Cheap Trips: Longrifles, Military Parades and a Towpath

Try one of these three trips you can enjoy on just one tank of gas: Boulton Historic Site's opening day, the Valley Forge Military Academy and College parades in Wayne or Delaware Canal State Park in Upper Black Eddy.

1. Boulton Historic Site's Opening Day

Address: 402 Henry Road, Nazareth
How Far from Salisbury Patch: 28 minutes/25.92 miles

Admission: Free

Hours:

• Opening Day - Saturday, May 5, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Wine-Making in Early America - 5:30 p.m. (reservations required)

Summary: The Boulton Historic Site, which is administered by the Jacobsburg Historical Society, gives visitors a peek inside the life of the Henry Family and the Boulton Gun Works through self-guided tours and historical programs. During your tour, see objects owned by five generations of Henrys in the 1832 John Joseph Henry House, learn about the role of the longrifle in American history at the Pennsylvania Longrifle Museum, watch a gunsmith make a longrifle in the period Nicholas Hawk Gun Shop, and sample early American open hearth cooking in the summer kitchen. For more information or to make reservations for the wine-making event, call (610) 759-9029 or e-mail jacobsburg@rcn.com. The Jacobsburg National Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Links:

• Website

2. Valley Forge Military Academy and College Parades

Address: 1001 Eagle Road, Wayne, PA 19087
How Far From Salisbury Patch: 1 hour 3 minutes/49.94 miles
Admission: Free

Hours: The parade starts around 12:15 to 12:30 p.m. on most Sundays during the school year. It follows the school’s 11 a.m. chapel service, which is also open to the public. The remaining parades of the school year will take place May 6 and 13.

Summary: The Regimental Review Parade takes place on Sundays during the school year at Valley Forge Military Academy and College. The parade includes the “Pass in Review,” which can be traced to the time of General George Washington’s charge of command. It also features the Sound Off, which is an ancient ritual that dates back to the days of the crusades consisting of Three Chords, a March, and another rendition of the same Three Chords.

Links:

Valley Forge Military Academy and College
Website

3. Delaware Canal State Park

Address: 11 Lodi Hill Road, Upper Black Eddy
How Far from Salisbury Patch: 47 minutes/29.64 miles
Admission: Free
Hours: Open daily dawn to dusk

About: Delaware Canal State Park features a 60-mile towpath that stretches from Easton in Northampton County to Bristol in Bucks County. The Delaware Canal is the only remaining continuously intact canal left of the great towpath/canal-building era of the early and mid-1800s. The park includes a Lock Tender's House Visitor Center and mule-drawn canal boat rides in New Hope. Visitors who walk or bike the towpath can enjoy scenery that spans riverside, farm fields, historic towns and 11 river islands.

Links:

Website