There was an Old Man Who Lived in a Shoe

When I was about ten years old, in the days when it was safe to let your kids run freely, my sisters and I were allowed to hike without adult supervision...as long as it was to the Shoe House. So, we would pack our lunch and make the two mile round trip hike to the shoe house, hurrying past the haunted house belonging to the old hermit, traveling through the shaded road which led to the open farm fields before we reached our destination. We would reach the shoe house and gulp down our thermoses of water before settling down to devour our lunches. Of course, we didn't know at that time that we were eating our sandwiches at the base of a historic building.

Mahlon Haines, an eccentric shoe maker, was known around York, PA, as the Shoe Wizard and rumor has it that he would offer dollar bills to children who would recognize him when he was walking around town. Haines built his shoe house in 1948 as an advertisement for his shoe business. It is five stories high and is a complete house inside, including a kitchen in the toe of the shoe, bathroom and bedroom. A shoe shaped dog house resides in the back yard and a shoe mailbox sits at the entrance to the property. The house provided a quick getaway vacation to local elderly couples, newlyweds and employees of the Haines Shoe Company. Today, the Shoe House offers tours to the public and the heel of the shoe houses an ice cream shop. Recognized on Atlas Obscura, the Shoe House also has earned a spot on Roadside America.

This is a picture of the Shoe House today taken in the summer of 2018.  We would eat our lunches leaning against the heel of the shoe which is where the most shade would be.  We never thought then that our little picnic spot would end up being an historic site.  The stamps in this series were carved for the 2018 Bringing the Road Trip Back event for the Oddities in Each State tracker.  I planted these in Florida to show off a little piece of my Pennsylvania childhood.

To find my tributes, begin on the road that leads to the Salt Springs Marina.

A short distance down the road, pull into the little parking spot on the right.

Then take the trail on the right side of the parking lot, going past the kiosk.

 Check out the blue blazes and follow them.

 Climb over this fallen tree although it may be cleaned up before you begin your search.

 Then walk through this nice little pathway cleared by someone with a chainsaw.

 When you get to the next chainsawed tree, stop and take a break.  Check out the little pine cones mounted on the end of the one side.  Mae, my lovely assistant, noticed these little "pine cone cairns" as she called them.

 From the trail, look down the section of tree on the left side and walk to the intersecting downed log which lays under this tree trunk.

Check in the little corner created by this intersection for the Shoe House.

After you stamp into that box, then continue down the trail until you reach the T intersection.  At that intersection, you should see a gate on your right.  Turn around and go back the way you came for about 25 steps and look to your left for a partially clear area with several downed trees.

Note the two whitish downed logs laying close together.

 Check out the narrower end for the Haines Shoe House logo.

 On your way back to your car, note this interesting structure in the middle of nowhere and fantasize about what purpose it may have served in days gone by.

The Empty Basket Series - Give Peace a Chance

Find this sign and the trailhead sign below

Take the left side of the Loop Trail.

Pass through the fence which runs on both sides of the trail.

When you reach this rustic looking bench, stop and take a break.  Then, look around you. 

See!!!  My lovely assistant, Three Flamigo's is looking around!

But you don't have to look as far as she did.  Just look for the tree which is directly to your right as you are sitting on the bench.

Carefully check in the palm fronds behind this tree.

Then, after you stamp in, take a walk a little further to the observation deck.  The morning we were there it was foggy but it was still beautiful.

 While you are walking, take note of all of the deer moss along the trail.  Three Flamigo's introduced me to this lichen so I did a little research and found this interesting info.  

"In parts of Florida you will see grey-green, cloud-like clusters of deer moss on the ground. Deer moss is a very slow growing lichen and large mats may take decades to develop. Fire kills this lichen, so if you see large carpets of Cladina, it is an indication that the area has not been burned for a long time.

Like all lichens, deer moss has no roots and gets all its moisture from the air – when the weather is dry it is brittle and crunchy, after rain it can be as soft as a cotton ball.

Architects and model railway enthusiasts often use deer moss to make realistic looking miniature trees and shrubs."  

 Spoiler alert!!!