Niagara Trip - Day 10 - Bonus day in Lancaster

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Today we tried to make the most of our “extra” day in Lancaster.  We drove back to The Kitchen Kettle Village (which had closed right after we got there yesterday), only to find out that it isn’t open at all on Sundays.  In fact, almost everything is closed around here on Sundays.  One thing that was open was the Plain and Fancy restaurant.  This one had a feast like the one from yesterday, but this one was better.  So we had that and then went to the nearby Intercourse Canning Company.  We bought some pickles, jelly, and chow chow then headed to the outlet mall to get a few things that Kyrie needed. 

I feel the need to describe the "Amish Farm Feast" again.  It's just unbelievable the amount of homemade food they lay out at these Pennsylvania Dutch restaurants.  The kids (and we) love it!  The meal here started with Chow Chow, Pepper Cabbage, Bakery-fresh Raisin Bread, and Potato Rolls served with apple butter of course.  The main course was Golden Fried Chicken, Roast Beef, Chicken Pot Pie with homemade noodles, Baked Sausage,  Real Mashed Potatoes with Gravy, Egg Noodles with Browned Butter, Sweet Corn on the Cob, and Green Beans.  Dessert included Sour Cream Apple Crumb Pie, Wet Bottom Shoo-Fly Pie, Apple Crisp, and Vanilla Ice Cream with Hershey's Syrup if desired. They brought a big dessert cart to the table and served you wahever you asked for instead of passing (and wasting) whole pies this time.  A smart way to do it since I hate to see a good dessert go to waste!

The gift shop at the Plain and Fancy Restaurant and the Canning Company took care of some of my shopping needs, but I was still disappointed I couldn't browse through all those gift shops at The Kitchen Kettle Village. 

On the way there we passed Dutch Wonderland, a small themepark in the area.  When planning this trip we decided not to include Dutch Wonderland because their website made it look mostly like carnival rides and we already had two theme parks planned for later in the trip (Idlewild and Cedar Point).  But now that I see it in person I kind of wish we would have gone there (especially now that we probably won't make it to Idelwild).  It looked a lot more unique than I expected.

I was glad for the stop at the Outlet Mall.  I needed some makeup.  We have gotten so tan on this trip that my foundation didn't match at all.  I also needed some clothes for work and never have time or the desire to shop when we're home.  I was pretty quick as the two stores I needed to go to were right next to each other.  Marc and the kids played Yahtzee in the RV while I shopped.  (I bet that would have more enjoyable if the AC worked!)

The best find of the day though was a pottery shop that was actually open on the way back to the campground.  They made everything onsite.  I wanted a souvenir...something that would look nice in the house. I took me a while to look at everything in there.  Jacob was sent in to get me!  I bought a bowl for our house, and a mug for the RV to enjoy my morning coffee in.  I also bought a souvenir for Kristin for helping me out so much the other day. 

During the little bit of shopping I did get to do around here, the Pennsylvania Dutch style evoked memories of my Grandma and Grandpa Schumacher's kitchen.  They had quite a few decorations in this style and even a lot of my grandma's cooking reminded me of recipes I've encountered here.  I wonder if the decorations came from here if they ever visited or if it's just my grandfather's German or farming background that influenced their decor as I'm sure it influenced Grandma's cooking.

Once back to at the campground, we cooked some dinner on the grill, went swimming, and then watched the Yogi Bear movie out at the park and had a great night.  Hopefully everything will go well with getting the AC fixed tomorrow!