Amish life, pobrecito, and what a pig!
We woke up around 10:00 am and had breakfast at the hotel. We drove from Harrisburg to Lancaster, the town where the Pennsylvania Deutsch or Amish have a large community. We got a little lost because on occassion the GPS gets a little "confused" or "slow" and then everything gets messed up. We drove through historic Lancaster...it's very nice, very artsy!
One of the memorable stories or catch phrase of the trip stems from this: we were stopped at a light, there was a gentleman with a bag of grapes standing at the corner, waiting to cross. Suddenly all the grapes fall out of his bag. We felt so bad for him...I even wanted to give him some fruit we had with us. When I saw what happened I said, "Pobrecito" and genuinely felt bad for him. Almost simultaneously, he swipes up the grapes from the ground and sticks a handful in his mouth. "What a pig!!!" was the next comment I said. My family just found that so hilarious, that I said pobrecito, and 2 seconds later, called him a pig. He was a pig!!!!! He didn't even attempt to brush off the dirt from the grapes he picked up. In addition, he didn't just put one tiny grape in his mouth. He stuffed a whole handful in his mouth. I can't live that down...its almost as if I had been the pig. They can't stop laughing and repeating the story. (pobrecito means poor thing)
Although the kids have been fighting a lot on this trip, they are having a good time and we are having many memorable moments. Once we arrived in Lancaster, we went to Abe's Buggy Rides, Al bought the most expensive and longest tour available. It was $40 per adult and $24 for kids. It was a 5-mile tour with one stop. The tour itself was just ok. I thought it was pricey for what we got. Our tour guide/driver wasn't very forthcoming with information. We had to interrogate him and had to request to see things even though they were listed as part of the tour. Later, I saw another tour on a brochure that seemed better. The brochure states they stop at three non-commercial farms so you can see "true Amish life on a farm" and other interesting things. The lesson here is, we should have done more research before jumping on the first buggy tour we saw.
Even though we had to extract information from our driver, we had read enough to know what to expect so we asked him about it and he showed things we requested. That was good because we were still able to see things we were interested in seeing. He just didn't have the initiative to do it on his own. It's funny because on our way back we saw a group that had been waiting for a buggy with us, walking around on foot with no buggy nearby. Later, we learned that two of the family members had a severe allergic reaction to the horse and had to get off and walk. Our horse's name was Dolly. Our driver didn't tell us his name, but he told us he is a Mennonite. He told us about the differences in the two religions. The Mennonites aren't as strict as the Amish. After the tour we bought a book that explains the Amish religion.
After the buggy tour, we drove to Bird-in-Hand bakeshop. It was cute and I found the state magnets the kids want to collect. We even found a magnetic map to put them on, but they were out of them, I gave them my number so they can call me when it comes in. We bought 14 magnets for all the states we've been to already. We are still missing the states we have yet to see and the Canadian provinces. I didn't buy them ahead of time, because I thought it would be funner to buy them as we actually visited the places. Alex and the kids agreed. Prices for everything are very low. Postcards were only .25, the magnets were only .98 each, the baked good were extremely inexpensive as well.
We left the Amish country around 4pm. We drove to Hershey, PA. Although we would have loved to take the kids to Hershey Park and they were really looking forward to it, we did not take them. (I thought we'd cave in, but we stuck to it). They have been fighting a lot and we kept reminding them they'd lose the trip to Hershey Park unless they were nicer to eachother...they never even tried...not even when we were there right in front of the park...they just kept fighting. I think it kills Alex and I more than it does them, that we didn't take them, but we had to. They are having a wonderful experience, but it's hard for us to see them be mean to eachother. On the flip side, they can also be very loving...but those moments are few and far between.
We did go to Hershey World. It is basically a huge gift shop with a movie about the history of the company and a ride that goes through the process of how chocolate is made. They loved the ride. We went on it 3 times. We had dinner there. Alex and I had chili in a bread bowl...we eat that often on this trip. The kids each bought a shirt and a huge Hershey chocolate bar. They also did a chocolate works activity where they "work" at a conveyor belt and fill containers with kisses and then seal the container. They had a lot of fun.
We also drove to downtown Hershey to the Museum and the factory. There is a super sweet smell of chocolate right around the factory area. The town has Hershey kisses lamp posts. It's a very pretty town...it is well-kept and clean. I was impressed with how beautiful it is.
We went back to the hotel, we arrived around 10ish. Alex and I were anxious because we still didn't know where we'd be going tomorrow.
Alex and I watched the Michael Jackson memorial service and planned the next few days of the trip. We decided to go to Niagara Falls for our anniversary and leave on July 11th, straight to Boston for the RedSox game at 1:30 pm on Sunday. On Saturday, we hope to stop in Cooperstown for the Baseball Hall of Fame and in Springfield for the Basketball Hall of Fame. I'd love to go to Lake Placid and do something in the Adirondack Mountains, but I don't know if it will be possible. It's funny... we have 33 days for this trip...a lot more time than many people would have...and we still don't have enough time to see everything we want. We gave up on attempting to go to Nova Scotia. If we do that we'll spend too much time trying to get there. Maybe next time...
We went to bed after 2:00 am.
Showing posts with label Pennysylvania. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pennysylvania. Show all posts
Gettysburg to Harrisburg, PA - Monday, July 6, 2009
Gettysburg to Harrisburg, PA - Monday, July 6, 2009
Tomorrow, will be two weeks that we left and yesterday was 3 weeks to the day we will arrive in Miami. We aren't halfway done yet!!!! WOW! This is exhausting. The kids are driving us crazy. Alissa is behaving like a little nut who is completely out of control. She is defiant and just nutty. When we got to the hotel she laid on the bed and said "Mom, watch me make snow angels" and then proceeded to move her arms to make a snow angel on the sheets at speed of 20 mph minimum. It was so funny. She spills at least one thing everyday, if not more, and especially in the car. She is obsessed with the Washington Nationals. She holds the baseball cards she got at the game (in the program) and doesn't let them go. Earlier today she told me she wants to play baseball for the Nationals team. Although yesterday she couldn't remember their name. She asked me at east 15 times what the name of the team was.
Everytime we arrive anywhere, we are noticed...either because we are super loud, obnoxious or just too much. Today, we left Arlington, VA around 11:00 am. and drove to Pennsylvania.
We stopped for lunch at Moe's on the way, and continued to Gettysburg.
Gettysburg, is another place that is so evocative.
Quoting Alex, "Our fore-fathers rocked. They had amazing vision." To think that these people before us did so much and gave up their lives so that we could have better lives is amazing. Yet it's also very disappointing to know that we are driving this country into the ground because some of the leaders we've had have not known how to make good decisions and do things in the best interest of all its people.
Our fore-fathers and veterans gave so freely yet due to selfishness and greed in more recent times, our citizens are now struggling and suffering.
The battlefield was impressive. It covers a huge area. We did the auto tour, got off a million times for pictures and then went to the museum and store. I lost the kids in the store at least 3 times. I was looking for books to read to them so they could learn the story, I bought several picture books and coloring books about the Civil War, the generals, the Gettysburg Address and an explanation of the Gettysburg Address. In addition we bought a postcard and a magnet of Pennsylvania. We decided we are going to start a states magnet collection so we can display our travels year-round. We also bought the movie Gettysburg so we can watch it together and learn more.
We arrived in Harrisburg, Pa (our next "home base' destination) around 8 pm. We are staying at a Residence Inn. It looks fairly new, very clean and is very comfortable. The neighborhood is nice and there are several restaurants close by. We have a kitchenette and breakfast is included with the room so expenses should be kept manageable. We decided to run to Target and pick up some necessary items. I bought a scale because the eating is out of control, even though we were going to eat super healthy and exercise on this trip. I have gained a few pounds. I will be on a diet as of July 10th!!!!!!!!!! I bought some things to cook because we have a tiny kitchen in the unit. We had pasta with chicken and shrimp.We were starving so we ate a million things as we waited for dinner. Tomorrow we will probably go to Lancaster.
Until tomorrow...
Tomorrow, will be two weeks that we left and yesterday was 3 weeks to the day we will arrive in Miami. We aren't halfway done yet!!!! WOW! This is exhausting. The kids are driving us crazy. Alissa is behaving like a little nut who is completely out of control. She is defiant and just nutty. When we got to the hotel she laid on the bed and said "Mom, watch me make snow angels" and then proceeded to move her arms to make a snow angel on the sheets at speed of 20 mph minimum. It was so funny. She spills at least one thing everyday, if not more, and especially in the car. She is obsessed with the Washington Nationals. She holds the baseball cards she got at the game (in the program) and doesn't let them go. Earlier today she told me she wants to play baseball for the Nationals team. Although yesterday she couldn't remember their name. She asked me at east 15 times what the name of the team was.
Everytime we arrive anywhere, we are noticed...either because we are super loud, obnoxious or just too much. Today, we left Arlington, VA around 11:00 am. and drove to Pennsylvania.
We stopped for lunch at Moe's on the way, and continued to Gettysburg.
Our fore-fathers and veterans gave so freely yet due to selfishness and greed in more recent times, our citizens are now struggling and suffering.
We arrived in Harrisburg, Pa (our next "home base' destination) around 8 pm. We are staying at a Residence Inn. It looks fairly new, very clean and is very comfortable. The neighborhood is nice and there are several restaurants close by. We have a kitchenette and breakfast is included with the room so expenses should be kept manageable. We decided to run to Target and pick up some necessary items. I bought a scale because the eating is out of control, even though we were going to eat super healthy and exercise on this trip. I have gained a few pounds. I will be on a diet as of July 10th!!!!!!!!!! I bought some things to cook because we have a tiny kitchen in the unit. We had pasta with chicken and shrimp.We were starving so we ate a million things as we waited for dinner. Tomorrow we will probably go to Lancaster.
Until tomorrow...
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