travel tales for family and friends. . .

wild horses. . .Theodore Roosevelt NP - North Dakota

Monday, September 30, 2013

Evans Escapades at Gettysburg



Pennsylvania Scenery
The drive over to our Thousand Trails Park near Gettysburg was lovely. . .
only an hour and a half from Hersey. . .so a wonderful, easy travel day!
Alpacas. . .Gettysburg Farm Thousand Trails - Outdoor Worldcrowing - Gettysburg Farm Thousand Trails - Outdoor World
more very healthy roosters and chickens at Gettysburg Farm Thousand Trails - Outdoor Worldgoat outside the pen. . .Gettysburg Farm Thousand Trails - Outdoor World
it’s called Gettysburg Farm ~ Outdoor World for a reason. . .
all these animals are on the premises. . .
you can even buy feed at the store and feed them yourselves. . .
the kiddos in the park love it!
Pennsylvania, Gettysburg PA (6) - Copy
now.. .to the reason for our stop. . .
Gettysburg National Military Park. . .
Pennsylvania, Gettysburg PA - Copy
the Visitor Center. . .privately ran by the Gettysburg Foundation
is really great. . .we highly recommend the all in one ticket. . .
all three for $12.50 pp. ..well worth it!

The four pics following are from the Cyclorama
which is a diorama or mural in the round. . .
you can move around the platform
as the action unfolds. . .

you don’t realize how many details
you are missing until they are spotlighted. . .
really, really great. . .
Pennsylvania, Gettysburg PA (1) - Copy
Pennsylvania, Gettysburg PA (2) - Copy
Pennsylvania, Gettysburg PA (3) - Copy
Pennsylvania, Gettysburg PA (4) - Copy
you really need to see it all in person to get the full effect. . .

Fall ColorFall Color
on Wednesday we wanted to continue touring the Gettysburg Battleground
following our Auto Tour CD we had purchased in the bookstore. . .
but alas. . .as we all know. . .all the National Parks are closed down. . .

so instead we enjoyed a scenic drive in the countryside. . .
checked out the fall colors and


the most historic covered bridge in Pennsylvania. . .nice!

Snake?

as I was walking along a trail for a better vantage point of the bridge. . .
this charming little creature crossed my path. . .
I’m told it’s a garter snake. . .I was rather proud of myself
for not going into the screaming banshee
that I normally do. . .but he was real little. . .
and just went off into the woods minding his own business. . .
that’s the way I like it!
Apple Orchards
the apple orchards are loaded. . .
Round Barn - Apple Orchard and Farm StandFresh from the Orchard - Apple Orchards
and the farm stands are just loaded with apples and pumpkins. . .
had to have a few. . .which I promptly turned into baked turnovers. . .delicious!

‘til next time,
Janice and Dave

Off We Go to Another State Capitol and to Philadelphia PA. . .the City of Love or Something Like That

 

Trenton has the honor of being the Capitol of New Jersey. . .

so off we went to see the State House. . .

New Jersey State House

this is by far the most difficult State House

we have EVER tried to photograph. . .

there is nowhere you can stand to get it all in. . .

 

The pediment across the front blocks the view of the dome. . .

Dome of the New Jersey State House

so we went around to the side to get a shot of it. . .

just beautiful. . .but not original to the building. . .

Original Portion of the New Jersey State House

in fact the BACK of the building. . .seen here. . .

is the original State House. . .

the Dome forward is all an addition. . .

the docent explained all this to us. . .

and said that is why the building is so close to the street in the front. . .

Rotunda - New Jersey State House

we almost didn’t get to see this beautiful rotunda area. . .

I guess because New Jersey has such a high profile governor. . .

the security is very, very tight. . .

we’ve gone through metal detectors in other State Houses. . .

but these NJ guys wanted to see ID’s and the works. . .

AND

you are not allowed to roam around and explore. . .

you MUST be with a tour guide at all times. . .

 

Since we had not arrived at a time of a scheduled tour

one of the security folks were kind enough to escort

us in to photograph the rotunda only. . .

and then escort us back out. . .

but hey. . .they gave us pencils with

Governor Christie’s name on them. . .

I was gonna show you a picture. . .

but I can’t find them. . .I’m sure they are in a very safe place. . .oops!

Philadelphia PA Skyline

Philadelphia. . .which was sort of on our way

back to the RV park in Hershey was our next destination. . .

 

We just wanted to hit the highlights,

and have a Philly Cheesesteak so that’s what

I’m gonna show you. . .just the highlights. . .

The streets in this area of Philly are claustrophobic. . .can you imagine with snow piled on both sides?

driving in the neighborhood where the cheese steak shops were

was quite the experience. . .can you imagine this

with eight feet of snow piled up. . .aii yaiii yaiii. . .

how do these folks cope? ? ?

Pat's and Geno's Philly Cheese SteaksPat's and Geno's Philly Cheese Steaks

and here they are. . .

the illustrious Geno’s and Pat’s Cheese Steak Sandwich Shops. . .

Dave went to Pat’s. . .I went to Geno’s. . .

I brought my sandwich back over. . .

and we split them so we could compare. . .

now on this particular day. . .I must say that Pat’s had the better sandwich. . .

Geno’s could have definitely used some seasoning. . .very bland. . .

 

Okay. . .that’s done. . .what’s the next tourist stop?

Penn Building

a beautiful view of the Penn Building. . .

Penn Building

and a close up

LOVE Park

LOVE Park. . .lovely!

Liberty Bell

let’s go stand in line to see the Liberty Bell. . .

it moved really quick!

Liberty Bell

and there it is. . .

Independence Hall

Independence Hall. . .definitely want to explore it further next trip. . .

United States Mint

and the United States Mint. . .no samples today. . .we always miss free sample day. . .

 

It was a whirlwind of a day. . .

we SHALL return to Philadelphia to explore further. . .

and next time. . .I believe

we may go on the weekend when all the working folk are not down there. . .

it was packed. . .parking was pricey. . .and I’m sad to say

it really was not that enjoyable of an experience. . .

 

but. . .I do want to see it all in a more leisurely fashion,

so we shall return at a later date. . .not sure when. . .but later. . .

 

‘til next time,

Janice and Dave

 

Friday, September 20, 2013

Evans Escapades in Hershey Pennsylvania

Welcome to Hershey PA

the sweetest place on earth. . .

Chocolate World - Hershey PA

does it get any better than this?

Chocolate World - Hershey PA

our first chocolate adventure

Chocolate World - Hershey PA

the outfits were so great. . .

Chocolate World - Hershey PA

our friend Donna told us to swan dive into a vat of chocolate. . .yum!

Chocolate World - Hershey PAChocolate World - Hershey PA

 

Chocolate World - Hershey PAChocolate World - Hershey PA

making sure our candy bar is being made correctly. . .

Chocolate World - Hershey PA

the funniest part. . .one child in the entire group. . .

all the adults lined up with our faces against the glass. . .

Chocolate World - Hershey PA

Chocolate World - Hershey PAChocolate World - Hershey PA

our next Chocolate World Adventure. . .a simulated factor tour. . .

the singing cows were great. . .the tour was even better. . .

Chocolate World - Hershey PA

and the highlight of the day. . .a tour of Hershey. . .

highly recommend. . .fabulous tour guide. . .

and the Milton Hershey story is really great. . .

Original Hershey Factory

the Original Hershey Factory

Chocolate World - Hershey PAChocolate World - Hershey PA

Hershey Park – Seven Roller Coasters. . .nope. . .don’t think so!

Hotel Hershey

the original Hershey Hotel – built in 1933

Hershey USA Panorama

Hershey USA

Hershey Kisses Street Lamps

Famed Hershey Kisses Avenue – wrapped and unwrapped

Pennsylvania, Hershey (8)

famed Hershey Smoke Stacks

pretty Pennsylvania Farm

Hershey Dairy Farms

Farm Stand

and the perfect ending to a wonderful day. . .

 

‘til next time,

Janice and Dave

see the rest of our Hershey Pics here


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