Strasburg, PA

 Strasburg is one of my favorite places to see.  This town only has one street light so you know it is small.  And at that street light there is the Strasburg Creamery, an old fashioned ice cream parlor with really good ice cream.

Also in this area are several things to see concerning railroading.  There is the Strasburg Railroad, where you can board an old fashioned steam driven train for a ride through the farm country.  Across the street from this site is the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum.  This is an enormous building with full size restored locomotives and other rail cars on display.  Combination tickets for both of these sites are available.  Also in this area is the Toy Train Museum, which is a lot of fun too, where you see numerous different scale toy train displays. 

My last stop on this  day trip was to Rock Ford Plantation.  Unfortunately, I got there too late to get in on the last tour.  However, there was a really nice man there from the staff who had been cutting the grass and he stopped what he was doing to tell me about the place.  This was the home of General Edward Hand who served with George Washington during the American Revolution.  I had really wanted to see this place because close to 30 years ago I had been here just before they lost all of their furnishings.  You see at that time most of the furnishings on display were on loan from an elderly woman, who had promised to give the furnishings to the museum, but never put it in writing.  So, everything had to go back to the estate because she had passed away.  I am happy to say that even though I could only see a couple of the rooms through the windows of the house, it has now been refurnished and is looking rather nice.  Just be sure to go there before 3PM so you do not miss the last tour of the day.

Before I leave this subject of the Amish country, I would like to mention that there are a number of farms in this area where you can stay over night.  My favorite has always been the Neff family farm, which is just east of Strasburg.  The rooms they have do not have TV's or phones, but they are nicely decorated and comfortable.  I have very fond memories of taking my children and at least one of my grandchildren there while on vacation.  Every one of them enjoyed seeing the farm animals.  I had always worried about how they would be entertained in the evenings without television, but I found that after a day of touring the countryside, a good meal at the end of the day and a little time in the yard on the swings or petting the cows and they were fast asleep by 9PM.  Who says you can't enjoy life without electronics.