Tag Archives: Harrisburg

Uncategorized

3rd day in Harrisburg

Hershey-Gift-ShopBy now we have pretty much mapped the place out and at least know how to get to Walmart and a few restaurants.? We spent the morning getting ready for the day at Hershey which also has a nice Tanger Outlet shopping center nearby.

We don’t do roller coasters, slingshot rides, and bungee jumping any more so the theme park is out for us until the grandkids get older anyway.? We wanted a quiet tour around the factory and grounds and to learn a bit about how an individual can change the world with his vision of factory made and mass produced chocolate using local milk from dairy farmers and cocoa beans from all over the world.? This guy was a genius and his legacy lives on today with a lot of interest world wide.? There were a lot of non english speaking people at the museum and gift shop.

We made it to Hershey in about 15 minutes of leaving the campgrounds with no traffic delays, and only a couple of traffic lights.? We entered the town of Hershey and noticed that the lamp posts held up a Hershey Kiss shaped light cover on every pole.? The entire town seemed to benefit from the product and marketing genius of this Hershey guy.

We arrived at the parking lot and although it was not empty, it certainly was not full either.? We were able to get a front row spot next to the walkway that was covered by a canopy and walked right into the factory tour and gift shop building.

The tour was a simulated factory with real equipment in motion, but videos and animatronics did all the talking and most of the imagery of product was produced with video overlaying the real conveyors to give the sense of seeing working factory.? The process was described in detail, but the recipe of how much ingredient was somehow left out of the tour.? OH YEA, and the nice thing was that the tour was given while riding through in rotating carts like tea-cups.? It was definitely worth the trip, and there were lots of other events that we could have done, but cost money and seemed to be directed towards families with children.

The gift shop was amazing, and had items that I had never seen before.? They also had a “build your own” candy bar room that was similar to a build-a-bear system except with candy.?? We also were shown an area where you could learn how to taste and discern chocolates like a wine?connoisseur except with exquisite chocolates.? That’s all I need is for Norma to become a chocolate?connoisseur from the choc-o-holic she is now.

When we left the Hershey World building, we found next to the theme park was a Tanger Outlet shopping center.? Well Heaven help me if we don’t stop and get something else for the grand kids.?? That would break their little hearts to not have a new pair of Frozen flip flops or a new Mickey Mouse plate to eat out of.? 😉

We had a great day and the weather was perfect, not hot, a little breeze.? We stopped and purchased fresh “ripe on the vine” strawberries as a recommendation from our friends Jim and Barb, and they are sweet, and delicious.? There was a little pop up summer shower just as we returned to the camp ground but just made for good relaxing nap.

Tomorrow we leave bright and early to head around NY City to reach Plymouth and Cape Cod area to see all the historical items of interest in that area.?? We Might also find a restaurant or two that serves sea food.

[dfads params=’groups=-1‘]
Uncategorized

Harrisburg – June 6

The day started off very quiet in the campground. ?We watched the sun sneak up between the trees. ?What a beautiful start for our day.? We did a little shopping at the? Bass Pro Shop, Aldi’s, and Walmart to restock some much needed camping supplies.

Great Friends treated us like royalty.
Great Friends treated us like royalty.

When Wayne worked for IBM/Premise years ago, he worked a lot in Philadelphia, PA where he became good friends with Jim, one of his customers. ?They stayed in touch all these years.? When Jim found out we were coming to this area and asked if they could take us sightseeing. ?They came to the campground around 12:30 to pick us up and start our amazing adventure.

Our first stop was the Civil War Museum. ?It was a wonderful representation of the North and the South. ?We spent a couple of hours here enjoying all the memorabilia. ?There were bricks making up the sidewalk that told how many soldiers served and died from all the states. ?It’s well worth the trip if you are ever in this area.

We then took a driving tour of downtown Harrisburg, PA. ?We saw the state capital. ?We saw what looked like a house, but you could drive through the middle of it. ?It was the entrance to a cemetery and was something unique that we would never have imagined existed.? They drove us to a beautiful area called Reservoir Park – Italian Lake. ?It was absolutely gorgeous. ?There were beautiful black and white swans and a bunch of geese. ?I don’t remember ever seeing a black swan.

We were getting pretty hungry so we?decided it was time for dinner. ?Jim and Barb suggested we eat at Duke’s Bar & Grill. ?It had a menu of about a hundred pages from salads, to Mexican, to Italian, to meat and potatoes, and BOY WAS IT delicious. ?Wayne and Barb got the Mountain of Meatloaf ( see photo in slide show ), which when you see the picture you will know why.? It was a “mile high mountain” 🙂

After the wonderful meal and conversation and view Jim drove us out to Three Mile Island. ?It was a little scary being out there. ?Two of the reactors are permanently inactive, but ?two are still active. ?We saw people fishing, but Barb said they are told not to eat the fish with more than 2 eyes, or more than two tails. (ha ha)

We also saw some beautiful homes in the downtown area. ?Some areas were well kept, and some stood in ruins. ?The architecture of these homes are beautiful. ?It’s a shame to see them so deteriorated and run down.? We also were toured through? City Island Park. ?They have soccer fields, minor league baseball fields, hockey, and playgrounds. ?It was very nice for people of all ages and very safe for families to bring their children.

They also drove us beside the river where the flood plains are. ?There are beautiful homes here, but every time it floods they get flooded. ?They said when the river starts rising they have to move all their belongings up to the second floor, because the water covers the first floor. ?The newer homes are built up a floor and the garage takes up the first floor. ?Beautiful view of the river from here, but would not want to take the chance of being flooded.

Thanks to Jim and Barb, we had a most wonderful day. ?We got to see a lot of things we would never have known were here if it were not for our wonderful friends.

Uncategorized

Day 2 of Harrisburg

Amish-Bugyy-ChurchWe got up early as planned and ate a light breakfast in the motor home, then left on our journey/adventure for the date.?? Keep in mind our “bucket list” goal is to set foot in every state of this great nation.? We wanted to visit and absorb all the culture of the Amish that we could because that brings back a lot of memories for me to see all the farm land and how well it is manicured and worked and valued as the source of life that it is.

The farms, barns, silos, in most cases are nicer than the houses, but that doesn’t mean the houses are any less attractive, neat, and well cared for.?? I would simply say that these farmers take care of their equipment, facilities and grounds the way any tradesman would take care of his tools.

We saw plenty of beautiful farms, and of course the frequent Amish buggy and kids out playing.? We ate at one of the Amish family style restaurants and it was delicious and plentiful.? The name of the restaurant was Good-N-Plenty, and boy it was.? We were seated with 3 other families, one from Knoxville and I picked up on their southern nature because she asked her husband if the tea was sweet ;)? and of course it was not. ? There was a nice family from Long Island who were on their way back home from a school concert that their daughter was in, and another family from Boston area and gave us some suggestions for our next leg of this trip which is in Plymouth and Cape Cod.

We drove off the main street where most of the souvenir shops and tourist traps were and saw some of the real shops and crafts that were made the old fashioned way ( by hand ).? We also got drenched as it came a flood and we thought we saw a couple of horses go floating by.

After we saw plenty of the Amish area, we headed off to catch two of our missing states for our bucket list.? Deleware and New Jersey.?? Keep in mind we are from a VERY small town in Alabama, and It was a culture shock to me to have so many spaghetti intersections of about a dozen interstates, and highways all coming together.? Also let me tell those of you who have never been to old Downtown section of Wilmington Delaware, just go ahead and poke sticks under your fingernails, and pour salt in your eyes.?? It will be the same experience ;-)? we definitely drove through areas that we would not be comfortable getting out of the car.?? New Jersey, wasn’t as bad, BUT, they let you in for free, and you have to pay 4 dollars to get out or you are stuck there forever.