On the Road Again

Ever since our adventure last summer, we have spent the last year being thankful for the memories we made, and realizing how they helped to shape us. For me, it was a time in my life, where I was truly alive…living in the moment, learning new things, experiencing every emotion, and being in awe of being given the gift. This summer, although we couldn’t take as much time off work, we longed for the adventure and unknown. So, we are heading on a two-week adventure to Maine.

After picking the kids up at Sun Star Farms, where Piper was at Pony Camp, and had a great week riding, taking care of the bunnies, chickens and pigs, and meeting a sweet friend named Sam, and Brady was at Tinkering School, and in his element, where he helped his team build a Rube Goldberg machine, a complicated machine put together to perform a task, (I learned).

Then, we hit the road. We had a bumpy start, triggering a four-alarm family argument, resulting in us backtracking for “vital technology that we cannot leave without” (aka, an ITouch). But, we restarted with positive attitudes, I’m sorry’s, and got back on track, arriving in Harrisonburg, VA late last night, albeit, 1.5hrs later than desired. As always, our goal is to be real with adventure challenges! It takes a few days to get back into the saddle.

Waking up this morning, outside of Shenandoah National Park was beautiful.

Being back in Alice, our camper, was familiar and feels like home. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a reminder of the beauty of the south.

Harrisonburg to Harrisburg

Our first destination is to Hersey, Pennsylvania. So we headed out this morning, being mindful that the journey is the most fun…like this water tower painted like a basket of apples.

Route 11 is similar to Route 66 in that it was the original route prior to the highway being built. Our first off the wall stop was Route 11 Potato Chip factory, where we met a trucker who had just delivered the potatoes.

This factory is super clean and the employees are proud of their heritage and the fact that the chips are now sold nationally. We learned that out of 100 lbs of potatoes, only 25% is usable! They pull all of the moisture out of the potatoes and farmers come and pick up the leftovers at the end of the day for their feed. They shared that with their process, these chips can be frozen and not be soggy later. We weren’t allowed to take pictures of the actual production.

We loved tasting and Mama Zuma’s, Bbq, and salt & vinegar we’re family favorites. We also bought some lightly salted ones, right off the line and they were yummy! It was a fun and unexpected stop.

There is so much southern history along our journey. We stopped at the Edinburg Mill, which was fully functional during the civil war. They have turned it into an amazing museum with local history of the area. During a historic fire, they actually used the flour to help save the mill.

And we even a place to feed the ducks, which the kids loved.

Our last stop on the way to chocolate world, was another fun find! We stopped at Tiny World in Shippensburg, PA. We use the RoadTrippers app, which does a great job of sharing ideas along our journey. Tiny World was off the beaten path, past farms of corn and cattle. When we arrived we weren’t sure it was still open as it is in somebody’s back yard. After speaking with the owner, he explained his Father and Grandfather created the over 100 tiny houses, each decorated and themed inside. I saw online at night that the houses are lite up. The craftsmanship displayed was amazing and what a great hobby for a father and son to have together. I am not sure if the grandson shared the same love because he indicated it was in rough shape. We started with the general store and ended with the fire station.

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