservations for our bikes to be sure we could take them on board. Amtrak only provides 8 slots for bikes, so we couldn’t risk having to leave them behind. We were the only 2 people standing on the platform with bikes, the Amtrak employee said he’d help us load our bikes just as soon as the other passengers boarded. There were only 8 or 9 total passengers boarding at Connellsville so in no time at all, Jimmy was rolling the bikes to the cargo hold to strap them in.
We had lots of leg room in our seats, spent a while in the observation car, and enjoyed seeing the little towns as we traveled through. Most of the ride was right along the Potomac River, and it was beautiful country though the skies were overcast and dreary most of the day. The trip from Connellsville to Harper’s Ferry took about 5 hours, but it was a quiet relaxing ride.
Once we arrived at Harper’s Ferry, we were instructed to exit a specific car in order to access our bikes. I think they unloaded them first, because we had no wait at all. The platform was full of people catching the train on to DC, and there were a number of people with bikes. The bike service is a relatively new service for Amtrak, and it’s been a successful addition, though I think they’ll find that 8 spaces per train will not meet the demand based on the number of bikes we saw at the station.
Right behind the Amtrak station, was the town of Harper’s Ferry, built on a hill at the Confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. It’s a beautiful spot, but the only entrance we saw to the town itself was up a long flight of stairs. However, we pulled up Google maps to make sure, and were grateful to learn that all we had to do was turn left out of the parking lot and we were within a few yards of The Stonehouse Inn where we’re staying tonight.
We contacted Chris at the Stonehouse Inn to see if he’d let us drop off our bikes. He was very willing to allow us to leave our bikes and saddebags so we didn’t have to ride them all over hilly Harper’s Ferry as we explored, even though we were super early to arrive in town. We ate a quick lunch at the Cannonball Cafe, where the staff was super friendly and inviting then we walked around Harper’s Ferry seeing all the historic sites.
Harper’s Ferry is a historical treasure. Many of the old buildings have been preserved and are staffed by period interpreters through the National Park Service. It was really interesting.
We also walked across the bridge over the Potomac River to catch our first glimpse of the C&O canal and the towpath trail we’ll be riding tomorrow. As we neared the end of the bridge, we caught sight of an old advertisement painted on the side of the mountain facing the town. We were in Maryland once we crossed over the river, and the mountain is called Maryland Heights, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In 1906, the sign was painted on the side of the mountain, to advertise to passengers that traveled the rail line. It read Mennen’s Borated Talcum Toilet Powder. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, painting advertising on brick buildings and mountains apparently, was very popular. But in 1963, the sign was not looked upon very favorably. The park superintendent at that time said that looking at the sign was “like looking across the Grand Canyon and seeing a Coca-Cola sign.” Many local residents agreed, saying the sign needed to go. In stepped volunteers of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. They climbed up the side of the cliff and began to use paint remover and carbon black to erase the sign. But within 4 years, the sign was visible once again. And there it remains, though some believe it distracts from the natural beauty of the confluence of the two rivers, others feel it should be left alone as a historical artifact. I actually thought it was an interesting artifact from a time gone by, and an unexpected site to see on the side of a mountain. You can barely see it in the picture on the left, it’s right above the Harper’s Ferry tunnel. The picture on the right is more close up, and you can barely make out the words “toilet powder” at the bottom.
We explored the downtown area once we crossed back over the river, went through all the preserved buildings housed within the Harper’s Ferry Historical Park and thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon in this treasure of a historic town.
By the time we finished, our room was ready at the B&B and we checked in and got cleaned up for dinner. The Stonehouse Inn was built in 1839, and served as a private residence for many years. Chris, the owner bought it in 2008, and began to restore it. He completed renovations in 2010 and opened the three original rooms at the B&B. His inn-keeping philosophy is a “doily-free environment that is warm, inviting, and laid-back”. Our room is on the third floor, with a view of the train station behind us and the main street in front. I didn’t get pictures til we’d messed up the room a bit, but that’s ok. We’re in a doily-free, laid back environment!
For dinner, we walked up the street to a restaurant called the Rabbit Hole and sat on the deck outside overlooking the Amtrak station. The food was delicious and we enjoyed it thoroughly. Dessert was apricot sorbet topped with crumbled sugared bacon (Oh my goodness it was delicious) for me, and chocolate torte for Jimmy. Both were exceptional.
Here’s our view of the Amtrak station from the deck of the restaurant.
After dinner, we walked back to the B&B and I was researching something about the area and stumbled across an interesting tidbit about the Rabbit Hole restaurant where we’d just eaten dinner. It was so interesting that I had to walk back to the restaurant and see if for myself. (My kids would be so embarrassed!) The old building that houses the restaurant (all the buildings here are old) has a spring-fed creek running through it. How did I miss that?!? So I walked back in, asked the young lady at the hostess counter if there was really a creek in the building. She said yes, there is and pointed to what I thought was a fireplace when I walked to the restroom earlier. Built into the exterior wall of the building, was a stone lined opening, with water that flowed from deep within the steep hillside across the street, under the street to the restaurant. It looked like a small cave with water flowing through it. It flowed underground until it reached the wall of the building, pooled in the stone lined basin, and drained through some pipes under the floor and outside to the other side of the building. It was worth the trip back to the restaurant to see this site, though I’m sure my kids are glad they weren’t with me.
Deb Cooks and Bikes 