Time to rise and shine! The Coffmans were up and going this morning to get to the ferry by 10 that would have taken us across to Fort Delaware State Park. Rain has settled in over DE though, and we decided that it would not be much fun to slop around out on the island. The ranger told us that half of the tour would be outside and since the other half of our day will be in the car, we opted to get the best view we could from shore. It is sad because this weekend was POW weekend with about 60 reenactors there, and it sounded like a very interesting park. It is located on Pea Patch Island in the middle of the Delaware River. During the Civil War, it served as a prison camp that held about 12,500 Confederate soldiers. The tours given take you through underground prison cells, and there is a Prison Camp Trail that can be hiked where one can view thousands of nesting herons and egrets. I guess we'll have to wait and view our yellow crested night herons in our own neighborhood when we return. ;)
This is really the first rain that we have encountered the entire trip. We did get sprinkled on a bit in Philadelphia yesterday, but we were usually in buildings so it was not that bad at all. We are now on our way back to PA to visit Lancaster's Amish country and the Hershey factory. MMMMMM!! Can't wait!
First stop back in PA was just outside of Kennett Square, the mushroom capital of the world. It is known as the such because mushroom farming in the region produces over a million pounds of mushrooms a year. After passing several stores that boasted of fresh mushrooms, Nathan couldn't help himself and pulled in. Never realized we had a mushroom capital too!
Just down the road in Gap, we spotted a sign on a little forgotten looking building that read "Mechanical Musical Memories" nickelodeons-music boxes-victrolas-player pianos-rolls. We weren't passed it far when Nathan said we should turn around and go back. We both have such a love of music and especially when it comes from rare treasures. We were afraid that they were closed because the parking lot was basically empty, but when we pulled in the door was open. There were two fellows in there, Mike and John, who were tinkering with their collections. We talked to them and told them about our interest, and they graciously began showing us through what was pretty much a museum. We were so fortunate to be able to share such a treasure with the kids. We heard REAL music boxes from the 1880's, made with such skill and precision that they are unmatched today. Some of the boxes were even detailed with fine inlay work in the wood - all done by hand. They took us in another room and shared the sounds of some of their nickelodeons, reminiscent of sounds you might hear in a saloon or dance hall of the early 1900's. The boys were getting excited and asked to hear the victrollas and player pianos. We even had the privilege of hearing a whistler. (Instead of playing notes, a bellows created a whistling sound as a hand carved man all puckered up turned his head back and forth.) I think the men thought it neat that the boys had such an interest as well, and for about 3 hours, we listened to a variety of music and many stories about these fascinating machines! Nathan said that of all we have done and seen, this was probably the highlight of it all!! I wish I had a way to share the sounds of the player pianos or music boxes with you!
Our travels slowed considerably through this part of PA, and we have decided that we will have to come back here and spend a week in this area alone. We were now making our way through anitque alley. It pained Nathan and Samuel to not be able to stop at everyone. Because it was nearly 5, most places were closing, and we knew we still had a lot of ground to cover.
I was amused at the many signs along the road in this part of PA along a sleeply two lane road. We spotted Beware of Aggressive Drivers and No Tailgating all through this area. I think PA messed up when they placed these signs in such a quiet and pleasant area. They should have posted this signs at every intersection in the Philly area! We went through a section of Amish country and were amused at the sights of all the horses and buggies - some even with children peeking out the back. We followed one buggy through a parking lot and saw it stop in front of a store to let a lady out. When the buggy pulled away and headed into a parking space Caleb spoke up and said, "OH!! It's parking!!" He and Samuel hadn't seen that there was a man in there driving the buggy and thought the horse just knew to "pull" into a parking spot. Often times the kids said that it looked as if no one was driving the buggy because the Amish wear such dark clothing and are seated back a bit in the buggy so they are hard to see. I imagine that it was because of the buggies that we saw so many of the signs.
Our final stop was in Hershey, PA. We took a tour (similar to an amusement park ride) that explained the whole process of the candy making production, from the growing of the cocao beans in Africa, Indonesia, and South America to the manufacturing and packing of the chocolates. The gift store was overwhelming with all the candy, food courts, souvenirs and people! They also have an amusement park in Hershey as well as the Gardens. This is another place that the boys could have easily spent several days, so PA will in the future have to be a vacation all its own.
Once on the road we managed to cover 3 more states. We left PA to drive into Maryland for about 10 miles, through West Virginia in 35 miles and then bedded down in Harrisonburg, VA for the night. We are now on the road headed in after a long fun-filled trip. But, oh, how nice it will be to get home and sleep in our own beds!
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