A DAY IN LANCASTER COUNTY

Happy Columbus Day!  I had off from work for the holiday.   It was 85 degrees today and we wanted to do something besides work around the house.  So on the spur of the moment Joe and I decided to take a ride out to Lancaster County.  I was hoping to see some fall foliage, but it was a little too early.  The trees are just beginning to change, but not at their full peak.  A few more weeks and we will have to go again to get some really great shots.

Going to Lancaster is so peaceful and does wonders for the soul.  It is so wonderful to get away from the dirt and noise and crowded city and see something like this.

A lot of the farmers were out in their fields today with their horses and harvesters.  Corn seemed to be the crop of the day.  Everyone seemed to be in the cornfields.

We went to Hershey Farm for lunch.  We both got the buffet.  Our server was Linda who waited on us almost every day when we were there on our honeymoon.  We have gotten her a few other times too.  We love Linda and it was so nice to have her as our server today.  She always remembers us.  She told us to ask for her the next time we come.

As usual the food was out of this world.  For dessert I had something called a Pumpkin Crumble.  It was a parfait glass with layers of graham cracker crumbs, pumpkin pie filling and whipped cream.  It was topped with graham cracker crumbs and grated nutmeg.  So good!  I am going to try to recreate this dish for us.

After we ate we looked through the stores and, of course, bought a few things.  One was a tin pumpkin that says "Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow".  I'll have to take a picture to show you.

They had so many cute things.  This is just the outside portion of the store.

I loved the little pumpkin painted to look like a cat.

Every year they make these Indian corn wreaths.  So clever!

A better look at one of them.  Each one is different.  I loved the corn cobs too.

The mums were gorgeous!  They look so nice with the pumpkins.

We put our things in the trunk of the car and took a walk around the grounds.  We did not take the mile hike, just strolled near the restaurant.

You can see how the trees are just turning.

Famous Amos had gotten a new coat of paint (he needed it).  His shirt is now green instead of blue.  And his toenails have suddenly become white.  (hee, hee)

 

Bad picture of me, good picture of the wild grasses.  Look how tall they are!

Finally some autumn trees.

Joe standing by an Amish buggy.

I love the lake.

We also took time to look at the animals.  The baby goats have grown up a lot.

Next we headed over to Rockvale Mall an outlet center with hundreds of stores.  Joe has lost so much weight that none of his clothes fit him right any more.  He had gotten a few pairs of pants there at the Hagger store that fit him so well that he wanted to get some more.  He got a brown pair and a gray pair and a navy cardigan sweater.  Then we went to Christmas Tree Hill and got an advent candle.  This is a candle with 25 numbers printed on it.  You burn it down to each number every day in December until Christmas.  I also got a couple of battery operated candles that look really real, an advent calendar and a new nativity set.  The one I had was destroyed in the flood we had in the basement two years ago.  I picked up the figures and they fell apart in my hands.  I was so upset, but what could I do?  This one is pretty and was only $10.

I have to show you this picture.  There were these beautiful pink rosebushes in the parking area of the mall.  But look how this one is growing both pink and red flowers.  How odd!

We were pretty tired by this time.  It was 5:00 and it takes 2 hours to get home, so we stopped and got gas (it's 10 cents a gallon cheaper out there) and went home.  It was a really fun day.