OHIO TO NEW JERSEY

We left Cleveland around 11am and drove all day. We drove all the way through Pennsylvania and arrived at the Jersey Shore at around 9pm to set up camp. 

Pennsylvania was beautiful with rolling hills and gorgeous farms. And I learned a couple things about their barns. First of all, I kept seeing these barns with an overhang on one side. Turns out that is called a 'bank barn'. The barn is built into a hill so that the farmer can drive straight into the second floor. The overhang is on the downhill side and creates a 'forebay'. This is used for animals to take shelter under—and the farmer can drop food down into feed barrels from the upper floor. 

The other thing I learned is that 'Hex Signs' originated here. We'd been seeing them all across the country, but they are primarily Pennsylvania Dutch. These signs were painted on barns and they tell a story. There is a legend—a code and meaning—to all the symbols. Many bless the farm and family with good health and crops.

the examples above (left) is a Hex Sign on a barn in Michigan and (right) is a bank barn
(bank barn photo is from Wise Preservation online).