Today we visited Hershey’s Chocolate World, a Disney-style ride through a fake chocolate factory. We only came because Trish remembered visiting here as a child:
After the ride, we visited the adjacent retail space:
Before leaving, we watched amateur car racing in the adjacent parking lot:
On the way back to the RV, we stopped at the Eastland Alpaca Farm to see the Alpacas. B found a friendly farm cat:
Yup, alpacas:
See the trip map for today’s drive and our current location.
This morning, we didn’t really know where we would spend Shabbos. I was surprised to discover that several towns in the area have synagogues, so we called Degel Israel in Lancaster, PA and were invited to come for Shabbos. We drove west to Lancaster and dropped off the RV at the synagogue. We then drove west to York, PA, home of one of Harley-Davidson’s factories:
Tricia’s shoes didn’t pass muster for a factory tour, so we had to drive over to the nearest Walmart to buy a pair of shoes. Now Trish and B have the same shoes:
Before the factory tour, we toured the museum:
In the factory, there are five production lines that the motorcycles pass through as they’re being assembled. This is what the motorcycle looks like at the end of the first line:
…and at the end of the third line:
A variety of models are available for sampling. I’m not a motorcycle guy, but Trish insisted on a photo:
Harley-Davidson doesn’t allow photographs on the tour. We saw huge steel presses that form fenders out of a single sheet of steel, robotic welding machines, the painting area, the road test machines, and the packaging area where fifteen motorcycles are loaded into a semi trailer on specialized steel pallets.
After the tour, we returned to the RV where I helped build the bonfire for the post-Shabbos event the synagogue is having as part of a nationwide program by The Shabbos Project:
I went for a ride this afternoon by the farms around Lancaster:
Ready for Shabbos:
Good Shabbos from Degel Israel in Lancaster, PA! See the trip map for today’s drive and our current location.
This morning I replaced the valve in the water pump selector switch. The circular rubber gasket had failed, allowing the pump to draw air as well as water, so the pump didn’t work very well:
We drove a few miles from Walmart to Valley Forge National Historical Park, where Washington’s army spent a winter with inadequate supplies during the Revolutionary War:
Nice visitor center:
Yes, these are our children:
We drove the self-guided loop road:
At one stop, a group of reenactors manned a small cannon:
Our next stop was Washington’s headquarters for that winter:
Washington’s bodyguard detail lived in these huts:
The kids completed their Junior Ranger badges and received their badges:
This morning we left the RV at the Lower Merion Synagogue and drove into Philadelphia to visit Independence National Historical Park. We found curbside parking and walked over to the site:
The visitor center had exhibit space showcasing the many historic buildings in the park:
On our way to Independence Hall, we walked by the excavated basement of the president’s residence, home to presidents Washington and Adams while the US capital was in Philadelphia from 1790 to 1800:
Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed:
Independence Hall was built as the colonial seat of power for the colony of Philadelphia in 1753. In this room, the colonial court presided:
In this room, the Second Continental Congress debated and signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Washington sat up front:
The Constitution was signed with this ink set:
One of the original printed copies of the Constitution:
The kids handed in their Junior Ranger workbooks and received their badges:
No caption needed:
We visited the building that housed the Supreme Court while the US capital was in Philadelphia:
We also visited the legislative building. Congress sat in this room:
The Senate met in a smaller room upstairs:
We visited Carpenters’ Hall, meeting place of the First Continental Congress:
On our way back to the truck, we visited the courtyard where Benjamin Franklin’s house once stood:
This building was built by Franklin as a rental property:
Inside, the building has been stripped to the outer walls, so flue paths, fireplaces, and floor locations can be seen in this three-story structure:
We returned to the RV, hitched up, and drove northwest to overnight at the Walmart of King Of Prussia, PA. See the trip map for today’s drive and our current location.
This morning, B finished up a scarf she’s been knitting:
We hitched up the RV and pulled it forward, which allowed me to do some last minute removal of a dead branch:
You can tell it needed to come down when it breaks apart like this when hitting the ground:
After dumping our sewer tanks, we rolled down the driveway. After almost four weeks, it’s great to get back out on the road:
We drove southwest to overnight at the Lower Merion Synagogue in a suburb of Philadelphia. Tonight, Trish worked on a rug hooking project using strips of wool instead of yarn:
See the trip map for today’s drive and our current location.
Facebook
Instagram
Email