My Personal Founding Father

My personal founding father

For those of you that may not know, I am from a little state called Pennsylvania. He translates from Penn's Woods, and was founded in 1683 by William Penn. Originally, I never had no one or never would have guessed that the founder of my state was originally from a small town that I worked in for my first occupational therapy placement. At the end of the four week placement though, my educator took me to a pub called the Pennsylvanian that was named after him, and then to the local museum then had a detailed plan about his life.  I then found out where he was buried, set my sights on going to visit him.

The stone above was part of his homestead in Pennsylvania.

To see the grave of William Penn, I had to walk through 20 minutes worth of British countryside near the Chilterns. There was no pavement to be found on the road, and in certain parts there was no strip of grass or forest to walk on either, so it was incredibly terrifying. Oddly enough, I went on a sunny day in February where there were not a lot of people on the road, so I could sprint a long open sections of road if need be.

After walking a mile and crossing the road at least 13 times to avoid becoming road pancake, I finally found it, the small cemetery in which William Penn was buried. I had a brief chat with him and thank him for all that he had done in America to found the nation, and then I followed the footpath out of the cemetery and into the small town of Jordans, where his first Quaker community was settled.

The man who helped to found America.

 I got a bottle of water in the Jordans community store after a quick little hike up the road, and I could still smell stale hickory smoke filling the air. Likely due to the quaintness, Jordans won an award in 2018 for the best kept village in Buckinghamshire. I introduced myself to the shopkeeper, and immediately, the rest of the customers started chatting to me as well. After all, it isn't every day that you meet an American from Pennsylvania in the town that was settled by the man who settled Pennsylvania.

I then went to a little pub called the Jolly Cricketers in Seer Green. it was a quaint location with a very small town and home vibe. I would recommend this pub to anyone who is able to make it up that way, although getting there from London isn't exactly easy if you don't have your own car or the money for an Uber.

After this, I returned back to my domicile to rest up. This was the day that I went to see the founder of my state. Stay tuned for more adventures!