Photos are LIES - This is a redecorated transient hotel in a completely defunct neighborhood. Dangerous! Specifics of our stay - Tried for 15 minutes to find a staff member at the front desk - finally gave up, 8th floor windows didn't lock - travelling with a 3 year old - The Hair Dryer CAUGHT FIRE! - Of the 2 "working" elevators (one was not), 1 was a deathtrap. Stains on carpet - blood? - Explicit sexual grafitti on FRONT WINDOWS of building. We left after first night of stay at went elsewhere. After being told that we would receive a refund for the remaining 3 days by the desk clerk, the manager (Andre) REFUSED to grant one. This was after 3 WEEKS of Expedia not being able to even FIND HIM! HORRIBLE PLACE, TERRIBLE MANAGEMENT.

After Bird in Hand I headed down to the "big city"--Lancaster...

Something felt different about Lancaster it's not the typical East Coast city... Yes, a lot of the inner city houses look old and a little shabby--but none of them seem to be abandoned or decaying... The inner city feels friendly, not hostile... And as I walked around I noticed how mutiracial all the neighborhoods seem to be--not the typical ghettoization I'm used to seeing... Whites, Blacks, Latinos all hanging out together...

I wonder... what does Lancaster have that other cities around here lack? Something I'd like to look into further...

Amish country.  The gentle people.  Hard working and loyal.  So misunderstood.  There are several roads that lead into Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and we choose Highway 340.  This was supposed to be the preferred route for horse-and-buggy viewing, and we were right. 

The towns have unusual names that conjure up images in your mind.  Wagontown, Intercourse, Bird-in-Hand.   No tractors to be seen in the breezeways of the well-built barns and sheds.  Acre after acre of turned-up earth and green fields.  Small boys working with large Belgium drafthorses.  Two gentle giants with ears cocked backward, listening for their next command.

Oh, do we all wish for a live of simplicity?  No arguments over which television show to watch or what to wear to school or work.  There are no worries about the cost of car tires or having the oil changed.  What about that commute to the office.  Non-existing in this neighborhood.

A sideroad took us deep into their world.  It must have been wash day.  Every farmhouse had clean laundry hanging on the clothesline, stretched between the highest point on the barn and the corner of the house.  That made it a little bit easier.  Just pull on the line to feed the clothes high into the breeze.

We passed a schoolyard full of children.  They were all dressed the same and excited to see our motorcycles, running up close to the road to watch as we waved hello.   Through our rear-view mirror, I could see them all lined up against the fence with their little fingers entwined with the chainlink, watching our tail lights fade away.  I suppose that little boys everywhere like big-boy toys, no matter their cultural background.   We respected their privacy and did not take any pictures, only the pictures that are forever pressed into our memories.

Another scene that impressed me was the buggy lot.  Similar to our used car lots, buggies were parked side by side.  The entire lot was full of black buggies.  How would you decide?  They all looked the same.  There is no odometer that tells the mileage.   Men with beards and black hats milled about the lot.  No women were in sight.   Some of them were in deep conversation.  Others were checking out the newest additions.  All buggies had  price tags and  had been cleaned up nicely to make them more attractive to the buyer.  Interesting.

This is a corner of the world that invites you to stay; don't leave.  These gentle people only ask to be left alone.  They take care of themselves and ask for nothing.

Only one week after we had passed through this little bit of heaven on earth, the headlines read, "Mass Murder in Amish Schoolhouse."  My heart sank deep inside my chest.  What a travesty that someone would actually want to harm these people.  God forgive him.

And the countdown has begun!  Actually, it seems like just yesterday that I was saying, "60 more days til Quito!"  Now it's just around the corner!  There is so much that needs to get done in the next week though....meetings, writing treatment plans, getting clients re-authorized, meetings, therapy sessions, supervisions, progress notes, and meetings!  Asu mare!  It's gonna be a crazy week, but it will all be worth it in the end when I can get on that plane without a care in the world (well, except for making that first impression).  ;)  

Until then amigos!

Ciao

6/2/06

Gettysburg, PA to Lancaster, PA

Big thunder and lightening storm again with many flood warnings throughout the night in surrounding areas.  We didn’t “do” Gettysburg because of all the time we spent there last year…. if you do get a chance to visit there is lots to see.  The local campgrounds all have shuttles that go back and forth making it extremely easy to see everything in the area.  We set up the RT once and spent the next three days utilizing the shuttles.

We took off for York first thing this morning and found the Harley Davidson Plant was in operation.  Dave and I had the best tour of the production line.  It was fully operational (last year it was not operating at the time of our tour).  Well worth revisiting.  Driving through York we saw many “street rods” as it was the big weekend car show at the fair grounds. What a pleasure to see a little beauty tucked in here and there amongst the traffic and a close up look at the ten that parked in the HD parking lot.

We found a very nice campground for two nights by Maple Grove and parked in the “back forty” all by ourselves….very quiet.

Dave and I had the best evening with friends at Shady Maple Smorgasbord in Blue Ball, PA. YUM if you want good food and lots of it Shady Maple is the place to go!!    Georgene filled me in on what I missed in April with our quilting group’s FabFest, checked my local map and pinpointed the location of shops I wanted to visit, and shared some luscious freshly picked strawberries. There was another thunder and lightening show again tonight…lots of rain too.

Gas @ Lancaster, PA…..$2.759…………14mpg

6/3/06

Lancaster, PA

I was in shopping heaven today.  Dave and I drove all over the Amish area of Lancaster County visiting the fabric shops that I missed out on by not being at FabFest with the “girls”.  I must admit it is so much more fun with the gang…it was a little lonesome today, Dave just doesn’t ooh and aah like we girls do.  LOL  Had a good visit with Nancy Brown, the new owner of Burckholders.  She is also from WA so we had lots to chat about.  Dave did enjoy the visit to Zooks in Intercourse, PA  well not Zooks really but the Pretzel store right next door.  Ya just gotta try their freshly made garlic or onion and sour cream or sesame seed pretzels. We liked all three!!!  I never get tired of driving throughout the farm country, passing the horse and buggies and seeing the fields being plowed with the horses……Amish country.  111 miles later we headed back to the campsite only to find it pitch black due to the power being out because of a car accident around the bend from the campground.  Went to bed early and got a good nights sleep.