Our seventh stop on the GOAT tour 2021 was the KOA Elizabethtown/Hersey in Pennsylvania for three nights. This is the only repeat campground on the tour. We stayed here two years ago on our first trip and it has only improved since then. The good thing about a KOA is you know what you are going to get. More spacious sites, cabins, a pool, a community fire ring, a recreation hall, a well stocked store, internet that consistently works, and even a free mini golf course. Our ratings: Kathryn 9, Paul 9, out of 10. This is a convenient location for visiting the area sites like Hershey Chocolate World, Hershey Park, Hershey Botanical Gardens and Lancaster and the Amish Country are near by, as is Gettysburg. But getting here can be a challenge if you are Kathryn and Paul.
I haven’t heard about it on the news, but I am sure the Russians latest hack has been into the GPS systems we all use. We have a Garmin programmed for the motor home, (so we don’t come upon a low over pass) I study Google Maps and a site for trucks and RVs called All Stays before we leave, and Kathryn has Siri to ask, “take me to . . .” We also get directions from the campground! But all this stuff does not match the highways! The same road can have two names and three different numbers making it very difficult to follow as it changes from one mile to the next. And you have to pick which one you want to follow as they contradict each other. We ended up calling the KOA and a sympathetic employee talked us in like Maverick landing Cougar on the aircraft carrier.
Once we arrived we were not disappointed. While Usher was at his groomer’s appointment we discovered the nearby town of Lititz. The brochure describes it as: “Start with equal parts of hometown charm and big city sophistication, mix in plenty of extremely cool and unique shops, add some warm and friendly greetings, top it all off with Wilbur chocolate and a Sturgis pretzel, and let it age for about 250 years.”
We didn’t take the tour of Sturgis but we did leave the store with a bag of Sourdough Hard Pretzels and a bag of Honey Mustard & Onion Pretzel Bits. Then we went to the Wilbur Chocolate Store and left with Paul’s favorite, chocolate covered Oreos and a bag of Wilbur’s Buds. As the story goes, Wilbur made his buds which Milton Hershey copied and changed the name to Hershey’s Kisses. We were told, “Once you try a Wilbur Bud you will never eat a Kiss again.” I agree! They are rich, creamy, almost buttery, deliciousness. I think we are going to change the name from the GOAT tour to Getting Fatter By The Mile tour. Later we went into Hershey to tour the town and see the fabulous Hershey Hotel and Botanical Gardens. We didn’t ride a roller coaster, but just driving on the narrow, swerving, dipping roads is almost the same thing. The coach is handling the hills of Central Pennsylvania well, but the little Honda Fit’s transmission hasn’t had this much work since it left the factory!
The highlight of the stop was the day before we left. Grandma was in her element! She spent the morning in the kitchen preparing the evening meal for our guests, Son Bill and Granddaughter Katlyn, who is two and a half years old. After a visit to the pool it was spaghetti and meatballs for all. Katlyn and Usher had a great time chasing each other up and down the coach and stealing each other’s toys. It was great to get caught up as we haven’t seen them since our last visit here two years ago.
The photos are posted on the Post Cards 2021 page. On to New Stanton, Pennsylvania!
RVTourUSA 