Some days are chill and other days I am driving to close to NY, all the way through Jersey, and really wishing I were at home binge watching Netflix.
After a quick nights rest at West Point, NY military campground I drove straight to the heart of Dutch Country I found an adorable park to camp at. Country Acres located in Bird in Hand, PA. Yes, that is the name of the town. I had to ask the front desk lady because I was really confused. There is also the town of Intercourse, PA and Blue Ball, PA. But, the lady said they wont dance cause thats nasty. Tee he he. This area is well known for Lancaster for the and Hershey for the chocolate candy. Rain was planned for a couple of days so I created my own self guided covered bridge tour. There are so many here! It was the perfect activity for the weather. The rain and lack of sunshine made perfect conditions for some amazing pictures with my Canon camera. I grabbed a few off of my phone to share on here to. I gathered my information off of click on free things to do, then click on covered bridges. This is a good outline to start with. Do research, speak with locals, find that there are actually double the amount shown on
there. If you are interested in my lists, just drop me a note. The roads are extremely narrow, there are rarely any spaces to pull over at, but at least the locals are kind about bridge seekers like myself. For the most part anyhow. With the rain came full rivers of brown water so they were not the cute cascading ripples over rocks that I have seen, so I kept my pictures focused on the actual bridge, not the surrounds so much. Anyhow, the Mennonite and Amish, nor most people want visitors taking pictures of their homes and property. Always remember to be courteous of the people that live there.
The last day in this section of PA I headed to Hershey World! Most of the reviews I read were sub par if you only go to the free tour. You get into a personal cart that scoots you through a highly digitalized replica of the chocolate making process. Videos and audio keep a person involved and turning heads all the time. So much is happening at one time. The tour is approximately two minutes and you get a mini chocolate candy bar at the end. I had an
What are the rules? Do I pass on a double line? Do I drive extra slow so I dont spook the horse? Wheres the brochure at the visitors center on how to handle this?
extra 15 minutes to spend before one of my attractions started so I went a second time. The old fella who helped me to my cart (because the floor is rotating) said I looked familiar. I said yes, I am going again because I want the candy bar! He laughed and said I wasnt the first. Crap, busted.
The better reviews came from people who pay for the full experience so that is what I did. $45 for a trolley ride around town for 90 minutes and they feed you chocolates throughout the tour. Hershey Unwrapped theatre. It was corny, little kids 13 and under would enjoy it more. I received a collective tin filled with....yes, chocolates! The staff taught us about our senses, and how mistakes are good, that is how cookies and cream and peanut butter cups are invented. The final part of the package and what I was really excited about was making my own candy bar. They issue a hair net and apron then the fun begins. You get to choose your chocolate, your toppings, and whether you want sprinkles on top or not. Final step, you get to create your own wrapper! You follow
your own candy bar all along the process, it is wrapped, put in a collective tin and gift bag. I gave the experience a thumbs up!
Ive included a photo of me one evening in the back of my Outback whom I have officially named Lola. It was a dark rainy night and too early to sleep. I made a desk out of my Yeti cooler, set up my twinkle lights over my bed and had my solar lamp on while I did Sudoku puzzles. I guess I just learn to acclimate myself to whatever surroundings I find myself in.
