Amish Country-Lancaster, PA

We really enjoyed the day. After breakfast and a walk with the dogs, we struck out to see Amish Country. We drove to Hershey, PA, and toured the Hershey Factory and "did a little shopping". Bill is so tolerant. The tour was interesting but geared for kids, wonder why? I was right at home. It is quite a process just to make Hershey Kisses! I never knew how much trouble they went to for me.

After our tour we drove through the countryside to a recommended Amish restaurant in Intercourse, Pa. The Amish are amazing farmers. Their fields are clean and carefully planned. They do all their work with horses or mules and use no electricity except for running the milking machines. That isn't entirely true of all the Amish or Mennonites. The different sects observe varying degrees of modern methods depending on their beliefs. The farms were dotted throughout the countryside and were beautifully maintained but no sign of wires running to the houses or barns. After lunch we drove back to the RV and took the dogs for a walk and then relaxed. We visited briefly with an RV neighbor. Bill sat outside and read and I edited pics and watched TV. As the night wore on we watched a Hornblower movie and went to bed. Tomorrow we plan to go to a miniature railroad display and a potter before we make our way to Cape Cod if Earl allows. We have to keep a close watch on the weather because Earl is causing quite a stir. I hope it doesn't interfere with our visit with Betsy and Bob.

Aug 30

We got on the road about 10:30 again today. I guess that is about as early as we can get away. We drove til 1 and made some hot dogs in a rest stop and then moved on to Lancaster, PA. It was about 190 miles. Lancaster is a well know city for its Amish & Mennonites. It really capitalizes on it, (quite commercial). We arrived around 3:30. The RV Park (Old Mill Run) is adjacent to an amusement park which didn't make us happy but fortunately we were on the other side of the park and couldn't hear the noise. They also didn't have a place for the dogs to run and play but other than those 2 negatives the rest is good news. It was a beautiful park and we were parked right by a stream. It had big shade trees that block the satellite but have cable and wi fi. We got set up and took the dogs for a walk. Then we loaded up in the Jeep and went to the Amish Historic Center. We watched a movie (30 minutes) about how they got started and what their beliefs are. It was interesting. Even more interesting was the fact that it was next door to an OUTLET MALL! Now that is right up my alley. But we went to Walmart instead. I'm getting old! While at the museum we bought a cook book by the ladies of Lancaster County. It looked really good so we decided to make something from it for dinner and we chose a Chinese dish, he he. (traditional Amish cooking) Oh well, it was schezwan pork (don't know how to spell that) and it was good. Then Bill watched Cheyenne Social Club and I watched poker on my laptop. Good day. Life is good.

OFF ON A NEW ADVENTURE-HEADED to New England-Sun., 10:30 AM, Aug. 29,2010

Bill and I finished packing Sun. morning (Aug. 29). Bill took down the flag and we said goodbye to the place and garden, loaded up the dogs and left home around 10:30. We made it all the way to Zanesville, OH, (25 miles) before we had to grocery shop. Then we were on the road for real! We drove east on I70 for a couple hundred miles and stayed in Somerset, Pa, at a nice RV park called Pioneer Park. It had 2 big ponds divided by a land bridge. We  got settled in and took the dogs for a walk and met our neighbors. A 70 year old couple in a brand new 43 ft. coach with a HUGE motorcycle and a truck. He was a retired exec with American Greetings. They rode bicycles in the AM and motorcycles in the afternoon. Interesting and active couple. We grilled some hamburgers and watched TV.