Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -- May 2003: Day 3 and 4

After a simple breakfast in the Latham Hotel's bar (which seemed kind of sad, like the morning after a wild party, still reeking of Key Lime martini's),  we caught the PhLASH bus to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  I had some major audio tour issues, but I did enjoy the museum, which had everything from suits of armor to Japanese gardens, not to mention a huge Impressionists collection.  We enjoyed lunch there, and then climbed the "Rocky" steps.  After spending the whole day there, we took the PhLASH back to our hotel and waited for our ride (The Hubby's Dad).

The next morning, we drove a borrowed car out to Pennsylvania Dutch Country.  It wasn't a very long trip from Bucks County (where we were staying with the in-laws) to Lancaster County.  I was surprised though by the rolling green hills and all the cows.  I couldn't believe such a short trip out of the city would be so rural.

We headed to Kitchen Kettle Village, which I joked was like an Amish strip mall.  We grabbed some grub and then walked around the various stores: quilt shops, candy shops and the Kitchen Kettle store, where we bought all sorts of canned veggies, such as pickled beets and corn salsa.  Did you know the Amish make excellent wasabi peas?  We bought a big sack of those, and some pretzel mix, for the train ride home.  We then wandered over to The People's Place for a short movie about the people of the area, but it unfortunately left us with more questions than answers.

We then drove around for a bit and found a great pretzel store.  We bought pretzels, ate them in the car, and returned for more to bring home.  The cashier thought we were nuts!  Next door was a notions store, which was like an Amish supply store.  They had everything from bonnets to undies, but my favorite part was the Amish romance novels.  At 1:00, it was time for our buggy ride at Bird n' Hand.  We crammed into the back of a buggy with a dozen other tourists.  It was fun except we got a little bit of the third degree from the driver regarding our religious upbringing and then the ride stopped at his house where his family had tables set up with their wares.  I felt a little of the "hard-sell."  On the way back,  there was some traffic confusion between our driver and another "buggy-ist."  We stopped short, horses reared up.  We thought we were going to die in a tragic buggy accident, but all was well.

After another stop at Kitchen Kettle for delicious ice cream, we bought some tacky souvenirs (our Intercourse, PA porcelain bell was tacky but the little handmade boy doll we got was quite nice).  We drove around a little bit, and took some photos (especially of the ironically named Amish town, Intercourse, PA), then we returned to my in-laws' for dinner.