We are three again

Had a nice relaxing morning in Hershey after getting in at 2.00am before making our way to Middleton to meet the Amtrak train and sister Danny.  The train duly arrived and off jumped a little old lady.  Then another little old lady.  Then finally a normal sized young one and that was our sister.  Big hugs all round then straight to the pub for lunch.  You may not believe this but the pub wasn’t planned – we stopped some locals and asked them if they knew a good place to eat nearby.  They did, it was the pub and there you have it.  I love locals who think like me.

A sign of things to come

Had a great time at JD’s Junction and the host, Todd, was fantastic.  Gave us samples of brews to try, samples of new and interesting food to try and a list of all the micro and macro breweries in the area.  Somehow I think he got the idea that we liked to drink beer.  Not quite sure how that came about.  He has made us promise to return when we come back at Christmas and, even if he’s not working, to get the staff to give him a call and he’ll be right down.  Meeting people like him are one of the things that I really love about this trip.

Woo hoo!  Another tourist trolley bus tour.

Back in Hershey we visited Chocolate World.  They have a tourist trolley bus that takes you round the town of Hershey pointing out buildings pertaining to Hershey history – both the chocolate and the philanthropic

The street lights are
Hershey Kisses

sides to Mr & Mrs Hershey.  They set up a residential school originally for orphaned boys which,

Chocolate World, Hershey

today is one of the wealthiest schools in the world.  Back at Chocolate World we took the free tour that shows chocolate making from go to whoa.  Still making our way through all the free samples.

 

Enjoyed a final dinner in Hershey with our hosts, Sue, Jim and Lily before heading off the next morning. 

Hibachi dinner with Sue, Jim and Lily

Arrived in Mt Joy and Bube’s Brewery in time for lunch and were very 

Brewers home, brewery and tavern
all side by side

kindly given a tour of the brewery after we had eaten.  Bube’s was established in the 1800’s and has a tavern attached to it along with catacombs.  These days the catacombs are used for dining but rumour has it they came in handy during the days of Prohibition.   Especially as there was a 

Dining in the catacombs

tunnel connecting to the house across the street.  Nice meal, nice brews. 

 

After the protracted lunch at Bube’s we continued south east to Lancaster, one of the largest Amish communities in North America.  Had a guided tour around Lancaster seeing a lot of Amish farms and farmers.  Stopped in a couple of stores and saw some lovely quilts and wooden toys but restricted our purchases to fruit, vegetables and ice creams.  The Amish must hate the tourists coming round and staring at them – must admit, it did feel a little strange.

 

You can have the pretend one

Or you can have the real one

Working the fields the old way

Sue fell in love with this quilt

I’ve had a soft spot for pretzels ever since an old penpal from Pennsylvania sent me some back when most New Zealanders had never heard of them (yep, back when the world was black and white) so we made a stop at Lititz to tour an old pretzel factory.  Got to make our own pretzel as part of the tour – not bad efforts if I say so myself.  They still make soft pretzels here although not in the original wood ovens that only stopped being used in recent times when a newer, larger factory was built in Shillington. 

Official pretzel makers (we have certificates to prove it)

Mills sisters and the giant pretzel - sounds like a book title

Great views of Reading
from The Pagoda

A quick lunch stop at The Pagoda overlooking Reading then headed to a town called Shartlesville where we got to see a huge miniature railway (for those who have seen Lilliput in Napier, multiply that by 20).  Had to go round twice to take it all in although could probably have gone round 10 times and seen new things each time.  The time and effort some people put into their hobbies is simply astounding.  It was getting a bit late in the day to stop at Yeunglings

Just one small section of the
Roadside America attraction

brewery, one of, if not the, oldest breweries in USA but we went for a drive past to check out the old building.  That turned out to be a bit of a challenge in itself as driving in Pottsville is a bit like driving in Wellington – hilly with winding, narrow roads.  We survived – as did the RV on tow. 

Carving a centerpiece
for a wedding

Took a detour out east of Scranton and visited an ice museum at Lakeview.  Got to see some ice carving from the warmth and comfort of the viewing area.  The carver came out to see us at one stage but, don’t get excited, it was just to get some circulation in his hands.  At the Ice Works they predominantly make their own crystal clear ice and either sell to others for carving or make their own.  A lot of people have centrepieces made for weddings and presentations which is what we got to see carved today.  They can also make free-standing bars for that special occasion or, basically, anything your imagination can come up with.

Continuing north we crossed into New York state and headed towards the Finger Lakes.  Since we missed it last time we were in the area and were so close this time, we decided to call in at the Corning Museum of Glass.  What a fantastic place.  Watched some practical demonstrations and wandered through the galleries just amazed at the skill of some artisans.  Could easily have spent another day here.

Glass blowing demonstration - making a pumpkin

Chess set

Dan having fun at the Corning Museum of Glass

Making a glass goat

Jean and the glass pumpkins

Montour Falls at the
end of the main street

Did a day trip through the Finger Lakes and initially didn’t think we’d get much past Montour Falls.  We arrived just as they were setting up for a Harvest Fair.  Had a wander round and partook of some of their wares (by that I mean food, not alcohol) then headed up the side of Lake Seneca.  We got as far as a winery and partook of some of their wares (by that I mean alcohol, not food).  We weren’t getting very far on this scenic tour at all.

Sue & Jean sampling the wares of the fair

The view from Chateau Lafayette Reneau (no wine, we'd already drunk them)

Eventually we were on our way.  Had an interesting stop in Waterloo.  During the Civil War a farm worker lodged his scythe in the fork of a tree telling people he’ll be back after the war to pick it up.  Sadly he didn’t survive the war and the scythe was left in the tree.  During World War I two brothers did the same, leaving their scythes in the tree as they went off to do battle.  They did survive however they left their scythes in the tree (I guess they had a better offer than life down on the farm).  The tree meanwhile, has grown up around the scythes – apparently the wooden handles have long gone but the blades are still embedded.  I couldn’t spot them.  If you have any joy please let me know.

Can anyone spot a scythe?
Does anyone know what a scythe looks like?
(apart from Grandad/Ian who used one as a boy)
No, it's not that steel bar sticking out on the right.

 

After having dinner in Syracuse we headed back to the campground where Sue was struck by a disaster – her computer had stopped working.  Oh no!  So now you know why there hasn’t been a blog update for a while.