Good and Plenty or Plain and Fancy?

We were on our way to our grandson's wedding, and it is just a little too far to drive in one day. So I decided to stop off halfway. I wanted to revisit some of the places we went when we were living in Philadelphia in 1969, so I picked

Lancaster in 1969

and

Hershey factory which we toured in 1969

Back in the late 60s and early 70s, you could actually take a tour of the factory and watch the production. For reasons of security, no photographs were allowed, but I remember that they gave us candy bars from the production line. I also remember that the whole town smelled of chocolate.

I switched my hotel reservations for Hershey and Lancaster because originally I had wanted to do an Amish farm dinner and if we were in Lancaster on Sunday night, the Amish would not be doing any tours or meals. Also I wanted to go to the Central Market and that was only open Friday, Saturday and Tuesday.

Getting Ready

Bob ordered shirts from Lands End (there was a sale) and he put them in a red duffle and that's what he packed. He forgot a coat and an umbrella. Lynde packed for me Monday - I still have not gotten the dress I ordered from Serengeti that I wanted to wear, but we found something else for me to wear. My suitcase is not full, but there isn't enough room to put the computer bag in it. Bob wrenched his knee and slept with ice bags on it.

I talked to the oil people last week and they were to come and get the oil on Tuesday. On Monday I had an appointment with the cardiologist and they did an echo gram and scheduled a stress test for next week.

On Tuesday, the oil people did not come. I called several different numbers and eventually the man came back and said they weren't doing pickups at residences anymore and they also were not picking up the oil tank. Bob does not want to pay them to take perfectly good oil.

Scaffolding on our house

Wednesday, Bob moved the back scaffolding. We went to KFC for dinner and they gave me three pieces when I asked for two, and they gave me a turnover that I didn't ask for. I did eat it. I should not have as I had a horrible case of reflux.

15 September 2016 Thursday Morning - Leaving for Lancaster

Thursday, I figured out (after a few false starts) how to have the land line calls from home forwarded to my iPhone. I packed up the computer and turned off the modem, and Bob turned off the TV timer so the TV won't go on in the morning. We left the house about 10:10. I apparently put my camera on manual focus so until I figured that out, all those photos are out of focus.

Out of focus stadium across the street as we leave

We drove up through Hughesville and across Croom Road

Rural Maryland roads

We stopped for lunch about 12:20 at Bob Evans off Padonia Road. I had

An egg, two pieces of sausage a biscuit and a little bowl of fruit

Bob had

French toast

He drank water and I had an Arnold Palmer.

Ad on the table - Candied Bacon?

The services was a little slow, but we were back on the road by 1:30.

Arriving in Lancaster

We got to the hotel in Lancaster by 2:30. We had a microwave and a fridge in the room. There is a plug and a USB port by the bed and over the desk so I did not have to go behind furniture looking for a place to plug in the computer. In addition to the usual workout room and breakfast area, there was a snack rack, and a guest laundry (washer and dryer).

Hampton Inn coin laundry

The hotel has a lot of good accessibility provisions

Bob took a nap while I tried to figure out where to go for dinner. I was originally going to do a farm tour and Amish meal, but decided it was too expensive ($50 each) and too strenuous (3 hours) plus I wasn't sure we would get there in time for the dinner tour. So I thought we would just eat someplace where they had PA Dutch food. I asked the hotel desk and they recommended Miller's Smorgasbord, and Plain and Fancy. I had been looking at Good and Plenty. Plain and Fancy and Good and Plenty were both family style. I looked at Good and Plenty menu and it looked very much like Dillard House (not a good comparison). Plain and Fancy was a little better and was $19.95 each. Miller's was $23.95 but there was a $3.00 coupon which would have made it pretty much the same as Plain and Fancy, and they had steamed shrimp on the buffet which I thought Bob would like. So that is where we went. The restaurant is a little bit east of Lancaster - about a 20 minute drive- in Ronks.

Corn field

Intercourse Village 5 miles ahead

Smoketown school

Amish farm

Road to Ronks

Good 'n Plenty

Balloon

Miller's Voted Best Again

In the parking lot

Going to Miller's Smorgesboard, you pass through a bakery and a gift shop - they want to entice you to buy on the way in or out. I took some photos, but I wasn't enticed. They even have an on-line business. You can have their delicious pies shipped fresh to your home. Check out their Ship-a-Shoofly program for details, and call 800-669-3568 to place your order.

Quilts and Dutch Apple Jam for sale

We entered into the restaurant sort of through a car.

Graham car and radiator cap

There was a busload of kids that got there about the same time we did,

Students at the buffet

but this is a VERY big place - we were at table 522. They took a chair away and I parked the scooter by the table. There was enough room for me to get around on the scooter to see what there was to eat (and to take some photos of it)

Shrimp and potato salad

Soups

Frosted bread pudding

Miller's calls themselves a Smorgasbord, but it is really just a fancy buffet with some local foods. The internet coupon was $3.00 which reduced the price from $23.95 to $20.95 each. I didn't print out the coupon - I just showed it to the waitress on my phone. I had taken off my camera vest and forgot to take my camera so I had to use my cell phone to take photos. I got a Swedish meatball (that was the special of the day)

Swedish meatballs

a little slice of roast beef,

Carving station

My plate

a piece of fish which Bob said was trout but I was eating salmon, a little mac & cheese, some shrimp and a piece of frosted raisin bread. I asked Bob to bring me the seafood chowder but he brought the cream of mushroom soup instead.

Oyster crackers on soup

They were across the table from each other so it was an easy mistake to make. I didn't eat all of that. Then I had a peach crumble pie.

Peach Crumble Pie

Bob's plate

Bob had the spiced shrimp (mine were plain), the bread and mashed potatoes and a little brownie.

Bob's brownie

He paid the bill with a credit card, and tipped with cash. I took photos as we drove back to the hotel.

Amish farm

Covered bridge

This covered bridge was unexpected

16 September 2016 - Friday morning

Hampton Inn breakfast area

Bob brought me cranberry juice, half a bagel and some eggs for breakfast from the buffet at the Hampton Inn.

Breakfast Bob brought me

We got underway about 9 and first went to the Lancaster Central Market which is only open Friday, Saturday and Tuesday. Back in the 70s we toured this area on Spring Break and one of the things we did was visit this iconic marketplace. So I rearranged my schedule to be able to go again and this time to take some pictures.

We drove into Lancaster - went under an old stone bridge which looked like it was held together with bungee cords.

Bungee corded bridge

We saw some fake formstone, which is a double fake because formstone is fake stone.

Fake formstone

After wending our way through the one way streets,

we parked in the nearby parking lot ($3.00). I thought there were handicapped parking places, and there were, but they were in the street instead of in the parking lot like I had thought from the Google street view.

Handicapped parking places in the street next to the parking lot

Bob got out the scooter and we found the one door that had a ramp. I went in and looked around. This is the country's oldest farmers' market, which is located in an 120 year old red brick building.

Lancaster Market

Regional food specialties include Pennsylvania Dutch sausage, scrapple (a breakfast meat of pork scraps and cornmeal), and headcheese (like scrapple, an acquired taste).

Pennsylvania Dutch souvenirs

Amish vegetable sales

You'll also find preserves, including chowchow (pickled vegetables in a spicy mustard sauce), and bread and butter pickles. Bob didn't want to go because we were on our way to upper NY state to a wedding and he said that we couldn't buy anything, but I thought we might buy a souvenir or two. However everything was quite expensive.

We obviously couldn't buy perishable food (cheese, fish)

Miesse candies

Spices

Tea

I could have bought candy or spices but in the end we just took photos.

One of the doors and people having coffee

We had to exit by the same door that we entered because it was the only one with a ramp. We left about 9:45 (just about the time a street performer was setting up outside)

Street performer

and started for Penn Yan.

Parking pay booth exit

Fulton Opera House

According to the sign next to it, this building was built in 1852 and named Fulton Hall in honor of Robert Fulton. For more than 75 years every major star of the American theatre appeared on its stage. It is considered an excellent example of the 19th century "Opera House"

There is a big civil war monument in the center of Lancaster. At least it was originally a monument to the Union soldiers that were killed in the Civil War, but it now includes other wars. There was someone panhandling at the light there and the first person in line didn't go for several light cycles so I had time to take a couple of photos from the car.

Old postcard of the Soldiers and Sailor's Monument

The 1744 Treaty of Lancaster between the British and Iroquois was signed in the old Lancaster courthouse which stood on the site of the monument at the time. It also stands on the exact spot where the Second Continental Congress met during the American Revolutionary War on September 27, 1777, in the old Lancaster Courthouse. The courthouse burned down in 1784. The monument was formally unveiled and dedicated on July 4, 1874. Statues of four men representing the four branches of the American armed services surround the granite shaft near its base. The four branches represented by the men are the United States Navy, United States Army, Artillery and the United States Cavalry. My view was obstructed. I didn't get a photo of the statue representing the Army.

On the left with the sword is US Cavalry. On the right is the US Navy and behind him with the swab is the US Artillery

Genius of Liberty is the name of the lady on the top.The monument has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since April 2, 1973.

Top of the monument

We drove out of town headed north

Interesting house

Stop for gas

We stopped at an Exxon station about 11 for gas. We are getting really good gas mileage.

Houses along the highway

Large old barn?

Farm from the road

Farm

We are driving US 15 along the Susquehanna and it is very scenic.

Along the Susquehanna River

We got as far as Selins Grove and there was a massive traffic jam. Selinsgrove is located in the middle of the Susquehanna River Valley in Central Pennsylvania along US Route 11 & US Route 15, 50 miles north of Harrisburg. Since we didn't seem to be getting anywhere, we stopped at Perkins to have lunch.

Perkins sign

I had a half a cheese sandwich and a small bowl of fruit from the over 55 menu ($6.59).

Grilled cheese

Fruit

Bob had chicken noodle soup and a salad for $5.99. We both had an orange dream shake. (It was big - one would have been enough for both of us) That's because it wasn't just a milk shake in a glass,

Orange milkshake

but there was

the metal container from the blender with extra in it

These remind me of the orange creamsicles or the orange pop-ups that I would buy from the ice cream truck. Arby's has something similar but only in the summer.

We were eating healthy (except for the huge Orange Dream Shake). Our bill was $21.58 before the tip. Bob drank two glasses of water with his lunch. Which meant that that we had a brief bathroom break for him in Liberty at 2:15. (there wasn't much in Liberty)

GPS showing Liberty

Roadside scenes

Highway 15

Entering NY

We crossed the NY line a little before 3. We stopped for gas again in Penn Yan and checked into the hotel about 4. We had a small fridge and microwave, a table with two chairs, TV and beds of course, and in the bathroom they had a stool so I could sit while I took a shower. I still had to step into the tub, but at least I could sit. There was enough room for me to easily turn the scooter around

Shower

I made this reservation directly with the hotel (Best Western Vineyard Inn Suites) because I was making it more than a year in advance so I couldn't make it with Booking.com. I normally try to stay at a Hampton Inn, but there wasn't one in or near Penn Yan. My grandson (who was the new assistant manager) reserved a block of rooms at this hotel for the wedding guests.

Grandson's Microsoft Hotel card

He had a large crowd including my sister and her husband, our daughter and her husband, our son and his wife, daughter and her fiance, our daughter-in-law's two sisters and brother, significant others and families. The hotel is right in town and they could walk to the rehearsal dinner which was on Main Street. We didn't stay there ourselves because when I made my reservations this hotel had not been built yet. Based on what the others told me, I think the Best Western was a better choice because their breakfast is more like the Hampton Inn breakfast.

Bob went to the Penn Yan True Value to get oil based paint (which can't be sold in Maryland anymore) and I figured out how to get on the Internet, downloaded photos and checked my mail. Then we got dressed and went to the rehearsal dinner at the Keuka Restaurant by scooter. The restaurant is on Main Street and I though there would be no parking,

Main Street across from the Keuka Restaurant

so we walked (I rode my scooter) over there. But there is a parking lot in the back. They had the buffet table set up so I couldn't go in the front door without going up steps so we went in the back.

The regular people that were eating at the restaurant were up a couple of steps from where we were eating, They also had tables on the street for eating outside. We had nibbles before the dinner was served. They gave us each a salad (salad dressing was in a glass on the table)

Salad at the rehearsal dinner

and then we went through the buffet line to get the rest of our dinner. I didn't go through the buffet line - other people brought me something to eat.

My dinner

Restaurant

Grandson

Son and great grandson

My sister walked around with her cell phone and took some photos for me.

One of the tables

It was good to see everyone.