Hershey, Pa

This post is from June 1st, 2016!

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We arrived at the Hershey, PA Thousand Trails with John and Linda and found two 50 amp sites up in the "H" Loop. I really liked the sites we were able to get.

Hershey TT Campsite

This is the view out our door, simply spectacular!

View out our window

I want to take a minute to share my opinion about Thousand Trails. It is far from perfect! It used to be you had to be a member to use the parks, but now that Encore owns TT it is open to the public. Also at many parks, you can buy an annual site which many times means the annuals get the "best" sites, HOWEVER.........

as you can see in the pictures above we usually find great sites, and have never been refused a site. It is always easier then using a "public" campground and the price is spectacular because we do use our membership! On this eastern trip we are using TT 145 nights. This year we are using TT 205 nights. 

Campgrounds have gotten expensive. I would have to say an average of about $40.00 a night or higher. Up in Wells, Maine they are $75-$90 a night! At an average fee of $40.00 a night the 145 nights on the eastern trip would have cost us $5800.00 in camping fees! At the 205 nights this year it would have been $8200! That's just the nights we spend in TT! We pay about $635.00 a year in membership dues for TT. This averages out to $3.10 per night including electricity! We couldn't full time without TT!

OK now to Hershey......

Hershey is a chocolate town. Here is Chocolate Avenue. Notice the Street lights are Hershey Kisses, but with wrapped and unwrapped.

Chocolate Ave

We went to Chocolate World with John and Linda.

Chocolate World

We expected to smell chocolate when we got into town, but sadly things have changed.You can't even do a real factory tour, but instead you ride a simulation showing the chocolate making process. You can also buy large $50.00 candy bars. Oh well, wish we had come when the factory was actually here!

We  went to Lancaster, Pa with John and Linda to the Shady Maple Smorgasbord.

Shady Maple Smorgasbord

For $12.50 a person you eat and eat and eat! There is over 200 feet of buffet eating! They even have an Icee machine!!!

Shady Maple Smorgasbord

This is definitely Amish country! The Amish drive amongst the "English" as they call us.

Amish Wagon

And there were many Amish farms where they plow the fields the old fashion way.

Horse Plowing

We came across this covered bridge.

Covered Bridge

The Bentons had to go back to their property early so we had a few days by ourselves. We found this old furnace.

The furnace was a leading Pennsylvania iron producer from 1742 until it was shut down in 1883. The furnaces, support buildings and surrounding community have been preserved as a historical site and museum, providing a glimpse into Lebanon County's industrial past. The site is the only intact charcoal-burning iron blast furnace in its original plantation in the western hemisphere. Established by Peter Grubb in 1742, Cornwall Furnace was operated during the Revolution by his sons Curtis and Peter Jr. who were major arms providers to George Washington. Robert Coleman acquired Cornwall Furnace after the Revolution and became Pennsylvania's first millionaire. Ownership of the furnace and its surroundings was transferred to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1932.

Cornwall Iron Furnace

At one time cannonballs were made at Cornwall.

Cannonballs

In 1742, Grubb replaced his bloomery with a 30-foot high charcoal-fired cold blast furnace. The blast furnace burned hotter than the bloomery and was able to render molten pig iron ("charcoal iron") from the ore.

Furnace

Outside of the furnace building.

Cornwall Furnace

That's it for today.

Thank you for reading,

God bless you,

Brian and Patty

Gettysburg, Pa

This post is from May 23rd, 2016!

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This is our first time in Pennsylvania having driven from Virginia and driving through Washington, DC, and Maryland.

Pennsylvania

We pulled into the Gettysburg Farms Thousand Trails RV Park. Our friends John and Linda were already here. In fact the 5th wheel directly behind us is theirs!

Gettysburg Farms TT

The main reason for coming here is to go to the Gettysburg Battlefields. We were not ready for the size of the fields!

Gettysburg

Here is a selfie of the four of us at Gettysburg. From Left to Right it is Linda and John Benton, and Patty and Brian Hunt.

John and Linda, Brian and Patty

We were so blessed to have the Benton's with us. John is such an expert on the Civil War! There are 41 miles of roads at Gettysburg and 1320 memorials! Without a tour guide like John and Linda it would not have been the same!

Memorials

We were surprised to learn that California had a regiment fighting here. They fought with the Pennsylvania regiment, but they were indeed here!

California Regiment Memorial

We also learned that although slavery was an integral part of the Civil War, it was just part of it. It was also about states rights, and taxes and economics. The things we still struggle with today!

Here is the New York 44th Infantry Monument. It sort of looks like a castle.

New York Monument

We really like this picture. In the right you can see the New York Monument from above.

Brian and Patty

There was about 400 Civil War cannons in the park. They were ALL authentic Civil War Cannons.

Civil War Cannons

This cannon was a re-creation cannon. On this day they were having a living history day.

Fire!!

The union soldiers were charging us!

CHARGE!!

These are Confederate Soldiers.

Confederates

And of course the Union Soldiers firing back!

Union Soldiers

This is the Virginia Monument. Some of fairly plain like the California one, and some are fairly elaborate like this one.

Virginia Monument

And some are very large like the Pennsylvania monument! You could climb to the top of this one. That is me next to the cannon on the left and Patty next to the cannon on the right.

Pennsylvania Monument

Eisenhower National Historic Site preserves the home and farm of Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Eisenhower National Historic Site

Throughout his long army career, Dwight Eisenhower and his wife never had a house to call their own, with the couple moving from army post to army post. After he became Columbia University's president in 1948, Mamie requested that they finally have a place to call their own. A married couple that were friends with the Eisenhowers, George and Mary Allen, had recently purchased a small farm around Gettysburg, and recommended the area. In 1950, they found a "run-down farm" on the outskirts of Gettysburg, and purchased the farm and its 189 acres for $40,000 from Allen Redding, who had owned the farm since 1921. Eisenhower stated that he could feel the "forgotten heroisms" that occurred on the grounds as the Battle of Gettysburg.

Eisenhower Farm

For $7.50 a person you take a shuttle bus from the Gettysburg Visitor Center to the Eisenhower Farm. That is the only way you can tour the farm. You can tour the farm on your own, but you must take a guided tour through the house.

Living Room

We took the tour of the house which is included with the bus fee.

Bedroom

Probably spent an hour or so here before taking the bus back.

Kitchen

We saw on Google that there was an historic round barn near Gettysburg. There are just a handful of these so we thought we should go check this out!

Historic Round Barn

They were no longer using this as a barn, but instead using it as a produce stand and also selling different types of do-dads.

Adams County Round Baarn

They were selling apples really cheap. Like 50 cents a pound, every type even Fuji. They were all the same price, so we grabbed a couple of each type!

How About Them Apples?

That's it for Gettysburg,

Love you all,

Brian and Patty