Believe it or not, my RV does actually come with a stove and oven, but I love any excuse to cook on the grill. It is that added smokey flavor makes things taste wonderful.
Oh and there is the fact that the husband insists on being the one to cook on the grill. Who is going to argue with that?
Mix together all marinade ingredients with a whisk.
Place the marinade and the chicken breasts in a large zip lock bag and refrigerate overnight.
Once the chicken has marinated, it is ready to grill!
While the chicken is cooking, cut up the lettuce and tomatoes. Half the avocados and remove the seed. Brush the cut edge of each avocado with olive oil.
When the chicken is ready to pull off the grill, add the avocados face down on the grill. Cook for 5 minutes.
Grilled avocados have an added smokey flavor and taste great on a bed of chopped lettuce and tomatoes, topped with taco sauce, shredded cheese and sour cream. Add a side of refried beans to your grilled avocado and Mexican Chicken, and you have a great festive meal!
Mexican Grilled Chicken and Avocados
Recipe Type: Mexican style dinner
Author: Suzy Myers
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2 servings
A spicy Mexican combo made special with the grill!
Ingredients
2 Chicken breasts
2 Avocados from Mexico
Olive Oil
Shredded lettuce
Tomatoes (chopped)
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Old El Paso Mild Thick and Chunky Salsa (need a coupon?)
Old El Paso Traditional Refried Beans (need another coupon?)
[b]Marinade[/b]
8 scallions (chopped)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
1 tsp. paprika
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
Instructions
Mix together all marinade ingredients with a whisk.
Place the marinade and the chicken breasts in a large zip lock bag and refrigerate overnight.
Once marinated, place chicken on heated grill to cook.
While the chicken is cooking, cut up the lettuce and tomatoes. Half the avocados and remove the seed. Brush the cut edge of each avocado with olive oil.
When the chicken is ready to pull off the grill, add the avocados face down on the grill. Cook for 5 minutes.
Grilled avocados have an added smokey flavor and taste great on a bed of chopped lettuce and tomatoes, topped with Old El Paso taco sauce, shredded cheese and sour cream. Add a side of Old El Paso refried beans to your Grilled Avocado and Mexican Chicken, and you have a great festive Cinco de Mayo meal!
We have been in Bar Harbor for two months now, working on the campgrounds. The weather has been very different from what we are used to, with many blustery, windy days. At one point, I wondered when it would actually green up!
And then suddenly the trees grew leaves and summer happened. Well, at least Maine’s version of summer. It is still chilly at night, but we now are having beautiful days in the 70’s . Apparently the trees need to work fast because they only have a few months to be green!
With a few nice days of warm sun, we emerged from our work schedule and RV to create a nice front yard to enjoy. It is truly beautiful here and we wanted a nice place to sit and enjoy it!
This is work camper row. We all have designated spots behind the cabins. They aren’t as green and scenic as the rest of the park, but we made do with what we had to work with and really do like our neighbors.
The work camping thing? Well, it has definitely gotten more intense. We are now working close to 40 hours a week and have gotten to the point where we definitely look forward to our days off.
We’ve had a few coworkers quit and move on already. Seems that work camping is not for everyone. Dealing with customer service and often physical labor can be difficult at times. We have our bad days too, but fortunately for us, the good days outweigh the bad. We have met lots of fun campers in the past few weeks- many from Georgia!
And now that the weather seems to be cooperating, we are spending more time outside in the evening, enjoying our newly decorated front yard and the beautiful park.
I put together a fun project last week. This one involves a wooden plaque, sharpie pens and chalkboard paint! Inspired by the area, I drew up of the local sea life and created a fun chalkboard. You can find the free pattern here!
On the tourist level, we’ve been to Cadillac Mountain several times now. Cadillac Mountain is located in the nearby Acadia National Park and at 1,530 feet, it is the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard.
You can travel to the top of Cadillac Mountain several different ways. You can drive to the top in your vehicle, take several different hiking trails, or enjoy a trolley tour of the mountain.
Oli’s Trolley
We checked out Oli’s Trolley simply because they not only take you around the area, but offer a fully narrated tour about the area’s history, historic sites, mansions, and the summit of Cadillac Mountain.
This area has an interesting history behind it, and we definitely recommend a ride on the trolley to learn more about it. Amongst many other things, we learned about the great fire of 1947 that nearly destroyed all of Bar Harbor. You can still see stone foundations of mansions that used to be amongst the trees on the hillsides of the town.
The area is also the home of the Rockefellers and Martha Stewart! We are told that you can take boat tours into the harbor where you can see their homes.
As for Cadillac Mountain, there are various hiking trails to the summit, some more challenging than others. There is also a paved road to the top.
From the summit, you can see most of Mount Desert Island. On a clear day, it is a beautiful site to see! The photo above shows the town of Bar Harbor in the distance below.
In this photo you can see Bar Island. When this photo was taken, the tide was out and you can see a sand bar that goes from the island to the town of Bar Harbor. Folks like to hike or even drive their cars across that bar of sand during low tide to explore the island.
Timing is crucial as it is not unusual for folks to find themselves stranded on the island during high tide. For a tidy sum, boaters will rescue those that do not want to wait another 8 hours for low tide.
Oh, and the little guy in the photo? That is a very ingenious seagull. He figured out that if he stands there looking all sweet, folks will feed him snack food. He waited patiently for us to find something in the car for him, and then went to the car behind us to see what they had.
An interesting fact about Cadillac Mountain is that it is the first place to view the sunrise in the United States from October 7 through March 6.
Want to view a sunrise from Cadillac Mountain?
You have to get up mighty early. The sun is up by 4:00 AM right now! Check the time for sunrise and give yourself plenty of time to get up the mountain. It takes about 20 minutes from the village of Bar Harbor or 30 minutes from the KOA campground.
Dress warm! It is always windy on top of Cadillac and particularly chilly even in the middle of summer.
For more comfort, consider bringing blankets and chairs.
Bring some coffee or tea in a thermos to keep warm. Or plan for a nice breakfast in downtown Bar Harbor afterwards.
Us? Well we do not do mornings well. We may decide before the summer is out to check out a sunrise. I mean, we need to try everything, right? But in the meantime, we did drive up to the top last week to see a sunset. The sun sets about 8:00 PM right now and that worked out well for us.
My camera doesn’t do it justice, but here is a brief look at that beautiful sunset.
Sunsets are beautiful here both on Cadillac Mountain and at the campgrounds. I think that they will be one of the many things I will look back on fondly when we do eventually move on.
Spring has finally come to our part of Maine! The grass suddenly greened up, the weather has warmed up a bit, and the dandelions are in full bloom!
Back in Georgia, the schools have let out for summer and I’m sure it is very hot and humid there. While we are totally not missing that, it is a bit strange to be celebrating spring weather when it is nearly June.
The park is starting to fill up. We had a big crowd over the Memorial Day weekend and our first taste of how busy it will get as the weather warms up here.
When Dave and I lived and worked in Atlanta, we carpooled every day- an hour and a half each way in heavy traffic.
We still carpool, but this is our new ride! Cute, right? Takes us about 5 whole minutes to get to work and the traffic? Other than an occasional seagull or goose, it is nonexistent!
We get two days off a week and plan to use them to explore the area. The Bar Harbor Oceanside KOA is located on Mount Desert Island. It is a huge island with lots of areas to explore including a Acadia National Park, tons of hiking trails, lots of coastal towns, lobster fishing, beautiful mountains, and even a lighthouse or two!
This past weekend, we took a trip down to Southwest Harbor, Bass Harbor, and the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. Southwest Harbor is the largest town on the southwestern “quiet side” of the island. The town has some great shops, galleries and restaurants worth checking out more thoroughly in the near future.
As we entered Southwest Harbor, we stopped to admire the amazing views. You can see the open ocean here, dotted with various small islands. And just check out the rocks! I had immediate plans of gathering a bunch and creating a whole new batch of Painted Paisley Stones!
…and apparently they knew I was coming. It appears that I may not be the only one who loves a pretty rock.
Our next stop was the lighthouse. My ultimate goal on this trip is to visit every lighthouse in the area, and with nearly 60 lighthouses on the Maine coast, I have my work cut out for me!
Built in 1858, Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse is the only lighthouse located on Mount Desert Island. There are not currently tours available for this lighthouse as it is maintained by a private family, but you can take the walkway right up next to the tower and lighthouse viewing area where you can see a panoramic view of the harbor and the islands in the distance.
To the left side of the lighthouse is a path that leads to the rocks below where you can capture some amazing photos of the cliff and lighthouse. Here I am in my KOA yellow parka checking out the view before I carefully picked my way down.
We sat here for quite some time enjoying the view and keeping an eye out for seals along the shore. I hope to come back here soon around sunset and get some more beautiful photos.
The little town of Bass Harbor is not only picturesque, but is known as one of the most lucrative lobster-producing ports in the state. The town also has terminals for two different ferries which can take you to more of the surrounding islands.
We plan on taking some of the ferries in the near future and will let you know more about them then.
But for now, we have work to do back at the Oceanside KOA. And a few beautiful sunsets to enjoy there!
I’m a firm believer that I should make an attempt to try out life as a local where ever I end up. So with that said, apparently those that live in Maine have a thing for lobsters. Which means I will have to make the sacrifice and eat a lobster meal.
It will be tough, but we will just have to do it…
So where to go? Well, I could name fifty restaurants in the Bar Harbor area and hundreds more along the Maine coast that sell lobster. You see signs of that red pinchered thing everywhere.
See all those white floats in the water just off the shore? Everyone of those is a lobster trap. They go as far as you can see in all directions. A passing lobster just doesn’t have a chance in Bar Harbor.
Lobsters, lobsters everywhere. Lobster shirts, lobster signs, lobster salt and pepper shakers, lobster Christmas lights, lobster cookie cutters, lobster calendars…
Even Lobster Ice cream! And yes, it had real chunks of lobster in it. Ben & Bill’s Chocolate Emporium located on Main Street in Bar Harbor has lots of fun flavors in their homemade ice cream selection including Dulce de Leche, Bubblegum, (KGB) Kahlua and Bailey’s Irish Cream base ice cream with a Grand Marnier fudge swirl, Rum Raisin, Root Beer Float, and many more!
My personal goal is to try each flavor before the summer is out. Will let you know how that goes! For the record- I have already tried the Lobster Ice cream. It was ummm…. interesting.
Dave just asked me about that diet I was planning to go on… Ice cream has lots of calcium, right?
And speaking of diet, let’s take in a bit of seafood, why don’t we? For our first stab at eating a real lobster, we checked out Stewman’s Lobster Pound.
Ever eaten a whole lobster? Well, it is an adventure. Our waitress recognized the slightly alarmed looks on our faces as these red crustaceans were set in front of us and took us under her wing. She showed us how to break the the claws off, and then how to twist the tail off the body to get to the tail meat.
After warning us that we needed to remove the “chute” in the tail, she left us to our adventure.
Okay. I’m not thrilled about looking for a “chute”, but here goes…
So, here is what we learned. DO NOT twist the tail off the body while holding it over your plate! Bleh! There is green stuff that will fall onto your plate. This is the lobster tomalley, which is apparently the lobster’s liver and pancreas. Many people, especially in New England, consider it a delicacy, and eat it along with the rest of the lobster.
We did not. I will only take this “eating as the locals do” just so far!
But we both did agree that the lobsters were delicious. Especially the tail and claws. Now that we have officially been broken in, we plan on trying a few more before we leave the area. After all, we are experts now!
On the home front, the dogs are getting used to their new surroundings. Ralph has discovered red squirrels (which are the pretty red cousins to his nemesis the gray squirrel in Georgia). Turns out that they are not afraid of him either.
Ralph now spends an enormous amount of time staring out the window looking for a squirrel sighting so that he can bark like a girl.
I get asked often how our dogs have taken to traveling. Because we are full timers, we had to work up a routine for them that keeps them happy, entertained and healthy, while at the same time allowing us to do what we want to do.
For those that do not travel full time, traveling with your pet is becoming more and more common. After all, if you are like us, you just may consider your pet one of the family.
This is the first time Ralph and Faith had ever seen a beach. They were a bit confused at the time as to what this might be, but warmed up to it quickly when they both discovered that there were fish in the water.
Finding a pet friendly beach can be difficult and I have to say that we visited quite a few before we found one that we could bring the dogs to. It is important to always follow the rules of the area so that you don’t ruin it for others. Faith and Ralph loved the opportunity to see this beach in Carabelle, FL, and hopefully many other dogs will too!
Here are 14 traveling tips that we learned along the way:
Consider the trip from your pet’s point of view. Will they actually enjoy the trip or will they be cooped up the whole time? If you do not think you will have the opportunity to spend time with them, then maybe this particular trip might not be the best one for them. Don’t take them just because you can.
Does your pet suffer from motion sickness, or get ill when routines are disrupted? This should be considered. Are they just going to be miserable?
Does your pet have issues with other people or animals? Socializing an animal can be as simple as taking them to the dog park now and then and getting them used to the fact that there are more people in their world than just you. Our dogs were not socialized before our first trip, but we have been surprised at how quickly they have adjusted to a new world around them. Just be sure to be aware when new people come up on you and allow your dog to get used to the idea of other folks wanting to pet them.
The health of your pet is a huge consideration especially when traveling. Be sure that all vaccinations are up to date, and that you carry the shot records with you. For airline travel, health certifications are required. Be aware that there are germs and parasites in other areas of the country that your pet may not encounter in your own yard. Personally, I like to be sure they are both up to date on flea meds too. Certain areas of the country have larger numbers of ticks and mosquitoes which may be a threat to your dog’s health.
When traveling, a crate is a good place for your pet when riding in a car or RV. It is actually safer for both of you. It prevents your pet from becoming a projectile if you have to stop fast, reducing the chance of injury to both you and your pet.
Be sure that your pet has ID tags with your phone number on them and a sturdy leash and collar. Consider a permanent form of identification such as a microchip.
Never leave your pet in a parked car, especially if it is warm out. It takes no time at all for the inside of a car to heat up and become very dangerous to a small pet. That said, keep in mind that a RV is basically a vehicle. The same rules apply!
Going out in a boat? Don’t forget flotation vests for your dog. Sure he can swim, but there is the possibility of drowning even for the best of swimmers.
Does your pet have a favorite blanket or toy? Be sure to bring it along! Sometimes just having something familiar nearby is enough to calm any fears.
Take a lot of breaks while on the road. We try to stop every few hours to walk our dogs. Usually, we hit a rest stop and find the dog walk area. It is good for everyone to get out and take a small walk and the dogs love to get the exercise.
Be sure to provide plenty of water during your trip, but limit the food while traveling. You never know when a bout of car sickness might pop up, so hold off on feeding too much until you get where you are going. If the animal is prone to nervous stomach, you may want to stick to bland food until they calm down a bit once you arrive.
Be a good pet owner. Follow the rules of the area. Do not take your dog where he is not allowed, and pick up after them.
Dogs love healthy routines. Once you are at your destination, provide regular walks, access to fresh water, and regular companionship.
Include activities in your trip that are pet friendly such as hiking or maybe an off-leash dog park. Check the available local activities in areas that you will be visiting to ensure that they do allow pets.
Having your pet along on your trip will be very enjoyable as long as you prepare them for it, and allow them to enjoy the ride! And if you never know, they just might show you something you might have missed along the way!
We arrived in Bar Harbor, Maine, about two weeks ago. I’ve been asked by several people why we chose Bar Harbor as our first ultimate destination. Well, the truth is, Bar Harbor chose us.
Last August, I put our resumes on the KOA website. Shortly afterwards, we had five different offers for work camping jobs in the United States! Maine, Colorado, New Mexico, Montana and California. After speaking with the manager at the Bar Harbor Oceanside KOA, we decided to take the leap and head north.
Neither of us had ever been to Maine, and what a great way to start a new life in a beautiful part of the world!
We arrived on April 18. This particular park does not open until May 7 due to the extreme weather in this part of the country. For the first few weeks of our new jobs, we were to help the other work campers on site to clean up the park and make it ready for the grand opening.
I have to admit that the work was tough. This park shuts down in mid October. There was heavy snow this year resulting in many fallen trees. Reopening it involves thoroughly cleaning all cabins, cleaning up leaves and debris from campsites, learning the computer systems and how to take reservations, scrubbing bathrooms, picking up trash, and much, much more.
This is the land of no “R”s! There is lobstah, beyah (beer), and but-tah popcorn!
And the weather? Well, it is has been cold, windy and rainy, punctuated by moments of brilliant warm sunshine. We were told that if you didn’t like the weather, all you needed to do is wait an hour and it would change.
Heavy winds and rain brought down even more trees after we arrived including this one in front of our RV! Dave had noticed a split in the tree and when he went out to warn our coworkers, the tree fell. That was definitely our excitement for that day!
But it hasn’t been all work…
We had a fun gathering with our boss and the rest of our co-workers. We ate burgers on the grill, lots of great homemade food and even met Big Foot! Looks like it is going to be a fun summer!
In the evening when it is nice, we gather up a bunch of wood and make a nice campfire. We have met a whole lot of people here with so many things in common with us. They are also full time RVers and most of them have been doing it a whole lot longer than us.
We are excited to share the sights and adventures of the Bar Harbor area with you over the next few months.
I have to admit that occasionally I get a little homesick. I can’t shake the idea that I’m on vacation and any time now, I need to return home to Georgia. We have been gone a month now. I miss my family, my house and some of the routine that I had over the past 20 years.
But I do love getting up in the early morning and walking the dogs and enjoying the fresh crisp air that this beautiful part of the country has to offer.
And when I get back to the RV, Dave has a fresh cup of hot coffee waiting for me.
We decided to add another stop on our route to Maine in order to make the drive times less strenuous for Dave. Seems that keeping the distance no longer than 320 miles was a perfect scenario for him. So with that in mind, our next stop was a small campground in Salisbury, MA.
The weather? Well, it was not cooperating. Seems that skies are sunny unless we are hitching up the car and getting ready to hit the road. It poured down rain on us as we prepared to leave Connecticut behind.
Fortunately there was sun waiting for us in Massachusetts.
It was too late, though. I officially had Rosanne Rosannadanna hair, much to Dave’s amusement.
Salisbury? Well, because of the rainy weather, and the fact that we were only in town a day, we did not get to see a whole lot of it. The community is a popular summer resort beach town situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of Boston, right on the New Hampshire border.
We can, however, recommend the Seaglass Restaurant, located right on the ocean in downtown Salisbury. After a chilly, rainy day, a hot bowl of New England Clam Chowder certainly hit the spot.
And the great thing about the Seaglass Restaurant is the fact that you can sit and watch the ocean while enjoying your meal!
And this is what is called a Lobster Roll. It is a mix of lobster, veggies and special sauce in a hotdog bun. We will find out later that this particular item is hugely popular in New England.
The sun came out the next day and as we headed north, we made a pitstop in the town of Hampton, NH. What beautiful scenery!
Hampton Beach boasts a mile long boardwalk and Hampton Center which is lined with fast food and full service restaurants offering seafood, onion rings, fried dough and much more. You’ll also find lounges offering nightly entertainment, candy stores, gift shops and mini golf and amusement arcades.
And just look at the rocks! Yep, that is where my mind goes. You can take a crafter anywhere, and they just see potential.
Hampton Beach was full of activity including this lone scuba diver.
We noted that there is a RV park located right down the road from this beautiful spot. Hampton Beach State Park has RV campsites right on the ocean. The campground, with 28 sites, is open for reservations from Memorial Day weekend through Columbus Day weekend.
It is definitely a spot we will keep in mind if we are in the area when it is open.
So… our next stop is Bar Harbor, Maine! We are excited and just a tad nervous to find out what is on the horizon. See you there!
Driving north from Hershey, we rolled into Aces High Campground in East Lyme, CT. We took a slight departure from KOA and chose this campground based on the fact that it was close to the ocean and boasted lakeside lots.
The weather was beautiful and we managed to get a spot right along side the lake. Well, I have to admit that we were pretty much the only ones there. We shared a campground with geese, ducks, and about 10 RV’s that were being stored there for the winter.
The dogs and I discovered a great walking trail that took us all the way around the lake. Cool shot, right? Of course after taking the photo, I had to spend 20 minutes untangling Faith from tree trunks.
Oh, and it was about a minute after that when my brand new (six day old) iPhone 6 suddenly bit the dust. As a professional blogger with a major dependency on my mobile hot spot, this was a big deal.
So we ended up spending our entire first day in Connecticut looking for someone to replace my iPhone6. You see, AT&T (while they were happy to take my money), do not support the iPhone. They told us we would need to go to Apple.
We ended up having to drive an hour to the Apple Genius Bar in New Haven in order to get my phone replaced. The day actually turned out much better once we got there. The Genius Bar was located right in the center of Yale University. They cheerfully replaced my phone and we were able to see Yale University up close and personal at the same time!
On the way back home, we did a detour to the coast and enjoyed some beautiful sandy beaches. Dave challenged me to a 2 mile hike along this sandy trail.
Ever tried to walk for two miles in loose sand? My daily exercise quota was totally met. In fact, I’m going for another aspirin right now…
The next day, we visited Mystic Seaport. Not doing any research up front, I assumed that Mystic Seaport was just a huge harbor full of ships.
It turns out that Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. It is home to four National Historic Landmark vessels, including the Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden whaleship in the world. The museum features a working preservation shipyard, a re-created 19th-century seafaring village, exhibits and even a planetarium.
The town of Mystic was quaint and colorful, and full of art! Totally my kind of town.
You know, my sister has perfected the selfie with her face in the foreground and something awesome behind her.
Us? Not so much.
You can’t tell by the photo, but he is holding the camera (because he has longer arms) and I am pushing the button (because he can’t seem to hold the camera and push the button at the same time). In all the commotion, trying to push the button and get my short squatty head and his super tall head in the same frame, we always seem to lose the cool thing in the background.
For the record, it was a boat.
And I certainly cannot talk about Mystic without mentioning the lighthouses! The New London Harbor Lighthouse was originally built in 1801. The keeper’s dwelling is now a private residence, but the lighthouse is still active. Tours need to be arranged for this lighthouse by appointment only, so we didn’t get to see it up close and personal.
And there is the New London Ledge Lighthouse! This one fascinates me because it has been featured on several ghost hunting shows. I love ghost stories.
This floating lighthouse, originally built in 1901, is famous for the ghost of an early keeper, nicknamed “Ernie,” who allegedly haunts the lighthouse. Lighthouses keepers in the past have reported unexplained knockings, doors opening and closing repeatedly, the television turning on and off by itself and even the unexplained removal of sheets from beds!
Unfortunately, the only way to get to this little lighthouse is by boat, so this is the closest I was able to get to it.
Seems like the further we head north, the more we go back in time. We left spring behind somewhere on the Pennsylvania line, and were met with chilly weather and trees that have just now started recovering from a harsh winter.
The Hershey Johnstown KOA was our campground of choice. Tucked in beside the beautiful Swatara creek, we loved the ambiance of this little campground! Our rig was a bit to big to fit in the spaces along the creek, so we were set back on the wooded side, but walking the dogs was a treat here.
Of course when in Hershey, one must go see what all the fuss is about! And if it required eating chocolate, well Dave and I would just have to make the sacrifice. We are just that dedicated…
Dave and I are history buffs, so we were excited to learn everything we could about this interesting town and the man that originated it.
The Hershey Company originated with candy-manufacturer Milton Hershey’s decision in 1894 to produce sweet chocolate as a coating for his caramels. In 1900, the company began producing milk chocolate in bars, wafers and other shapes.
Hershey used mass production in his factories and was able to lower the per-unit cost and make milk chocolate, once a luxury item for the wealthy, affordable to all.
Our first stop was at Hershey’s Chocolate World. Entrance is free, which is totally up our alley. Chocolate as far as you could see. I made Dave put that humongous Hershey kiss back. And then we both backed slowly away…
Fun Fact: Did you know that Hershey’s kisses have been around since 1907?
We then took the free Hershey’s Chocolate Tour. It was about a 10 minute ride through a Hershey “factory” where some animated cows show you how chocolate bars are made. It was campy and fun! And that cow song “Hershey’s Milk Chocolate!” will stick in your head.
Literally for days.
Oh, and you get chocolate at the end of the ride!
HERSHEY’S markets its products in approximately 70 countries worldwide. They currently have around 14,000 employees and net sales in excess of $6.6 billion.
And the cool thing is that The Hershey Company remains committed to the vision and values of the man who started it all so many years ago.
For a small fee, we took the Hershey Trolley Works tour of the city, where we were told the history of the city, the Hershey Company and Milton Hershey, the founder.
One of the stops was the Milton Hershey School. We were able to go inside, but I have to tell you that my camera just didn’t do it justice. So here is a short video that talks a bit about the school and it’s history.
In 1918, Milton Hershey and his wife, Catherine Hershey, donated all of their considerable wealth, of around 60 million dollars, to the boarding school upon Catherine Hershey’s death. Before his own death in 1945, Milton Hershey ensured the school would live on by donating 30% of all future Hershey profits to the school.
Due to this generous donation, Milton Hershey School now has over 7 billion dollars in assets, making it one of the richest schools in the world.
Part of the trolley ride included driving by the Hershey mansion, which is the home that Milton built for his beloved wife in the early 1900’s. It now serves as an office building for those that handle the Milton Hershey School trust.
We learned a whole lot on our tour of Hershey and highly recommend the Trolley rides and the free Hershey’s Chocolate tour.
Special Note: Due to the time of year, we did not have to deal with crowds. If you happen to be in the area during the summer season, be prepared. They told us that the population of Hershey triples during the height of the summer season.
Our next stop is the coast of Connecticut. See you there!.
After leaving Statesville, NC, we headed up to the KOA in Staunton, VA. Staunton is located in Northern Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley in between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains. I grew up in Northern VA, near Washington DC, so I really wasn’t expecting much more than city and crowds. I was pleasantly surprised.
We were met by beautiful rolling hills of fresh green grass. Honestly, the hills went on for miles! Dotted with barns and silos, and covered with beautiful grass. My first thought was, “who the heck keeps all that grass mowed?”
Turns out that cows do! Who knew?
Well, apparently Dave did, but you see I am a city mouse trying to blend in with all those cool country mice.
And the RV park even had it’s share of wildlife. Geese, ducks and I even happened upon a bunch of deer on an early morning walk with the dogs. They stood so still that the dogs didn’t even notice them.
And while I may be a city mouse, my dogs are apparently southern born and bred. The minute the temperature dropped into the 50’s, both dogs disappeared into quilt cocoons on my couch.
Quick quiz- can you find the dogs in the photo above?
We took a drive out to downtown Staunton. If you are in the area and want to blend, we discovered that the correct pronunciation of the town name is STAN-ton.
We bank with SunTrust, so we were particularly intrigued that this beautiful building actually houses our bank! We suddenly felt the need to visit our accounts.
The inside is just as spectacular as the outside.
Also in Staunton is The Cheese Shop! It is a local family owned Amish-style bulk foods store. They offer a huge selection of cheeses from the Amish Country in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin along with baking items, and bulk package food.
We highly recommend the Amish Farmers Cheese. It is amazing. Also if you haven’t ever had it, you need to try Lebanon Bologna. It is similar to Salami, but with a tangier, smokey flavor.
Ralph highly recommends it too!
Dave took advantage of the nice weather and built several campfires while we were there. Like most KOA’s, you can purchase wood at the office and they will deliver it for you.
Do you love authentic German food? When in Staunton, be sure to check out the Edelweiss German Restaurant. The food is amazing! They also have a huge selection of German beer and wine.
I ordered Knackwurst with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. Dave was feeling daring and ordered the Schweineroulade. It is a tender pork cutlet stuffed with pickles, herbs and spices, covered with a tasty sour cream sauce and Bavarian dumplings. We both agreed that both meals were delicious, but his was the best!
The meal came with lots of sides including green beans, cooked cabbage, pickled red cabbage (yumm!), and dumplings. Oh, and be sure to check the German Wine Menu.
We definitely will be coming back next time we are in the area!
After a wonderful three day stay, we left Staunton and headed out toward Hershey, PA. We both decided that if we ever have the opportunity, we would be back for a longer stay. Staunton was a beautiful place and is definitely one of our favorite stops on this trip.
