Day 3: Philadelphia, Lancaster County, Strausberg, Pennsylvania

This morning the weather was clear but windy and turned out to be a chaotic mess. We missed our complimentary breakfast at the Manhattan Sky Bar in the Hyatt because we stayed up too late last night and overslept. The bellman showed up for our luggage at 7:00 AM but we weren’t ready yet so we had to drag it down to the bus ourselves. We managed to get on the bus just in time by grabbing two orange juices and a couple of muffins from the breakfast bar in the lobby.

After boarding we learned that our tour guides’ name was Wanda and our drivers’ name was James. We also learned that we were the youngest people on the tour. Oh, great! We landed ourselves a senior tour.By the time we got to New Jersey the weather began to change, and it turned cloudier the closer we got to Philadelphia. Once we arrived we went into the Independence National Historical Park and saw the Liberty Bell, went on a guided tour of Independence Hall, and walked by the Philadelphia Mint.

Wanda then took us to see the Betsy Ross House while walking back we passed the office where Benjamin Franklin had his printing business and at this point we broke off the tour and went across the street to see the graveyard where Benjamin and Deborah Franklinwere buried. The graveyard was connected to Christ Church

Our last stop in Philly was The Bourse which is a renovated hotel that was turned into a shopping mall. While inside we had a fantastic Philly Cheese Steak sandwich at The Grand Old Cheesesteak and as we got ready to disembark it began to rain so we had to buy another umbrella because I’d left mine on the bus.

After we got on the road again, Wanda put in a movie about the Amish called The Amish: A People of Preservation, which I bought a copy of when we got to next destination. Our next stop was Lancaster, Pennsylvania and as we were driving into town we saw our first Amish buggy. It held a family with a baby. We also saw a young couple in their “courting buggy” which was very sweet. She was shy as we drove by and blushed and I thought how odd and silly we must appear to them gawking out the bus windows like we were watching some apes at the zoo. I didn't take any photos of them while I was there because it is against their religion, and I think it's just plain rude to take someone's picture when they don't want it to be taken.

By the way, the landscape here is breathtaking. It’s by far the most beautiful land I’ve ever seen. The rolling hills are dotted by fertile farms. You can tell which farms are Amish because they are painted white and they stand out against the landscape, and also because they have no power lines and usually have a windmill. They always have deep forest green window shades. There are a lot of Jersey cows here too. We finally pulled into the Lancaster Host Resort & Conference Center where we were going to spend the night. By then it was 4:30pm. While our luggage was taken to our rooms we were greeted by the manager who offered us punch and fresh baked cookies and we cuddled up to a warm and cozy fireplace. The hotel was built like a hub and we were at the end of one of the spokes. Our windows faced a beautiful golf course with cherry trees blossoming and it was foggy and quite serene.

We boarded the bus at 5:45 pm and headed to The Hershey Farm for dinner. There was enough food to fill an army! This was what was on the menu:

Appetizers: Chow Chow ( a pickled vegetable dish)
Fresh Rolls, butter, cottage cheese, apple butter, apple sauce, and tomatoes.
Main Course: Fried Chicken, Ham Loaf (which Eric really liked), Sliced Beef, Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes and gravy, Corn, and Stuffing.
Dessert: Shoo-fly Pie, Apple Pie, Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Now I must explain how this meal is served – it is served “family style” which means 6-8 people sit at a table and it is served like you would eat around your table at home. The food was brought out in large serving bowls and platters (the chicken platter probable had three whole cut-up chickens on it) and as soon as a dish was empty they brought more! After dinner we went through the gift shop which is where I bought the DVD version about the Amish that we had viewed on the bus. Finally we waddled back to our room for a good nights sleep.