Hershey, Pennsylvania | Amish Country

Hershey, Pennsylvania: Yesterday was a driving day - nothing to report. But, wow, did we have a full day today. After staying up late last night to watch a triple over-time basketball game, and then trying to watch some of the Sacramento game... from the wrong time zone, we fell into a restless sleep. It was hot and it was muggy and it rained all night. We woke to a beautiful day, however, which was a good thing as we had a full agenda.

First a few words about Hershey, Pennsylvania. It is, of course, the home of Hershey Chocolate and the world's largest chocolate factory. Everything here is clean and manicured, mowed and pruned, polished and painted. (It is like being in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.) Mr. Hershey perfected his craft here in his hometown, after several failures in other cities. He made a fortune and gave back to his community by building hospitals, schools, libraries, hotels, convention centers, sports complexes, art centers, colleges - well, you get the idea. It is an adorable place - even the street lamps are shaped like Hershey's Kisses!  I adore chocolate, but I do not care for milk chocolate. I am a dark chocolate girl. All the same, there I was in line at Hershey's Chocolate World - the Mecca of milk chocolate. Don't forget, our beagle is named Snickers; we have a Grand Dawg named Reese's Pieces and a Niece Dawg named Hershey - and a Niece Dawg named Godiva. (Family theme thing.) We had so much fun touring the facility and poking through their unbelievable gift shops!

Terry with "Reese"


Hershey's Chocolate World


A world of chocolate?

The area was quite busy - soccer games on the playing fields and Penn State University Medical School graduation at the pavilion, plus sugared-up tourists and toddlers everywhere. The Big Attraction here is the amusement park Hershey Park, with fabulous roller coasters, is a veritable Chocolate Disneyland. We passed on the rides and instead drove to the State Capital in Harrisburg to tour the State Capitol Building.

"Back door" of the Pennsylvania State Capitol


Close-up of the green tiled dome


Inside the rotunda


Preparation for a Capitol Wedding this afternoon!
 

The "front door"


A Capital City resident enjoying local produce

Designed by Joseph Houston in different Renaissance styles, the building was dedicated in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt. The House and Senate chambers are among the finest and most ornate of any State Capitol Building. Incredible detail, miles of gold leaf, imported marbles, carvings, statues, tiles and furniture. The desks in the Senate Chamber are the original from 1906, constructed of Belize mahogany. After our look at the Capitol, we took a drive along the Susquehanna River and enjoyed the pretty views of this busy city. We wanted to tour the Harley-Davidson Motor Company in York, but they were closed on Saturday, so we continued (in the car, by the way) to Lancaster County - Amish Country.
 
We were both surprised at what we found. There were more "plain" people there than I thought. Not that everyone was getting around in a horse & buggy, but there were many. We both expected more touristy places, and though there were many, it was less commercial than we expected. I would have loved to take photographs of the many interesting things we saw today - but I think it would be rude to snap photos of people simply living their lives... no matter how simply they are living. We did go into a few of the villages - Bird-in-Hand, Strasburg, Intercourse and Paradise - but mostly we stayed on the back roads to see the farms. The people live in huge white wooden homes, have many children and no electricity. The farms were very large - acres wide, with gigantic old barns and 4-story silos. We watched farmers plowing their fields with horses and mules. Wash was hanging on the line. Most farms sold their goods - eggs, milk, vegetables, butter, cheese, etc., and nearly every farm noted "No Sunday Sales". It was simply charming to see a buggy parked in the garage instead of a car. Females wore dresses with aprons; males wore black pants held-up with suspenders and black hats. Even the little boys wore black hats. Most men had beards. We even came upon a one-room school house with outhouses!
 
We stopped for lunch and had a delicious hot turkey sandwich, swimming in gravy. We also tried the Pennsylvania Dutch style Pot Pie, which is made with noodles instead of pastry crust. It received mixed reviews from this panel.

DT doesn't believe me, but the Pennsylvania Dutch were not Dutch. They were German. The phrase is a misnomer, by misunderstanding/anglicizing the word Deutsch, which means German (in German, of course). This explains the sauerkraut and sausages for sale in the Farmers Market we visited. We bought some local cheese and "jarred goods". Canned pickles of all sorts, relishes, jams, pretzels and red pickled eggs are very popular here - as are cheeses, cured meats and shoofly pie. There are countless shops selling popular Amish Crafts - quilts, baskets, candles and foods.
 
I may not have felt comfortable taking a photo of a "plain" person, but I did not hesitate to ask the clerk if it was permitted to take a photo in the Beer Store near our campsite! No kidding, in Pennsylvania you can not buy beer in a supermarket - you can ONLY buy beer in a Beer Store or tavern. In a Beer Store, the beverage only comes in cases. None of this six-pack stuff. Plus, in a beer store you can't buy wine, spirits or even soda. You can buy beer. (And lottery tickets.) If you want wine, you go to a wine store!
 
Understand?

DT bought Yuengling - Pennsylvania's finest (Pronounced Ying-Ling)

We came back to the camper, just as the sky opened. All day we had enjoyed lovely weather, but this evening we had black clouds, wind,  lightning and thunder! (Actually, this is a good place for weather - nice during the day and rain at night!) The storm didn't stop us from going out to dinner. We went to a local pub. The food wasn't bad and we enjoyed the transformation as every television in the bar was eventually tuned to car racing programs. Stock car racing. Drag car racing. Finally, NASCAR racing.

RV Park: Hershey Highmeadow Campground