The Civil War, Amish and Lots of Lots of Chocolate

We are finally catching up on our blog - we enjoyed our time in southern Pennsylvania. Here is a family effort on the highlights.

All Things Civil War in Gettysburg:

We weren't really sure what to expect in Gettysburg but can report that it's a cute little town and beautiful countryside but wow the highways are narrow and the houses and barns are really close to the road (sometimes 4 feeet or less). At the National Military Park we took in a video and an unique cyclorama which outlined the gruesome 3 day battle during the Civil War. There also was a very detailed museum that we took in. Because of some of our interactive experiences in the museum, we now have have a new morning tradition here in the Pilkington/Andrew motorhome - a morning bugle revelry wake up call! There are statues and memorials all over Gettysburg, many with costumed folks rein acting various aspects such as soldier marches, musket shooting, etc.. There were tons of things to explore and never enough time.

The Best Day of My Life by Leah Pilkington

We were in Hershey and went to Chocolate World where they showed us how they make the different kinds of chocolate bars there like the Hershey's chocolate bar, Reese's Pieces, Kit Kats and of course Hershey Kisses. We went to a chocolate tasting school and sampled lots and lots of different kinds of chocolate. Because of all my hard work, I got my very own Masters in Chocolate Tasting Degree!! We ended up buying lots of chocolate there!! Did you know that the street lights in Hershey have Hershey kisses on them?? This really was the best day of my life (and Dad's too).

The Amish in Lancaster County by Emma Pilkington:

The Amish are people who live in different parts of the US and Canada who do not believe in using cars, tractors or any motorized vehicles and don't have any electricity in their homes. They travel by horse and buggy. The kids are not baptized until they are adults so they are not members of the church until they decide after the age of 18 years. Before young Amish make the decision to become members, many of them move to the city for awhile and drive cars.
We went to a Visitor Centre and saw a movie about an Amish boy called Jacob who drove his own car until he decided to become a baptised Amish. Next we got to tour a typical Amish home - I found it amazing that boys had to all share bedrooms until they got married but once a girl turned 16, they got their own bedroom. As soon as Amish men get married, they must grow a beard and never, ever cut it.

Since it was Sunday, many of the stores were closed and the Amish were at church, so we weren't sure if we would see any of them. But we were in luck - we saw many horses and buggies driving in the country side - we even saw kids playing baseball and some girls roller blading on the road through a covered bridge!

Our next trivia question - what is this Amish building (below)??

With the last Springer Spaniel question - many of you were right - both George Bush Sr and George W had English Springer Spaniels like the one in the photo on the White House Grounds.

We are currently in the Pocono Mountains about 2 hours away from NYC. In fact, we just spent 3 days in the big apple - so will be telling you all about it very soon.

Ta ta for now.