Stan and Connie Spielbusch's Web Site

StanAndConnie.com

October 2000

Camden and Bar Harbor, Maine

First half of October, 2000

We haven't done a lot of sight-seeing yet, but we're enjoying the chance to catch up on some chores since we're staying in one spot for 3 weeks (our longest stay in one place since we started travelling). We washed and waxed the motorhome and the Jeep, caught up on some reading, made our travel plans for the rest of the year, and a lot of Web surfing...but of course you all just want to see what it's like around here, right?

We took a day-trip to Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor, which is about 2 hours up the coast from here. Bar Harbor is a very busy little coastal tourist town. I didn't know why it was so crowded this late in the year, until I saw the cruise ships in the harbor -- it's a tourist stop for cruises! We also drove through Acadia, and up to Cadillac Mountain for some fantastic views of the harbor and the town of Bar Harbor. Here's one of the ships in the harbor (another one had already left). The ship looks huge compared to the town itself and the other boats in the harbor (but then again, so does Connie):

(Click photos to enlarge)

There is a beach in Acadia N.P., but it was a bit chilly so nobody was going in the water. I wonder if it's ever warm enough up here to swim in the water?

Acadia isn't filled with awesome views like some national parks, but it does have some nice scenery (I'm sure it's even better from the hiking trails, but we didn't have time for hiking. At least that was a good excuse ;-).

Other days we just drove around this area, and went to Mt. Battie one day. It's a short drive up to the 800 ft. high summit, which has a World War I memorial tower and a nice view of the town of Camden. You can see some of the trees changing to reds, golds, and yellows. Too bad it was getting cloudy and hazy. (One day we heard the fog horn all day log from the RV park, and fog rolled in pretty heavily at times).

We've seen a few spots of great foliage. The peak isn't supposed to be for another week, but where there is color, it's really outstanding.

Pennsylvania Dutch Country again

Second half of October, 2000

After a few short stops on the way down from Maine, we're staying a week in Pennsylvania again to visit Sharon (my cousin) and her family, and the timing was right to visit Gladys & Carl too (aunt and uncle). The leaves are peaking here as well, so our "fall foliage tour" continues!

We're staying in between Reading and Lancaster, wich is the real heart of Amish country. Amish farms are all around us, and we can't drive more than a couple miles without seeing a buggy on the road. It's very scenic country -- the Amish farms are much "cleaner" looking than other farms because there are no cars or machinery detracting from the old-time farm setting, no phone or electric poles and wires running to the house, etc. At was fun just driving around the countryside and seeing the sights.

An interesting mail box, must be how they get Air Mail here:

(Click photos to enlarge)

The best "attraction" in the area for me was the Shady Maple Smorgasbord (buffet). It's huge, and has the fanciest interior I've ever seen for a restaurant. The lobby looks like a huge hotel lobby. And the food -- you could easily fill up on desserts alone and still not get to try them all (trust me!), but the other food was really good too. Just get there early, the place gets busy and can fill up despite its size, since busses drop off hoards of people on tours and from area hotels. You can see a bus in front of it here, to get an idea of the size. The cars are in the foreground are actually a good distance away from the building.

We also toured the Lancaster History Museum (mostly like a wax museum with historical figures), and found out that Daniel Boone grew up in this area. Here is a depiction of the burning of a covered bridge (once the longest one in Pennsylvania) to protect the town from invaders:

The museum had a few hands-on things for kids -- here's Connie learning how to make pretzels:

Hershey

We took a day to visit Hershey, home of the famous chocolate factory (no, not Willy Wonka's!). There is much more than a factory there, however. There is a full-size amusement park (it was closed), Hershey Gardens, the Hershey Museum, and of course Chocolate World. The gardens were very nice, especially if you like roses. Tons of them, all varieties.

Other RV'ers keep saying that when you're full-timing, you should take time to stop and smell the roses...so we did:

The museum was interesting, as most are. It included a lot of exhibits on the history of the area and Amish customs, as well as the history of Mr. Hershey. Actually the most disappointing part was Chocolate World. It includes a "factory tour ride" which is not really through the factory, just fake machinery and animations. It also has a huge candy/souvenir store, and a food court (OK, the Reeses peanut butter pie was goooood!). One bonus was the launching of several hot-air balloons, going right over our heads.

Columbus, Ohio

We stayed in Columbus for a few days for a "shareware schmooze", which is a gathering of several friends in the shareware business. We had fun talking (sometimes even about business) and eating out. One place served cheesecake slices bigger than I have ever seen -- I couldn't even finish it, if you can believe that!

Here's Connie "working" on the computer (more likely surfing for recipes on Martha Stewart's web site!)

One day we took a walk in the Botanical Gardens. Even though the weather is getting cool, it was enjoyable.

Thank you for visiting our travel site. Please visit our other sites too:

Campground Master -- A tracking program for your campground or inn. Easy to use and learn, but modern and powerful. One of the most inexpensive systems, great for small campgrounds. Designed by campground owners and full-time RVers.

MysteryPhotos -- Every week a new photo is shown, which may be a close-up of something, or a section of a common object or sight. Guess what it is and you might win a prize. Lots of fun for the whole family! Free screensaver and wallpaper too.

Awesome Screen Savers -- Cool photographic screen savers of the highest quality, for Windows PC's. Download FREE Lite versions of them all. Some are created with photos from our travels, some are awesome photos from NASA. (Contact me to have a screen saver made with your own photos!)

Cottonwood Software -- My shareware business site, currently featuring File-Ex 98: a Windows 95/98 dialog enhancement tool. Great for people who work with a lot of files.

Free -n- Cool -- Tons of Freebies, Giveaways, and Cool Sites -- all in one! You'll find a large selection of free samples you can get mailed to you, free games, screen savers, internet services, etc., plus hundreds of contests of all types, and a unique "intensely cool sites" list.