Amish Road Trip Tuesday

Aimee and I drove through Lancaster, Bird-In-Hand, and Intercourse Pennsylvania yesterday (Tuesday), on our way back to Philadelphia from Gettysburg. Funny there is an Amish town named "Intercourse." Well, I think it is funny.

I am not sure what the excitement is, seeing an Amish buggy coming down the street, but we had it. Excitement about a horse, pulling a small buggy down the street...as if we had never seen this before. Well, not too often, that is for sure.

The kind Amish would generally wave to us as we had our cameras pointed towards them. I am sure we weren't, and won't be the last, tourist fascinated with them. The drive was great as we saw the most beautiful land. Aimee snapped picture after picture as I drove. We ended up keeping the rental car an extra day because we weren't going to make it back to Philadelphia before 6pm. That ended up being a good thing anyway. We drove the rental car down to the Reading Terminal Market this morning and had our last Amish breakfast at "Dutch Eating Place." We ended up with a couple more bags of souvenirs:-) We took the car back to Enterprise and got a ride back to the hotel.

We re-organized our luggage and pack the bags as much as we could and decided we were going to check them so we wouldn't have to lug them around (hey, is that were the word "Luggage" came from? - random thought). We had the hotel hold our bags and we went out again for our last hurrah. We did some more shopping, of course, and then went to Nick's Roast Beef for our final meal - CheeseSteak!! We started our trip at Nick's with dinner, Thursday night, after arriving in Philadelphia. We thought it appropriate to end our trip with lunch at Nick's today. Afterall, we decided after eating CheeseSteak at three different places, that Nick's was the best!

Shell

In the Air...ONLINE! Wow!

Well, it would seem we finally got lucky on a flight:-) We knew that some planes had Wi-Fi, but the two flights we were on to Philadelphia didn't have it. But here we are, on our flight to Dallas and we have it:-) This is actually a good thing, considering we ended up forgetting to take movies out of our bags we were checking. So this works out well for us. We can blog things on our flight. Although my eyes are a bit heavy, I do hope I can stay awake.

Shell

Leaving Today

The blue skies and sun-shiny day has us digging our feet in the Philly soil. Today is our departure day from the City of Brotherly Love. And what a great time we have had! We are headed back to Cali and can't wait to share our stories. The time went by too quickly and we have much more to blog about. We wanted to save our haunted evidence and experiences for one grand 'reveal'. Thanks for those following on Facebook and Blogger. We have more to share. Stay tuned. We are off now to do a few more tourist things, then back to the airport.

Time to Leave the B&B:-(

This is a quickie, as we are getting ready to check out of the Battlefield Bed & Breakfast:-( We are sad that this time as come, but we do know one thing: We will be back!

It started to rain today, just as we were getting back from our 6:30AM trip to the Battlefield this morning. It is coming down pretty good right now. Boy have we lucked out with the weather since we have been in Pennsylvania. We are going to take a drive through Intercourse, PA on our way back to Philadelphia. Hoping that the rain has come from that direction and we will see a break in the wetness.

I will enter another blog soon, from Philadelphia, but it is time to load the car and bid farewell to our B&B.

Shell

Horse Doonie

We all know how much Aimee loves her "Doonies" (animals) and if there is a Doonie around, that is where you will find Aimee:-) We got up at 6:30am this morning to watch the sunrise and take some pictures of the B&B. The property has two horses, two goats, two sheep and a donkey. The animals were wanting some grass that was just a bit out of their reach, so Aimee and I picked some and fed it to the "doonies." The large brown horse wanted to be fed and fed. Aimee had to have a bit of a conversation with him and expain that he wasn't the only animal that was hungry. I think they came to an understanding:-) We took a lot of pictures of the animals, but I just love this one - during their heart to heart conversation.

Breakfast and a History Lesson

What an amazing breakfast Aimee and I just had. Along with breakfast, we were treated to an hour long Civil War history lesson. Michael Vice, retired Gettysburg National Park Historian for 30 years, described the Battle at Gettysburg from the Confederate point of view, begging with pre-war developments. He also showed us what a Confederate soldier carried with them during the war, i.e., food ration, blankets, clothing, etc. The average Confederate soldier was 5'4" and 120 pounds and carried a 40 pound pack and a nine pound musket rifle. Michael also showed us how a soldier loaded and fired their musket three times in one minute. Amazing!

We are off to the Gettysburg Visitors Center to take a tour of the Battlefield. This trip has been so wonderful, I don't know that I will ever be able to express to anyone how amazing it has been already.

Until next time,

Shell

Battlefield Bed and Breakfast

We have arrived at our Gettysburg home for the next two nights. We are just in amazement at how perfect this place is. It is just beautiful inside and out. It is located on the southern part of the Gettysburg Battlefield. This was the location of the earliest battles and gruesome battles at that.

The barn located on this 30 acre area was the site of one of the hospitals during the battle. Immediately, I ask if we would be allowed access to the barn tonight, on our own. Much to my surprise and happiness, the answer was a definite yes. How cool is this going to be? A couple from Los Angeles (with English accents) and Aimee and I are the only guests at the B&B tonight, so we won't have to worry about any voices carrying in the barn tonight during our "EVP" work. We can hardly believe the fantastic luck we have to be able to do this investigate ourselves, without any other people. Check out the picture of the barn. It is way cool!!

2 CHEESE WIT; ON THE SUBJECT OF THE PHILLY CHEESE STEAK

As you may know, I have allowed myself a sort of hiatus, and for the first time in 6+ years I (aimee) have eaten meat product. For the weeks leading up to this trip I began introducing animal into my diet, for a singular purpose. To eat freely of this grand thing that is named, The Philly Cheesesteak. Shell and my Pennsylvania trip was not only fueled by the impetus of hunting for the lively dead, but also to find the ultimate cheesesteak. Little did I know, there is an entire culture of cheesesteak in the City of Brotherly Love. Eateries and walk-up vendors all over this historic town have a spirited competition of who has the best sammy in the city. Their fervor is charged by the loyalty of their customers. If you say the word "cheesesteak" in amongst a crowd of locals, you will most certainly have the crowds number in different opinions of who makes the best. Since arriving, Shell and myself have tested the local goods at 3 different places. We did Nick's the minute we first set our luggage down. The next day we had a sandwich at Campo's. And last night, we tried Sonny's, directly after the ghost hunt at Eastern State. We are in unanimous agreement that Nick's is our favorite, so far. Here is why: the beef is flaked and the onion is caramelized and mixed into a mushy, buttery, melt-in-the-mouth provolone and au jus magically delicious piece of culinary wizardry. That is my best attempt at a description and does not do justice. We are now at our haunted Mecca........ More to follow.

Side Trip to See the Amish!

We left Philadelphia around 11am today (Sunday) and headed for Gettysburg. We were scheduled, according to our GPS, to arrive in

Gettysburg around 1:15pm. Well, seeing as we are tourists...we ended up taking a side trip to Lancaster County, specifically the town of Bird in the Hand, PA. Aimee and I were hoping to catch some Amish selling quilts and stuff, but no such luck. We did see some Amish buggies on the road, but no Amish "working." It is Sunday and we discovered that the Amish people do not work on Sunday.

We enjoyed the ride through Lancaster County and will go through Intercourse, PA on the way back to Philadelphia. Yes, that is the name of the town and it is one of the central towns of the Amish.

Ghost Gals

Great start to the day! Got registered and met the TAPS gals, Kris and Amy. The are very nice, although we already "knew" Amy Bruni from our Wolfe Manor investigation.

Aimee (my Aimee) and I are going to go get a bit to eat and then back to the lectures. We have decided on Soho Pizza, just down the street. Great reviews and it is close. We will let you know:-)

Until later...

George Washington's Chair

This afternoon, Aimee and I had a history lesson. The best history lesson I've ever had. Aimee is going to blog about our tour more later, but I just wanted to show you this picture. This room was where the Constitution of the United States was signed. The tall chair is THE CHAIR that George Washington sat in. To me, that is just amazing...to think that George Washington sat in that very chair almost two and a half centuries ago. They even had the original walking stick that Thomas Jefferson used in his later years. I really enjoyed the tour, learning about the signing of our Constitution. Stay tuned for more on the tour, as Aimee will share more details.

Here is Aimee under the LOVE Sign! It is so cool...we took a lot of pictures of this famous sign. The "City of Brotherly Love" is an appropriate name for Philadelphia. Everyone is so nice here. People say hi to you as they pass you in the street. Aimee and I have really enjoyed our time here so far and we are so happy we still have time. Tomorrow is a full day of our Ghost Hunting Lectures and Investigation at Eastern State Penitentiary. Hopefully we can get a good night sleep. We are both exhausted, but excited about tomorrow, so we might be too anxious to sleep. Oh, who am I kidding...I am going to sleep like a baby:-)

Walked Miles Today!

Okay, so you see from Aimee's posting, we had a great breakfast:-) Not to worry, we walked A LOT and I think I worked off my Amish Apple Cinnamon French Toast! You see this picture, I have the Philadelphia map in my hand and was resting my feet sitting on a bench. Also, you can see from my "lovely hair" that the humidity is rather high in Philadelphia. Not to mention a bit breezy at times. But what an awesome day we had. I have gotten the streets down pretty well and we navigate like we have been here longer than a day and half.

The Reading Terminal Market

When we asked our hotel concierge if she would recommend the Reading Terminal Market for breakfast, her face lit up and she said ,"YESSSSS!", with about as much enthusiasm as one can muster when one is at work. "Of course," she said. "That is where the Amish are!" And with that, we were off to Market. Shell and I walked about a mile, sightseeing, planning our day, and laughing along the way. Philadelphia was bustling with commuters, and merchants and tourists, like ourselves. The Market was about the size of a city block and all under one roof. We grabbed the first 2 counter seats at The Dutch Eating Place and were waited on by an Amish lady full of smiles and personality. I think that I had the best breakfast of my life here, complete with a 12 oz glass of fresh squeezed OJ, homemade bread, fresh eggs and Amish-made sausage. WOW! After leaving the counter, we browsed the rest of the market and were just in a blissful bubble of fullness and sensory overload! Woohoo!!! The place was absolutely alive on every level.

The place was so full of color and excitement, and the music of hundreds of people, laughing, yelling, chatting, walking and doing business, all at one time. There was a definite rhythm in the experience. A general sense of patience and friendliness. The experience was amazing and the market, hard to leave. I have to say that the friendly mood and kindness of these people does not end at the Market door. The people of Philadelphia have been an absolute dream. The locals seem to go out of their way to make conversation. They are sincerely interested in us and are completely approachable. The city is extremely clean. The architecture is phenomenal. The flora is in full bloom. And the weather is perfect! We are having a blast!

Already Met Chip!!

We were walking up to our hotel, after having our CheeseSteak and Nick's and who is in the front of the hotel? Yes, it was Chip Coffey! Scotty Roberts was outside with Chip too. So, I told Aimee we were sitting on the lobby couch until they come back inside. Then, we would say hello. Aimee was apprehensive at first, but we stayed until they walked in. As they walked by, Aimee was the one that got their attention. She said, "Excuse me, Mr. Coffey?" And Chip looked around, reacting to the "Mr. Coffey" and said, it is Chip:-) We shook his hand and said we were looking forward to Saturday. They were so nice. Chip was teasing Scotty Roberts about forgetting to put his website at the end of the article written about him in the newest TAPS Magazine.

Aimee took this picture of us and Chip said, just don't touch me to Scotty and you can see that Scotty didn't listen. The guys were so nice and funny. We look forward to seeing them Saturday.

Here is also a picture of the four of us...what a nice treat!

We are getting ready for the day. We heard there is some great Amish breakfast at the Reading Terminal Market! Yum!

Our First Philly CheeseSteak!!!

There it is!!! Isn't it beautiful? Let me tell you, it tasted AMAZING!! This sandwich (it was only $6.50) was so fantastic. Aimee and I were like the critics on a Food Network show. "The cheese is perfectly melted. The flavor, wow, everything compliments the other. The bread was perfect and it didn't get soggy because the cheese was melted on it perfectly. The meat melted in your mouth!"

You tell, the "vegetarian" Aimee looks like she is rather enjoying herself? :-)

Now Aimee and I have a comparison to go by, when we get that second and third CheeseSteak:-)

Okay, we did it!! We had our first (of many I am sure) Philly CheeseSteak. We were headed to a place Campo's, recommended by the hotel concierge Floyd. Campo's was closed so we walked down a ways and found "Nick's Roast Beef" and there was this sign in the window. So, we headed into "Nick's." It was like Fresno's Landmark Bar/Restaurant. The bar is in the front area and then you walk through the bar to a light sign that says, "Dining." We sat down and our waitress Trish came over in her "Phillies" t-shirt and greeted us. We told her we were from California in search of a Philly Cheesesteak. We actually asked what was the best on the menu, in which she responded, "Our roast beef sandwich and our CheeseSteak." Well, we didn't have to look at the menu, we said, "two CheeseSteaks please." I asked how to order the best, was it with or without onions, etc. Trish said, "American Cheese and Onions." So, there is was...our CheeseSteak order was in! We were so excited...and hungry. We had some yogurt at the airport in Fresno and only some trail mix and pretzels since.

Day of Travel

** This email was started last night, but I fell asleep while writing it...so, this is a continued at 9:30am Friday morning.

What a morning! We were scheduled to fly out of Fresno this morning at 7:15am. Well, that didn't go off as planned, as we spent almost three hours on the ground in Fresno. We finally left around around 10am, missing our connection. Fortunately, I called while we were sitting there and got us on the next flight out. We actually got into Philadelphia around 8pm, which was only 1-1/2 hours later than had we made our connection.

Let me post this and get to another...all about our "Philly Cheesesteak" we had last night...

Almost Time to "Fly" East

We will be heading East soon...Aimee and I are so very excited about our trip. It is finally here. This was my Christmas gift to Aimee and it just seemed like it was so far away when I made the arrangements...now, we are just a couple of days away!

Check out our blog often, as we will be trying to post throughout our trip. We will let you know what we did for the day, how many Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches we had that day, etc. So, stay tuned and come back often.