Living in an Amish paradise

So, was it Gettysburg or Hershey's world of chocolate? As educated, erudite educationalists, there was really only one choice:

We did look at going to Gettysburg, but we couldn't find the address.

After a confectionery filled morning we began the drive home, and along the way we made a diversion that took us into the heart of Amish country. After taking out some money at a bank that had posts in the car park to tie up your horses (and enough horse shit to prove that the facilities were used on a regular basis - I guess some of the Amish must be stinking rich), we had lunch in the quaintly named town of Bird-in-Hand; this was going to be our last stop in Pennsylvania, but about half an hour later we found ourselves in the middle of Intercourse and we simply had to pull over...

Got you! But really, who calls their town 'Intercourse'? Joking aside, our little dip into Amish culture was an interesting experience; we were surprised to see that a number of the Amish lived in houses adorned with satellite dishes, and we were left wondering whether the folks of Bird-in-Hand and Intercourse placed more emphasis on the 'ish' rather than the 'Am'.

Eight hours later we were home, and although we've had a quiet week since, we have a few more adventures lined up for next week, but that's another story...

Hello again!

I'm still here, but since Melanie arrived a couple of weeks ago I've hardly been at the computer. The days preceding her arrival were spent in a frenzied attempt to make the apartment look presentable, and since then we've had a fine time being busy doing nothing. It's been great spending some time together after three months apart, and I'm trying to put the fact that I have to return North in a little over two weeks firmly to the back of my mind.

Now, I say we've been busy doing nothing but that's not strictly true, because over this last weekend we spent a hectic, yet hugely enjoyable, couple of days in the States. It was my second road trip into America this summer following on from Dave and Gid's Excellent Adventure last month, and we actually travelled many of the same roads as on that journey, although this time there was no giant cutlery to be seen.

When Mel went to the Hard Rock Calling event in London, one of the acts she saw was the Dave Matthews Band, and ever since then she's developed into something of a fan and wanted me to see them live too. The nearest place we could get tickets was for their date in Hershey, Pennsylvania (home of the chocolate bars), and on Friday we drove all the way down - a journey of about 600km - and caught their show in the evening. By all accounts it wasn't one of their best performances but we enjoyed ourselves, and if you have a few minutes spare I suggest you take in this performance of Funny The Way It Is from the show:

I should probably explain the reference to cow shit at the beginning of the clip. Hershey is renowned for two things - its chocolate and its cows - and Dave Matthews' opening line of the evening was "Hershey - tastes like chocolate, smells like cow shit," a state of affairs of which he reminded us at regular intervals from thereon in. We didn't actually take the film ourselves, but it was shot from roughly where we were sitting, and it may also be of interest to the group of girls who were sitting near us as they saw very little of the show. They were in their late teens/early twenties, and they spent virtually the entire time the band the were on stage either on the phone or texting. Perhaps that's what people do nowadays, but I don't see the point in forking out for a ticket and then spending your time completely ignoring what you've paid to see. This might work for Celine Dion or Mariah Carey, but otherwise I just don't get it.

We spent the night in a hotel just outside of Hershey, and the next day we decided to do some sightseeing. Historic Gettysburg was just a short trip from where we were staying, and we were torn between visiting an iconic location in American history or a chocolate factory; I'll let you know what we decided in the next post...

Dave & Gid's Excellent Adventure

It's been a busy week on Planet Gideon, with road trips, concerts, and summer fêtes all competing for attention since I last posted. Sunday is certainly proving to be a day a rest, and I can now fill you in on said events.

My road trip with Dave took in 2000km, three U.S. states and one shining example of roadside gigantism (hurrah!). We travelled east through New York state, south through Vermont, back into New York, then further south into Pennsylvania before finally heading back north up the I81 through New York state again, thus completing a full circle, or ovoid, of Stateside shenanigans.

During our trip we visited Burlington, Vermont, which is the home of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. The factory tour allowed us to act like complete tourists - which I suppose we were - and whilst we were in the area we also took in the arctophile's delight that is the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory (rock 'n' roll, eh?).

Whilst in downtown Burlington we also had a brush with U.S. law enforcement. On returning to the car we found an envelope marked 'Burlington Police Department' under the wiper blade, and immediately thought that our Canadian number plates had invoked the wrath of the local constabulary. However, the contents of said envelope revealed that we had in fact been commended on leaving our vehicle in a secure state with nothing to attract any would-be criminals. The fact that the back of the car was crammed with cases, sleeping bags and maps which screamed 'we are tourists: please rob us!' seemed to have escaped the notice of the officers on duty. Either that, or the Burlington P.D. is the most sarcastic police department in North America.

(click to enlarge)

Happily unrobbed, we were able to continue our trip onwards, finding along the way the house where Dave used to live as a young child in the city of Wilkes-Barre, PA. However, the undoubted highlight of the entire trip was to be found at a fork in the road between the small towns of Red Hook and Rhinebeck, NY, where we encountered - what else would you expect? - a giant fork. Forget Niagara Falls, forget the Grand Canyon, forget Machu Picchu - this is what sightseeing is all about!

Once you have basked in the awesome shadow cast by such a fine example of oversized cutlery it is difficult to move on; the mind needs time to readjust itself back to the constraints of normality. The remainder of our trip was consequently spent in a state of higher-plane contemplation (as well as the states of New York, Vermont and Pennsylvania) and only now has my inner being managed to content itself once again with the relative mundaneness of everyday life. After such an experience, it is difficult to plan where one goes next, but plan one must.

Tim Hortons anyone?

Road trip!

My friend Dave came down from Ottawa last night, and this morning we are embarking on an unplanned, unscripted road trip south of the border. I had wanted to try to take in as many giant balls of twine or other such examples of roadside gigantism that prevail in the States, but Dave isn't so keen, so where we will wind up is anyone's guess. I shall be travelling sans laptop, so there won't be any posts for the rest of the week, but rest assured I'll let you know where our re-creation of Harold & Kumar takes us just as soon as I can.