Vacation is finally here…YIPPEE!! And at about 9:30 this morning we hit the road to
After driving for the better part of the day today, we reached
Monday, August 17
Woke up around 6:30 to a beautiful sunny day! Looked after the puppy dogs, and then walked over to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. I had an egg omelet with the works, and Sheila had the oatmeal. Everything was yummy, as usual! Walked back to the trailer and decided to do a little shopping in the Wal-Mart.With breakfast and shopping done, we gassed up and hit the road for
Around 4:00 we arrived at our destination, “Country Acres Campground”, in the community of Bird In Hand,
Tuesday, August 18
What a beautiful morning! I do love it here in Lancaster
For breakfast we went to the “Bird In Hand Family Restaurant” for their famous Smorgasbord. Oh my God, it was so good…and I was stuffed! There goes the diet, and vacation is just beginning!After breakfast we decided to drive into
“WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR OVER AN HOUR BUT OUR TOUR GUIDE NEVER SHOWED! WE’D LIKE OUR MONEY BACK!”
“Well who’s that guy standing by the sign?”
“THAT’S ANOTHER CUSTOMER WAITING FOR THE TOUR TO BEGIN!”
“Sorry, but these tickets are non-refundable”
“BUT THE GUY NEVER SHOWED UP!!”
“Okay, I’ll see what I can do.”
Finally, after some time, they decided to give us our money back!! At this point, we decided just to walk around and explore downtown Philly on our own. We visited the
Of course no trip is complete without food… :) And no trip to Philly is complete without a Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich! So after checking with some locals, the consensus seemed to be Campo’s Deli on
At this point it was about 5:30, we had our bellies full and we were both starting to get tired, so we headed back to the trailer and called it a day.
Wednesday, August 19
Woke up to another fabulous day today. I got up bright and early and got in a 5 km run. Got back to the trailer, showered and had some breakfast. This being our last day here, before dry camping at the drag strip, we thought it would be wise to do laundry. By noon, we had the laundry done so we headed into Lancaster to browse around...and maybe do some shopping! It's a warm day today, 31 C, so spending some time in air conditioned stores might be nice :) Visited some of the Factory Outlets - Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Eddy Bauer, and so on. Also popped into a store that we accidentally discovered last time we were here 2 years ago, “Le Gourmet Chef”. This is the greatest store with the coolest kitchen gadgets. Speaking of last time we were here, we had met this very nice Scottish lady. I can remember we exchanged stories about the many similarities between our native land in Atlantic Canada and her native land -
After taking our new treasures back to the trailer, we decided to go out for supper. And since our most favorite restaurant in the entire world, Texas Roadhouse, is just down the street, it didn’t take us long to pick a place… :) It was delicious as usual. I had a loaded Prime Rib with a sidekick of ribs and Sheila had the Rib Eye. Delicious!!
Thursday, August 20
Moving Day has arrived. Our stay has come to an end here in As we were nearing Maple Grove, I couldn’t help but notice dog kennels, not 10 minutes from the racetrack. Hmmm, I wonder if they have spots for our two puppy dogs? Originally we hadn’t planned on boarding the dogs, but maybe we should consider it. I know the noise and commotion that accompanies these big races can be stressful for the dogs. Mental note: after we’ve settled in, we should drive back and inquire…
Anyway, back to the task at hand…our trailer is totally self contained, so when attending these races, we normally “dry camp”, meaning no hook ups. So we got in line for the unserviced RV lot, and waited our turn. We were eventually led to a site, where we set up and settled in. We ended up with an excellent spot, top of the hill overlooking the campground, and very close to the gate to the racetrack…perfect! The on-track activities start tomorrow, and I can hardly wait!! Top Fuel funny cars and dragsters…pro stock cars and bikes…this is so exciting!!!!!!!
With the RV all set up, we hopped in the truck and drove back to the kennel. As luck would have it, two dogs were leaving today, otherwise they would have been full! Excellent! So we booked spots for the next three days, and headed back to the trailer.
Friday, August 21
WOOHOO, it’s Friday and the big weekend has arrived!! And the weather right now is quite nice – sunny and 27C - unfortunately the outlook for Sunday sounds wet… :( Oh well, just have to hope for the best! Had the usual breakfast fare at the trailer…berries, yogurt and cottage cheese topped with cereal.
After a bit, wondered over to the track to see what was happening. We had already purchased Sunday’s ticket in advance, but I still needed to get tickets for today and tomorrow. With that done, I grabbed a seat in the grandstands to check out the time trials. Screaming engines and smoky burnouts...I love this place!
Back to the trailer, we relaxed for a bit, had a snack then took the dogs over to the kennel. Left the kennel and decided to go for a drive into Reading. Since we’ll be cooped up at the racetrack for the next two days, we thought we’d treat ourselves and eat out tonight. Explored Reading a bit then stopped at Appleby’s for supper. Yummy!
Saturday, August 22
Woke up to the cackling sounds of race engines as they warm up…awesome! MMMM…there’s nothing like the smell of nitromethane in the morning… :)After some breakfast, we headed over to the track to catch qualifying for the Top Fuel classes then the first rounds of competition for the Sportsman classes. But there were menacing skies on the horizon. If there’s any justice in the world, the weather will remain dry all weekend!
(a bit later)
Nope…not a chance…all morning and afternoon, and into the evening for that matter, we were constantly running for cover as the precipitation would periodically fall. Sigh.
Eventually, the on track activities wrapped up and we headed back to the trailer to call it a day. Supper tonight was barbequed steak and potatoes.
Sunday, August 23
Race Day is here…YAY!! Unfortunately, so is wet weather…again! After breakfast we headed over to the track for what we hoped would be a full day of professional drag racing. To our dismay, much like yesterday, we would need to run for cover (and occasional back to the trailer) off and on all day to avoid the raindrops! Eventually, late that night, after many rain delays, racing wrapped up for Top Fuel (with Larry Dixon taking top honours), Funny Car (Bob Tasca) and Pro Stock (Jeg Coughlin Jr.). Pro Stock Motorcycle on the other hand was delayed as the rain started back up in earnest just as the bikes were coming up to the line. And so for the final time this weekend, we wandered back to the trailer. It was a long day, so we just did burgers on the BBQ for supper. The rain ended as we starting to eat, and word spread from trailer to trailer that the track officials were hoping to get the bikes down the track soon, as long as the track stays dry. The facility has lights, so time of day isn’t a concern. Sure enough, just as we were finishing supper, we hear the track announcer requesting that the finalists, Eddie Krawiec and Michael Phillips bring their bikes to the staging lanes to run the final. The pair finally run their event with Eddie coming out on top.
Monday, August 24
Well, time to move on…next up is “The Big Apple” – New York City!!We got up early, packed everything away, hooked onto the trailer and picked up the puppy dogs at the kennel. They were some excited to see us!! Off we go to our next stop. We weren’t exactly sure where that would be just yet. Our plan was to camp somewhere in Upstate New York, within commuting distance of NYC in hopes of exploring the “City”. We are familiar with the KOA in Newburg, NY. It’s about an hour from the City and they offer NYC sightseeing bus tours that pick you up at the campground, so that’s certainly an option. Okay, let’s try that, we’ll drive to the KOA and see if they have any sites available for a weeklong stay…
(…later that same day…)
Okay, that didn’t go so well. Right now we’re sitting in the truck in the parking lot of the Newburg KOA. We just found out they have nothing available. Crap. But the young guy working in the camp store did tell us about a campground not that far away in the village of Hopewell Junction called Sylvan Lake Campground that may have openings. Well, we’re this close, we might as well check it out.
(…a bit later…)
We are now set up at Sylvan Lake and you know, I think I’m going to like it here! The campground is situated next to Sylvan Lake Beach, a former public beach area. But these days the beach is only maintained for the campers. Day use by the general public is no longer permitted. And it’s quiet. Very quiet. Exactly our style :)
As we were setting up, we were chatting with the maintenance guy, Frank. We mentioned that we felt like pizza for supper. He tells us we should head into town (the town being Hopewell Junction) and try ‘Pizza Village’. He says they ‘serve the best pizza in town!’. Sheila and I look at each other as if to say - “PIZZA VILLAGE”? HMMM, DOESN’T SOUND LIKE MUCH!. So after Frank leaves us, we discuss supper and come to the same conclusion – “WHAT DO WE HAVE TO LOSE? LET’S TRY IT!”. We finish getting the trailer ready, and drive to Pizza Village. We order the Margherita Pizza and a Caesar Salad to go. As we’re waiting for the pizza, Sheila notices cannoli on the menu. Cannoli!! We’ve seen this Sicilian pastry on TV cooking shows countless times but never tried them before. Well, it’s about time. So we add two cannoli to our order. Once everything is ready, we collect the food and head back to the trailer. OMG, everything is delicious! And the cannoli…to die for!! They are so good!! Okay, now I’m official addicted to cannoli :)
Tuesday, August 25
Went for my usual morning run. Then after returning to the trailer, I got cleaned up and strolled around the campground for a bit. Not a lot of campers here. Quite a few seasonals, but not many transients. Not a very fancy place. From what I’ve seen so far, there are only two maintenance guys. They go steady all day, working hard to keep the place tidy. It’s obvious the owners don’t put a lot of money into this place. What a shame. But the workers do a good job, considering what they have to work with for a campground.We didn’t do a lot today. Our original plan was to visit NYC today, but it’s been wet and drizzly all day, so instead we just relaxed. Went for a drive to explore the neighbouring communities.
Late this afternoon, our thoughts turned to supper. After having a great experience at Pizza Village last night, we thought we’d give their full service restaurant, Anthony’s, a try. It was awesome!! I wouldn’t think twice about coming back to this place!
Wednesday, August 26
We decided this would be a good day to do a tour of New York City. We drove to the nearby commuter train station in Beacon, NY. Purchased two return trip tickets and were soon whisked off to the City.About an hour later, our train entered the famous ‘Grand Central Station', or more correctly known as ‘Grand Central Terminal’. The term Grand Central Station actually refers to a previous rail station that was located at this same site. We got off the train and wondered about. The adjective ‘Grand’ doesn’t even come close to describing this building. The architecture...the size…the crowds…everything about this structure epitomizes New York City. The biggest, and the best.
Grand Central is located at the corner of 42nd Street and Park Avenue and occupies 48 acres in Midtown Manhattan. It was built by and named after the New York Central Railroad. Based on the number of platforms, it is the largest train station in the world. Grand Central has a total of 67 tracks across two levels (both being underground) – 41 tracks on the upper level and 26 on the lower. Once the new access for the ‘Long Island Railroad’ is completed (below the existing levels), Grand Central will offer a total of 75 tracks. Besides train platforms, Grand Central also offers restaurants, fast food outlets, delis, bakeries, newsstands, a fresh food market and more than 40 retail stores spread across the three levels of the building. The original station on the site, Grand Central Depot, was constructed in 1871. In 1900, the building was essentially demolished, rebuilt and was renamed Grand Central Station. By 1913, this building was torn down in phases, and was replaced by the current Grand Central Terminal. From 1939 to 1964, CBS Television occupied a large portion of the terminal building and operated four studios. As a matter of fact, the CBS Evening news first began broadcasting at this very location. The former studio space now houses tennis courts owned by Donald Trump. A number of major movies have been filmed at Grand Central, including Conspiracy Theory, The Cotton Club, The Fisher King, Men in Black, The Prince of Tides, The Taking of Pelham 123, and many more.
After taking in as much of Grand Central as we could, we stepped out onto 42nd Street. I was spellbound…it was like stepping into a movie…or perhaps a TV show. It was a sea of yellow NYC cabs. You know, those same yellow cabs that show up in virtually every movie or show that depicts Manhattan! It was surreal! And so further we go, down 42nd Street, practically overwhelmed with all the sights and sounds! By this time we were getting hungry, so we looked around trying to decide on an eatery. Then we spied ‘Dallas BBQ’. Excellent! We love southern food and southern barbeque…so this sounded pretty good to us! We sat down and ordered their 2-for-1 barbequed chicken dinner. It was delicious! We also had some Margaritas…also delicious :)
Back out onto the street, we continue down 42nd Street. Within minutes we’re standing in the middle of Times Square! And there’s the world famous Broadway Avenue! This area is amazing! With gigantic jumbotrons and electronic billboards standing hundreds of feet in the air, promoting everything from the latest TV shows, to Broadway musicals to New York City’s retail stores! Incredible!! Almost too much to take in! We were overwhelmed…a sensory overload, you could say!
By late afternoon, knowing that the dogs were waiting back at the trailer, it was time to head back. We caught the 3:30 train back to Beacon, and by 5:00 we were unwinding at the trailer. Wow! What a day that was!
Thursday, August 27
After experiencing New York City yesterday, it was time to take a break…relax…chill…so that’s what we did. Basically just spent the day at the campground, hanging out with the puppies. Tomorrow we start the trip back to Saint John, so we’re going to enjoy a nice quiet day right here.
Friday, August 28
We weren’t in a big hurry today, so we took our time. Slept late and had a leisurely breakfast. Then we packed up and hit the road. Made a couple of stops along the way for gas and snacks.
We reached the Wal-Mart in Bangor, ME and decided to call it a day.
Saturday, August 29
Since we're in the neighborhood, we decided to go to Dysart's Truck Stop (just outside of By early afternoon we were home and reflecting on our trip. It wasn’t a long distance trip but it was an eventful trip. So many great experiences…from the peaceful land of the Amish to world class drag racing in Reading, PA to the madness of New York City. We covered it all, and then some. It was a great adventure, and I can’t wait for our next great adventure to begin. Who knows where it will be exactly, who knows where we’ll end up the next time we head down ‘The Long Road’…
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