The Susquehanna River
Notice the pulley clothesline.
EAST EARL
It was recommended we eat at Shady Maple Smorgasbord in East Earl. Shady Maple touts itself as the largest smorgasbord in Lancaster County with 200′ of authentic Pennsylvania Dutch cooking. Tuesday we went there for lunch. The restaurant is huge and appears to be popular with locals and tourists alike. Shady Maple has daily specials, in addition to the specials, it offers seven other meat choices, fourteen vegetables/side dishes, forty salad options and over twenty-five different desserts. What surprised us most about the restaurant was the side grill serving up a variety of Asian dishes. Asian dishes?! REALLY?! In Pennsylvania Dutch country?! What disappointed us was the lack of authentic Pennsylvania Dutch food. There were a few traditional sides but the majority wasn’t. And when I inquired as to whether or not they had Snitz Pie, the lady working in the dessert area didn’t have a clue what I was talking about. REALLY?!
In our opinion, it wasn’t unlike any other smorgasbord restaurant. Nothing about the food stood out. On the lower level there’s a gift shop. It has an extensive and uniquely different variety of items. We did pick up a couple of doodads we just couldn’t live without. We also visited the Shady Maple Farm Market but left empty handed. We thought it resembled more of a standard grocery store than it did a farmers market.
These two pieces of artwork are on display inside the restaurant. Both are three dimensional paintings featuring carved wooden buildings glued to a painted background. The artist, Abner K. Zook, born into an Old Order Amish family in 1921, created these. The detail on the artwork is exceptional.
STRASBURG
Established in the early 1700’s, it has many charming old buildings. We decided to forego touring the town and opted instead to drive the backroads hoping to catch a glimpse of Amish folks going about their business. We couldn’t help but comment on the many tobacco curing sheds we saw on Amish farmsteads. We had no idea it was such a popular crop in the region.
Tobacco curing shed
The vented barns are used for drying tobacco.
Tobacco field
HELLAM
Next stop you might find listed under Roadside Attractions. There’s nothing common or usual about it. It’s The Shoe House. Built in 1948 as an advertising gimmick. Modeled after a high top work boot, the wood framed stucco house measures 48′ in length, 17′ wide and 25′ in height. The interior has five levels with a kitchen, living room, three bedrooms and two baths. Tours of the interior are given for a fee by appointment only, after all, it is a private residence.
Haines Shoe House
Even the fence has the shoe motif.
All of the windows have this stained glass design.
Not as much sightseeing this week. Instead…
I took advantage of being near a mall to do a little Christmas shopping for our grandchildren. While I was out spending money, Don gave Tucker a much needed bath and grooming. A water main in the campground broke and the water has been shut off while repairs are being made. This is the second time we’ve been in this situation. Fortunately, we always keep our fresh water holding tank 2/3 full for just such an emergency. I pity the shortsighted campers that didn’t.
The truck is due for an oil change. Don has made arrangements to take it in tomorrow. In the meantime, I plan to give the Suite Pea a good cleaning. We will be heading to Gettysburg soon and with so much we want to see there, I don’t expect to have an opportunity to do much cleaning. We’ll spend the remainder of our time here just enjoying the campground, chatting with other campers and preparing to move. Until then…
Here’s lookin’ at you kid……………….
Old Order Mennonite buggy
( I’ve had a couple of comments made in the comment section that I will address here.)
First to Anibal, for more travel blogs written by fellow fulltime RVers, I would suggest you check out….
rvsueandcrew.net , rv-dreams-journal.com , gypsyjournalrv.com and wheelingit.us
There are many other excellent blogs out there but I suggested these because they are very informative. For forums I recommend Escapees.com or rv.net. Hope you find this info helpful.
Second is to John, to get started on your own blog. I would suggest you take a look at blogspot.com or wordpress.com , either site can assist you.
Thank you both for stopping by our blog.
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I have no problem with being quoted if you’d like but in all honesty there are other bloggers out there much more informed on the fulltimers lifestyle than I. Thanks for checking us out.
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Thank you, I hope you enjoy our blog.
I am really loving the theme/design of your website. Do you ever run into any internet browser compatibility issues? A number of my blog readers have complained about my blog not operating correctly in Explorer but looks great in Firefox. Do you have any ideas to help fix this problem?
You are asking the wrong person. I am not tech savvy at all & often struggle with my postings as well. Have you checked out Geeks On Tour or Technomedia’s blogs? Both are very informative & may be able to help you.
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Thank you for the kind words. I hope we don’t disappoint.
Music began playing any time I opened this web-site, so frustrating!
Hmmm, I have no idea what is up with that. I’ve never added music to our blog. Fact of the matter is, I wouldn’t even know how.
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I’m sorry, I wouldn’t be comfortable doing an interview. I’m rather reserved & am uncomfortable being in the limelight. Im sure there are several fulltime RV bloggers out there that are less inhibited than I that would jump at the chance.