Southern Camping Trip 2026 (aboard "Elsie" the land yacht). cont.

15 January 2026

Hersheypark Campground,

Hershey, PA 

Hershey's Chocolate World has a store with massive amounts of candy and merch, and a free factory tour.  It includes one free fun sized candy bar.

Marc-  We started of this morning with fixing the electric trailer brakes.  We figured out yesterday that they were not working.  It is not safe to drive this rig without brakes for long distances especially in bad weather.  Our friends Mindy, Fred and Michael came through with advice on the possible cause as well as a ride to the local auto parts store.  It seemed to be a fuse or relay problem.  Turns out we bought the wrong fuses, but removing the fuses and a relay, and putting them back in, did the trick.

Most of the day was spent driving on clear roads in sunny but cold weather.  We visited the Amish country in Lancaster County, PA today in search of Quilt shops and local country stores.  Our stops included the towns of Intercourse and Bird-in-Hand.  Both are charming small towns where you see incredible quilts for sale as well as everything you need to make a quilt.  Lancaster County is agricultural with mostly dairy farms and grain farms.  Many of the barns and farmhouses are made of stone.  Several Amish were out and about on the highways with their horse drawn buggies.  We even spotted a large work house plowing a field.

Quilt shop sign in Intercourse

Quilt shop

It looks a bit like Vermont down here.

Sue-  We went to Village Handmade, which is the store with the painted sign with the plow horses and quilted fields.  They commission and buy quilts from local quilters, and all of their quilts are hand quilted (6 stitches per inch, I was told).  Their quilts are pretty traditional and are extremely well made.   I bought some pretty animal ornaments there.

Then we went to the quilt and country store next door and were amazed by it.  They sell quilts on consignment.  The store has several little rooms and nooks and crannies with all kinds of stuff, including bolts of fabric.  I bought a baked potato bag there and some Fall fat quarters.

Then we went across the street to The Old Country Store.  It may be the best quilt store I've ever been to.  It was beautiful in every way.  Lots of fabric, books, patterns, lots of quilts made up and kits to make them.  I bought a Carol Doak book, a farm animal panel and a sparrows pattern.  There were SO MANY PRETTY THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE!  This was my favorite place today.

Then we went to The Old Log Cabin Quilt Shop in Bird-in-Hand.  It was amazing, too!  There was more farm animal and barn fabric there than I have seen anywhere in VT.  I got a farm animal panel and some fat quarters.  I saw a folded star round table topper 17 inches in diameter.  It was gorgeous, really something special to look at!  I failed to ask if they had the pattern for it, but I see it on line, and I see there are 2 versions of it:  a folded star, and a "point of view" folded star.  The POV part of it is where you can showcase a panel piece in the center, or an embroidered something or other, appliqué, etc.  I've made the smaller pot holders/hot pads.  This was my second favorite place today.