"Those Kinky Amish" and other news from Hershey, PA
What... a... day!
Well, it's almost midnight and I have to get up in 5 hours, but I want to write my first "travel entry" in my blog.
We (my boss, Ron, and my co-worker, Karin) arrived in Hershey, PA, yesterday after a long 8-hour drive. This morning we got up and went to Hershey's Chocolate World and took the "factory tour," which is really a sub-par-Disney-type-ride-thru attraction that explains how Hershey's chocolate is made. The ride would be way more fun if you were drunk and/or in need of a nap. At the end of the ride (a la Disney) they dump you into a many-thousands-square-foot gift shop that features apparel, toys, plush toys, dishes, magnets, mugs, postcards, you-name-it-they-got-it with Hershey and Hershey product (Reese's, Jolly Ranger, Twizzlers, etc.) logos. I bought a few candy bars (which were extremely reasonable in price) and some other assorted goodies.
After that, we went to the trade show, which opened today. We set up and then Karin and I went to grab some lunch at Bob Evan's (good recommendation on the cheddar baked potato soup, Karin!) and then ran back to Hershey's Chocolate World to purchase a glass container filled with Hershey's miniatures for the table at the trade show. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the trade show and then departed at 5 PM for our next adventure.
My boss' name is Ron Kleinfelter. There is a Kleinfelter Chevrolet in Jonestown, PA, that he pulls up on DealerPulse for testing purposes sometimes. He gets a big kick out of it because it's his last name but he's not related to the owners (that he is aware of). So, since we were in Hershey and Kleinfelter Chevrolet was not too far away, we decided to pay them a visit. We drove approximately an hour northeast to Jonestown to visit the dealership. Ron was giddy. It was funny. He talked with the general manager while Karin and I played the GM Hot Button game. We did not win. Before we left, the general manager gave Ron Kleinfelter Chevrolet swag -- a long-sleeved shirt, 2 polos, vehicle decals, a trucker hat, and license plates -- in thanks for stopping by and for having the same last name as their dealership. Ron was like a kid at Christmas. Then on to our next stop.
From Jonestown we traveled an hour south to Smoketown in Lancaster, PA -- the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Amish Country -- to eat at Good 'N Plenty, a Pennsylvania Dutch family restaurant, which my parents recommended. And what a recommendation it was! First, the drive was beautiful through rolling hills and small, quaint towns. We passed several horse-and-buggies with cute Amish children waving us around them. The restaurant was i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e! For dinner tonight they had: fresh wheat and white bread, whipped butter, apple butter, cottage cheese, sweet and sour relish salad, applesauce, a spicy sort of cole slaw, beef stew, ham, fried chicken, lima beans, buttered noodles, sweet corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, and for dessert... peach Jell-O, Shoo-Fly pie, lemon crumb pie, ice cream, and cracker crumb pudding with coconut. Everything was served family style, including dessert! We sat with a couple originally from Pennsylvania but who now live in Sacramento, CA, and their daughter. The husband had served in the Korean War in the Air Force and the daughter runs marathons. They were very nice and we had great conversation with them. After dinner, we went to the gift store to purchase various Amish country trinkets and trash, including signs that feature the names of towns in Pennsylvania's Amish country: Virginville, Bird in Hand, Blue Ball, and, yes, Intercourse. Those kinky Amish with their sexually-connotative town names!
We then began the trek back to Hershey, which was a pretty quick drive on the interstate. I drove while Karin and Ron both made phone calls with the following scripts: "Guess where I am! I'm in Intercourse!" "Matthew, Ron, and I just went through Intercourse, but now we can't go back to Virginville!" "We were just in Intercourse. We just went in and out real quick." I love my coworkers. Back at the hotel we unloaded and then retired for the evening, which is exactly that I should do right now. It's 12:15 AM and I have to get up in exactly 5 hours in order to be at the trade show by 6:30 AM... yes, 6:30 AM. What GM dealers are going to want to talk to vendors at 6:30 in the frickin' morning, I ask you?
Anyway... tomorrow's agenda looks packed. Trade show until lunch, Hershey Park after lunch, cocktail reception after Hershey Park, ugh... long day. I will try and write tomorrow if I can keep my eyes open by the time we get back to the hotel at the end of the night.
And that's all there is to report tonight from the Fifth Dimension. Good night!
Matthew
Well, it's almost midnight and I have to get up in 5 hours, but I want to write my first "travel entry" in my blog.
We (my boss, Ron, and my co-worker, Karin) arrived in Hershey, PA, yesterday after a long 8-hour drive. This morning we got up and went to Hershey's Chocolate World and took the "factory tour," which is really a sub-par-Disney-type-ride-thru attraction that explains how Hershey's chocolate is made. The ride would be way more fun if you were drunk and/or in need of a nap. At the end of the ride (a la Disney) they dump you into a many-thousands-square-foot gift shop that features apparel, toys, plush toys, dishes, magnets, mugs, postcards, you-name-it-they-got-it with Hershey and Hershey product (Reese's, Jolly Ranger, Twizzlers, etc.) logos. I bought a few candy bars (which were extremely reasonable in price) and some other assorted goodies.
After that, we went to the trade show, which opened today. We set up and then Karin and I went to grab some lunch at Bob Evan's (good recommendation on the cheddar baked potato soup, Karin!) and then ran back to Hershey's Chocolate World to purchase a glass container filled with Hershey's miniatures for the table at the trade show. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the trade show and then departed at 5 PM for our next adventure.
My boss' name is Ron Kleinfelter. There is a Kleinfelter Chevrolet in Jonestown, PA, that he pulls up on DealerPulse for testing purposes sometimes. He gets a big kick out of it because it's his last name but he's not related to the owners (that he is aware of). So, since we were in Hershey and Kleinfelter Chevrolet was not too far away, we decided to pay them a visit. We drove approximately an hour northeast to Jonestown to visit the dealership. Ron was giddy. It was funny. He talked with the general manager while Karin and I played the GM Hot Button game. We did not win. Before we left, the general manager gave Ron Kleinfelter Chevrolet swag -- a long-sleeved shirt, 2 polos, vehicle decals, a trucker hat, and license plates -- in thanks for stopping by and for having the same last name as their dealership. Ron was like a kid at Christmas. Then on to our next stop.
From Jonestown we traveled an hour south to Smoketown in Lancaster, PA -- the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Amish Country -- to eat at Good 'N Plenty, a Pennsylvania Dutch family restaurant, which my parents recommended. And what a recommendation it was! First, the drive was beautiful through rolling hills and small, quaint towns. We passed several horse-and-buggies with cute Amish children waving us around them. The restaurant was i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e! For dinner tonight they had: fresh wheat and white bread, whipped butter, apple butter, cottage cheese, sweet and sour relish salad, applesauce, a spicy sort of cole slaw, beef stew, ham, fried chicken, lima beans, buttered noodles, sweet corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, and for dessert... peach Jell-O, Shoo-Fly pie, lemon crumb pie, ice cream, and cracker crumb pudding with coconut. Everything was served family style, including dessert! We sat with a couple originally from Pennsylvania but who now live in Sacramento, CA, and their daughter. The husband had served in the Korean War in the Air Force and the daughter runs marathons. They were very nice and we had great conversation with them. After dinner, we went to the gift store to purchase various Amish country trinkets and trash, including signs that feature the names of towns in Pennsylvania's Amish country: Virginville, Bird in Hand, Blue Ball, and, yes, Intercourse. Those kinky Amish with their sexually-connotative town names!
We then began the trek back to Hershey, which was a pretty quick drive on the interstate. I drove while Karin and Ron both made phone calls with the following scripts: "Guess where I am! I'm in Intercourse!" "Matthew, Ron, and I just went through Intercourse, but now we can't go back to Virginville!" "We were just in Intercourse. We just went in and out real quick." I love my coworkers. Back at the hotel we unloaded and then retired for the evening, which is exactly that I should do right now. It's 12:15 AM and I have to get up in exactly 5 hours in order to be at the trade show by 6:30 AM... yes, 6:30 AM. What GM dealers are going to want to talk to vendors at 6:30 in the frickin' morning, I ask you?
Anyway... tomorrow's agenda looks packed. Trade show until lunch, Hershey Park after lunch, cocktail reception after Hershey Park, ugh... long day. I will try and write tomorrow if I can keep my eyes open by the time we get back to the hotel at the end of the night.
And that's all there is to report tonight from the Fifth Dimension. Good night!
Matthew
posted by Matthew D. Bowland at
10:44 PM
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