No, that’s not a reference to my sex life. Blue Ball and Intercourse are two communities in Lancaster County, the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch country.
I needed a break from working on the paper and it had finally stopped raining, so we spent yesterday playing tourist with Greg and Jan.
Our first stop was in Lancaster to do some banking and then we drove through Circle M Outdoor World Resort to check it out. In addition to the Hershey Thousand Trails preserve, our recent membership upgrade gives us three more preserves in this area, Circle M in Lancaster, Pennsylvania Dutch Country in Manheim, and Gettysburg Farm in Dover. We haven’t checked out Gettysburg Farm yet, but of the others, our favorites so far are Hershey and Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Circle M looked nice, and it was clean and well maintained, but there was nothing special about it.
From there, we drove to Bird In Hand, another small Amish town we discovered on our first trip through the area several years ago. We always enjoy poking through the Old Village Store, where they have everything from Amish souvenirs to antiques, and a lot of things you won’t find at your local WalMart. Need a butter churn, a roll of flypaper, or some Fels Naptha soap? They’ve got it, along with washboards, straw hats, and cane fishing poles.
We also stopped at Labadie Looms so Terry could drool over all of the yarns and fibers they had on display, as well as several models of looms. Donna Beaver, the nice lady who owns the store, is a direct descendant of Lege de la Bouchelle, a French Huguenot who arrived in the Colonies in 1683 with a Pietist group known as the Labadists. We had a nice visit with Donna, and she shared a lot of information on weaving with us and gave Terry some good tips.
Our next stop was Intercourse. Greg asked me how the town got its name, and I suggested that maybe when the settlers were trying to choose a name, somebody got frustrated and said, “Screw it!” That’s probably not the way it actually happened, but that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
It’s harvest time, and we stopped to admire this orchard as an Amish family was picking apples.
We drove through Blue Ball (all I can think of is a Smurf who experienced a horrible injury) and stopped for dinner at the Shady Maple Smorgasbord, which is kind of like a buffet on steroids. They have a huge selection for any appetite, and by the time we were finished, the four of us could barely waddle out to the parking lot.
The sites here at the Hershey Thousand Trails are not very level, and the only way we could get level was to have the front tires off the ground, which we don’t like to do. So we have been listing to the driver’s side since we got here. We think that is part of the reason we have had such a bad leak in all of the rain we’ve had. The water seems to channel down to a small gap in our bedroom slide seal and right inside. So we stopped at a Lowe’s on the way home and bought an eight foot long pressure treated 2×10 and had them cut it into 16 inch lengths. Back at the campground I extended the jacks to get the wheels off the ground, we put the wood under the front tires and let the jacks back down, and we’re level. Hopefully that will help until it dries out enough to let us caulk the hole. Which may be a while, because today we’re supposed to have more rain.
It was a fun day, and I’m feeling rejuvenated and ready to get back to work on the new issue. Only five pages to go!
If any of you are looking for a workamping gig for the winter, my friend Brenda Speidel told me that their park, Pleasant Valley RV Resort in Mission, Texas, has several last minute job openings because of medical emergencies with three workampers. Ron and Brenda worked at the park themselves before retiring and said it’s a good place with good management. I’m not sure what all of the duties are, but if you’re interested, call the manager, Theresa Ruddell, at (956) 580-2940.
Thought For The Day – If there is a way to read a woman’s mind, I wouldn’t want to. I hate shopping, gossip, and cats, and I already know how annoying I am.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
Driving from Intercourse to Blue Ball you should have passed through Paradise. Not much for shopping there, but just being able to get a shirt that reads “Paradise is between Intercourse & Blue Ball”, is worth the stop.
We always enjoyed the area in & around Lancaster County. Have fun….Dave
You are right, that in not the way “Intercourse” got its name. As for “Shady Maple Smorgasbord” you don’t want to go there twice in the same day.
You are too funny.
Ms. Ruddell is going to be inundated with phone calls.
Timothy Lake North and South, and Gettysburg Farm are worth a visit. You don’t seem to be troubled by those darn stink bugs. I’ve caught about a dozen of them tonight. Heading south on Saturday. Enjoy the Outdoor World campgrounds. We enjoy them all but I have to admit they were a lot BETTER before they were sold to Equity Life Style Properties and joined the Thousand Trails fold.