We've been in Pennsylvania now for a little over two weeks and I have to say that so far, I've been underwhelmed.  I'll speak about the campground in my campground reviews in a couple of weeks.  But, so far, it's not been what I expected.

First off, Lancaster County and the Amish Country were a huge disappointment to me.  I had expected charming farms and little roadside stands filled with produce and dairy products.  Color me disappointed when all we we found were restaurants, stores and fake Amish Villages that you paid to go in, as well as buggy rides for rent.  We did drive around the countryside and saw a little of what must have been the traditional lifestyle back before commercialism took stead.

We've enjoyed our little jaunts around the countryside and through the Nature Preserves.  Maybe it's the rain, maybe it's the lack of satellite and our dryer breaking, maybe it's Memphis.  

Pennsylvania also has the strangest liquor laws I've ever seen.  Most stores and convenience stores don't sell beer.  You can't sell beer with wine and liquor.  They're sold in a liquor store.  And if you want beer, you have to find a brewhouse.  And they're not on every street corner, either.  I'm guessing that there's either a lot of temperance that goes on here or we're just in a strange part of the state.  Maybe I'm wrong.  It's just been very different.

Next week, after the holidays and finally being able to test out the new satellite, we'll be spending a couple of days in Philadelphia, and I hope that my early opinion changes.  We'll see.

One of the many reasons that I like to spend two weeks or more in an area, is because Murphy's Law always applies.  Whether it's a mechanical breakdown, someone sick or just an error, something will happen.

This week it was a double whammy.  We knew our satellite was broken - when we left Maryland, it would not retract correctly.  So, we've been waiting on Winegard to ship us the new system that we can install and return the old one.  Have I mentioned how lucky I am to have a DH that's handy?  It would cost us several hundred dollars to get the new satellite installed.  Instead, with the bribery of some good dinner, hubby will take care of it.  The new satellite arrived today, but it's raining out, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow.

In the meantime, after planning out the rest of our week to have some fun in Philadelphia, hubby had a bathmat in the dryer last night.  Guess what?  Yep.  The dryer broke.  Have I mentioned how happy I am that hubby is handy?  We pulled the dryer out today and the belt is broken.  We were able to call and order a new one and it will arrive by Wednesday afternoon.  So, Thursday will be spent repairing the dryer.

Philadelphia?  Hope it'll still be here next week.  Not a big deal.  That's why we stay longer.  Bigger deal?  That hubby is saving us hundreds of dollars in repair bills.  And all I have to do is maintain my patience and keep my mouth shut during the repair session.

Let me not forget to mention that, as hubby was pulling the dryer out, he broke his toe.  No, I'm not making this up.  
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Hello, Murphy, nice to see you again.

We did nothing major today, but took the kiddos on a picnic to a picnic area we saw yesterday after leaving the Zoo.  It's part of the Trexler Nature Preserve, and a great place to relax.

Went to the LeHigh Valley Zoo yesterday.  The most interesting thing about the zoo is that it lays within the boundaries of the Trexler Nature Preserve, which spans over a century.

There's not much to say about it.  It was, thankfully, fairly small and crammed with elementary school kids.

​Did I mention small?

 Mother's Day was wonderful!  The rain had stopped and the sun peeked in and out. Dave and the kiddos took me on a self-guided tour of the LeHigh Valley's Covered Bridges.

We're about an hour north of Philadelphia, near Allentown.  LeHigh Valley has seven covered bridges and they offer a self-guided tour that covers about fifty miles.  Five out of the seven are still used for regular traffic.  Here is LeHigh Valley's romantic history of the covered bridges:

Why were the bridges covered?  To keep them dry - not the travelers, not the horses or wagons of hay, nor the sweethearts halted in the shadows, but the plank roadways.  Some say the bridges were covered to resemble barns, making horses less hesitant to enter.

Covered bridges have a romantic quality that we associate with times when life moved more slowly.  The shade they provided made them a natural place to pause from the summer's heat.  Pausing was for some a chance to steal kiss - hence their name Kissing Bridges!

By day, the sides of covered bridges served as the first billboards for dispensers of quack medicine, political hopefuls, religious zealots, undertakers or anyone with an urgent message."

The seven bridges, in order, are:
Bogert's Bridge
Manasses Guth Bridge
Wehr's Covered Bridge
Rex's Covered Bridge
Geiger's Covered Bridge
Schlichers Covered Bridge
Kreidersville Covered Bridge

Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!
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Tomorrow we pack up and leave DalMarVa and head for Pennsylvania to explore the Amish Country and Philly.

We took one last jaunt around the Ocean City Boardwalk today.  Since we didn't have the kids, we could take our time.  

Ocean City is the first Boardwalk I've ever been to.  I expected the traditional rides - the roller coaster, Ferris Wheel and I wasn't disappointed.  What did disappoint me was the lack of food stands that offer traditional Maryland seafare.  We found one that had clam strips, but the rest were milkshakes and sweets.

The seagulls were swooping in to catch anything that fell on the floor.  Some were even brave enough to try and  steal from humans sitting and eating.  They reminded me so much of a visit to San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf.  While were there, two larger birds got into an argument about a piece of food left on the ground.  While they were busy arguing, a smaller bird snuck in and grabbed it before the other two even realized it.

I think Dave and I agree that May is the best month to come to this area.  It's not too cold, but it's not season yet, so the crowds are not yet here.  I would wait until mid-May next time to ensure that more places were open for the season.  But we did truly enjoy the lack of crowds on the boardwalk, allowing us to wander.

We've really enjoyed Ft. Whaley Campground, and I will write a review about it.  We loved the entire area and look forward to putting this on our list to return to.

​These photos are not great, but just my view of my first East Coast boardwalk :)

One of the reasons we came to Ocean City Md for two weeks was for the opportunity to see the Assateague horses up close.  I'd heard about them and seen pictures, but had to see for myself.

These horses have lived on Assateague Island for more than 200 years and have survived by becoming more efficient in their use of the limited food and water available in this harsh environment.

Something that has intrigued me is the National Park Service's method of reducing overpopulation.  Instead of allowing these beautiful animals to be killed, they allow each mare to have one foal and then dart her with birth control.  This humane way of managing the population is something that should be looked at for more wild animals.

A battle that the Park Service fights every day is the same one I have seen in the Smoky Mountains and in Cases Caove, especially.  These animals are wild, not domesticated.  But you will always find some yahoo that feeds them human food to get them to come closer or to get a better photo.  Brochures from the NPS show the bite marks left by these horses when they become spooked.  It seems that humans always present the most danger to any wild animal.

Still, it was a wonderful day and I did get to see some of the horses, doing their thing.

P.S. The little four-legged wild things on the beach are not horses :)

While they loved the sand, the water was not a hit...

I see a golf cart in our future.  Don't know who has more fun....Daddy or the kids.