08/18/2019 - We only drove 109 miles today to Circle M Campground in Lancaster County, PA (Amish country). Tom and I were here in 2015 and loved the park. It has a lovely pool and laundry facilities. And, best of all, it is a Thousand Trails Campground, so we get to stay free.
Got settled. Trish, Susan, and I went to the shoe store and Dress Barn. I bought 3 pairs of Vionics, as they were half price. We came back to the RV overheated (it is really hot and humid), so we put our suits on and went to the pool. The kids go back to school tomorrow, so it was full of kids. I counted 54 people in the pool, but OOOOH it felt so good! Later we had dinner and went to bed.
08/19/2019 - Our day was almost consumed by a trip to Hershey Chocolate World. We all 5 piled into the Jeep and drove about 26 miles to Hershey, PA.
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| Hershey's Chocolate World |
We took the Historical Trolley ride through the city of Hershey. We learned all about Milton's 4 failures and then complete success. He used his wealth to build a city and support many schools. When his wife died young (at 42), he lost his zest for life. At 61 he gave his fortune (about $60 million) to a foundation that supported all the Hershey schools, and moved into a 2 bedroom apartment until his death at age 88.
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| The streetlights look like Hershey's kisses |
Another story we heard was about H.B Reese, who worked in a Hershey dairy farm . Then he went to work for Hershey as a foreman. When he brought home Hershey bars to his kids, they put peanut butter on the candy bar. Mr. Reese decided to develop a candy bar with peanut butter in it in his basement. He decided to start his own candy company, even though he would be going into business as a competitor of Hershey. He approached Milton Hershey with his idea, and Hershey offered to help him. He sold Mr. Reese the milk chocolate at cost to help him get started----and that is how the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup became a reality. He ran the new company himself for about 30 years until his death in 1956. Seven years after his death, 6 of his sons sold the Reese's Candy Company to Hershey for $23.5 million of Hershey stock (which was a 5% ownership of Hershey). Today that 5% is worth about $1 billion for Reese's heirs. Today, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are the biggest seller by Hershey, and the #1 candy bar sold in the country.
We then had lunch in the Chocolate World and took the tour, which was not at the actual factory. The FDA shut down the actual factory tour many years ago, when over 1 million visitors came every year, and the FDA felt that a million people in a food factory was not sanitary. So, Hershey built a mechanical tour tram that explains how they make their candies (it was more like a Disneyland ride than a factory tour, but it was fun). Then we went shopping for candy. All of us came out with a load of chocolate. I wonder how long it will last?
Trish, Susan, and I went swimming in the pool again. I met a nice couple from Maryland. They had a lot of questions about camping in general (they were new at it). Trish fixed hamburgers for dinner. At 8:30 p.m., a repairman showed up and fixed the breaker on our front roof air conditioner. We now have 2 working roof A/C units. All in all, a very good day.
08/20/2019 - A shopping and touring day in Amish country. We headed out to a mall that Trish and Susan scoped out (I bought another pair of flip flops- very sparkly). Then we drove to Lapps Toy and Furniture store in Lancaster County to check out the Amish wood works. Then we went to Bird In Hand Bakery and home made goodies. We all bought baked goods. By the way, 'Bird in Hand' is the name of the town also. Even the bank is Bird in Hand Bank. While there, we saw an Amish mother and her two children come in to the bakery in their buggy, pulled by a small pony. Here is a picture with Susan talking to them.
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| Susan and the Amish family |
Next stop was Zooks Homemade meat pies. We all bought meat pies and stocked our freezers. All through the countryside, we saw lots of Amish buggies and beautiful farms. We really enjoyed the whole day.
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| Just a really pretty scene |
When we got back to the campground, Trish and Susan went to the pool. I had a nap and Tom worked on our dash A/C problem, then took the dogs to a Pet Smart to get their nails trimmed. Dinner was chicken rolls with broccoli and cheese, garlic bread, and a great watermelon (we bought today),
08/21/2019 - A driving day today to Misty Mountain Campground in Greenwood, Virginia (about 250 miles). Tom and I left at 8:30 a.m. and stopped at the Utz factory (a manufacturer of potato chips and other snacks). We did a self guided tour of the factory from an upper level with windows that looked down into the factory. They slice their potatoes much thinner that I am used to, and use about half as much salt. Then they fry them in cottonseed oil. This makes them a unique taste. I think I like my Lays chips better . Here is a picture of their early equipment.
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| Original Potato Peeler and Potato slicer- circa 1920 |
At 12:30 we stopped for fuel, and continued driving. At 2:30 we were both hungry, so we stopped at an Arby's for sandwiches. We arrived at the campground around 4:30 - 8 hours traveling today--way too much!
Trish brought chicken dinner over with coleslaw and we finished the watermelon. Tonight will be a movie and bed. Tom and I are both beat from the long drive and no dash air yet.
08/22/2019 - Trish, Susan, Tom and I left in the morning for Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. It is about 16 miles from the campground. I didn't know that Thomas Jefferson was 6' 2.5", I guess I thought he was a shorter man.
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| Thomas Jefferson |
Jefferson called it his little mountain. It covered 5000 acres of land. He designed the house. It was simple but efficient (the beds were built into the walls which were 4 feet thick). There was no grand staircase as Jefferson believed that they were a waste of space. Instead, he built 2 sets of very narrow and steep steps up to the upper floor. It had 9 bedrooms upstairs which we did not get to see. Travelers to Monticello had to make long journeys by horse and buggy to get there. His closest ally in government was Madison, who lived about an 8 hour horse and buggy ride away. James and Dolly Madison were frequent guests at Monticello and used the guest room downstairs. It took Jefferson 4 1/2 days from Monticello to Philadelphia, the country's capital at that time. The capital was moved to Washington DC in 1800.
We walked all through the house, but were not allowed to take pictures inside. Here is a picture of the kitchen which was in the basement.
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| The kitchen shelves |
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| The works area in the kitchen |
Here is a replica of his one man horse carriage.
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| One man carriage |
Along the back of the house was Mulberry Row, where the vegetable garden supported all of the staff and the household.
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| Mulberry Row and the view from the back of the house |
Here is a picture of the front of the house. The back was under restoration.
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| Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson |
This is a picture of Jefferson's personal study.
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| Jefferson's personal Study |
He was an accomplished man. He read books in 7 languages and spent his life collecting books His original library of over 6200 books were sold to Washington DC after the Library of Congress was burned to the ground by the British during the War of 1812. That collection was the seed of our current Library of Congress, and a section of the Library of Congress today has all of the original Jefferson books. Afterwards, Jefferson bought more books. He owned over 9000 books. Most all of them were technical in nature, or historical, or on government structure. He was truly a scholar.
In writing his own tombstone, Thomas Jefferson penned a lengthy, memorial listing many of his great accomplishments from "Author of the Declaration of Independence" to "Founder of the University of Virginia". However, he did forget to mention that he filled the office of Secretary of State under George Washington; was the Vice President under John Adams (the 2nd President), or was was the third President of the United States.
Back to Misty Mountain RV Campground, have dinner, and get ready to move again in the morning.
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