We were some super efficient travelers leaving the hotel and NYC this morning! We even managed to get out of Manhatten with little traffic. We decided that we didn't necessarily want to stay on the interstate during our drive through Pennsylvania today, so we took a smaller highway that took us all through the Pennsylvania Dutch country. I love, love, love Pennsylvania. This is my second time here and it's just breathtaking. It's so green. I love the farms with their bright white houses and 3 story barns and silos... We spent most of our time in Lancaster County. Everywhere you look you see the horse and buggies. I know it sounds odd, but I sort of envy their way of life. It's just so simple. Of course, we passed many farms with their laundry hanging on the line and I'm sure that one round of that and I'd be ready for my washer and dryer back! There are two towns here that are just about a mile apart and are full of shops and restaurants, Intercourse and Bird-in-the-Hand. Yes, those are their names. Bird-in-the-Hand from the proverb..A bird in the hand beats two in the bush, and Intercourse...no...from the Dutch "Entercourse" which means crossroads. Still, I couldn't bring myself to buy a t-shirt!

We had lunch at an Amish restaurant...Good and Plenty..and it was! It was family style, all you can eat. The first course was dinner rolls with apple butter and cinnamon raisin bread with frosting...all homeade.

The main course consisted of....fried chicken, roast beef, chicken pot pie, bow tie pasta in brown butter (or "hair bow" pasta as Mandy called it!), mashed potatos, green beans, and creamed corn!

Then came dessert...shoofly pie, sour cream apple pie and ice cream. The huge bowl of ice cream she set down on our table was a huge hit!

Mandy liked that you could add your own Hershey's syrup and sprinkles. Mostly she had a little bit of ice cream with her sprinkles!

Neither of us had ever had shoofly pie. Turns out it made from brown sugar and molassas. It's very sweet and gooey...

All the extreme close-ups of the food are because Scott has discovered the "macro" feature on the camera!

We took a few pictures....

Fed the ponies...

Took a pony ride...

I was off having a rare moment of shopping alone, when Scott and the kids found a store that specialized in insect gifts. Otherwise, I'm not sure we'd have made a purchase of scorpion earrings...Thomas purchased the scorpion necklace. Ugh. Just what I always dreamed of...a sweet little girl..with scorpions dangling from her ears.

We also found a knife store...Thomas was in heaven....

We also found a pretzel factory and took the tour. Did you know that 80% of the nation's pretzels are made in Southern Pennsylvania? The kids got to make their own pretzels...

Of course Scott had to take a picture of the name of the pretzel factory... Btw, he chuckeled all the way through town at every sign we passed. Sometimes, if feel like I'm married to a teenage boy.
During the factory tour they mentioned that sales are down. I'm thinking that it if they changed the name/logo that might improve. Just a thought.

We didn't have hotel reservations because of our extended stay in NYC. We thought we'd just stop when we got tired. Turns out that FEMA has booked most of the hotels in West Virginia for the flood victims. We finally found one about 10:00 just outside Clarksburg, West Virginia. However, the internet was bad, hence the reason why this blog is being posted this morning!

We passed through five states yesterday..New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and finally West Virginia...

Today we are going through Huntington, West Virginia to see Marshall University. If you haven't seen "We Are Marshall," you should rent it immediately. It's one of my favorite movies, and not just because it stars Matthew McConaghay. I have to see the fountain.

Then we'll be stopping in Lexington, Kentucky. We will probably be home late tomorrow night.

Blessings,

Leslie