the town of jim thorpe (named for jim thorpe, a 1912 olympic gold medalist in the pentathlon and decathalon) is a quaint little spot nestled in the mountains of pennsylvania. the town has been called 'the switzerland of america' due to it's picturesque scenery, mountainous location, and architecture. also being referred to as 'the gateway to the poconos', it being located approximately 55 miles away. like bed and breakfasts, quirky shopes, pubs,eateries, used book stores and antiques? this is your heaven all within a short walking distance. i spent hours wandering from book store to book store and window shopping. you can visit jim thorpe's tomb, yes, his actual tomb is here (although, jim thorpe himself never actually set foot in the town, it is indeed named for him thanks to his third wife, patricia, who made a deal with civic officials to have his remains moved to the bourough of mauch chunk and a monument site erected, along with the changing of the town's name...thorpe's son's continue to battle in court to have his remain's returned to his family, very sad story). it's on the outskirts of town, actually a bit of a drive to get to. i thought 'hey, i will walk it, it can't be that far"....wrong. get in your car and drive, you will thank me later. in the heart of town, there's a railroad station and a visitor's center and town square. appears to be everything you would expect a historical, little mountain town to be.
just a funny little note...i was checking out the visitor's center (all the history you want to know about the town can be found here) and trying to decide whether or not i wanted to take a train ride through the mountains and sweat my bum off...it was very hot that day...when i was walking past a man dressed in a giant bear suit (remember, it was hot) and get this....he taps me on the shoulder and asks 'what's with the gnome?', not the first time this exact question has been asked of me, but it was the first time it had been asked by a man wearing a bear suit frightening small children on a 90 degree day. he though i was weird? did he look in the mirror that morning? anyway, stop in, look around but make sure you allow yourself plenty of time, you will need it. time seems to have forgotten jim thorpe, and it definitely gets away from you when visiting...hours had passed in what felt like minutes, which is a good thing because that means it's worth visiting. on to my next adventure...