FiringOnAllFour
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 American Help Please
My wife and I are flying into Baltimore this summer. Current ideas are firstly to move north into PA to york(harley factory!) and lancaster and the Amish etc. Then follow the road through shenandoah NP branching off for Richmond, willamsburg and viginia beach. Then back north for Washington and fly home. We have two weeks.
I know its possible to spend much longer on that route, but we have to cover a bit of ground or theres no point in making the trip.
Is there anything we should especially be looking at in these areas?
Are there other areas which we must see?
Are there any of you cowtalkers nearby that would like a visitor?
If not, can any of you recommend a dairy farm that would be happy to have a short visit from us?
Thank you in advance. Your help would be much appreciated.
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20/5/2008, 22:11
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DaleKOntario
VG88
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Re: American Help Please
Mason-Dixon Farm is .... interesting. Not sure what their policy is on lone visitors, I know they take lots of bus tours etc.
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22/5/2008, 1:42
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Buckeye
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American Help Please
Lancaster county is nice, but a tourist trap. So be prepared, they are waiting for you. You can take leisurely drives and wander, or you can go on guided tours of the area. I went to an Amish wine tasting once. They encouraged you to spit out the wine. As a 21 year old college student I requested extra tastings. 
New Holland, PA is home to New Holland Farm Machinery so they have the hay tools factory in town. I interned with New Holland. They have a small and very disappointing museum at the front of the factory. I spent a few nights at the local bar next to the railroad tracks. Liquor laws are weird in PA, so be sure to buy elsewhere, some places don't sell on the weekends, some don't sell if they sell gas, most grocery stores in the area don't sell either. I had to buy a six packs at the local Pizza Hut. So if you are staying in the area, the rule of thumb is bring alcohol from elsewhere, or buy it with food.
Make sure to stop in Intercourse, and get your picture taken by the town sign, everyone else does it. They have lots of craft stores and crap for those wanting authentic Amish stuff. I bought a can coolie that says "Intercourse is great", I still have it. Same goes with the town of Blue Ball.
There is an outlet mall nearby I believe it is called Tanger, they sell lots of crap from the name brand stores at decent discounts. If you like to buy XL Tall t shirts, or your wife wears a 32DDD Bra you will be all set. Just kidding their is some normal stuff there.
Don't take pictures of the Amish. They don't like that at all. They think you are stealing their soul or something. There are plenty of opportunities to buy authentic Amish artisan Cheese, wine, chocolates, foods, and yes, crafts. Many Amish stores will allow you to play with their puzzles, which are made of horseshoes, chain and bullrings. They can be very challenging but fun.
Hershey PA is a town to the north that is essentially another tourist trap with the Hershey Chocolate Factory, an amusement park and general candy themed wackiness. You may like it, you may not, I don't like tourist traps.
When exactly are you going?
Make sure to try Yuengling Traditional Lager while in the area very tasty, at least by my American standards.
If you see scrapple on the menu anywhere, don't order it! Do a wiki search for further details, yuck.
The Smithsonian museum is EXCELLENT in DC. Make sure to check it out. Lots of stuff to see in Washington so plan ahead.
I must go to bed, let me know if you have any more questions.
Last edited by Buckeye, 22/5/2008, 4:20
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Buckeye seems like a one man wrecking crew out to rid the world of injustice. ----- Mayjay
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22/5/2008, 4:18
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FiringOnAllFour
Ex97
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Re: American Help Please
Thanks very much! Thats really helpful. If anything else springs to mind, do give us a post.
My wife has found out about intercourse, by the way.
Virginia is getting further south from you, I know, but do you have any comments on it?
What about crossing from virginia beach over the water and up to delaware on way back to DC? Is that a waste of time?
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22/5/2008, 18:40
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FiringOnAllFour
Ex97
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Re: American Help Please
The trip was great. More of a regular sight-seeing holiday than a farm one, but I got my way for an afternoon. Took the advice and dropped in at Penn-Gate. Saw the old cow herself fairly stale, immensely strong, great cow. Storm fluff has turned out a great cross too. Very friendly people, turns out they had been over to Ulster earlier in the spring. Bob took me over to Mason-Dixon for a quick look, also very impressive. Ten robots, I think, and a shed with the nicest climate I've ever stood in.
We spent a few days outside lancaster, got my compulsary intercourse photo and avoided buying the T-shirt which read 'intercourse was everything I thought it would be'. Some great land in the Amish country.
Gave Hershey park a whiz, absolutely fabulous.
Took the Harley-Davidson factory tour.
Gettysburg visitors centre was excellent.
Shenandoah valley was, well, big and woody, although the skyline drive was worth the $15 we had to pay to get onto it  .
Spent a while at Williamsburg which was really nice. Did Busch Gardens and Watercountry USA.
Virginia Beach was perhaps a little disappointing - there wasn't much life in the resort.
DC was worth the visit, to see all the sights we've seen in the movies. The war memorials were very poignant. And old town alexandria was pretty, oh, and so was Mount Vernon.
Virginia was rather disappointing in terms of scenery. I like an agricultural landscape, but the land seemed to be pretty rocky and mostly covered in trees. We learnt a lot of american history, covered 1400miles, and had a great time! Thanks for your help and advice.
Last edited by FiringOnAllFour, 24/8/2008, 15:17
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23/8/2008, 18:00
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usamoo
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American Help Please
if in southern pa. windy-knoll view jim burdette is a must. if anywhere near hwy #1in delware richard green in middletown always has a lot of heifers to show.
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25/8/2008, 23:52
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FiringOnAllFour
Ex97
Cyborg
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Registered: 01-2004
Location: Northern Ireland
Posts: 1653
Karma: 39 (+39/-0)
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Re: American Help Please
I did try to make contact with WKV via email, but received no reply.
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26/8/2008, 8:47
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