Destination PA

Trent and I both love Pennsylvania.  We are captured by the green, rolling hills, small towns, and the Amish/Dutch culture.  About a month ago, we were trying to decide how to spend our Labor Day weekend.  I came across the Hamburger Festival.  It is held every year in Hamburg, PA.  It was an easy decision with such events as mooing contests, mold a mound of meet contest, burger eating competitions, and amazing hamburgers. 

We arrived in Hamburg at noon - just in time for lunch.  We went straight to the mooing contest.  I was trying to talk Trent into participating and he agreed if I would also enter the contest.  I agreed. We waited in line, next to a man dressed in a cow suit, for a turn to give our best moo over the airways. 

We walked through the exhibits, was handed free jerky, and met the Dairy Ambassador.  In order to give a proper vote for the best hamburger, Trent and I waited in seperate, long lines to get two very different hamburgers.  I ordered the A1- Peppercorn Hamburger and Trent ordered the Garlic Mushroom Hamburger with freshly fried sweet potato chips.  Our favorite was the Garlic Mushroom Hamburger.  It was the best hamburger either of has have eaten.  As we ate, we talked with some local folks about the area.

After eating, we drove to Lancaster County.  We went through an old Amish home.  The owners have opened it up to the public and have added other Amish style buildings.  It was interesting to learn about the Amish lifestyle.  We also bought some very yummy pear butter.

My wonderful husband had set up our accomadations for that night.  He wanted it to be a surprise so he did not tell me where we were staying.  I love surprises! I love trying to figure out the surprise even more.  I did a little homework and found a few possibilities.  I ended up being correct but it was still a surprise.  We pulled up to a wonderful Bed and Breakfast that was in the middle of a cute town named Pottsville.  The three-story victorian homee was built on a hill and is the oldest gothic revival home in the USA.  It was gorgeous.  The house has been remodeled to include jacuzzi baths and comfortable beds. 

The Partridge Bed and Breakfast also comes with a great assett: the owners Willey and Rose.  They were both very welcoming and talkative.  They gave us a suggestion to go to Maroon's Bar and Grill to watch the BYU game.  As we were driving to Maroon's, my fantastic husband read to me the history of the Maroon's national football team and champions.  It was quite a contraversy back in the day.  We watched the game while eating a very good crab cake.  As we were leaving, we saw Willey and Rose there and we stopped by to say hi and see if they had a recommendation for ice cream.  They suggested that we get a dessert that was not on the menu.  It was vanilla ice cream with rasberry sauce and came with funnell cake fries.  The owner came over and met us and friend the funnell cake himself.   Oh my gosh...it was amazing!!!!!  We took it back to the Partridge House and watched the rest of the BYU game in the living room, which had chairs that gave you a heated massage.  Then BYU WON!!!! 

One of the best days ever!!!

The second day we woke up and had a great breakfast made by Rose.  We said goodbye and made our way to the Pottsville Branch for church.  Then we were off to Gettysburg. My wonderful mother sent us a CD of a driving tour of the battle ground.  It was fascinating and touching to think about all the men that died during that one battle.  It reminded me of the brutalities of war and the sadness that must have filled these men's and thier families lives.