All About Food Dood

Back at the campsite. Just got a fire going. Jillian is sleeping again.

So we started today off with showers. Since they’ll probably be few and far between, we have to cherish everyone. Campsites are awesome. Electric, showers, laundry rooms, fire pits, and fellow travelers, plus fairly cheap tent sites. They are definitely gonna be an essential part of our trip. I predict at least 3 nights a week. After the showers and a little internet time we walked down the street to the village of Kitchen Kettle, a small touristy spot within the town of Intercourse. PA is known for its pretzels. I’ve had pretzels in Philly, which are damn good, but compared to the pretzels we had in Kitchen Kettle, they ain’t shit. We strolled the little village, checked out some quilts at the quilt museum (Amish are known for their amazing talent of quilt making), pet a donkey and a lama, and Jillian tried to ride a pony- but the weight limit is 55 pounds. Kettle Corn! Because it was gonna be some time before lunch, we stopped for a snack and I got some kettle corn that blew my mind. It was delicious. Perfectly popped, perfect amount of sweet and salty. I never thought popcorn could taste so good. When we got back to the campsite we hopped in the van and drove down the farm roads in search of an Amish dairy farm that gives out free cheese samples. Crazy varieties of cheese. “Got any cheese.” Our favorite was the apple cinnamon cheddar. All this tasting fueled our appetites, and it was time to go get some real eats. Jillian found a Robin Hood themed tree house style patio restaurant. Despite the many adjectives used to describe this place- it wasn’t all that. But the food was good. That’s when we realized we were basically on a food tour. During our lunch in the Sherwood forest there was an earthquake so minor that no one even knew it happened, but that didnt stop them from talking about it to no end. It’s times like these that i’m glad I don’t have a television. I’m sure the 24 hrs new cycle will talk about this for a week straight. After a small stop at walmart for supplies, we saw a sign for homemade root beer with an arrow pointing to a farm. When we pulled up, there was an Amish kid rocking a bowl haircut cutting the lawn with a non-electric mower like it was 1899. We went inside this shack and there was a little bare foot Amish kid selling jugs of root beer and being rude. On the way home we decided to have a fire tonight and cook kabobs, corn on the cob, and s’mores for dessert. We found a farmer’s market that has awesome canned everything- apple butter, peach butter, pumpkin butter (we got some of that, but Jillian opened it prematurely and since we don’t have a fridge we’ll be eating pumpkin butter everyday for the next week). There was also a freekin glass covered bee hive surrounded by a honey display! On to the meat. We went to Stolzfus, a local meat market and picked up some sirloin and fresh beef jerky. Keep in mind, that throughout this whole day, there were Amish people driving buggies, riding scooter bikes, rocking beards without mustaches, wearing bonnets, and ignoring the 21st century like it’s no big deal. On our new camping spot they ride up and down the street 10 feet from the van. It’s pretty sweet. Now it’s time to sit around the fire, cook up our food, and prepare for tomorrow.

-Ricky

Next stop: Pittsburgh PA