Monday September 12, 2011-Hershey Conewago campground

We went to breakfast with our friends Doug and Judy this morning. They came by and picked us up and we went to Martin's Country Cafe where we had eaten supper on Saturday night and the breakfast was better than the evening meal. I tried scrapple this morning, which is a specialty here. It is a pork-based meat that is fried and was actually pretty tasty.

After breakfast, we drove over to the Amish country in the area, Bird-in Hand and Intercourse PA. We saw many Amish in their customary buggies and wagons and working in the fields, much like what we have seen in Indiana. We went to a shopping village with many hand made items. We all enjoyed an ice cream sold by a lovely young Amish girl. We enjoyed listening to some local singers that entertained everyone in the square area. They were pretty good and we stayed there about an hour.

The interesting names of the towns was worth some research. Bird-in-Hand was founded in 1734 and got it's curious name from a legend of two road surveyors who were working in the area discussed whether they should stay in their present location or go into the hotel in Lancaster. One remarked that "a bird in the hand is better than one in the bush", meaning that it is preferable to having a small but certain advantage than the mere potential of a greater one, and so they stayed. The sign in front of the inn supposedly portrayed a man with one bird in his hand and two birds perched in a bush and was known as the Bird in Hand Inn. Variations of this sign are seen in the town today.

Intercourse PA was founded in 1754 and originally named Cross Keys. The theory of he name Intercourse is that it was named for the crossing of two famous roads, the Old Kings Highway from Philadelphia to Pittsburg that ran east and west through the center of town. The road from Wilmington to Erie intersected in the middle. The joining of these two roads is claimed by some to be the basis of the town name of Cross Keys and eventually Intercourse. A final idea is the language used during the early days of the village. The word intercourse was commonly used to describe the 'fellowship' or 'social interaction or support' shared in the community of faith, which was much a part of rural villages such as this. Now, because of the unusual name, the town signs are the frequent target of thieves.

It was nice to spend time with our friends and we had a good time with them.

So long.