The King's Cottage B&B Inn Lancaster

... my mouth. I hear giggles. I can't believe I just said that! No hesitation... no realization, until the words leave my lips...

Good times. Fond memories. Will never mess up her name again!

On a side note, I am working on updating my website, so please visit and let me know of your suggestions and/or comments!

EricaCantrell.com

... living is one of the biggest lessons that the Appalachian Trail has taught me.

- I’ve had to hand wash both of my trekking backpacks, along with my tent, tent floor, and sleeping pad. I also had to be VERY careful washing my down sleeping bags (40 degree & 20 degree) in a front-load washer at the laundromat. As I am writing this, they are in the dryer on minimal heat/tumble dry.

- I ...

Hello!

I have come back to Hershey, Pennsylvania to revise my role as Kathryn Dover, the mother of Sarah and wife of an absent Army husband, in the show "Home Sweet Home for Christmas" for Matt Davenport Productions and Hershey Park.

The ensemble is completely different this year, however two of the local men playing the role of Grandpa from the previous year have returned, as well as ...

... weather again, but before leaving we checked out the weather forecast for Gifford Pinchot State Park, where we had our reservations for tonight. Due to the forecast calling for heavy rain, we decided to tour whatever Amish countryside we could before the weather got worse, then make our stop in Lancaster, PA instead.
We started out in light mist, looking for a gas ...

... and watched them tend to their farms and go about their daily business in their simple ways. We actually watched a husband cutting hay followed by his wife (in a dress & bonnet) raking it into rows...both driving a team of horses! We came back to our campsite which we found to be luxurious with all the modern conveniences of today and prepared dinner. We also got ready for the following day as we had plans to be in Philly for Rusty's B-day.

... of major poops during the ride which got us both very excited (ok that sounds bad, but it was funny!) After rolling out of Bird-in-Hand (thats the name of the town also) around 430pm, we ha d to get to a campground in Freehold, NJ that night. We would have stayed in Philly with Jeska's sister Amy, but she lives right downtown in center city and there was nowhere to park the rv. In fact there wasn't an rv campground w/in 40 miles of Philly. A bunch of Jeska's family lives in ...

... though, so it wasn't too bad.  About an hour and a half into Pennsylvania we stopped at another rest stop, this time a McDonald's.  We all ran in to use the bathroom and get some fries and drinks for lunch.  We then continued driving down the Pennsylvania Turnpike, listening to the radio along the way.  Every time a good song came on mom would call Aunt Stacy to tell her what station to put on, and then we'd look at their car to see Aunt Stacy dancing in the passenger ...

... history has maintained a functional role in addition to its aesthetic role. For that reason, it is a must visit for anyone in Philadelphia. Plus, running up the steps is fun!

From the museum, it was time to visit the last place on my list: the University of Pennsylvania. I admit...I've always been enthralled by the prestigue of an Ivy League school. While I was a bit too poor to attend such a institution of higher learning, I'd always wanted to ...

... my money at the Old Country Store. Yes, I spent more than I should have. But, I was very happy with the quality and the selection of this store’s quilts. It’s definitely worth visiting.

Ultimately, I discovered that Amish style capitalism centers around that premise that you pay a lot, but you feel like you got your money’s worth. This feeling, which I first observed at the Old County Store, was reaffirmed at the Farmer’s Market ...

... of the area are the wonderful views that one gets from its upper floors. The vista of Reading and the rolling hillsides was simply spectacular. It was very clear from this observation point that Reading is built around in the classic neighborhood pattern of the East Coast (church in the center, houses extending for several blocks around the church). One also didn’t see the blight that plagued Reading. Instead, Reading looked like a thriving metropolitan ...