Sun Valley Resort, PA
Our furthest north stop on this trip was at an RV campground 20 miles outside of Lancaster PA. This is Amish country. Rolling hills and very tidy Amish and Mennonite and “English” farms. The Amish call non-Amish the “English”. We did a tourist bus tour through the area, stopping at a couple Amish stores and touring a former Amish farm-turned-example-farm. It is a very old farm and house, but oddly, is now situated adjacent to aTarget parking lot. In the Amish store photo, notice the natural lighting in the ceiling and the gas lanterns when artificial light is needed. No electricity. And the Amish camel? Apparently camel’s milk is a thing. A very expensive cash-producing thing. The scooter-bike is Amish-approved transportation. Wheels are OK, gears and chains apparently are not. And a blast from the past: candy cigarettes! Bubble gum sticks in this form, but who knew these still existed!
We took a trip to Hershey PA to visit the factory. Unfortunately they no longer have actual factory tours, just a Disney-style ride that explains the chocolate making process and a huge Hershey World store filled with all things chocolate plus other candies and snack products owned by the Hershey Company.
The AACA (Antique Automobile Club of America) Museum is nearby, so we stopped in to see lots of great antique and classic cars in pristine condition. The car with three headlights is a Tucker (go watch the movie to understand the history). The green car is a Duesenberg, a huge, long premium car of it’s era.
Another day we met up with Carine to visit Gettysburg National Military Park and Museum and the “final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.” The museum was excellent, and the burial grounds and monument were also beautiful and moving.
Canaan Valley, West Virginia
This beautiful state park campground had no cell coverage, in part because it is in the US National Radio Quiet Zone, but they did have good free WiFi. We hiked in the area and I had a nice long mountain bike ride in the park as well. We had a good visit with an aunt that I have not seen for over 50 years. This Appalachian area is beautiful, but quite remote.
Peaceful River, Virginia
This campground is due south of Canaan Valley, and just across the boarder into Virginia, but still part of the Appalachian mountain area. The mountains are not tall by western standards, but they are lush with vegetation, farms, and lots of large mowed lawns. The riding mower industry must do a great business here. We did take a day trip to Douthat State park to hike a beautiful trail (finally, some vertical hiking again!) Otherwise it was drizzly and cool the other days.
Grayson Highlands State park
This State Park is close to 5000 ft elevation providing beautiful vistas and nice hikes. There are herds of wild ponies living in the park boundaries, but we never got a glimpse of them. These eastern forrests are green and lush. Such a wide variety of large trees covering the mountainsides, and flowering trees, bushes and small plants at this time of year.
Next stop is Asheville North Carolina and a visit to the largest residence in the US: The Biltmore House. After that we head west, moving our way back to family and friends in Idaho and Utah!
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