Samson

Yesterday afternoon, to round off our stop in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area, we went to the Sight & Sound theatre to see a show.  The show was called "Samson", and portrayed the life of Samson in great detail, and with total excellence in every way.
It took about 2.5 hours, and was as good a show as you could see anywhere.  The auditorium held about 2000 people and was full.  Coaches and cars filled the car park.
At the interval, an usher came up to us and asked if we were the couple who had just got married?  We said, "Yes".  How did they know?  It must have been the young girl who guided Harvey to a parking spot.  She must have told them.
She gave us a little bag and wished us all the best from the show!  Inside was a little home decoration.  A mezuzah, - the Hebrew word for doorpost.  It would be affixed to the doorpost at home with a blessing from God and a reminder to keep God in our homes.  It had $9-99 on the back!  10 bucks worth, eh?!  The other little gift was cone of sugared almonds as being sold in the foyer!  Neat!
I wondered what the sweet smell was in the foyer!
Anyway, if you are ever able to go and see Samson, - you should.  Highly recommended.

Moses

During our time in Amish and Mennonite country near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, we went to see a life sized replica of Moses' tabernacle.  Yes, full size!  It is in the Mennonite Information Centre.  We paid our 8.5 bucks each and had 45 minute lecture by a very knowledgeable Mennonite gentleman, called Paul.
He knew his stuff and guided us through the various artefacts and objects that were in the Old Testament temple.
Here are a few picture. Some things are obviously open to interpretation, and guesswork.  The dimensions are accurate, but the style of the candlestick decorations is open to interpretation, for example.  The side walls are cut-away so that you can see inside.
But it was well worth the visit.

Banjo Jim

After a rather tedious morning doing the tourist trap thing in Kitchen Kettle Village, I was beginning to flag a little.  Not just because it was doing my head in, but also because I felt like I was going down with a serious bout of "man-flu".  Ladies won't understand what this is like.  I can only say that it is deadly serious and men should rest up at the earliest opportunity.
Just then, we heard some music.

Rounding the corner on our bikes we came across banjo music.  Not my favourite instrument in the world, but it was better than my worsening case of "man-flu".  Nothing like a bit of live music to cheer the soul.
There on a chair, dressed neatly in black trousers and white shirt was an old black guy, plinking and plonking on the banjo!  He was busking on the banjo, and had been doing so for over 30 years. (Not in one go!)

He had a milk churn for people to donate their gifts.  He did VERY well.

A few numbers into his set and we were best of friends.  He was quite happy to stop and talk to us, and even played God Save The Queen for us on the banjo.

He told us that he is 77 years old, and his banjo was 80-something years old.  Older than him, and like Trigger and the broom in Only Fools and Horses, it was the same banjo he'd had all these years.  No changes to it! - Just new frets, new strings, new drum-skin etc.  But still the same banjo!

He was a perfect delight, and brightened up our day immensely.  He told me the same jokes over and over, but he had a twinkle in his eye, and he muttered the words of the songs as he was playing.  Occasionally he would turn to me and ask me if I knew the song he was playing.

He reminded me very much of a 'black' Dennis Robson.

Amish region

Last weekend we were privileged to spend Sunday in a Mennonite church and visit one of their homes, and join them for Sunday lunch.  It was an experience that money could not buy.

A few days later and we were in Amish country.

sharing roads with horse and trap

This was an experience that money could buy!!

Tourism gone mad. But coupled with that, another amazing opportunity and experience, also that money couldn't buy.

We stayed just east of Lancaster, Pennsylvania and cycled from Beacon Hill campsite into the town where there was a place called Kitchen Kettle Village.  A tourist trap.  Coaches thronged to the carparks, where the punters could be whisked away on an Amish sight-seeing tour, and have all the trimmings and trappings laid on for them.  There were some interesting things here, but mostly it was designed for the tourist.  Not our bag!

Later in the day, when we were almost done in by the tourist parts, and we were actually on our way back to our campsite, we noticed that there were a lot of Amish horse & buggies all going the same direction!  Possibly they were all going off to a Bible study, or prayer meeting?!?

Ruth spotted an Amish girl walking along the road, and asked her if there was some event taking place.

She told Ruth that there was an open meal for anyone, up in town, and we would be welcome!

We spared not a single moment and whirled Harvey round on the now familiar hand-brake turn.  Following the horses and buggies was simple, and led us straight to the scene.

It was absolutely amazing to see hundreds of horses lined up, tethered to their posts.  Equally amazing was to see the same amount of buggies and traps littering the edge of the fields.  There was even a car-park (not really a car-park, a buggy park) floodlit by a mobile generator and lights, similar to those used in UK for lighting up motorway contraflow lanes!  I thought they shunned all modern accoutrements.  Obviously not!

Horses have lights on them for night-driving, as do the buggies.

We had stumbled across a charity event for special needs children.  It was being held in their local school.  There must have been a couple of thousand people there, in marquees, with PA systems broadcasting the children singing things like "The Wise Man Built His House Upon The Rock", and "Yes! Jesus Loves Me".  It was as big as a major Christian conference would be in UK.  All within our little town.

Teenager boys roamed off to play volleyball, teenage girls stood a respectful distance apart, watching!  (You bet!).  Boys had all the same type of garb.  Plain coloured shirt, with long trousers held up with braces.  A pudding basin haircut was the "in" thing for the boys!

Girls had simple long dresses of various colours.  Some had a full length bib-type of apron.  Others had half-length aprons.  All girls wore a white net hat.

We were free to wander round.  The only request was that we didn't use our camera.

But by then we had.  Ooopsie!

What an amazing evening.  Held just on the night we were in town!  Awesome.

Location, location, location!

We have been amazed at how far we have actually travelled whilst we've been in USA. We've been past Syria, Damascus, Paris, Strasburg, Scotland and

Here is a spattering of places we've past in Harvey......

Guess which one we've been at for the last couple of days?!
Yes, you're right.
It's the one you wouldn't say openly, and the one that probably caused you to pause at in surprise. To say that Tim caught a bug whilst here could be misinterpreted, but he genuinely did.

Having said all that, it has been home to many Amish, Mennonite and Anabaptists for years and is a place of beauty and surprises.
And tourism!

Another "dinner in the diner"

I just want to say that the "dinner in the diner" we had in Wellsboro, PA, was all lovely and good.  But for a number of reasons it fell short of my expectations.  You see, it was more like a restaurant and poshly done up.  I was hoping for something more nitty-gritty, earthy, and in a tin-can looking design.

We found it yesterday!  This one won't get a mention in any tourist, or visitor's information pack, because they told us they don't advertise.  They rely on word of mouth.  More probably, taste of mouth!
After visiting the Mennonite Information Centre (sorry, Center) in Lancaster, we drove back to our campsite at Beacon Hill.  We overshot our turning and just happened to pass a proper US diner.
We swung Harvey round on the Route 30 with the, by now, slick handbrake turn which we have perfected, as all the gravel pelted towards the oncoming traffic.

50-foot articulated trucks lined the back of the car park.  A few cars were parked in the front.
We had found it!  It was the real thing!  A kind of transport cafe, or Les Routier feel to it.
Pictures of uniformed men lined the picture rail round the wall.  They were local servicemen who were serving, or had served, their country.
The diners included older couples out for dinner, and truck drivers having a pit-stop.

Menu choices were just right too!
I chose half-rack of ribs with apple sauce and fries (chips).  I have never had such a good meal of half-rack of ribs in my life!  It was the best ever.  Tender, succulent, enormous!
Ruth had chicken pie, cauliflower, and mash.
We came out feeling as if we didn't need to eat for another week or two.
I could see why they didn't need to advertise!  It was marvellous and great VFM (value for money)!