May 31/Jun 1 2012

Thursday May 31^st 2012

·      Drove to Little Red Schoolhouse Amish info centre. Bought a book about Amish

·       On to Shady Maple Grocery store. Size of a Walmart… all groceries. Cheap T-bone steaks .. got some… you get what you pay for!!!!!

·      Picked up wood from Amish family… so lovely .. they were genuinely glad to talk with us … Mom, Dad and sons (and beagle puppies)…. $15 for a huge wheelbarrow full of dry oak.  They were enthralled with our accent. Sent us on our way with a beautiful farewell “Be blessed!”

·      Absorbed sights and sounds of Amish country

·      Back to site.  Relaxed.. Derek strummed, I read cross stitch book outside.

·      4pm … lit the fire and Jack and Didi came over about 5:30.  We joined Passport America (Used them as referral) They stayed til 7:30 pm

·      BBQ’d steak …not great but corn and company was fantastic. …. Awwww!!

·      Burned lots of wood … cos we could !!!!!!!

·      Skyped with both B and G…. lovely staying in touch.

$15 A BIG BARROW LOAD

Friday June 1^st

·      Decided not to go to Dragon Fly market with Jack and Didi as weather was getting ominous. Said goodbye when they left at 8am. Packed and sadly left Spring Gulch… we will be back.

·      Hot spell over … cold enough to use electric fireplace this morning.

·      Left at 9:45 heading for Corning and a ‘cheap’ Passport America campsite.

·      Drove up Rte 15… passing familiar sites and signs along the way… still impressed with this beautiful state. Huge Pennsylvania forested valleys .. magnificent.

·      Drove through Liverpool on the Susquehanna River (not the Mersey)

·      Seemed to keep ahead of the weather as we drove.. a little rain but not the storms that Pennsylvania was expecting.

·      Arrived at Camp Bell in Campbell…. One look and we decided to move on…. We have been spoiled already. Decided to try out Hickory Hill in Bath as there is a Camping World store nearby.  We were glad!! Lovely site. And half of this weekend’s income going to cancer survivors fund..

·      Set up in a mild drizzle. Drove around campground then popped the champagne we bought a couple of days ago… Yum. Cooked supper. Early night.

·      Storming in the evening… hoping for a better day tomorrow as campground hosts a cancer support special fund raising event.

Wednesday May 30th 2012

Coming home for dinner

Wed may 30th 2012

On these roads we sometimes had to wait to pass.
But somehow it didn't seem to matter

Up and out to the Farmer's Market in Bird In Hand Pennsylvania.

SO MUCH HARD WORK

Small food area, lots of gift areas. Enjoyed watching fudge making. Bought some cheese pretzels, Shoofly pie, great coffee, home made sweet/hot mustard. Tasted lots of delicacies!! Went to Strasburg and found a cross-stitch shop... wow... Janice was fascinated and has bought supplies to make a special gift for someone (secret)!!! Gonna be a fun project. We then just drove around the Amish countryside and marveled at how very beautiful it is.
 

I really think they may run into us!!!

Sheesh... thank goodness they turned the corner... great driving!!!

Anoither beautiful farm homestead

Fascinating to watch ... young lad knew what he was doing too

Also noticed young Amish pushing scooters along the road that look like full size bikes with no pedals but with a flat step in the middle to scoot from... quite an interesting setup.  Stopped by at the Lancaster Beer and Wine Gallery (Rumspring Beer and Mount Hope Wine).  Tasted the beer .. not very impressed.. too hoppy! But we did find some lovely plastic wine glasses (look like crystal) for the camper... and we also bought a white wine and a champagne from the winery section after tasting a selection of the wines. (again reds were too light).

 We turned a corner and saw a huge set of horses coming toward us over the brow of a field... they stopped right at the edge in front of us... we thought hey were gonna keep going and run into us.

 Visited the Strasburg railroad... rebuilt and renovated to how it was in 1915... they have trips available on the steam train but we opted just to look around the station etc, and carry on our way. They are doing a great job at the station and the whole area is filled with train museums etc (toy and full size). 

Memories of Rock Ferry Station!!!

 

They had a place in the parking lot of the grocery store for the Amish to park!!!

Back on tour we stopped at a covered bridge at Herr's Mill and looked around the old Mill.  then on back to camp, via another covered bridge that we drove through.

Couldn't have got under this one with the trailer attached... too low!!

 Back at camp we again had a swim and read by the pool.. we were the only ones there. Got invited by a lovely couple we met yesterday, (Jack and Didi Chor) originally from Boston, Mass (now in Florida)).. to have a drink before dinner by their campfire. We then BBQ'd up some chicken and they came over to our campfire and we shared tales of our travels etc.. they told us about Passport America and we joined it then and there.. great discounts at campgrounds across America.
Lovely day and evening all round.
We have not had 'signs of the day for a couple of days... so here are a few signs to inspire and uplift you..... corny but relevant!!!!